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Twitter will livestream portions of PGA golf tournaments
Twitter has dabbled in live golf coverage before (it streamed the FedExCup Playoffs last year), but it's now ready for something more substantial. The social network has struck an exclusive deal to livestream parts of 31 PGA tournaments across what's left of the 2016-2017 season. It's not the comprehensive coverage you'd like, as it'll be limited to pre-game presentations and the first two holes for each day's Marquee Groups. However, it'll be free and won't require a login -- if you just want to see top-tier golfers in action, you won't have to pony up for a subscription.
Sony is bringing 'Parappa', 'Wild Arms' and more to mobile
Hot on the heels of PlayStation Experience, Sony has announced the first smartphone games developed under its new "ForwardWorks" banner. The huge roster includes a new Everybody's Golf title (known as Hot Shots Golf in the US), which will come out first in spring 2017. The company is also working on a new Wild Arms game, an adaption of Arc the Lad and What Did I Do to Deserve This, My Lord? Looking further ahead, ForwardWorks has confirmed it'll be working on a new Parappa the Rapper game, as well as apps based on Doko Demo Issho and Boku no Natsuyasumi.
'Dead Rising 4' DLC is as ridiculous as you'd expect
Golf, but with ridiculous instruments of death like a fire-breathing triceratops head instead of woods and irons. That's the pitch for Dead Rising 4's season pass of add-on bits and sounds like the best kind of absurdity. Specifically, the "Super Ultra Dead Rising 4 Mini Golf" mode that'll come out some time after the base game's December 6th release date. A post on Xbox Wire says that the game of undead putt-putt is made all the more difficult with zombies acting as hazards and generally getting in the way on the mini links. It isn't the Outlaw Golf sequel we've been clamoring for, but at least it's something.
'Dangerous Golf' swaps fairways for chaos on June 3rd
If you think golf sims are too gentile, Dangerous Golf trades hushed tones and sedate play for exploding golf balls and wanton destruction. The title is the debut from Three Fields Entertainment, a new company from the co-founders of Burnout developer Criterion Games. In a tweet, the company revealed that it will arrive June 3rd on the Xbox One, PS4 and Windows PCs.
Garmin's Approach X40 fitness tracker is made for golfers
Over the past few years, Garmin has focused on two different sets of wearables: activity trackers and watches for people who play golf on a regular basis. Now, with the Approach X40, the company is bringing the best of both worlds into one product. The new device features 1-inch touchscreen (similar to Garmin's Vivosmart band), a heart rate monitor and tracking for calories burned, distance and steps. It's also water-resistant and can handle a slew of smartphone notifications, such as incoming calls, emails, texts and calendar reminders.
Zepp's redesigned sport sensor tracks your swing more accurately
For Zepp Labs, a young startup from Los Gatos, California, the goal with its first multi-sport sensor was clear from the beginning: To help baseball, golf and tennis players improve their game. Now, more than two years after the introduction of that product, the second-generation Zepp has arrived. At its core, the new swing-analyzing gadget remains nearly the same, but there are notable developments both on the inside and outside.
TomTom's Golfer 2 GPS watch tracks your swing
TomTom's original Golfer GPS watch can give your distance and score, but the latest golf devices from Piq and Game Golf also track your swing and distance stats. To keep up, TomTom has launched the Golfer 2, a watch that measures your swing using a built-in motion sensor and gyroscope. That lets you "see at a glance glance how far you've hit each ball, show your distance potential, and create a detailed post-round analysis" on the MySports app, according to the company. It only counts one shot in a 10-foot area, letting you take as many practice swings as you need.
DirecTV's first live 4K show is the Masters golf tournament
DirecTV has been talking about 4K broadcasts for a long time, and now it's finally ready to make them a practical reality. The satellite TV provider has revealed that its coverage of the Masters Tournament in Augusta will include its first-ever live 4K broadcast on the company's new DirecTV 4K channel... in fact, the first live 4K show in the US. When the 4-day golf competition kicks off on April 7th, you should see every last detail on the green -- important in an event that revolves around whacking a ball hundreds of yards through the air.
Samsung's Gear VR can now take golf fans on the PGA Tour
It's a little hard to believe that something called the "Waste Management Phoenix Open" is one of the biggest events in golf, but hey — now you don't need to shell out tons of cash to explore the event's signature course. All it takes is a Samsung Gear VR, a compatible phone and the PGA's new Tour VR app to take a closer look at some sweet club-on-ball action.
Golf-bot sinks hole-in-one at PGA event
Dropping a hole-in-one at the 16th hole of the Waste Management Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, Arizona apparently isn't that hard. Tiger Woods famously got one back in 1997, Italian pro Francesco Molinari did the same last month and just this Wednesday, LDRIC, the club-swinging robot golfer, sank one as well.
'Dangerous Golf' is a crazy game from the creators of 'Burnout'
The co-founders of Criterion Games, Fiona Sperry and Alex Ward, left the EA-owned property last year to start their own company. We now know that venture as Three Fields Entertainment, which today is introducing its first game ever: Dangerous Golf. As the name suggests, it isn't your average take on a sports title, with a story that lets you create chaos on over 100 holes across four different locations -- all insane in their own right.
Garmin's TruSwing golf sensor can help you improve your game
Data-tracking sensors are becoming popular across the world of sports. In golf, we've seen this type of technology before from startups like Zepp, which created a swing analyzer that attaches to a player's glove. And now, Garmin is ready to do something similar. The company has introduced its TruSwing, a small and lightweight gadget for golfers who want to know more details about their time on the course. When paired with Garmin's Connect Mobile app, available for iOS and Android, the accessory delivers 3D animations to give you instant feedback on your swing.
Zepp wants rackets and bats to pack integrated sensors
Now that any athlete (or wannabe) can measure their baseball, tennis and golf swings with standalone sensors, Zepp figures that the next step is putting them directly into the sports equipment. The company announced that it's working with several equipment manufacturers to integrate its sensor and cloud tech directly into baseball bats, tennis and badminton rackets, cricket bats, glove gloves and other products. It also wants to partner with companies and sports' governing bodies to develop open-source sensor standards for both professional and amateur athletes.
Autonomous golf carts drive tourists around in Singapore
MIT and the National Research Foundation of Singapore recently tested an autonomous vehicle they developed together. No, it's not a car or a truck -- it's a golf cart. The researchers created a self-driving golf cart called SMART and deployed several at a public garden to drive 500 or so tourists around during a six-day experiment. Since they crafted a whole system and not just the autonomous vehicle itself, they also tested a booking method which people used to schedule pick-ups and drop offs. In the future, that system could be adapted to a mobile app like Uber.
ICYMI: User-generated Golf ads, motocross bionics and machine gun traps
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-704892{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-704892, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-704892{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-704892").style.display="none";}catch(e){} Today on In Case You Missed It, Volkswagen releases a new commercial for its Golf R that changes depending on what sound effects the viewer makes. We also take a look at a bionic knee from "Monster" Mike Schultz designed for Moto-crossing lower-leg amputees. The Mythbusters find out if Walter White's machine gun trap could actually work (hint: omfg, does it ever) and a Parakeet learns to speak droid because Star Wars just won't go away. If you come across any interesting videos, we'd love to see them. Just tweet us with the #ICYMI hashtag @engadget or @mskerryd. And if you just want to heap praise on your handsome guest host, feel free to hit him up @mr_trout.
ICYMI: Google's face-policing API, Rage Rooms and more
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-380801{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-380801, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-380801{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-380801").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Google's new API for Android applications comes with face detection that can tell if you're smiling or not. Then there's the trend in Rage Rooms that looks like too much fun to keep to ourselves. And a hoax of an amazing prototype: A supposed adoption of Volkswagen technology birthed a stroller to follow you around, using collision sensors to avoid people or objects. This thing should really exist in some form, yes?
Most 2016 Volkswagen cars can avoid crashes and talk to your phone
You normally have to spring for higher-end cars to get semi-autonomous features that could save your hide, but Volkswagen is aiming to make them relatively commonplace. The automaker has started shipping its 2016 model line, and most of it will at least make crash avoidance features an option, if not include it as a matter of course. The majority of Golf, Jetta and Touareg models will have the choice of smart cruise control and emergency braking technology that could keep you out of an accident even if you can't react in time; they're standard on Executive trim levels for the CC and Touareg. You'll also find a lane departure system on the CC, Golf, and Touareg, and parking assistance on the Golf.
PIQ golf sensor marries swing tracking with game analysis
There are golf sensors out there that track your swing and others that give you yardage and stats, but wouldn't it be nice to have one that did both? That's the theory behind the PIQ golf sensor, which comes equipped with NFC, GPS, Bluetooth and a 13-axis motion sensor. For distance measuring, the company says it has the "lightest and sleekest GPS rangefinder" out there that clips onto your glove. A bright LED display will give you the distance the front, center and back of the green, so that you don't have to pull out a smartphone or wear a custom watch. Thanks to a deal with golf outfit Mobiltee, it can automatically figure out where you are from its 35,000 course database.
Microsoft Band will track your golf game from start to finish
You won't have to worry about buying a dedicated golf watch to track every nuance of your next trip to the links -- a Microsoft Band will soon do the job. The folks in Redmond are partnering with TaylorMade to add golfing support to both the Band and the Health app in the weeks ahead. Health will help you find your tee and compile stats, but the wearable should be the real star of the show. The Band will use GPS to detect your hole and give you distance estimates, and it'll be smart enough to keep track of your score based on your swings. It will even tell when you're making practice shots. Should that not be enough, TaylorMade's myRoundPro app will draw on the Band to give you detailed data about your round, such as how often you stayed on the fairway. Although these impending updates aren't going to improve your swing, they should help you spend more time sinking the ball and less time marking scorecards.
Fox US Open broadcast has live VR streams, drones and 4K cameras
We haven't connected cutting edge TV tech to golf much since 3D met the Masters, but Fox is promising a live streaming virtual reality setup this weekend during the US Open tournament. It's working with NextVR -- the same company that brought a Malibu beach sunrise streaming live in 180-degree VR to my house in Michigan -- so that viewers can pop into any of five camera rigs around the course and peek around like they were really there. According to Fox, this is believed to be the "first live multi-camera VR broadcast experience in history." This is still in the demo phase so the easiest way to watch is to actually be at the event in one of the properly equipped hospitality areas, or at a Fox Sports location in New York, Vancouver or LA. Even if you can't catch the live feed, NextVR will have the video ready for its portal that is coming to the Oculus Rift and Gear VR headsets.
