Liam Duggan of LDGolf practising on the GC2 Simulator
A NEW business opened in Tralee on Monday last, where golfers can hit the fairways of the Tralee and Ballybunion courses from inside a building in Killerisk (that’s some drive)!
The golf performance centre, which is located opposite Manor Village Filling Station, is already garnering rave reviews according to its owner.
LDGolf at Killerisk Business Park was founded in 2011 by West Limerick man, Liam Duggan, and is offering ‘access to modern technology and expert tuition on a level not available anywhere else in Ireland.’
TraleeToday.ie recently had the opportunity to visit the facility and talk to Liam about why he chose Tralee as a place to set up, what people can expect from the facility and what he hopes to achieve in the long term.
As part of their mission to help develop the game of golf, Liam and his team are involved with many local schools and he said that there was lot of support from the Tralee area for this kind of work.
The facility is different to anything that this writer has seen before, with the ‘A foresight GC2 simulator’ being the main attraction. Having had the chance to test it out (albeit very badly!), it must be said this simulator will be very much a game changer for the way golf will be played and practiced in Tralee.
Standing over the ball, with Liam instructing this writer to hit the ball as hard as I could at a screen was a new experience, but one that you must try first hand to experience the full scale of the technology.
GC2 Foresight Simulator
The ‘Foresight GC2 Simulator’ is offering unparalleled accuracy on a 4m x 3m screen in full HD. It offers over 50 different courses to play and choose from, including Royal Troon, Birkedale, Carnoustie, and most importantly…Tralee and Ballybunion golf club.
@nisusfitness Late finish but were all set to go for the morning!#LDgolf #poweredbyNisus pic.twitter.com/fLmKNUoHSU
— LDgolf (@LDgolfcoaching) January 25, 2015
“What we’re looking to do is offer something a little bit different. For a lot of individuals, when it comes to playing golf, time is bit of an issue.What we’re doing is giving the opportunity to play high end golf courses…in a quarter of the time.”
“The simulation software has over 60 different golf courses, we offer recreational golf. It can also be used for golf coaching also.”
“The big tie in for local golfers, I think is the fact that we can tie in with Joe (O’Connor) of Nisus Training Club and focus on golf specific fitness. We can help improve your golf game physically, technically and pscyhologically.”
“We’re looking to really expand into helping players improve their game and bring it to a much higher level.”
“It’s something that’s not there at the moment and we hope going forward that it creates more opportunities for people to get into the game of golf.”
His school programme “Rising Stars” has been a huge success having delivered 24,000 lessons and counting in schools all over Ireland since it was launched.
If you would like to try your hand at the simulator or find out more about the programmes and facilities on offer, all the information can be found here.
