High tech golf simulators bring out the worst in human excuses at Orlando's PGA Show

If you’re looking for a golf computer experience that’s a little more real than Tiger Woods 07, the PGA Merchandise Show is full of NASA-level simulators. These things won’t just tell you what your club angle was at impact to the .0000000000 degree. They’ll practically inform you what you ate for breakfast.

Next year, they’ll undoubtedly read your swing thoughts.

Of course when you bring real clubs into the equation and people are watching the results of their swings transfer in 3D to a huge super graphics screen that’s about the size of Chris Rock’s home theater, there’s the potential for heavy human denial. I watched one PGA pro plop three straight shots into the virtual water on a 136-yard par 3 island green.

First shot? 114 yards. Second shot? 97 yards. Third shot? 74 yards.

With each shot, the pro turned and scowled at the machine (called Pro Tee Golf Simulator). Like it wasn’t reading his swings correctly. Never mind that those swings looked almost as pathetic as mine from the naked eye. It had to be HAL’s fault. Sure.

Pro Tee Golf Simulator is pretty cool. Though not close to as cool as one real round on even a low end course. And it cost $25,000.