Myrtle Beach Golf Videos

Meredith Kirk: Andrew, this Toptracer Range here at World Tour in Myrtle Beach is absolutely amazing. What’s been the response so far?
Andrew Cheek: The community has loved it. We’ve had a lot of community support, and a lot of our locals are coming out and enjoying the facility. They’re hitting a lot of golf balls, having fun and staying under the shade while it’s been hot here in South Carolina. We’ve been having a great time so far.
Meredith: The technology is absolutely amazing. Walk me through a typical experience when somebody comes out here.
Andrew: We’ve made it pretty streamlined, whether you’re using the app or checking in with our shop. When you arrive, you’ll be able to unlock the bay, sign in and register.
From there, you can create your own Toptracer account and profile through the app. Once you do that, everything from your practice sessions and virtual golf scores to the kids playing Angry Birds can be saved to your account.
Once you’re in the bay, you can select a game and choose your target line. We have interactive targets that show the yardages and directions. You select the target you want to hit, and then it’s as simple as getting a golf ball and hitting away.
Meredith: What’s the difference between having a Toptracer Range versus the typical driving range you see at a golf course?
Andrew: Once golfers are signed in and using the technology, they get live stats and metrics showing exactly what the golf ball is doing.
Golfers sometimes come in thinking they hit the ball farther than they actually do. Here, they can get realistic numbers for carry distance, ball speed, launch angle, apex, hang time, direction and how far left or right they are of the target.
It helps golfers understand what they’re actually doing with the golf ball instead of relying on a guess.
Meredith: I love that it’s so dynamic. You’re still outside experiencing the elements — the wind and the different conditions you experience on the golf course. It really does help you dial in your shots.
Andrew: It does. We’re not just seeing ball flight on a screen. We’re able to see the full ball flight outside, and now we have the metrics behind every golf ball we hit.
Meredith: How about you give me a quick lesson? Let’s say I’m a beginner and I come out here. Where do I start?
Andrew: We’ll start at the homepage, and the first question is: What’s your purpose for being here?
Are you here to practice and get better? Are you here to have fun with family and friends? Or are you just here to have a good time?
For the most common situation, someone is probably going to be here to practice. One of our most popular options is the My Practice application.
That’s where you’ll set your target line and select each club you’re hitting. When you’re finished with the session, you’ll have an average yardage for each club. You’ll essentially have a complete statistical record showing how far you hit every club.
Meredith: That’s great.
Andrew: For us, let’s start with a wedge. We’ll select sand wedge. Then it’s as simple as walking up, swiping the club over the sensor, getting your ball and hitting a shot.
Meredith: When I’m aiming, what am I aiming for?
Andrew: At the bottom of the screen, we have an interactive yardage marker. Right now, we have you set on the blue marker, which is 128 yards and directly in the center of the fairway.
That’s important because when the cameras start tracking the golf ball, they’re tracking it on the line from this mat to that target. That’s how we get accurate numbers for how far you hit it, how far left or right you are, apex, carry and all the other data.
We’ll go back to that blue flag and have you hit one.
Meredith: All right. Let’s see how I do.
Andrew: Lovely strike. It’s a little right, but it’s coming back.
That golf ball had a flat carry of 117 yards and a ball speed of 87 mph. It launched at 28 degrees, reached an apex of 71 feet and was in the air for 4.9 seconds. It came down at a landing angle of 42 degrees with a curve of just two feet to the right.
So, a very straight shot. Good shot there, pro! You finished about 21 feet offline.
Meredith: If you were helping me correct that, pretend you’re giving me a mini lesson right now. What’s the first thing you’d have me work on?
Andrew: The first thing we’d do is look at how the golf ball started a little right of the target instead of exactly on its intended line.
I’d want to take a look at the clubface. Maybe we’d do some drills to keep the clubface a little more square during the takeaway or through the follow-through, depending on what we see.
Then we’d hit a couple more and see if we can get that number closer to zero.
Meredith: All right. I’m going to pay more attention to the clubface here and make sure I’m squaring it better.
[Meredith hits another shot.]
Andrew: Oh, fantastic. That was pretty much right on line. It’s pretty good — if you like perfect!
That ball carried 117 yards, so you were very consistent with the carry number. This time, you were only three feet offline to the left, so that was a much tighter shot in terms of proximity to the target.
Meredith: That’s amazing.
One thing I automatically love about this is how easy it can be for golfers — even at the professional level — to go to a driving range and just hit balls. Even if you have an intended target in your mind, you don’t always completely commit to it.
This is great because it forces you to implement the changes you’re making in your golf swing. You can come back and check the results after every shot. It goes back to the neuroplasticity of the brain — learning those habits and learning how to make the swing.
For my students, this is a great way to practice compared to simply going to a traditional driving range.
Andrew: It really brings in that idea of “practice with a purpose.” We’re not just out here hitting golf balls. Now we’re taking direct target lines, focusing on where the ball is supposed to go and then seeing exactly what we did.
For students we work with regularly, we know their common tendencies. When they start seeing some of these numbers, it can be an instant reminder: “Coach Andrew, we worked on this last week. I need to keep the clubface a little more square during the takeaway.”
They begin recognizing those things themselves. Maybe the ball is curving too far to the right, and suddenly the data reminds them, “Hey, this is something I need to pay attention to during my practice.”
Meredith: Exactly. It’s all in the data.
And one of the coolest parts is the app. When you get home after a lesson or practice session, you can look at your data and make those comparisons yourself.
Andrew: When it comes to following your journey as a golfer, we can actually measure improvement.
If a first-time student comes in for a lesson, we can see where they were during their first visit and compare it to their fifth visit. We can see whether they’ve actually improved.
Another really cool thing we have here is the Toptracer Coach app. When a player takes a lesson, they’re not only getting feedback from the golf professional, but they can also have practice assignments loaded onto their account.
When they come back and they’re not actively taking a lesson, they can sign in and have specific practice activities assigned based on what they need to work on.
For example, I have students who have been working really hard on distance control with their wedges. When they come in and sign in, they’ll have assignments based on what I’ve created for them.
It gives us a way to keep students accountable outside of the lesson.
Meredith: That’s fantastic.
If somebody wants to come out here and practice or maybe book a lesson with you, is there a website they can visit? How do they get in touch with you?
Andrew: They can go to WorldTourGolf.com. We have a Toptracer page with a live booking portal where you can reserve a bay.
For instruction, I have an instruction page on the site where you can reach out by email, and then we can schedule a lesson.
Meredith: One last question: What about parties? What if you want to come out here with a group of your buddies?
Andrew: That’s what we’re most excited about. We’ll be able to reserve multiple bays at a time.
As we continue to grow the facility, we’re looking forward to hosting larger parties, Super Bowl events, corporate outings, watch parties and more.
We have a big event schedule coming up that we’ll be launching in September, and that’s going to include a lot of those things.
Meredith: Awesome. This is great. Thanks so much for inviting me out here and letting me get a taste of Toptracer. I think I’m hooked now. I don’t think I’ll want to go back to a regular range!
Andrew: Just let me know. You’ve got a bay here anytime, Meredith.
Meredith: Thanks, Andrew.
Andrew: Thank you.