Mons, Belgium - Monday, June 3rd 2024. Creaceed unveils its new app designed for golfers and golf clubs, ready to revolutionize the game. Introducing Golf Quartz—a platform tailored for both beginners and seasoned players, offering an array of new possibilities to enhance gameplay and optimize training sessions. This innovative platform empowers clubs with advanced golf map creation & distribution, laying the foundation for golf in a new digital and collaborative era.

A common issue for golfers is the need to purchase a second watch specifically for golf—often lacking in quality or ergonomic design—or to rely on closed, expensive subscription-based apps that can leave users feeling trapped. Additionally, golf course mapping can be inaccurate or even completely wrong due to the impermanent nature of courses, which change seasonally (e.g., winter greens) or undergo significant renovations. This often results in watches becoming useless for months, leaving hundreds of club members without a solution. Moreover, training devices like radars, while effective, are not widely available, can be costly, and only provide partial information about the swing.

Golf Quartz addresses all these problems.

A watch-first experience for the course

The Apple Watch has recently reached a level of software maturity that allows for the development of fully functional experiences using its many sensors (GPS, accelerometer, magnetometer) and latest user interface evolutions. The inevitable replacement of dedicated devices by programmable ones is underway for watches too, just as it was previously for phones. It is from these observations that Golf Quartz was conceived: not as a mobile phone app converted to the watch, but as a 100% native design for the watch, leveraging all its most recent capabilities.

Indeed, keeping score with a phone requires always having it on hand, which is not the case when a player leaves it attached to their trolley to play on the green. The watch, however, is a valuable ally, always available where the player is (useful for distance measurements) and can also communicate with the player through vibrations to remind them of game events and score keeping.

Golf Quartz features customizable ergonomics to suit both beginners and expert players, ranging from a simple golf GPS to an advanced counter with smart alerts. For instance, some players want to count strokes, which is possible through a multiplayer counter. Others prefer to keep score mentally, so the counting feature can be disabled. The same goes for game statistics (greens in regulation, number of putts…), which only interest players tracking their statistical progress over time. Various reminders and voice feedback are also customizable.

Cutting-edge sports technology

Public sports technology is booming, and so is the monitoring of athletes’ health. In this context, Golf Quartz introduces multiple advancements such as the use of artificial intelligence for continuous swing and putt detection. This technology pinpoints shot positions on the course and provides detailed swing analysis during training, covering parameters like maximum backswing and downswing speed, tempo, and transition time. Additionally, it integrates seamlessly with Apple’s health ecosystem, offering heart rate monitoring and energy expenditure tracking.

These precise swing parameters are made possible by the arrival of high-speed sensors (3-axis accelerometer and gyroscope up to 800 Hz—a remarkable feat) in recent Apple Watch models starting from Series 8 and Ultra. The goal is to provide reliable motion feedback, enabling players to work on specific aspects of their swing. Furthermore, Golf Quartz’s training mode complements popular radar sensors like Trackman®, which focus on analyzing effects (ball speed and club head speed), while Golf Quartz allows for the analysis of causes (body movement). The dual-frequency GPS in Apple Watch Ultra models also ensures high accuracy when estimating distances on the course and the path taken, and magnetometer enables live aiming direction to target like a compass.

Beyond the app, an open and collaborative platform

Golf Quartz is a comprehensive suite of three applications: Apple Watch for stroke counting & GPS distances, and training sessions; iPhone for reviewing games and tracking progress; and Mac for mapping courses. It includes a cooperative cloud-based database where up-to-date course maps are shared among players. The open formats for scorecards and mapping give players ownership and longevity over their data. Player-created maps can be used to personalize distances and aiming directions from the tee.

Clubs can leverage this mapping to provide daily updated courses without external validation delays. Entrusting the mapping to those who truly know their terrain just makes sense. Smaller practice courses, often overlooked by watches, can also be modeled for the benefit of beginner players. Moreover, the Golf Quartz Tap-to-Golf™ feature uses NFC tags or QR codes to allow players to access the club’s official course by scanning at the first tee. Programming standard & low-cost NFC tags or printing QR codes is straightforward and can be done by the club in a DIY (do it yourself) manner. This gives clubs greater autonomy and control over the course experience, ensuring member and visitor satisfaction without additional costs.

Availability and Pricing

Golf Quartz for iPhone and Apple Watch can be tested for free on courses for up to 9 holes. Unlocking the full application for iPhone and Apple Watch is available through a one-time purchase of €/$19.99 during the launch period (until the end of summer 2024), after which it will be priced at €/$29.99. It requires iOS 17 and watchOS 10.2, with device compatibility starting from iPhone XR/XS and Watch Series 4. High-speed sensor-based analysis requires an Apple Watch Series 8 / Ultra or newer, while classic analysis remains available on older models. Users without a watch can still take advantage of the launch offer and install it later on their future Apple Watch.

Golf Quartz Mapper app is available for free on the Mac App Store and can be used both by clubs and by players. It requires macOS 14 Sonoma and a compatible Mac (typically 2018 or newer, depending on the particular model).

Main features of Golf Quartz

See App Store description of each app for an exhaustive listing of features. To sum up:

GAME

• Modern watch-first experience optimized for latest watchOS. A caddie and a trainer on your wrist.
• Live distance to the green (colored flag or green bounds), to bunkers, to tee target with live aiming direction, shot measurement as you walk, and direction to next tee
• Scorekeeping & scorecard for up to 4 players
• Stats tracking: fairway hits, greens in regulation, and putts
• GPS shot positioning, magnetometer-based aiming direction
• Haptics, game alerts, and speech feedback

PRACTICE

• AI-based swings & putts counting
• Swing analysis after each stroke: backswing and downswing duration/maximum angular speed, transition duration, rotation amplitude, and tempo. Lets you train with actual feedback.
• Focus on inner motion data (rotation & timing) as a complement to launch radar like Trackman® (clubhead / ball) for a thorough understanding of the swing
• High-speed gyroscope & accelerometer

COOPERATIVE COURSE EDITOR & DATABASE

• Satellite imaging or symbolic mapping.
• Publish & manage your courses using the collaborative database for all players to use.
• Club or player-sourced courses that evolve along with the most recent terrain changes /or weather conditions (winter greens, work zones, etc.)
• Same-day distribution to all players by the clubs themselves. No more unnecessary wait for course changes.
• Player-specific customizations like direction/distance from the tee
• Tap-to-golf™ NFC / QR code course scanning