OnCore Genius Golf Ball

[Club Rat]

5 hours ago, iacas said:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-genius-ball

Quote

FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)

How long will the ball last?  While it's unlikely that you'll ever lose the ball in the rough, given the GPS locator chip, the lifecycle is still dependent on the life of the golf ball skin. Much like the ELIXR, the GENiUS ball has an advanced urethane cover that is highly durable and should last for several rounds of golf.   We are designing the battery life to exceed that of the skin of the ball so that should not be an issue.  

Is there a cost to download the application? The app is free to GENiUS Ball subscribers along with many great offers on leading golf products and useful information. 

What data will the ball capture? The GENiUS ball will track your ball’s location, its travel velocity, height apex, spin rate, trajectory along with the end of carry and roll distances. All of these data points along with a few more metrics you may never have thought of will be available on your smart device in real time.

How does the ball work?  Fully leveraging OnCore's unique and patented hollow core technologies, the GENiUS Ball has an advanced framework of embedded electronic measurement and communication devices. Using this raw data capture, OnCore has developed a series of proprietary mathematical and physics algorithms which we expect will outperform current launch monitors in calculating the data that gets communicated via Bluetooth to your handheld smart device.  And, of course, it will do all of this on the golf course and not limit you to practicing at a driving range. 

What type of ball will the GENiUS Ball compare to feel and performance wise? We are targeting a tour level feel and performance.  Our experience in building high performance balls with hollow cores gives us great confidence that we can achieve this objective.

Who is the target consumer for the ball?  Anyone who golfs!  This is a product that will help golfers looking to improve their game, learn more about their own statistics, find new things to bet on with their friends, and generally have more fun in the process.  This will be a great training aid for students of the game and teachers alike. Really anyone looking to capture better performance metrics and comparative play shot after shot, game after game.

Will the GENiUS Ball be USGA Conforming?  The ball will conform to the five quantifiable metrics that the USGA Rules cover - size, weight, symmetry, initial velocity and overall distance.  However, the information that the GENiUS Ball delivers would disqualify it from use in most sanctioned tournaments.  You can legitimately say that you aren't using a "cheater ball" in your normal golf outings.  Just don't enter the US Open with it.  

How does the information which they claim would deliver via App, differ than other devices; 
IE range finders?
I realize phones are not allowed, but what about handheld devices?
Also, if the ball conforms to standards, could a player still play the Genius and not use the App?

This is rather puzzling.

[iacas]

50 minutes ago, Club Rat said:

Also, if the ball conforms to standards, could a player still play the Genius and not use the App?

Why would you want to play a $25 ball but turn off all the stuff that warrants the 6-8x increase?

[Buckeyebowman]

True that! And when will you play it when you consider the state of your game? Stick it in your pocket on an over water tee shot or par 3? And why bother to improve your swing and performance, What will the ball tell you that your normal senses wouldn't?

At the opposite end of the spectrum is a friend who was going out to play a course that, for whatever reason, causes him a lot of problems. He loses a lot of balls there. He went to Wal Mart and found a dozen "Nitro" balls for less than 5 bucks a dozen! He played them and liked them. Said they flew very well and held greens decently. BTW, he lost 4 of them.

There are more players like my buddy than in the elite, and they aren't going to shell out the bucks for this thing!