Equipment

Bryson DeChambeau, Microsoft develop pressure-sensing grip

Published

10 years ago

Nov 25, 2016

Bryson DeChambeau, in a very Bryson DeChambeau move, joined forces with Microsoft and Seattle-startup Sensoria to work on a prototype “smart grip.” The grip is designed to analyze pressure applied throughout the swing.

The grip’s eight embedded sensors return real-time pressure data. It’s funneled through the cloud via Microsoft Azure, which ”graphically renders pressure of the hands in relation to the golf grip,” Microsoft noted in a blog post.

“The data collected from Bryson over time will be analyzed during future phases of the project in a machine-learning environment to build new intelligent golf-data streams, helping him determine the right grip and club usage, swing speed, rhythm, plane, and other performance and swing-mechanics variables,” Microsoft added in the post.

Credit: Microsoft Technical Case Studies

And it seems Bryson DeChambeau wasn’t just some sort of guinea pig for Microsoft. Rather, Mike Downey, Principal Evangelist for Microsoft Sports Partnerships, discussed Bryson’s golf-related needs with the SMU alum. DeChambeau indicated that maintaining consistent grip pressure was important, and that there were no devices to measure the consistency of his pressure.

The smart grip Microsoft and Sensoria developed detects grip position and pressure levels throughout the swing, relaying data Microsoft Azure’s systems. That data was then rendered on a Microsoft Surface using XAMIL and Microsoft Visual Studio.

For the less technical among us, here’s what the rendering looked like.

Credit: Microsoft Technical Case Studies

Credit: Microsoft Technical Case Studies

And yes, the Smart Grips were built into DeChambeau’s existing JumboMax grips using a one inch square of embeddable microelectronics known as Sensoria Core.

Microsoft and the PGA Tour partnered in 2015 for a three-year deal, which saw Microsoft become the official operating system of the PGA Tour and its Surface tablets worked into the ShotLink shot tracking process.

Sensoria was founded in 2011 by former Microsoft employees. The Seattle-based company develops smart garments and IoE (Internet of Everything) wearable solutions.

Related Topics:

Up Next

PXG releases “Gunboat Darkness” putters on Black Friday

Don't Miss

Photos of the Wilson Staff Triton, winner of the Driver vs. Driver TV show

Ben Alberstadt

Ben Alberstadt is the Editor-in-Chief at GolfWRX, where he’s led editorial direction and gear coverage since 2018. He first joined the site as a freelance writer in 2012 after years spent working in pro shops and bag rooms at both public and private golf courses, experiences that laid the foundation for his deep knowledge of equipment and all facets of this maddening game. Based in Philadelphia, Ben’s byline has also appeared on PGATour.com, Bleacher Report...and across numerous PGA DFS and fantasy golf platforms. Off the course, Ben is a committed cat rescuer and, of course, a passionate Philadelphia sports fan. Follow him on Instagram @benalberstadt.

23 Comments

Pingback: Golf Grip Pressure Guide - Get The Proper Grip Pressure Today - (MUST READ Before You Buy)
Jim

Dec 3, 2016 at 12:38 am

I would rather have immediate feedback. If I’m griping too tight the grip should say “ouch or you are squeezing me too tight”. Seriously if I could feel a click when squeezing too tight that wouldn’t be a bad thing. Many times I catch myself holding on way too tight. Out.

Reply Report comment
Grizz01

Nov 28, 2016 at 3:18 pm

This is really getting stupid.

Reply Report comment
Harry

Nov 28, 2016 at 1:35 pm

The tech is cool, but Bryson should let someone else figure out what small changes affect before it hurts his game.

Reply Report comment
Mr. Wedge

Nov 28, 2016 at 12:40 pm

Technology can be an invaluable tool. But sometimes it just goes overboard. This is one of those times.

Reply Report comment
Jeff

Nov 28, 2016 at 12:11 pm

I think it would be great to have the ability to understand your grip pressure on your good shots and on your poor shots. No different than video. As visual creatures, we give lots of credence to things we can see, and we discount the things we can not see. This is why high speed video is so helpful to understanding how great players hit the ball. Having insight into non-visible aspects of the swing, like grip pressure and weight distribution is necessary to truly understand the golf swing.
This could be very helpful in the short game, where feel is easier for average players to describe.
Also, the data is transferred via XAML – not XAIML – https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc295302.aspx

Reply Report comment
HarlyD

Nov 26, 2016 at 11:04 pm

Get a load of dat bat handle on his driver! Looks like a Louisville Slugger. What, 18 wraps of tape, or what?! Sheesh. Ain’t no feel in that thing!

Reply Report comment
- Craig
  
  Nov 28, 2016 at 1:24 am
  
  Jumbomax XL grips
  
  Reply Report comment
Guia

Nov 26, 2016 at 6:43 pm

This young man is trying his best to become a Robot.

Reply Report comment
Petewc

Nov 26, 2016 at 1:08 pm

He better start winning with these ideas or no one will care. Need results

Reply Report comment
- M Smizzle
  
  Nov 26, 2016 at 2:18 pm
  
  It’s not about winning….
  It’s about selling
  
  Reply Report comment
Mike

Nov 26, 2016 at 12:41 pm

That’s pretty cool. They could put accelerometers in there as well to get tempo data. Very cool tech in my opinion

Reply Report comment
Mark

Nov 26, 2016 at 6:10 am

Dear Lord this man is danger of complete IT overload. Golf is a game of variables not computer readouts. Feel, natural ability and imagination are major elements. How did Snead, Hogan, Arnie, Jack etc ever get the ball in the air without all this tech? Talent perhaps?

Reply Report comment
- Desmond
  
  Nov 26, 2016 at 11:19 am
  
  We are in an age of data – some always thirst for more. It may not directly help us, but some frontiersmen will use this to gather data that denies or confirm the validity of constant grip pressure, and we will learn. I’d just rather learn a swing. This data “stuff” is interesting, but I’d rather read the results of the study and apply rather than be the tester.
  
  Reply Report comment
Boobsy McKiss

Nov 26, 2016 at 1:24 am

Unfortunately it is the future. We’re going to have sensors in our socks, shoes, underwear, shirt, hat, sunglasses, grips, shafts and clubheads. Even in our home everything is going to be connected to apps and databases, such as our refrigerator, light systems, toasters, oven, every water faucet in our house, walls (yes, walls), etc. Every moment in our lives is going to be recorded somehow, and that information is either going to be stored on Azure (Microsoft), AWS (Amazon), GCP (Google), or IBM Cloud. Sad but true. I have to agree with the Alfredo. We are on the edge of a major information overload in not just golf, but everything in our lives. Do we really need to pressure sensitive grips to enjoy the game?

Reply Report comment
Alfredo Smith

Nov 25, 2016 at 10:52 pm

Information overload. Simple is more. See target, aim at target, hit ball to target…

Reply Report comment
M Smizzle

Nov 25, 2016 at 12:43 pm

This could be a game changer. Bryson is a winner!

Reply Report comment
Desmond

Nov 25, 2016 at 11:34 am

I think Bryson will get an argument about constant grip pressure and its importance – some think it’s best to increase pressure throughout the swing.

In the late 90’s, I had a training aid with a sensor in the grip that beeped when pressure was too high — the forerunner …. I put this in the same eBay bin as well as the Hat that beeped when your head moved – that was a decent idea that did not take off.

Reply Report comment
- M Smizzle
  
  Nov 25, 2016 at 12:37 pm
  
  Takes a pretty sorry person to get on golfwrx and just be a complete downer
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Desmond
    
    Nov 26, 2016 at 1:55 am
    
    Lighten up, Francis, and see a shrink. You’ve got issues.
    
    Reply Report comment
- John
  
  Nov 26, 2016 at 1:07 pm
  
  This whole generation of “be positive” about everything has absolutely zero critical analysis abilit, they just accept everything
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Degrees
    
    Nov 28, 2016 at 11:57 am
    
    You do realize this is not the “millennial” to be calling out for having “zero critical analysis abilit[y]” because he has a FRIGGING PHYSICS DEGREE, but sure, old man, from your La-Z-Boy, let’s yukk it up about these damn kids and their lack of critical thinking skills, when you have a young kid LITERALLY using his science degree to run an EXPERIMENT on a HYPOTHESIS he has.
    
    I can’t understand why GolfWRX STILL allows anonymous internet comments in this, the Golden Age of the Troll, when most everyone compelled to post something reveals themselves as a COMPLETE NINCOMPOOP.
    
    Reply Report comment
Feel the Bern

Nov 25, 2016 at 10:54 am

This is the future.

Reply Report comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Equipment

Putters that never made it: Check out some of the best tour builds that didn’t make the cut

Published

2 weeks ago

May 18, 2026

Alistair Cameron

Arguably, the best perk of being a professional golfer on the PGA Tour is the ability to request or even just be handed pretty much any club you could think of. It happens more often than you think, usually with putters around the practice green from one event to the next. Come Wednesday, the Tour bags lining the edge of the putting surface become resting places for fallen flatsticks that never made the cut.

So let’s take a look at some of the best we’ve seen out on Tour this year that never made it to the competition. (You may notice none of Hideki Matsuyama’s custom Scotty Cameron putters made this list. There are too many.)

Let’s start with this custom Damascus Milled Odyssey Rossie made for Ryo Hisatsune. Featuring a single line and the short-slant hossel, we’ve seen plenty of Number 7 and jailbird heads featuring the Damascus Milled insert, but this is the first and only one we’ve spotted in a Rossie. Hisatsune primarily putts with an Odyssey Black Series iX #9, but we have seen him recently with a TaylorMade TP Collection SOTO, so there could be potential that the Damascus Milled Rossie could end up in the bag.

Everyone wants to be Cameron Young right now. We’ve had Justin Thomas and Tom Hoge both game the Scotty Cameron 9.5R prototype. Well, for the PGA Championship, Brooks Koepka nearly joined that list after requesting the same style of putter, with the full-length alignment line. But the Scotty Cameron reps took the request a step further and made one specially for Koepka with a Teryllium insert, similar to one in his previous Newport 2 gamers. The reason why this one didn’t go into play, though? Because it was too heavy.

Harry Hall was the third-best putter on Tour last year, so when Bettinardi made him a custom proto, you know it was going to be good. The custom BB28 blade features VDF face milling, a custom-welded single-bend shaft, and the owner’s initials – HH – on the sole of the putter. Hall, who usually games an Odyssey O-Works #7 W, has dabbled with a TaylorMade Spider Tour X already this year. Maybe there’s a chance this Bettinardi might make his bag.

Honestly, this one doesn’t need a description. It’s Kieth Mitchell’s custom Scotty Cameron Napa. One Scotty Cameron face stamp, two Scotty Dogs, two Scotty Cameron 7-Point Crowns and one Circle T. That is all. Oh, except for the Cashmere Cameron headcover.

Finally, and just for fun, how about we pour one out for this TaylorMade Spider Tour X made for Scottie Scheffler in its new torched finish. It’s unlikely we’ll see a putter change anytime soon from the best golfer in the world. In fact, he hit just two putts with it on the Harbour Town practice before going back to his trusty gamer.

Whats in the Bag

Patrick Reed WITB 2026 (May)

Published

2 weeks ago

May 18, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

Driver: Titleist GT3 (9 degrees) Buy here.
Shaft: Aldila Rogue Silver 130 M.S.I. 70 TX

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi35 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 7 X

7-wood: TaylorMade Qi35 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Blue 8 X

Irons: Grindworks PR-202 (4), Grindworks PR-101A (5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: Cleveland RTX6 Tour Rack (52-10 Mid), Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (56-08M), SM11 (60-04T)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Scotty Cameron Tour Rat 1.5 Tour Prototype

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Grips: Golf Pride MCC

See more photos of Patrick Reed’s clubs here.

Equipment

Which of Tiger’s major winning irons are your favorite? – GolfWRXers discuss

Published

2 weeks ago

May 18, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

In our forums, our members have been discussing their favorite major winning irons used by Tiger Woods. WRXer ‘golferdude54’ kicks off the thread saying:

“Mizuno MP 14/29. Titleist 681T. Nike Forged Blades. TaylorMade P7TW.

Among these irons that helped Tiger win 15 majors, which is your favorite in terms of looks?”

And our members have been naming their favorites and why in response.

Here are a couple of posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

SwingBlade: “I prefer the early blades he played and the more recent TM TW’s especially because after Tiger had his major behavioral setbacks, part of Nikes support payback was making Tiger play a Nike putter and cease using his beloved uniquely customized Scotty putter.”
ProjectX: “This (Nike Forged Blades) and there’s not even a close second.”

Entire Thread: “Which of Tiger’s major winning irons are your favorite? – GolfWRXers discuss”