MEET THE GOLFER BY SIMON REYNOLDS
Rinaldi Adiyandono GOLFER'S PROFILE
NATIONALITY Indonesian PLACE OF BIRTH Jakarta, Indonesia DATE OF BIRTH 10.11.1986 (27 years old) PREVIOUS NOTABLE / TOURNAMENT WINS AS AN AMATEUR: • Indonesian Faldo Series Championship U-21 Boys Champion 2007. • 2011 Sea Games Silver Medal list for Indonesia, Men’s team event. • 2012 PON 2 x Gold medallist: representing DKI Jakarta, Singles and Team Events.
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n 2013 Rinaldi Adiyandono announced his decision to turn professional after success as an amateur. His first year as a pro was an eye-opening experience for the 27-year-old golfer from Jakarta, finishing 23rd on the 2013 IPGA Order of Merit. We caught up with Rinaldi at the Indonesian Golf Challenge at Palm Hills Golf Club, an Indonesian Champions Tour event where he finished in T-26th earning Rp.3,200,000 in prize money. This year, Indonesia’s top golfers can look forward to
the Indonesian Champions Tour; 14 scheduled events with the Top 30 come the end of year players qualifying for the 'Road to the Indonesian Championship' finale, with Rp.500 million to play for, over four days of tournament. Are you confident about making the Top-30? I am feeling very confident, last year my target was to finish in the Top 10, turns out I just missed out on the Top 20 finishing in 23rd. This year I feel more confident as a player, and I am sure I will finish at least in the Top 20. 2013 was your first season as a professional golfer. How do you reflect on your first year as a pro overall? I thought the feeling of playing in tournaments was going to be the same, just as when I was an amateur. Turns out it feels very different. As a pro I often found myself thinking about my earnings, for example winning the money back or more that I had paid for the tournament entrance fee. As an amateur all I focussed on was the golf, no thoughts about money. What was you average driving distance for the 2013 season? 260 metres carry.
What was your GIR (Greens In Regulation) percentage for the 2013 season? As an amateur I had an impressive average of 65%. Unfortunately, my GIR figures last year were disappointing; between 35–40%. This is an area which needs to improved to allow me to score better in tournaments. What inspired you to take up the game of golf? My father inspired me to take up the game of golf, as he insisted in today’s world of business, golf is important with good client relations. I had more natural talent on the golf course than academically in the classroom. If you had not committed to becoming a professional golfer, what would Rinaldi Adiyandono be doing as a plan B today? I think I would have been an artist. I love drawing, I was never formally taught how to draw, but I feel, and people say, I have a natural flair for drawing. I recently drew the front cover for my friend’s album cover, he’s also a golfer, Alit Jiwandana. I also love playing guitar and singing. When I sing and draw it really feels like it comes from my heart. Sometimes even more so than when I play golf.
Alit Jiwanadana album artwork by Rinaldi Adiyandono
As a music lover, who are your favourite artists? I like the local group Maliq & The Essentials. For Western groups, I love Pharrell Williams, I think I may be his biggest fan. I’m also a huge fan of Kanye West. What are your targets as a golfer in 2014? I want to sharpen my short game. When I watch the PGA tour players on TV, and when I have played with the Asian Tour players in local events, the only noticeable difference between them and me is how they perform or scramble around the greens. There are many great ball strikers in Indonesia, but I think on average our short games still fall behind the leading professionals worldwide when saving pars.
GOLF INSIGHT BY JOHN RUSSELL
Golf Simulators vs. The Real Thing
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ith advances in technology, sophistication of electronic games and the imaging associated with them has improved greatly — one could say exponentially. Not only has technology improved, but the number of offerings by different providers has increased significantly. One only has to look at the number of mobile apps and computer games now on offer. Most games can be played on mobiles, tablets, computers, and through TV screens, but how realistic are these games compared with going into the field? Certainly combat games, where participants are beaten, stabbed, shot, burned, poisoned or blown up, have no resemblance to reality and definitely enjoyed more in the electronic medium than in real life — although an excursion to the real life scenario might chasten participants to engage in more humane and productive activities; such as golf. The modern day golf simulator requires more setting up than other games to be effective. After all, real golf clubs and balls are used. A typical simulator
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requires a room approximately 4 metres wide by 6 metres deep by 3.3 metres high. The system comprises a large screen capable of resisting ball impact, protective netting, synthetic grass for putting and cosmetics, hitting mats, speakers, hi-speed cameras, ball flight sensors, computer with software of golf course layouts and images with software to calculate ball flight data to project the ball flight path, and an LCD projector of over 3,000 lumens to cast the consolidated image on the screen. Now golfers can play up to 80 different courses — not only with friends in the simulator but link online with golfers in other countries to play a 'live' tournament. Simulation is amazingly realistic, even for putting. Five years ago I invited a friend from the US to comment on our Pebble Beach program’s accuracy. He had played Pebble Beach over 50 times and commented that the bounce and roll was exactly as he encountered on course. With highly accurate sensors to detect ball flight data, club head speed, path, orientation and so on, golf simulators also provide laboratory-like settings for
effective golf instruction and club fitting. Some well known Doppler radar sensors, such as Trackman and Flightscope can be used both indoors and outdoors. The upside for simulators is that they are convenient and one can switch modes immediately between playing on course, practicing, teaching, and club fitting. And no long car trips to the course which chew up a whole day. One big downside for simulators is cost — USD 20,000–40,000 depending on the system you choose. Unfortunately there is not an abundance of users over which the developers can amortise the cost of their R&D. However, there are no green fees to play on your own simulator and the cost per game can soon come down for enthusiastic players. The good news is that there is a trend towards specialisation and partnerships, where one company provides programs with the golf course mapping and imagery, while others specialise in ball flight sensors and associated software, and prices are going down.
GOLF SIMULATORS IN JAKARTA
PT Golfmax Indonesia — Bellagio Mall Kawasan Mega Kuningan Barat Kav. E4 G Floor Kuningan Timur, Setiabudi, Jakarta Selatan, 12950 | Phone: +62 21 3002 9858 Beerdy! Virtual Golf and Bar Mal Gandaria City, Lt G 17-18, South Jakarta, DKI Jakarta, Indonesia | Phone: +62 21 2900 7808 Golf Gallery (Driving Range) Pondok Indah Golf Course Jalan Metro Pondok Indah, Jakarta Selatan 12310, Indonesia | Phone: +62 21 769 4906 (hunting)
With a golf simulator you can’t smell the roses and enjoy a sunny walk in the park, but you can play on rainy days, and that counts for a lot lately.
Simulator or the real thing. On balance, I will take both.