Can wearable technology help improve your game?

INSTRUCTION - THE EDGE

Unless you have been living in a cave for the last year - or more likely just not watching any top-level professional golf - you will have seen more and more players wearing a new, swanky band on their wrists. Whoop is a revolutionary fitness tracker that measures strain, recovery, and sleep, and has been the must-have gadget for many of the world's best sportspeople to help give them that physical edge they need.

Whoop was the brainchild of Will Ahmed, a former captain of the Harvard men's varsity squash team, who first launched the product in 2012. Initial growth, with some fierce competition, was slow. But today, Whoop has grown into one of the most valuable fitness wearable set-ups in the world, and last year had a reported value of $3.6 billion following the launch of Whoop 4.0.

Leading players like Rory Mcllroy and Justin Thomas use the detailed recordings of Whoop, while Nick Watney, who was the first PGA Tour golfer to test positive for Covid, was alerted to carrying the virus by the heart and respiratory recording from his Whoop band.

Over the last six months, some members of the editorial team tried out Whoop to see how it could improve not just their golf but also their lifestyle. Could they see the benefits that have made Whoop such a success in the wearable technology market?

Sam Tremlett

Senior Staff Writer

Age: 28

Handicap: 5

Golf: A couple of times a month

Exercise: body workouts & yoga five times a week

"WHOOP IS UNDOUBTEDLY A SMART PIECE OF KIT WITH A RAFT OF USEFUL PERFORMANCE FEATURES" Nick Bonfield, GM content editor