OptiShot is a great in-home simulation device. (OptiShot) 

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I got a chance to play Dancin'Dogg Golf's OptiShot on Thursday and really enjoyed it. It's a great in-home golf simulation alternative to the multi-thousand-dollar setups that you can find elsewhere.

OptiShot essentially is an infrared swing simulation that lets you "play" courses from your home.

All you do is connect a USB cord between the platform (photo above) and your computer, place the nerf ball on the platform, set a net a few feet in front of you and hack away.

You can play replications of multiple courses (including a replication Pebble Beach with an add-on package), hit balls on the range or just work on your putting.

Let's quickly run through what I liked.

Features

My favorite is how the gadget measures the purity of your ball-striking ability. There are two sets of lasers on the golf platform that measure tempo, speed, where on the club you made contact and what your angle was at contact point.

That feature alone is worth the price -- especially when I'm sitting at home all winter wondering how I'm going to hone my swing.

Enjoyability

This was the part that surprised me. I took OptiShot over to a friend's house, and we cracked some beverages and played for a couple of hours.

We both said if this was around in college, neither of us would have graduated. The courses are realistic, the lasers are accurate (if you make a bad swing, your ball is toast) and the putting is tough.

We played in his garage -- it was the only place that we could find ceilings tall enough to make a full swing -- and I shot a 43 for the nine holes that we played at a replication of Torrey Pines.

Setup

It took 15 minutes (at most) to get everything rolling. That's a big-time feature for something with so many moving parts.

Price 

At $399.95, it's not a cheap investment. But, like I stated earlier, compared to the thousands of dollars that you can spend on a real golf simulator, the value is terrific.

You can purchase OptiShot here.

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