Can wearable technology help improve your game?
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 Mcilroy 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
The main reason I was so interested in using Whoop was to give me information on how I sleep. I have always felt like I am a bad sleeper and this was a way of producing some clear statistics that would either prove or disprove how I felt.
As such, I opened myself up to the entire process and I did feel like Whoop could play a role in changing how I felt in my mind. There were times I felt I had slept badly but the data suggested otherwise, which made me feel a lot better. The app also gives a recovery percentage, which changed my mentality going into some work days.
The strap’s simplicity is a plus, too. Aside from tapping it to see how much battery is left, it is not distracting at all because the sensors just go about their
“WHOOP IS UNDOUBTEDLY A SMART PIECE OF KIT WITH A RAFT OF USEFUL PERFORMANCE FEATURES” Nick Bonfield, GM content editor
business behind the scenes. Then you can look at your stats at your own leisure on the app.
VERDICT
Whoop is a very smart piece of kit that looks great and doesn’t feel bulky or uncomfortable on your wrist. It delivers an incredible amount of data that alerts you to certain areas of your lifestyle while challenging you to improve.
Nick Bonfield
Content Editor
Age: 33
Handicap: 10
Golf: roughly once a month Exercise: run/work out three times a week
The two realms where it makes the biggest difference are sleep and exercise. I’ve always struggled with sleep, but having a daily score and being able to compare that to others in the Golf Monthly group has shown me it’s perhaps not as bad as I thought.
Plus, Sleep Coach functionality tells you how long you should spend in bed, when you should go to sleep and what your deficit is, and the comprehensive journal you fill out each morning can help you identify trends when it comes to sleep or lack of. With exercise, knowing how much strain your body is primed to take on gives you the impetus to push yourself further.
VERDICT
Whoop is undoubtedly a smart piece of kit with a raft of useful performance features, but moving
forward, I’m not sure what else it can offer that it hasn’t already. I’ve really enjoyed using it, but I think I’ve reached the ceiling.
Alex Narey
Contributor
Age: 46
Handicap: 13
Golf: once a week Exercise: cycling, dog walking
Historically I haven’t been a fan of fitness trackers; I think too many people wear them and assume that just because they are doing ‘more’, they are living a healthier lifestyle. So, there was a degree of scepticism.
The information recorded on Whoop is incredibly detailed, but you must work with it. Due to my own personal circumstances, I have received some alarming realities where I need to change my lifestyle. But over the coming months, with added focus on work-life balance, I am hoping to see notable improvements. My sleep recordings have been demoralising, but pretty much as I expected, while the sleep reminders are helpful.
The band itself is comfortable and unintrusive. I quite often take my watch off, especially when I am working, and I always take it off in the shower. But the Whoop is pretty much always on my wrist and doesn’t irritate in any way. My phone battery doesn’t seem to be affected too much, while the battery itself is long-lasting and charges quickly. The Whoop Live function is excellent.
VERDICT
It’s very impressive, with detailed feedback. The sleep analysis is particularly strong, and as a Strava user I was impressed it synced so smoothly with my workouts.