Over the years, we have seen the impact that technology has had on different sectors of our society and sports has not been left behind. The induction of virtual reality has not just opened the gates of sports to fans past stadiums and gyms, it has also provided ways for people to enjoy, practice and improve their skills in the comfort of their homes.
One of those sports is golf. Now, for those of you who’ve played or watched the beautiful sport being played, you know that it takes a lot of skill and discipline. Some are lucky enough to start at a young age while others later in life, but both still need constant practice and this is where surprisingly Virtual Reality comes in.
Tehillah Mwangada Kachila, a 21 year old is set to revolutionize sports using VR technology and golf has not been left behind. I spoke to the CEO and Founder of Extant Interactive to find out why tech in sports is important and how it’s helping de-mystify golf – just as the Safaricom Golf Tour is doing.
So what exactly do you do?
We are essentially a game developer but we deal with experiential and interactive company media for example the VR stand we have at the Safaricom Golf Tour.
We also develop concepts for other people and companies who want their experiental centres set up
Why did you decide to start this venture?
I originally intended to have a gaming developing company in 2016, I was in high school back then and Andrew Kagia and a bunch of other people had come up with really cool games at the time and that really inspired me to come up with games of our own and I had noticed that the games they were releasing weren’t that good so I thought why not invest in writing proper stories for Kenyan games?
So I started writing scripts for these Kenyan games. We went into hibernation for a while and back in 2020 after I had learnt how to use Unity and make the games myself and I met with my partners in 2021 and we re-registered the company and here we are.
Apart from golf, what other games do you feature with the Virtual Reality?
With VR, the possibilities are endless. We can feature anything from boxing to martial arts; even exercise and therapy. There is an app for everything, there is a game for everything and it’s exciting to see how technology is being intertwined so well with sports nowadays.
This was a very interesting opportunity for us and we were very exciting to have Safaricom contact us to be part of this program especially seeing how the kids love it.
Really? Tell me more.
So we have the stand set up strategically at the golf course and anyone can come and try out. You can start by swinging a club or even play a match and most of those who have visited the stand so far are the kids between 12-16 years.
They really enjoy the idea of the realism and they always come in groups so it’s a super fun affair. It’s also challenging for me to see how excited they get because I want to know more and play more golf to understand the game and make it better not just for the kids but for the adults as well.
Can you foretell an uptake of golf in real life from the VR experience?
Definitely.
I can give an example of myself. The first time I tried golf, the caddie told me I had stiff hips and thus I couldn’t swing as well as I should have so I went home and practiced with the VR head set and after a lot of practice, I was actually able to make a few shots on the actual course.
I believe VR will help a lot in de-mystifying the sport since in VR it’s a lot easier, you can re-try as much as possible and it also gives you the confidence with the practice swings and since Virtual Reality is as close to the real thing, eventually you get good at it.
