Virtual reality golf is becoming increasingly popular, allowing golf enthusiasts to play simulated rounds without leaving their homes. But using a regular VR controller to swing a virtual golf club has always left something to be desired in terms of realism. Enter the DeadEyeVR DriVR Elite – a VR golf club controller attachment that comes closer than ever before to simulating an actual golf swing.
I’m a huge fan of VR golf and I’ve played pretty much all of the popular VR golf games. Although playing with a VR controller is a lot of fun, it doesn’t come close to simulating a real golf swing, and nothing has improved my performance more than using a VR golf club controller attachment.
The DeadEyeVR DriVR Elite aims to come as close as possible to simulating the feel of swinging a real golf club. I’ve been testing it out for the last few weeks, and this review is going to cover my thoughts on the pros and cons of this VR golf club controller attachment.
Overview of the DeadEyeVR DriVR Elite
The DeadEyeVR DriVR Elite is a controller attachment specifically designed to be used with the Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest 3, and Meta Quest Pro controllers. It features a real golf club grip on one end, a carbon fiber shaft, and a molded holster on the other end to securely fasten your controller in place.
It has adjustable weights at the end of the handle to help you more closely simulate the weight and feel of a real golf club. In addition, it is considerably longer than many other golf club controller attachments, pushing the weight away from your hands, and making it feel much more like a golf club when swinging it.
Although there are plenty of other golf club controller attachments available, they mainly focus on providing an authentic golf club grip, without accurately simulating the weight and feel of swinging a real club. This is where the DeadEyeVR DriVR Elite shines, as it feels remarkably like swinging a real club.
I’d say it’s about 95% of the way to simulating the feel of swinging a real club. When I hold the DeadEyeVR DriVR Elite in one hand and a real golf club in my other hand, they feel extremely similar and respond in a similar way when I move them around. It’s not perfect, but it’s so much better than anything else I have tried.
DeadEyeVR DriVR Elite Video Review
If you’d like to see the DeadEyeVR DriVR Elite in action, you can check out my video review below.
Design And Build Quality
The DeadEyeVR DriVR Elite boasts a design that closely mimics a real golf club. Its overall build quality feels really good, with premium materials that feel sturdy, durable, and look great. The controller holder is thick and solid and there is no flex or wobble in it at all when put under strain, giving me confidence that it is going to be up to the job and carry minimal risk of failure.
I’ve tried about 7-8 other golf club controller attachments for Quest 2, and there have been several where I have not been happy with how securely the controller has been attached to the handle, and I have even experienced a partial failure of a golf club handle in the past.
It’s hugely important that a golf club controller attachment holds your controller securely and is built to last so that the risk of failure is as close to zero as possible. I’m delighted that the DeadEyeVR DriVR Elite has such a sturdy mechanism for securing the controller in place.
You will notice that the controller is mounted in an inverted position in the DeadEyeVR DriVR Elite, and this is certainly a change from controller attachments that I have tried in the past that were designed with the Quest 2 in mind. The problem that DeadEyeVR has had to contend with is that the Quest 3 controllers do not have tracking rings, but have the infrared tracking LEDs mounted in the face of the controller, and these must face upwards so they can be seen by the cameras mounted on the Quest 3.
As a result, if you try to use a golf club controller attachment that has been designed for the Quest 2 with a Quest 3 controller, the tracking performance will be unacceptably bad. DeadEyeVR’s solution works great, and the tracking performance is rock solid.
One drawback of this approach is that it makes it harder to switch between using the controller and swinging your club, as you need to turn the golf club handle around. Whilst this initially felt very awkward, and I thought it was going to be a dealbreaker, I got used to using it after about 2-3 days, and I now find it very easy and natural to use the controller to navigate menus and move around the course, and switch to hitting position to swing my club.
Adjustability And Weight
The handle of the DeadEyeVR DriVR Elite houses adjustable weights at one end allowing you to customize the weight distribution to your preferences to help it feel more like swinging your real golf clubs. Interestingly, it’s heavier than my real golf clubs, weighing in at 573 grams with the Quest 3 controller installed. For reference, my pitching wedge weighs about 452 grams, my 7 iron 430 grams and my driver weighs about 350 grams.
Although this may seem unusual, it’s very much intended, as it ensures that the weight distribution matches that of a real club. I’m pretty sure that the additional weight is to account for the fact that the mass is closer to your hands than when you are swinging a real club, so the additional weight is required to make it feel like you are swinging a real club.
It’s also a lot longer than many other golf club controller attachments. Whilst this helps to make the controller attachment feel more realistic, it will mean that you’ll need more space to use it than you do for some other controller attachments. Having said that, as long as you have a play space of at least 2m by 2m, and at least average height ceilings, you should have no difficulty using this at all.
Attaching Your Controller
The DeadEyeVR DriVR Elite has several different mechanisms to secure the controller in place. Firstly, there is a 3D-printed controller holder that you insert your controller into. This has rubberized pads on the inside which help to grip the controller and make it feel really secure. Secondly, the controller holder faces upwards meaning the controller can’t slip out when you are swinging it.
In addition, the DeadEyeVR DriVR Elite also makes use of the controller wrist strap to further secure the controller to the handle. There is a small hole in the bottom of the controller holder where you thread the wrist strap through and then the DeadEyeVR DriVR Elite has a hook and ratchet mechanism to secure the wrist band around the controller attachment. As a result, even if the controller holder failed, the wrist strap would still prevent your controller from being launched across your room.
Using The DeadEyeVR DriVR Elite VR Golf Club Controller Attachment
Whilst I have played almost every popular VR golf game, I almost exclusively play Golf+ currently, as it’s just so far ahead of the competition and has a huge variety of content. As a result, the vast majority of my testing was done with this game.
Setting up the DeadEyeVR DriVR Elite in Golf+ is pretty easy. Golf+ has a number of presets for popular VR golf club controller handles, including several from DeadEyeVR, but as of the time of this review, the DeadEyeVR DriVR Elite does not have a one-click setup.
Nevertheless, all you do is select “Custom” and virtually position your controller so that the position of your virtual controller on the virtual club matches the position of your real controller on your real controller attachment.
To calibrate your swing in Golf+, the game requires you to do three practice shots, swinging harder with each practice swing. The game then sets your shot power to ensure that when you swing hard in real life, your shots go an appropriate distance for the selected club.
Although I’ve used controller attachments with my Quest 2 over the last few years, since I got my Quest 3 at launch, I have been using the controller alone. Since switching to using the DeadEyeVR DriVR Elite, my shot distances have decreased a bit, and I think this is likely due to being able to swing a light controller much faster than I can swing the much heavier golf club controller attachment. I think it is also partly due to the lower launch angle that I am achieving with the controller attachment compared to using the controller.
Adjustment Period
I couldn’t wait to get started using the DeadEyeVR DriVR Elite as I thought that my game would improve immediately, but this wasn’t the case. There is such a big difference between using a controller alone and using a controller attachment that simulates a real golf club, that it actually took me a few days to adjust to the change.
Having put in over a hundred hours in Golf+ with Quest 3 without a controller attachment in the two months prior to getting the DeadEyeVR DriVR Elite, I had fine-tuned my shots to account for using the controller.
I definitely got much worse for the first 2-3 days using the DeadEyeVR DriVR Elite as I needed to get used to the different feel and weight of it, but I did start improving immediately, and within the first day of using it, I knew it was going to improve my game considerably. By the end of the first week I was performing at least as well as I did with the controller, and over the next 2 weeks, my performance got better and better.
I have much more control over my short game, judging power much more accurately when chipping and putting, and I have more control over the direction of my drives and long irons and considerably more consistency.
Can The DeadEyeVR DriVR Elite Help You Get Better At VR Golf?
Whilst I’m sure there are some people who can master VR golf using just a VR controller, I have no doubt that most people will play better in the long term by using a VR golf club controller attachment. My scores are improving steadily and I love that it makes VR golf feel so much more like the real game.
I have been out on the real course since I started using the DeadEyeVR DriVR Elite and it’s amazing how similar it feels hitting virtual golf shots to hitting balls in real life. Of course, there are differences – You don’t feel the impact of hitting a real ball, you don’t need to worry about clean contact with the ball in VR, and you don’t have to worry about your ball plugging, or playing out of a divot in VR.
Swinging the DeadEyeVR DriVR Elite feels about 95% similar to swinging my real clubs, but there is still a period of adjustment when you go out on the real course. I do think it has helped me in some ways to hit better shots in real life and have a better understanding of how to hit different shot types, but the overall experience is still some way short of using a true golf simulator or playing the real sport.
Pricing And Value
The DeadEyeVR DriVR Elite is a bit more expensive than most other golf club controller attachments. As of writing this article, it’s available from the DeadEyeVR website for £58, which is discounted from its normal price of £73. Whilst this is quite a lot to spend on a controller attachment, it’s so much better than most other controller attachments I’ve tried, and if you want to simulate real golf as accurately as possible in VR, then it is definitely worth spending the extra money.
I can confidently say that I have already got immense value from the DeadEyeVR DriVR Elite and I’m 100% sure that I’m going to be using this VR golf club controller attachment an awful lot over the next while.
Last Word
For VR golfing enthusiasts seeking greater realism and an authentic golf experience, the DeadEyeVR DriVR Elite attachment stands head and shoulders above competitors in terms of maximizing swing authenticity. Improved distance judgment and control should quickly lead to better in-game performance.
If you already own a Meta Quest 3, Quest 2, or Quest Pro and play golf games, this accessory earns my highest recommendation despite the premium pricing. Give your VR golf skills a boost by taking them to the clubhouse with the DeadEyeVR DriVR Elite. You can purchase the DeadEyeVR DriVR Elite from the DeadEyeVR website.