Most new sim platforms compete on graphics and ball flight. Infinite Tees, which is on sale now in Early Access/Beta, is betting on courses. Its Superintendent tool runs in a web browser and, in the company's words, "transforms real-world LiDAR data into playable courses — no game dev experience required."
What LiDAR brings
LiDAR is laser-measured elevation data. In the United States, the USGS 3D Elevation Program publishes lidar-derived terrain for much of the country, and says all 3DEP products are free of charge and without use restrictions. A course designer who starts from that data gets the property's real contours, such as fairway slopes and green complexes, instead of sculpting them by eye. Grass, bunkers, trees and other surface detail still have to be built on top.
Who builds the courses
Infinite Tees' library is community-built. The company says new courses arrive "regularly as more designers learn the tools," and it includes tutorials. That makes the library open-ended, but it also means quality and pace depend on volunteer designers rather than a studio schedule. Rights to model a real course are a separate question, and the vendor pages we read do not address it.
