What you need to know
- HelloReal is now shipping its next-generation putter accessory for Meta Quest VR headsets.
- The putter features a real putting handle and weight and works with Quest 2 and Quest Pro controllers.
- It's the only putter accessory that supports all three major golf games on the Quest.
Back when the Wii was a thing, companies made accessories left and right that would add a tennis racket or a golf club to the end of the wand-like controller. In some cases, these helped make games feel more authentic, but they never really helped improve the Wii's sus motion controls.
Thankfully, systems like the Meta Quest 2 actually accurately track your movements, so now weird niche additions like the best Beat Saber accessories actually make sense. That brings me to the HelloReal Grip-to-putter VR club that works with all existing (and probably future) Quest headsets and controllers.
HelloReal isn't just making another crappy plastic putter attachment for your controllers. This thing is the real deal and uses an actual putter handle that adds realistic weight and grip to your VR golfing experience. It's $59 at the HelloReal website, and it's shipping now to early backers.
Get a real feel
When HelloReal offered me a chance to check the Grip-to-Putter, I was skeptical. I've tried a lot of VR accessories over the years and while some of them look cool or sound like they might add value, that feeling quickly wears off after just a few minutes.
But the Grip-to-Putter is different. As I said before, this one uses a real putter handle so it's super grippy and feels like you just grabbed a club from the minigolf shack. Minus all the germs, of course.
It's compatible with Quest 1, Quest 2, Quest Pro, and, presumably, Quest 3 when it lands in a few months. Best yet, it actually works with the left and right controllers, not just one or the other, giving this yet another leg up on most other golf club accessories on Amazon.
Your preferred controller slides into the mount up top, and the wrist straps slip into the slot at the bottom. You'll take those wrist straps and nestle them into the twisting handle, which can be turned to the left to tighten.
This ensures the Quest controller doesn't go anywhere when you swing the club, even if you land a perfect hole-in-one on a Par 3 in Golf+.
Loosening up the mechanism is as easy as pushing it down and rotating it to the right, then sliding the controller back whence it came.
But, surprisingly, the weight and feel of the putter isn't the best part. That award actually goes to the little grip trigger placed on the side of the putter handle. This is a 3D-printed part that's attached to a metal cable that pulls the controller's grip button via another 3D-printed part when you squeeze it.
The idea here, of course, is that you can get in your practice swings without actually hitting the best Quest 2 games like Walkabout Mini Golf. Then, when you're ready, you "grip to putt," as the very name of the product suggests.
In Walkabout, gripping makes your in-game putter solid and allows it to make contact with the ball. Otherwise, it's an ethereal club that swings around as you see fit and does no harm.
Games like Walkabout Mini Golf, Golf+, and the exVRience Golf game all work perfectly with it and have easy ways to adjust your in-game club so it feels 100% accurate to the HelloReal one in our hands. Plus, future updates to these games will have quick size presets for even easier adjustment.
It's always funny when something so relatively simple makes such a big impact on a game, and that's exactly what this HelloReal Grip-to-Putter does. It adds important weight to the club that makes it feel like you're swinging a real club, and it does it while still allowing you to press and hold the controller's grip button.
Serious VR golfers should absolutely pick one up, as it's the most full-featured club accessory on the market right now. I imagine we'll see a few copycats land on the market in no time, but it's hard to beat something that feels this legit.
