10 Things You Need to Know About Golf GPS Systems
1) HOW DO THEY WORK? The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a free service that is owned and operated by the U.
S.
Government and is always available.
GPS is a worldwide radio-navigation system formed from a constellation of 24 satellites and their ground stations.
The $12 billion GPS satellite network was developed by the United States Department of Defense in the 1970's as a way to get precise locations of any object on the Earth.
The satellites used by the Golf GPS Systems are the same satellites used by the U.
S Military.
Twenty-four hours a day, these satellites continuously broadcast high-frequency radio signals so that anyone with a GPS receiver can determine their location anywhere on the Earth.
Your Golf GPS receives these signals simultaneously from as many as 12 satellites above the horizon to pinpoint your position.
The Golf GPS then calculates, with amazing accuracy, the distance between you and the targets defined on your golf course.
2) ARE THEY LEGAL FOR COMPETITION? The R&A and the U.
S.
Golf Association have sanctioned the use of distance measuring devices, including GPS based systems.
New decision 14-3/0.
5 allows a committee to permit the use of distance measuring devices by Local Rule.
This applies to devices that measure distance only, not any other conditions that may affect a player's game such as wind or gradient.
In the absence of such a Local Rule, the use of a distance measuring device remains contrary to the Rules.
Unless a local rule is adopted, you should check with your golf professional prior to use in a USGA or RCGA sanctioned event.
3) WHAT INFORMATION DO THEY GIVE YOU? Golf GPS systems provide a wealth of information to a golfer.
The most basic system will provide distance from your current position to the front, center and to the back of the green.
More advanced systems will provide the shape of the green from your approach angle, distances to bunkers, water hazards and to carry those hazards.
Some systems can track distances to as many as 40 targets per hole.
Distances to doglegs are provided by some units.
Distance to the perfect layup spot are provided by some units.
An actual aerial fly over of the hole in play is proved by one system.
4) HOW ACCURATE ARE THEY? When considering accuracy you have to take into account the accuracy of the Golf GPS system and the accuracy of the points in the database.
A professionally mapped course can have an accuracy of +/- 1yard.
There are a number of factors that affect GPS accuracy.
However the most important factor is the number and position of the GPS satellites in range.
Ideally you want 5 or more satellites spread around in different directions.
The more satellites visible the higher the accuracy of the fix.
Most units are accurate to +/- 5yards, which is plenty accurate enough for the average weekend golfer.
5) HOW CAN YOU USE IT TO IMPROVE YOUR COURSE MANAGEMENT? By providing you with accurate yardages to various targets on the hole in play you can then make an informed decision on what your best option is.
Let's say you are playing a hole that is a dogleg to the left.
Your normal shot shape is left to right, and you are unable to play a draw.
If you hit your driver you run the risk of going through the fairway to the right.
With the information provided by your golf GPS you can pick a club that puts you safely in the middle of the fairway with a straight shot into the green.
Your GPS system helps you make smarter decision on the course.
6) DOES IT HELP WITH CLUB SELECTION? The simple answer is Yes! After playing a few rounds with a golf GPS system you will have a very good idea of how far you can hit each club in your bag.
Its simple all you do is mark the spot where you are before each shot.
Then you take your shot and proceed to where your ball lands and mark that spot.
You are then given the distance your ball traveled.
After a few rounds you will have a pretty good idea of your capabilities with each club.
However there are some units that do keep track of each shot you mark and the club you used, (you do have to input the club used).
With these units when you approach your ball you are given the yardage remaining to the hole and based on that yardage you are given a club selection.
This club selection is based on your average shot distance with that club.
7) SOME CAN TRACK STATISTICS FOR ANALYSIS LATER.
With some golf GPS systems you are given the ability to track statistics.
These statistics can be very helpful in your pursuit to lower your handicap.
The stats that can be tracked are Fairways hit, greens in regulation, sand saves, up and downs, putts per hole and total putts pre round.
With these statistics you can keep track of your progress and see which areas of your game need some work.
Armed with this information you are better able to manage your practice time.
8) HOW MANY COURSES ARE AVAILABLE? As golf GPS systems are becoming more and more popular, the selection of available course maps is growing very quickly.
Depending on which system your go with the difference in the number of maps available can be quite large.
In my research Sky Golf and GolfLogix have the largest selection of courses available.
Their data bases have over 24,000 courses available worldwide.
Sonocaddie's data base is over 22,000 courses.
Callaway uPro has a data base of 18,000 courses.
The Garmin G5 Approach now has a little over 10,000 course maps in their data base.
These are the largest course data bases available with others ranging from 5000 to 10,000.
But one golf GPS system comes pre-loaded with 20,000 courses from North America, that unit is the Golf Buddy! 9) SOME REQUIRE A MEMBERSHIP SOME DO NOT.
Some golf GPS systems do require you to purchase an annual membership, while others make you pay a onetime fee and some don't require any annual fees but they charge for course map downloads and still others have on extra charges at all.
Some companies don't charge for their basic system that just provides the very basic yardages, but they do charge a fee for their more graphic course maps.
Why is there such a huge discrepancy? Some say that charging an annual fee ensures course maps are kept up to date.
That maybe, but there are companies that give you access to their whole data base at no charge.
In the end it comes down to whether or not you are comfortable with paying the extra fees, so do your research.
10) WHAT IF MY COURSE IS NOT IN ANY DATA BASE? This is a very legitimate question.
What if your course isn't in any data base yet? Well most companies try to help out in this situation by allowing you to submit your course for mapping.
The catch here is some companies are much faster at adding the requested course than others.
Usually though it can take as little as one week to as long as a couple of months depending on the back log the company has.
But there is another way to get your course mapped.
Some golf GPS systems offer a feature where you can map the course yourself.
It's actually very simple to do and takes about 1 to 2 minutes per hole, and you will have the distances to the front the middle and to the back of each green.
The down side is these are the only measurements you will have, but this is better than nothing at all.
S.
Government and is always available.
GPS is a worldwide radio-navigation system formed from a constellation of 24 satellites and their ground stations.
The $12 billion GPS satellite network was developed by the United States Department of Defense in the 1970's as a way to get precise locations of any object on the Earth.
The satellites used by the Golf GPS Systems are the same satellites used by the U.
S Military.
Twenty-four hours a day, these satellites continuously broadcast high-frequency radio signals so that anyone with a GPS receiver can determine their location anywhere on the Earth.
Your Golf GPS receives these signals simultaneously from as many as 12 satellites above the horizon to pinpoint your position.
The Golf GPS then calculates, with amazing accuracy, the distance between you and the targets defined on your golf course.
2) ARE THEY LEGAL FOR COMPETITION? The R&A and the U.
S.
Golf Association have sanctioned the use of distance measuring devices, including GPS based systems.
New decision 14-3/0.
5 allows a committee to permit the use of distance measuring devices by Local Rule.
This applies to devices that measure distance only, not any other conditions that may affect a player's game such as wind or gradient.
In the absence of such a Local Rule, the use of a distance measuring device remains contrary to the Rules.
Unless a local rule is adopted, you should check with your golf professional prior to use in a USGA or RCGA sanctioned event.
3) WHAT INFORMATION DO THEY GIVE YOU? Golf GPS systems provide a wealth of information to a golfer.
The most basic system will provide distance from your current position to the front, center and to the back of the green.
More advanced systems will provide the shape of the green from your approach angle, distances to bunkers, water hazards and to carry those hazards.
Some systems can track distances to as many as 40 targets per hole.
Distances to doglegs are provided by some units.
Distance to the perfect layup spot are provided by some units.
An actual aerial fly over of the hole in play is proved by one system.
4) HOW ACCURATE ARE THEY? When considering accuracy you have to take into account the accuracy of the Golf GPS system and the accuracy of the points in the database.
A professionally mapped course can have an accuracy of +/- 1yard.
There are a number of factors that affect GPS accuracy.
However the most important factor is the number and position of the GPS satellites in range.
Ideally you want 5 or more satellites spread around in different directions.
The more satellites visible the higher the accuracy of the fix.
Most units are accurate to +/- 5yards, which is plenty accurate enough for the average weekend golfer.
5) HOW CAN YOU USE IT TO IMPROVE YOUR COURSE MANAGEMENT? By providing you with accurate yardages to various targets on the hole in play you can then make an informed decision on what your best option is.
Let's say you are playing a hole that is a dogleg to the left.
Your normal shot shape is left to right, and you are unable to play a draw.
If you hit your driver you run the risk of going through the fairway to the right.
With the information provided by your golf GPS you can pick a club that puts you safely in the middle of the fairway with a straight shot into the green.
Your GPS system helps you make smarter decision on the course.
6) DOES IT HELP WITH CLUB SELECTION? The simple answer is Yes! After playing a few rounds with a golf GPS system you will have a very good idea of how far you can hit each club in your bag.
Its simple all you do is mark the spot where you are before each shot.
Then you take your shot and proceed to where your ball lands and mark that spot.
You are then given the distance your ball traveled.
After a few rounds you will have a pretty good idea of your capabilities with each club.
However there are some units that do keep track of each shot you mark and the club you used, (you do have to input the club used).
With these units when you approach your ball you are given the yardage remaining to the hole and based on that yardage you are given a club selection.
This club selection is based on your average shot distance with that club.
7) SOME CAN TRACK STATISTICS FOR ANALYSIS LATER.
With some golf GPS systems you are given the ability to track statistics.
These statistics can be very helpful in your pursuit to lower your handicap.
The stats that can be tracked are Fairways hit, greens in regulation, sand saves, up and downs, putts per hole and total putts pre round.
With these statistics you can keep track of your progress and see which areas of your game need some work.
Armed with this information you are better able to manage your practice time.
8) HOW MANY COURSES ARE AVAILABLE? As golf GPS systems are becoming more and more popular, the selection of available course maps is growing very quickly.
Depending on which system your go with the difference in the number of maps available can be quite large.
In my research Sky Golf and GolfLogix have the largest selection of courses available.
Their data bases have over 24,000 courses available worldwide.
Sonocaddie's data base is over 22,000 courses.
Callaway uPro has a data base of 18,000 courses.
The Garmin G5 Approach now has a little over 10,000 course maps in their data base.
These are the largest course data bases available with others ranging from 5000 to 10,000.
But one golf GPS system comes pre-loaded with 20,000 courses from North America, that unit is the Golf Buddy! 9) SOME REQUIRE A MEMBERSHIP SOME DO NOT.
Some golf GPS systems do require you to purchase an annual membership, while others make you pay a onetime fee and some don't require any annual fees but they charge for course map downloads and still others have on extra charges at all.
Some companies don't charge for their basic system that just provides the very basic yardages, but they do charge a fee for their more graphic course maps.
Why is there such a huge discrepancy? Some say that charging an annual fee ensures course maps are kept up to date.
That maybe, but there are companies that give you access to their whole data base at no charge.
In the end it comes down to whether or not you are comfortable with paying the extra fees, so do your research.
10) WHAT IF MY COURSE IS NOT IN ANY DATA BASE? This is a very legitimate question.
What if your course isn't in any data base yet? Well most companies try to help out in this situation by allowing you to submit your course for mapping.
The catch here is some companies are much faster at adding the requested course than others.
Usually though it can take as little as one week to as long as a couple of months depending on the back log the company has.
But there is another way to get your course mapped.
Some golf GPS systems offer a feature where you can map the course yourself.
It's actually very simple to do and takes about 1 to 2 minutes per hole, and you will have the distances to the front the middle and to the back of each green.
The down side is these are the only measurements you will have, but this is better than nothing at all.
