1) How do they work?
The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a free service that 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 $ 12000000000 GPS satellite network is designed for the U.S. Department of Defense in 1970 as a way to exact location of all objects on earth. The satellites of the GPS system used golfthe 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 position anywhere on earth. Your golf GPS unit receives signals from up to 12 satellites above the horizon to locate your position. The GPS golf then calculated with an astonishing precision, defines the distance between you and the objectives of the golf course.
2) YOUOFFICE OF COMPETITION?
The R & A and the U.S. Golf Association has sanctioned the use of distance measuring devices, including GPS-based applications. New decision 14-3/0.5 allows a committee for the use of distance measuring devices by Local Rule allowed. This applies to devices that measure distance only, with no other conditions that affect the game, a player such as wind or gradient can. 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 practitioner first golf USGA sanctioned event or use RCGA.
3) What do you say?
Golf GPS systems offer a wealth of information about a golfer. The simplest system away from its current location to the front, center and rear tender green. More advanced systems provide the shape of the green on your approach angles, distances, bunkers, water hazards and takeHazards. Some systems can monitor distances of up to 40 targets per hole. Dogleg distances are provided by some units. Distance from the site are provided by some perfect layup units. A view of the recent plane flying above the hole of the game is demonstrated by a system.
4) How exactly YOU are?
When considering the precision you need to consider the correctness of golf GPS system and the precision of the points in the database. Can be mapped to a professional course with an accuracy of + / -1yard. There are a number of factors affect the accuracy of GPS. But the most important factor is the number and position of the GPS satellites in the field. Ideally you want to distribute 5 or more satellites are in different directions. The more visible satellites, the higher is the accuracy of the fix. Most units have an accuracy of + / - 5YARDS, which is too vague for the average weekend golfer.
5) How can you improve your course?
By providing accurateFootage to various destinations in the hole you are playing then make an informed decision about what is the best choice. Let's say you play a hole, a dogleg left. The normal form is turned from left to right, and you can play for a draw. If you press the driver, you run the risk of going through the fairway on the right. With the information from the GPS golf available, you can now set a club that gives you confidence in the middle of the fairway with a shot straight in the greenery. TheirGPS 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.
