Tuesday, August 13, 2002
High-Tech Golf Assistant
Posted by Brad Adrian in "SOFTWARE" @ 11:01 PM
http://www.handango.com/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=311&platformId=2&productType=2&catalog=0&sectionId=0&productId=32437
If two of your passions happen to be Pocket PCs (of course!) and golf, then maybe you should take a look at the latest version of StarCaddy from LinksPoint. I've seen various golf and scorecard applications for the Pocket PC, but this one is cool enough to make me want to polish up the ol' clubs and hit the courses again.
There are two things that make this golf application powerful. First, it is optimized for use with any GPS module (one model is available through the StarCaddy site). As you golf, it tracks your exact location and provides information like distance to the pin and suggested club to use. Second, it draws from a database of hundreds of digital maps of golf courses throughout the U.S. I was a bit skeptical of how exstensive the database is, but I was able to locate a map of every course I could think of (and a few I hadn't thought of).
There is a free demo available, and once you buy StarCaddy ($49.95), the first course map is free. After that, the maps go for about $20 apiece. That may seem a bit pricey to some people, but compared to some greens fees out there, you may not think that's too bad. And, while LinksPoint makes no guarantees that StarCaddy's club recommendations will actually lower your golf score, I had to chuckle when I saw this comment in the product description:
"According to an informal survey of golf pros, the average golfer loses as many as six strokes per round to incorrect club selection." If you've ever seen the way I golf, you would realize that, based upon this comment, I am WAY above average!
If two of your passions happen to be Pocket PCs (of course!) and golf, then maybe you should take a look at the latest version of StarCaddy from LinksPoint. I've seen various golf and scorecard applications for the Pocket PC, but this one is cool enough to make me want to polish up the ol' clubs and hit the courses again.
There are two things that make this golf application powerful. First, it is optimized for use with any GPS module (one model is available through the StarCaddy site). As you golf, it tracks your exact location and provides information like distance to the pin and suggested club to use. Second, it draws from a database of hundreds of digital maps of golf courses throughout the U.S. I was a bit skeptical of how exstensive the database is, but I was able to locate a map of every course I could think of (and a few I hadn't thought of).
There is a free demo available, and once you buy StarCaddy ($49.95), the first course map is free. After that, the maps go for about $20 apiece. That may seem a bit pricey to some people, but compared to some greens fees out there, you may not think that's too bad. And, while LinksPoint makes no guarantees that StarCaddy's club recommendations will actually lower your golf score, I had to chuckle when I saw this comment in the product description:
"According to an informal survey of golf pros, the average golfer loses as many as six strokes per round to incorrect club selection." If you've ever seen the way I golf, you would realize that, based upon this comment, I am WAY above average!
