U.S. patent application number 16/216597 was filed with the patent office on 2019-12-12 for golf player aid with stroke result forecasting.
The applicant listed for this patent is GOODWYN GEORGE REEVES. Invention is credited to GOODWYN GEORGE REEVES.
Application Number | 20190374845 16/216597 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 32070247 |
Filed Date | 2019-12-12 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20190374845 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
REEVES; GOODWYN GEORGE |
December 12, 2019 |
GOLF PLAYER AID WITH STROKE RESULT FORECASTING
Abstract
A method of using a computing device to forecast the result of a
golf stroke and a portable handheld device for collecting and
displaying golf round data are provided. The data collected for
each stroke includes the location, time, and club used and the
resulting ball position achieved" Before each drive or approach
shot player skill level, course layout information, and player
location on the course are used together with the club selected by
the player to forecast the result of the next stroke. Putt break
prediction information is provided before each putt. Information
that a stroke has been taken and which dub was used can be entered
manually or sensed automatically from telemetry equipped clubs.
Inventors: |
REEVES; GOODWYN GEORGE;
(RALEIGH, NC) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
REEVES; GOODWYN GEORGE |
RALEIGH |
NC |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
32070247 |
Appl. No.: |
16/216597 |
Filed: |
December 11, 2018 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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15489481 |
Apr 17, 2017 |
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16216597 |
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11548323 |
Oct 11, 2006 |
9656147 |
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15489481 |
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09739503 |
Dec 19, 2000 |
7121962 |
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11548323 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 2102/32 20151001;
A63B 71/0669 20130101; A63B 71/0619 20130101; A63B 2220/12
20130101; A63B 2225/20 20130101; A63B 2071/0691 20130101; A63B
71/0622 20130101; A63B 71/0616 20130101; A63B 2225/50 20130101;
A63B 2220/50 20130101; A63B 2220/20 20130101; A63B 69/36 20130101;
A63B 2220/13 20130101 |
International
Class: |
A63B 71/06 20060101
A63B071/06; A63B 69/36 20060101 A63B069/36 |
Claims
1. A method of using a computing device to forecast the result of a
golf stroke, the method comprising: storing performance data in a
memory; receiving an input indicative of a selected club;
determining a range or probable outcomes of a golf stroke based on
the performance data stored in memory and the selected club; and
displaying the range of probable outcomes to the player on a
display connected to the computing device.
2. A method of using a computing device to forecast the result of a
golf stroke, the method comprising: storing golf course putting
green data in a memory; determining a player's current location on
a current golf hole; determining an outcome of a golf putting
stroke based on the golf course putting green data stored in memory
and the player's current location; and displaying the outcome to
the player on a display connected to the computing device.
3. A golf aid comprising: memory for storing performance data; a
processor to determine a selected club and to determine a range of
probable outcomes of a golf stroke based on the selected club and
the performance data stored in memory; and a display to display the
range of probable outcomes of the golf stroke.
4. A golf aid comprising: memory for storing golf course putting
green data; a processor to determine a player's current location on
a golf hole and to determine an outcome of a golf putting stroke
based on the player's current location and the golf course putting
green data stored in memory; and a display to display the outcome
of the golf putting stroke.
Description
PRIORITY CLAIMS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 15/489,481, filed Apr. 17, 2017, which is a
continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/548,323 filed
Oct. 11, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,656,147, which is a
continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/739,503
filed Dec. 19, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,121,962. The entire
contents of each of the above applications are incorporated herein
by reference in entirety.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention relates to the game of golf, and more
particularly to a player aid device which predicts the likely
result of the next non-putting stroke with a chosen club or the
likely break of the next putt.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Golfers playing a game of golf try to maintain a consistent
swing and adjust the distance the ball travels by choosing the
correct club. They desire to choose the correct club to advance the
ball toward the cup on a particular green without overshooting the
green or putting the ball into a hazard area such as water, trees
or a sand bunker. In order to accomplish this, they need to know
their present distance from the green and the expected result of
applying their personal playing skill to each of the clubs they
carry. They typically use their estimate of distances and
recollection of past performance to choose a club which they think
will safely advance the ball. Players often want to choose a club
which limits the distance the ball will travel to keep it on the
near side of a course hazard. Distances are not easy to estimate
accurately and players sometimes choose a club which drives the
ball too far and puts it beyond the target green or into a course
hazard.
[0004] Accuracy is also not easy to estimate from memory. Players
sometimes attempt to advance the ball to a position between course
hazards when in reality their skill level makes a successful
outcome unlikely. An important function of professional golf
caddies is to offer players distance and game strategy advice to
aid these distance and accuracy decisions. Players also desire to
play continuously without being delayed by unusual slow players
ahead of them on the course.
[0005] A previous golf round data system in U.S. Pat. No. 5,740,077
teaches a system which efficiently gives course distance
information, collects shot accuracy and distance data with each of
the player's clubs, paces play to discourage slow play, and
displays performance data after the round is completed. It depends
upon the player's memory of his past performance and skill to
choose the correct club while playing. The previous golf round data
system also needs some local external computer capability to load
in course data before play, receive and process round data after
play, and produce skill and performance information for the player.
The golf round data system in U.S. Pat. No. 5,740,077 uses a
special purpose unit which has no other function. It also requires
the player to press a button to indicate that each stroke has been
taken and data should be recorded. This earlier system does not let
the player specify the intended direction of the next stroke. The
prior art does not reveal any prediction of the likely path of the
ball following a non-putting stroke. It also does not reveal any
forecasting of putt break left or right from a straight line
extending from the player to the cup.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] It is the object of the present invention to provide an
improved golf player aid system which predicts the result of the
next non-putting stroke based upon the player's club choice and
skill level. It also provides information on the left or right
break of the next putt. Recent improvements in cellular telephones,
the global positioning system, and graphical display are
employed.
[0007] This new system can use a graphical display to show the
player the probable distance and accuracy result of a stroke to be
taken using a selected club and present skill level. The display
shows the current hole being played, the current ball position, the
intended direction of the next stroke, and the probable result area
within which the ball can be expected to lie after a stroke taken
with the selected club. If a course hazard is within the probable
result area the player can adjust club selection or intended
direction to obtain a more favorable result. As play on a hole
progresses the display changes to show the features of the hole
between the player's present position and the objective even if the
player is outside the fairway. After reaching the green the display
can aid putting by showing the forces tending to make the ball
break from a straight line to the cup. It can also display the
approximate putt break distance and direction thus enabling the
player to compensate his putt aim point.
[0008] This invention also allows course layout information and
past player performance data to be loaded into the hand-held unit
via a cellular telephone call. The results of past rounds can also
be shown directly on the graphical display. These features permit
this new golf round data system to be used without access to a
separate local computer. The combination with cellular telephone
permits a hand-held unit with utility beyond the golf game. Since
cellular phones will soon be required to have location capability
to facilitate emergency calls it is relatively easy to include golf
round data collection features in a hand-held cellular
telephone.
[0009] The system also can automatically detect strokes taken and
clubs used to collect round data without the player having to
remember to do anything to make it happen. Each of a player's clubs
can be equipped to emit a signal when they are used to stroke a
ball and the new golf round data system hand-held unit receives,
interprets and registers these signals. The player would still be
responsible for entering penalty strokes since they do not have a
club physically striking a ball. The round data collected can be
used to update the skill database for a player to improve the
accuracy of stroke result predictions in future rounds of play.
[0010] A further feature of the new system is that after the round
is complete the data can be uploaded to the player's unique file
area on the Internet. This permits the player to access his or her
golfing data and analyses of it from any Internet access point.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 is a diagram of a cellular phone handset with graphic
golf round data capability.
[0012] FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of the components of a
cellular phone handset with graphic golf round data capability.
[0013] FIG. 3a is diagram of a telemetry equipped golf club.
[0014] FIG. 3b is a schematic block diagram of components of a
radio telemetry unit.
[0015] FIG. 3c is a diagram of a passive telemetry unit cross
section.
[0016] FIG. 3d is a schematic block diagram of components of a
built-in radio telemetry unit.
[0017] FIG. 4a is a diagram of a graphic display prior to a second
stroke on a hole.
[0018] FIG. 4b is a diagram of a graphic display prior to a
putt.
[0019] FIG. 5 is a diagram of a souvenir map of a course and
round.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0020] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a cellular phone handset
with a graphic golf round data capability. The outer case 1 is of
the type typical of cellular handsets. It is lightweight, breakage
resistant, and resistant to environmental effects. The antenna 2
converts cellular and radio location radio waves into electrical
signals for processing by circuits inside the case 1. The antenna 2
also converts cellular phone signals into radio waves when the
handset is transmitting. Speaker 3 and microphone 4 apertures in
the case allow sound out and in. Contacts 5 on the outside of the
case permit battery charging and serial data communication with
other data handling devices. A conventional telephone keypad 6 is
provided for entering telephone numbers. The send button 7 enables
telephone numbers entered to be connected. The end button 8 is used
to end calls and turn power on or off. The menu button 9 lets the
user call up a main menu to select among the available operating
modes of the handset. These modes can include phone, email, web,
golf, GPS, golf/phone, and GPS/phone. These particular labels
assume that the radio location system used is the Global
Positioning System. The cursor button 10 allows the user to
increment the cursor from one item to the next on the display 11.
The increase button 12 lets the user increase the value of a cursor
selected item and the decrease button 13 lets the user decrease the
selected item. The ok button 14 allows the user to enter data and
activate the chosen items and values displayed. Display 11 is shown
as a standard 320 pixel by 240 pixel unit oriented 240 wide by 320
high.
[0021] The alphanumeric information for the user is along the edges
of the display 11. The mode display 15 shows the current operating
mode. In the example shown in FIG. 1 the mode is "PLAY GOLF". The
identifying initials of the current user are shown at 16. The hole
being played is shown at 17. The number at 18 is the minutes
remaining to complete the present hole if the players are to
maintain a course management prescribed schedule of play. The yards
19 from the player's present position 31 to the central area of the
green 25 is displayed. The club 20 the player intends to use for
the next stroke is shown. The number of strokes 21 already used on
the hole is displayed.
[0022] The central portion of display 11 shows a graphical
representation of the hole being played. Items shown are the tee
box 22, the fairway boundary indicated by a dashed line 23, the
putting green boundary indicated by a solid line 24, the location
of the central portion of the green indicated by the plus mark 25,
bunkers indicated by stippled regions 26, standing waters hazards
indicated by the dashed area 27, flowing water hazard indicated by
multiple lines 28, trees 29, out of bounds regions indicated by
crosshatched area 30, the player's present position indicated by
the x 31, the intended direction for the next stroke shown by the
long-short dashed line 32, and the probable region the ball will
land is shown by the dotted oval 33.
[0023] FIG. 2 shows a schematic block diagram of the operating
components of the cellular telephone handset with graphic golf
round data capability. The microprocessor 34 which can be any of
several widely known and available integrated circuits executes
instructions from the program memory 41, receives and transmits
data, and manages the overall operation of the handset. The antenna
2 converts cellular telephone and radiolocation radio waves into
electrical signals for the radio location receiver 35 and the
cellular telephone transceiver 36. The radiolocation receiver 35
can be made from commercially available chip sets which process
signals from the Global Positioning System; it could also be some
other radio location receiver such as one based upon sensing the
time delays to send signals between the handset and each of two
different cellular towers.
[0024] The microphone 37 converts speech and other sounds into
electrical signals which are amplified and coupled to the telephone
transceiver 36 and the microprocessor 34. A/D converter 38
digitizes the analog signals and passes the digitized
representation of the sound information to the microprocessor 34.
The loudspeaker 40 is connected to the cellular telephone
transceiver 36 to let the user hear phone messages and through O/A
converter 39 to allow microprocessor 34 generated audible signals
to the user. The D/A converter 39 converts digital signals from the
microprocessor 34 into analog signals to drive the loudspeaker
subsystem 40 which would typically contain a power amplifier and an
electrical to acoustic transducer.
[0025] The program memory 41 retains the program instructions and
would preferably be a non-volatile type such as flash memory,
EPROM, EEPROM or battery backed RAM. The telephone 1.0 memory 42 is
also non-volatile and retains telephone number, serial number and
account information necessary for the cellular system to recognize
and connect to a particular handset. In practice memories 41 and 42
could in fact be combined within a single integrated circuit.
Course data memory 43 retains golf course layout information used
to generate graphical displays and alphanumeric data displays as a
round of golf is played. The player data memory 44 retains
information about one or more players' skill levels. This
information is accumulated from previous rounds played by each user
and loaded into the player data memory 44 prior to starting a round
of play. The round data memory 45 retains data for all strokes
taken by one or more players during a round of play. The stroke
data for each stroke includes the location of the stroke, the club
used, the hole being played, the time of the stroke, and the
identity of the player making the stroke. The RAM random access
memory 46 is the usual utility memory for variables and
computations common to systems with microprocessors.
[0026] The key switches 47 are activated by the user operated
buttons to allow user data inputs to the system. The data transfer
interface 48 permits the handset to exchange data with one or more
computers which retain the required databases. The interface could
for example be a simple RS-232 standard serial port, an infrared
optical link, an RF link such as the Bluetooth standard. The
battery and power supply 49 stores enough energy to operate the
handset for at least one round of golf and supplies electrical
power to the other components of the handset.
[0027] FIG. 3-A shows a perspective view of the lower portion of a
golf club equipped with a telemetry unit which sends data to the
hand-held unit of FIG. 1. The club 50 is shown with a short portion
of the club shaft 51. The telemetry unit 52 affixed to the shaft
near its lower end as shown. The telemetry unit communicates to the
handheld data unit of FIG. 1 the fact that a particular club is
being used to make a stroke.
[0028] FIG. 3-B shows a schematic block diagram of the components
of a radio telemetry version of telemetry unit 52. The
accelerometer 55 detects club head motion which is perpendicular to
both the top face edge 54 and the shaft centerline 53. That
information is passed to the motion detector 56 which turns on the
transmitter 57 to send a coded radio signal. The code number
transmitted uniquely identifies the player and club being used
since each individual telemetry unit 52 that is used on a golf
course has its own unique preassigned identifying code. The battery
58 powers the telemetry unit 52. The transmission frequency of the
transmitter 57 is chosen to match that of one of the several radio
receivers in the handset shown in FIG. 1. These receiver
frequencies include the radio location frequency, cellular
frequency or frequencies and the frequency of any receiver in the
data transfer interface 48.
[0029] FIG. 3c shows a cross section of a passive acoustic
telemetry unit. The cross-section plane contains line 53 and is
parallel to line 54. Holes 59, 60, 61 and 62 each emit a whistle
tone as the club is swung rapidly providing a strong airflow over
their open ends. The pitch of each tone is determined by the length
of each hole. Shorter holes emit higher pitch tones. The holes can
be kept short enough to make all the tones above the human hearing
tonal range and therefore inaudible. Any of up to three of the
tones can be silenced by omitting its corresponding hole. This
provides 15 unique tone pattern combinations allowing each club a
player carries to be assigned its own tone pattern. The natural
click sound made when the club contacts the ball provides an
acoustic signal indicating that a stroke has been taken. Microphone
37 and A/D converter 38 convey the tone patterns and clicks to the
microprocessor 34 where the information is processed to determine
that a stroke has been taken with a particular club. Short putts do
not make enough sound to register automatically and are therefore
entered manually by the player.
[0030] The telemetry versions in FIGS. 3a, 3b and 3c can be applied
to existing golf clubs. If the Telemetry capability is built into
clubs during their manufacture then tone generating holes like 59,
60, 61 and 62 can be placed in the club heads. Radio telemetry can
also be efficiently built into clubs during their manufacturer.
FIG. 3d shows a schematic block diagram of components of a built-in
radio telemetry unit. The hand grip switch 63 detects that the
player has gripped the club and activates the ball contact detector
64. The hand grip switch 63 can take any of several forms. It could
be a simple pressure sensitive contact which completes a circuit;
it could be a piezoelectric sensor and threshold detector; or it
could be a piezoresistive sensor and threshold detector. The ball
contact detector can be a microphone embedded in the club head, an
accelerometer in the club head, or a piezoelectric or
piezoresistive surface on the club face. When the ball contact
detector 64 detects ball contact it activates the coded radio
transmitter 65 which is like 57. The battery 66 can be conveniently
mounted inside the club handle where it is easy to replace and can
also be reasonably large without significantly changing the
player's swing motion.
[0031] Another useful form of handgrip switch is a normally closed
contact switch on the handgrip end of the shaft. When the club is
lifted off the bottom of the golf club bag the switch would close
to turn on coded radio transmitter 65 providing an identification
signal enabling the portable player aid system to automatically
determine which club has been tentatively chosen for the next
stroke. A stroke result forecast would then be produced without the
player having to key in a club selection or even lift the club
completely out of the bag. The switch would make contact as soon as
the handle of the club is lifted from contact with the bottom of
the bag.
[0032] Before the hand-held unit in FIG. 1 can be used it must be
loaded with course and player specific information. If an analog or
digital cellular telephone connection is available then the player
dials a predetermined telephone number. Based upon the location of
the hand-held unit as determined by its radio location capability
the player receives a list of nearby golf courses. If he or she
happens to be near the clubhouse of a golf course the list consists
of the courses served by that clubhouse. If the player is not near
a course clubhouse he or she of receives an alphabetical list of
nearby courses with a "more selections" line at the bottom a list
to permit the list to be expanded until the desired course is
found. Allowing for an expanded list of the golf courses permits
the user to preload the hand-held unit at any time before play is
to begin. This capability is particularly useful if cellular
coverage does not extend to the golf course to be played. Selecting
the desired course starts the course data download. Course data
consists of tee and green locations measured in the geographic
coordinates used by the radiolocation capability of the hand-held
unit. If the hand-held unit has a graphical display then course
information also includes a course map containing the features to
be displayed for each hole. The player then enters or his or her
identity to start a download of player specific data. If the
display 11 does not include a graphics capability the player
specific data is the mean distance achieved with each club in past
play. If display 11 can show a graphic representation of each hole
being played then the player specific data includes the lengths and
widths of the elliptical patterns 33 containing 50% of the results
of previous shots taken with each of the player's clubs, omitting
the putter. If adequate past playing statistics for a golfer are
not available then statistics for a player of average skill are
entered. Any telemetry codes that identify the player's telemetry
equipped clubs are also downloaded. If a hand-held unit is to be
used by more than one player then player specific information for
the other players who will use the unit is also downloaded.
[0033] If course management desires to use it, the two-way
communication capability can be used to assign a tee time when play
is to begin at the first tee, set whether the distance information
display 19, 33 is on or off, set whether or not distances are to be
displayed on the hand-held unit if it is near the center of the
green, set whether the pacing timer 18 is on or off, and collect
payment of green and cart rental fees. Complete blanking of the
distance display would be necessary for the remaining features of
the system to be used in tournament play since the normal rules of
golf prohibit the use of range finding devices in such play.
[0034] If the cellular capability is unavailable then data is
transferred using the data transfer interface 48. The data transfer
interface 48 connects to some device such as a personal computer
and downloads the same information as above from a local database
or from remote central database. The remote central database can be
maintained on an Internet site.
[0035] After the data has been transferred to the hand-held unit,
the player display 16 shows identifying initials for the first
player entered into the hand-held unit's memory, the hole number
display 17 shows O because no hole has begun yet, the time display
shows the minutes remaining until tee time for the starting tee,
the distance display 19 shows the distance to the starting tee if
it is less than 1000 yards, the club display 20 is blank as is the
stroke count display 21. If the time remaining until tee time
exceeds 60 minutes then the time remaining display shows hours and
minutes remaining separated by a colon. The distance display goes
blank if there is insufficient received radio signal strength to
produce an accurate measurement of position. This feature alerts
the user to the need to reposition the hand-held unit.
[0036] On heavy course usage days which are typically weekend days
with pleasant weather slow play is a problem for course management.
To combat slow play the pacing feature has been incorporated in
this invention. When it is active the time remaining display 18 on
the hand-held unit shows the time remaining to play out the present
hole and get to the next tee. For most players, this gentle
reminder would be sufficient to cause them to keep up their play
pace adequately and not, for example, consume too much time hunting
a hopelessly lost ball. However, the management can also use the
time remaining display to make rules prohibiting slow play if that
is necessary. There could be a busy course rule for example which
states that a playing group loses its tee time on any hole if the
fairway in front is clear and they have not left the tee before the
next following group's tee time for that hole. The slow players
would then have to stand aside and let the impeded following group
play through and try to fit themselves into the following player
stream or skip that hole and go to the next. Since the hand-held
unit records the locations of all player groups on the course as
they make strokes and the times at which they were there, it would
be possible for management to identify habitual slow players and
prohibit them from playing on busy days. A scheduled intermission
feature between holes 9 and 10 recognizes the fact that courses are
usually laid out to bring the players back so the clubhouse between
holes 9 and 10. On hot days they are likely to appreciate a
lengthened cooling break for refreshment. The time to the next tee
display 18 provides an easy and convenient way for players to take
a break without impeding play. Management in scheduling the pacing
feature simply adds the desired break time to the scheduled time to
play hole number 9. The scheduled break between holes 9 and 10 also
puts some slack in the playing schedule to allow slower players to
get back on time.
[0037] The distance displayed 19 is the distance from the present
location to the next objective on the course. The radiolocation
receiver 35 and microcomputer 34 determine the present location of
the hand-held unit on the course. The location of the desired
course objective has previously been stored in the hand-held unit
memory. The microcomputer 34 in the hand-held unit uses this
information in conjunction with its program instructions to compute
the distance between the two points in a manner well known by those
skilled in the art. In the interests of speeding play course
management may choose to activate the close to the pin feature
which causes the distance display to show "<20" when the
hand-held unit is less than 20 yards from the center of the green.
This feature reduces distractions for players when they are close
enough to the pin to clearly judge distances for themselves and are
likely playing putting strokes. The next club display 20 designates
the numbered driver clubs as a number followed by a lowercase
letter d, the numbered iron clubs by a numeral followed by a
lowercase letter i, and the unnumbered clubs by two upper case
letters such as P for the putter, PW for the pitching wedge, and SW
for the sand wedge.
[0038] When the time display 18 goes to zero indicating that tee
time for the starting tee has arrived the hole number display 17
changes to the number of the starting tee. The distance display 19
shows the distance to the corresponding green. It sometimes happens
that players begin on hole 10 rather than 1 if for example they are
going to play only 9 holes or there is course maintenance in
progress on holes 1 through 9. The next club display 20 shows the
club which the player identified by the player initial 16 would
typically use if that player's previous club use statistics have
been entered into hand-held unit player data memory 44. In the
absence of statistics for a particular player the next club display
would show the club which would be used by an average player. The
stroke display shows a O because no strokes have yet been consumed
on the hole. At this point in the use cycle the next club display
20 is blinking to indicate that it can be changed by the player by
using the increase button 12 or the decrease button 13 on the
hand-held unit. The player can also use the cursor button 10 to
select which display item blinks and can be changed by the increase
or decrease buttons 12 and 13. Each press of the cursor button 10
moves the blinking location sequentially among the items which the
player can control. These are the next club to be used 20, the
intended direction line 32 for the next stroke, hole number being
played 17, player identity 16 if multiple players are sharing a
hand-held unit, and strokes used on the hole 21. The next club
display 20 blinks and can be changed at will by the player who is
about to strike the ball from the tee. The player increases or
decreases the club display 20 until it shows the club selected by
the player for the stroke. For each club, the probable result 33 is
shown. If the display is non-graphic showing only alphanumeric
characters then the average distance for the selected club would
show momentarily on the distance display until the increase or
decrease button is released.
[0039] Since the display already shows a club close to the
appropriate one, the number of increases or decreases to make the
display match the club intended is small. One press on cursor
button 10 then moves the blinking to the intended direction line 32
for the stroke about to be taken.
[0040] When the line 32 is blinking pressing button 12 shifts line
32 to the left; pressing button 13 shifts line 32 to the right.
While at the location of the first stroke, the player presses the
OK button 14 to record in hand-held unit memory 45 the fact that a
stroke has been used, the club displayed by 20, the radio location
position on the course at which the stroke was taken, the intended
direction 32, and the time at which the stroke was taken. The first
stroke will be in a course tee area for the first hole to be played
but these are typically fairly long to allow players of different
abilities to play the course comfortably by using one of three or
more tee locations usually designated in order of increasing
distance from the pin as ladies', men's, and professional. For this
reason it is necessary for the locations of tee strokes as well as
the other strokes in a round to have their positions recorded.
[0041] If the player is using telemetry equipped golf clubs as
shown in FIG. 3a-3d adapted to work with the hand-held unit then
nearly all strokes and clubs are automatically registered. Some
short putts may be so soft as to be undetectable by the telemetry
and still have to be registered manually by pressing OK button 14.
For most strokes, the player then simply edits the intended
direction 32 if it is not toward the center of the green 25, enters
penalty strokes, and corrects any erroneously registered
strokes.
[0042] After a stroke is registered automatically or by pressing
the OK button 14 the display changes in one of two ways depending
upon whether the hand-held unit is being used by a single or
multiple players. If a single player is using it then after a
stroke is recorded the stroke display 21 increments by one and
blinks to allow the player to easily use the increase button 12 to
register a penalty stroke if one should be called for by the
results of the stroke just previously registered. The club display
20 shows the club just previously recorded for the stroke. The
direction line 32 shows the intended direction just previously
recorded for the stroke. In the event that the player pressed the
OK button 14 in error without actually taking a stroke or recorded
a club or intended direction not actually used the stroke can be
canceled by decreasing the stroke count display 21 by one using the
decrease button 13 and a message is shown on display 11 in place of
part of the graphical display. That message is "Canceling last
stroke also erases its lie, intended direction, and club-press
CURSOR to proceed." The message remains displayed until it is
acknowledged by the player pressing the cursor button 10. Whether
or not the previous stroke has been canceled, after cursor button
10 is pressed the display returns to its original configuration
ready to register a stroke. The display window 11 shows player
identity 16, hole being played 17, minutes remaining to get to the
next hole tee 18, yards 19 to the center of the green of the hole
being played, next club 20 selected (flashing), and strokes used on
the present hole so far 21. The direction line 32 extends from the
present position 31 to the center of the green 25. If the player
using the hand-held unit singly does not press any buttons after
registering a stroke and moves more than 10 yards from the lie
recorded the display reverts to the numerical configuration with
the approximate club to be used next 20 blinking. After play for a
hole is complete and the hand-held unit leaves the vicinity of the
green and is transported to near the tee for the next hole, the
hole number 17 advances to the next hole number to be played and
time display 18 changes to the time remaining to complete that next
hole. Hand-held unit travel from a green to the next tee area is
easily detectable by the microcomputer in the hand-held unit since
the radiolocation system continually updates its present position
data and the locations of greens and tee areas have been previously
stored in the hand-held unit memory. Thus a player using a
hand-held unit by himself without telemetry equipped clubs
ordinarily would simply change the club display and direction
displays 20, 32 and press the OK button 14 as the round is played.
With telemetry equipped clubs the player would not need to change
the club display 20 and would rarely need to press the OK 14 button
to correctly register strokes.
[0043] After each stroke on a hole the player moves to the ball's
new location and the graphical display 11 changes as shown in FIG.
4a. The display shows the portion of the golf course between the
player's position 31 and the green 25. In the particular example
shown in FIG. 4a the player is in an adjacent fairway while playing
hole number 3 shown on hole display 17, has 9 minutes remaining to
complete the hole as shown on the time display 18, is 95 yards from
the middle of the green as shown on the distance display 19, has
chosen to use a nine iron as shown by the next club display 20, has
a 50% probability that the ball will land within contour 33, and
has previously used one stroke on the hole as shown on the stroke
display 21.
[0044] When the player reaches the green the display changes as
shown in FIG. 4b. Shown on the display are the edge of the green
24, the player's location 31, the cup 67, and a straight line 68,
between the player and the cup. The contour of the green and the
grain of the grass impose forces on the ball tending to slow or
speed it and tending to make it break from the ideal straight line
68. Those forces pushing on the ball are displayed as lines 70
toward successive possible ball positions along line 68. The length
of each line toward a ball position is proportional to the
magnitude of the force at that position on the green. The direction
of lines 70 indicate the direction of the force pressing on the
ball at each position. In the particular example in FIG. 4b the
ball traveling along line 68 would experience a small accelerating
force with a break toward the left at all places except at and
immediately before and after position 69. At position 69 the ball
experiences a retarding force and a significant break to the right
due to a transition up a short incline to a higher level near the
cup. The distance display 19 shows an estimate of the distance the
putt will break left or right from a straight line between the
player's position and the cup. In the particular example shown in
FIG. 4b the handheld unit has estimated from the green contour and
position data that the putt will break 2 feet to the right.
[0045] The location of cup 67 may not have been included in the
course data downloaded to the portable unit. This may be the case
because the cup locations are often changed daily and course
management may find it inconvenient to update the course database
that often. If the cup location is not in the downloaded course
data then the handheld unit could be used to enter it. A term CP
representing the word cup could be added to the club list for club
display 20. The player would then scroll the club list to CP and
press the OK button 14 while standing over the cup to store the cup
location without recording a stroke.
[0046] If multiple players are sharing a hand-held unit, then after
a stroke is registered by pressing the OK button 14 the display
changes to show the stroke count 21 increased by one and no display
elements blinking for an interval of about 5 seconds. After the 5
second interval for the first player to see what has been
registered the displayed player initials 16 change to those for
another player and blink. If the player designated is the next to
take a stroke then that player simply moves to his or her ball,
presses the cursor button 10 to make the next club display 20
blink, adjusts the club display to the club chosen using the
increase 12 or decrease 13 button, presses cursor button 10 to make
the direction line 32 blink, moves the line display with increase
12 or decrease 13 buttons, and registers a stroke by pressing the
OK button. Thus it is seen that two players can share a hand-held
unit with nearly the same ease of operation as a single player.
Four players sharing a hand-held unit would easily use the increase
12 or decrease 13 buttons to select the correct player initials
before each stroke. Yet at any time the cursor button 10 and
increase 12 and decrease 13 buttons can be used to correct the
displayed club, stroke count, and hole number for any of the
players. If no button is pressed within 15 minutes since the last
button press, then the hand-held unit automatically records its
present position in memory to facilitate slow play detection.
[0047] At any time, there are two other hand held unit golf
operating modes in addition to PLAY which players can access by
pressing menu button 9, the cursor button 10 to move the cursor to
golf, the OK button 14 to select golf and make the display show the
three available golf modes which are named PLAY, CARD and SHOW. A
golf mode is selected using the cursor 10 and OK 14 buttons. PLAY
is the round data collection playing mode described above. The CARD
mode causes the display to show a player's score card for the round
up to the present hole. The SHOW mode displays previous strokes
taken during a round. To show previous stroke the hand-held units'
buttons are used to set the hole number 17 and the stroke number
21. The graphical display then shows a line extending from the
location where the stroke was taken to the location of the next
stroke. The club display 20 shows the club used for that particular
stroke. The direction display line 32 shows the stroke's intended
direction. The distance display 19 shows the distance achieved with
the caption changed from "YARDS TO GREEN" to simply "YARDS". If the
stroke was the final stroke on a hole then an X shows the location
of that final stroke without any direction or distance information
display. This SHOW mode lets a player review any previous stoke in
a round or replay the entire round if that is desired.
[0048] After play for a round is finished the data collected for
each player using a hand-held unit is up loaded to a database. The
database contains information on previous rounds played by each
player and is the source of information about player performance.
The database can be maintained on a local computer, at some remote
central site preferably accessible by the Internet, or copies of
the database can be maintained at both local and remote central
locations. If the cellular telephone service is available the
upload data transfer can be accomplished by dialing a predetermined
telephone number to establish a connection with the computer
maintaining the player's database. Alternatively, the data transfer
interface 48 can be used to connect with a local computer. Data
transferred to a local computer can be entered into a locally
maintained database for the player and/or forwarded onto the
player's remote central database.
[0049] Wherever the database is maintained, several outputs can be
generated from it. The database contains the identity of the player
and the course, the location of each stroke taken during a round,
and the data and time of play. For any particular round a souvenir
plot of the course and the path of the strokes taken by the player
can be printed along with a scorecard as shown in FIG. 5.
Certificates commemorating special events such as a hole-in-one,
handicap reduction, or other significant improvement can be
printed. Past play data allows each player's performance to be
analyzed. The distance and directional accuracy of each stoke taken
with each club can be computed from the ball position data stored.
From this data, the probable result contour 33 for each club can be
computed for a player. The player's skills in separate portions of
the game such as driving, approach shots, sand trap strokes, and
putting can be compared with averages for players of similar skill
level to determine which portion should be worked on first to gain
improvement in game scores.
[0050] From the above description, it is seen that the present
invention is a significant improvement over the previous golf round
data system. It collects more accuracy data, presents it to the
player more conveniently, takes advantage of cellular telephone
capabilities, does not necessarily need equipment installation at
the golf course, and makes the resulting data easily accessible to
the player anywhere there is Internet access.
[0051] The particular embodiment described above is not the only
possible configuration of this invention. For example, the
monochrome graphic display described could be changed to a
multicolor unit to use colored regions in place of lines to
designate course areas. The radio location receiver could be
connected wirelessly and not be within the same enclosure. The
probable result display could be shown as a rectangle rather than
an ellipse; or the probable result could be shown as a scatter plot
displaying the range and accuracy of previous strokes taken with
the chosen club. The displayed objective on the green could be the
cup rather than the center of the green surface. The hand-held unit
could be made smaller and less expensive by substituting an
alphanumeric display for the graphic display described, and the
device would still be a significant improvement over the previous
art. The cellular feature could be omitted for hand-held units
which are always to be used at a course equipped with local data
transfer capability, and they would cost less and serve the players
just as well. The collected round data could be maintained on some
other easily accessible data repository instead of the Internet web
site described.
[0052] The stroke result forecast could use a club or a series of
clubs automatically chosen by a computer connected to the display
unit based upon location and skill data instead of having the user
select a club before displaying a forecast. The system would thus
have a club recommendation capability. In the preferred embodiment
described the automatically generated direction indication is shown
toward the green. Alternatively, it could be computed to maximize
the player's chance of landing the ball on the fairway or green so
that on long dogleg holes or those with hazards on one side of a
fairway the initial direction indication may not be straight toward
the green. The system would thus produce playing strategy
recommendations.
[0053] Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined
not by the particular embodiment illustrated, but by the appended
claims and their legal equivalents.
* * * * *