FreeCaddie - GPS sofware measuring thingy!

[haplesshacker]

Just got myself a shiny new phone, the HTC Touch Diamond. It's got an internal GPS, and google maps, but unlike the desktop version it hasn't got a measuring tool.

I came across this bit of freeware (FreeCaddie), and behold my regular track has already been mapped (admitadly by a user).

Has anyone tried this free software, and if so what opinions do you have of it? I've been looking at Caddyaid, but that's another £100 that I'd rather not spend, (cause I'll get caught by HID!) I know what Caddyaid has to offer and is probably worth it, but this FreeCaddie is errr free.

Thoughts?

No I'm not the developer etc etc!

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I use skycaddy and bought it primarily because it has all the bunkers, hazards and distances marked for each hole and the yardage from wherever I am on the hole (or the adjacent one if I've sliced/hooked again). I can be pretty confident these distances are accurate so all in all I get a comprehensive idea of what awaits me before any shot.

I haven't seen the freebie stuff but my gut reaction is that if it has been mapped by someone from the club that it may not be totally accurate and that being free it may not be the most technically enhanced package out there.

I guess if it is functional and you feel it will be a benefit then go for it. We all like something for nothing. However I'd have been inclined to face the wrath of HID and gone for either Caddyaid of Skycaddy v2.5

 

[haplesshacker]

However I'd have been inclined to face the wrath of HID and gone for either Caddyaid of Skycaddy v2.5

You're a braver soul than me.

Homer. We all know how accomodating your good lady is regarding your golf kit, if only we could all be so lucky.

As you're aware after my little announcement a couple of weeks ago, we have another little one on the way, and due to work and family commitments I've been off the golf for 3 weeks already and will be for at least another 3 weeks due to the Southampton Boat Show. I understand the 'you get what you pay for' logic, for which I fully agree, but at least it's free and I can find out if I'll actually use it (or any other GPS device) once I get back out to the golf course. (When or if )

Reminder to self.

Must get back into reading the posts I've missed for the last few weeks! Talk about a mountain

 

[brendy]

Hapless, what do you think of the HTC? Ive got a tytn at the moment and we are due an upgrade in october but have read that the diamond is a little slow, with an update making it a little faster, how quick is it really?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

hapless

Sorry completely forgot your recent good news - apolgies and renewed congratulations. You are correct that Marge is pretty good with me and all things golf and that indeed I'm very lucky. I guess you have nothing to lose by giving it a go. Let me know how you get on with it! Enjoy the boat show (and looking at all those lovely PA ladies that attend these vents!!)

 

[SS2]

HH,

You would imagine that if someone (an amateur) has gone to the bother of mapping his own course, he would probably try to make a good job of it (otherwise, why would he bother ?)

Have you had a chance to use it and, if so, how did you find it ?

I have a very limited experience of GPS Devices; At the recent GM Forum Meet at The Glen North Berwick I had a chance to see Madandra's CaddyLite in action. This was great and very useful except on a couple of holes where its yardages were clearly miles out because new greens had been constructed and the course hadn't been remapped.

 

[haplesshacker]

H. Thanks, but I wasn't pushing for any further congrats, just merely that the old coffers are locked down for a while.

Brendy.

I had a SPV M500 for about 4 or 5 years, so I was used to the windows mobile format, I think it was version 3. Thought long and hard about this new phone, it was the HTC or the 3G iphone (shudder). All my contacts and diary are kept on Outlook so easy syncing with that was highest priority. GPS was next as I was thinking of getting Caddyaid.

Pros of the Touch Diamond
Incredible screen - the pics look great on it and works really well in sunlight, even with the screen protector on.

It does look damn good, if a somewhat slippery little sucker due to the gloss look. You do spend alot of time trying to keep fingerprints off it, but only due to vanity.

Touchflo 3D is an improvement over the old touch flo (wife has an earlier version), but like the iphone does get some getting used to the movements and gestures required.

Don't need to use the stylus anywhere near as much as with Windows Mobile 3.

The GPS and Google maps works well together. But no mearsuring device as per desktop Google. Damn could have used it for the golf straight out of the box!

Cons.
Because of the touchflo UI it does seem a little slower than using wm3 straight off the top, but it's not a great problem if you store the stuff in the 4gb internal storge and keep as much away from the main storage area.

A larger screen size would be nice, but hey ho.

When making a phone call to the bank for example, the screen goes blank almost as soon as you connect. This is a problem when you have to press button 1 for ...., button 2 for.... Anyway the way round this is to tap the top power button and it instantly turns the screen back on, with out cutting you off.

No SD card slot. Not really a problem as it has 4gb of storage, and when you connect to a computer the phone asks you if you wish open it in activ sync or as a drive. Which can then be used for transfering files.

Excel has no landscape support, but the screen is just to small for real business use with spreadsheets and would suggest a UMPC as a minimum screen size for such things.

If you really want a slide out qwerty keyboard, wait for the touch pro, which I think has just hit the market as a stand alone. Orange haven't got it yet, well not as of last week. But of course it'll be alot thicker and heavier.

No IR. Personally I prefer it as it's more secure than bluetooth.

Overall.

A little slow, but not insurmountable, but everything else outweighs that. It's not an iphone and therefore you're not jumping on the whole Apple iphone bandwagon, and it's far classier looking, smaller (good and bad thing).
Just bear in mind that when the phone is in the supplied pouch, and in your pocket, it can be a little difficult to hear. It's not that it's not loud, but with so much blocking the speaker, it is some what muffled.

Getting used to the UI is interesting after the standard WM3 format but it's just a case of getting used to it.

Sorry to have waffled. Hope it was useful.

 

[brendy]

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=413798

this any good to you?
Im a member here and am using windows 6.1pro on my tytn and qtek (tytn is currently ballsed with a white screen issue) it works ok, what version is on your diamond?

 

[Herbie]

I dont use such kit, I think it serves no better purpose to the average golfer than the club yardage charts. The accuracy required to benefit from these things is Scratch upwards. But I believe the pro game would be greatly improved if the only thing golfers were allowed was club card and 150 yd markers on the course. This alone brings great judgement into the game along with great skill. It would be pretty boring to me to go to any course and know exactly how far from any point I was by looking at a machine. I get greater pleasure and satisfaction from working it out with judgement. it wont be long before wind measuring equipment,air density and gps will be linked so that golfers no longer have to judge what club and how far off target to aim. Next will come advanced moisture measuring kits that can work out how much more to put on a wet putt. I never like to see too much techno stuff on the golf course as I feel it takes away part of the games pleasure.But if people didnt have crap to buy to keep up with the joneses or to feel improved they would probably see theyhad too much money and feel guilt Ive never met an ordinary golfer who has improved because they have used these gismos.

 

[USER1999]

Herb - Since your brain is a more powerful computer than any of these devices, do you not consider that thinking is cheating too. Playing in the dark, with a blindfold on would really seperate the men from the boys.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Herb

A touch OTT especially dismissing these device out of hand. I am only an average golfer but I do know how far I hit each club (through painstaking practice and measuring both down wind and into a breeze). Using a handheld device (Sky caddy in my case) I get an instant reading to both the green and how far to carry a fairway bunker etc immediately. No need for me to rely on yardage poles (notoriously inaccurate) or pace between reference points.

I know if I have 162 to reach a bunker and 171 and their is minimal wind it would be a safe 6 iron (which I average 149 for) to leave it short or if I was going for it would probably be a full out 4 iron but more sensibly a 3 hybrid.

Where if that is the information given to me is the benefit soley for scratch golfers as you suggest. OK I grant you that I may only make a decent contact 7/10 times but at least the clubbing is not to blame if my ball goes astray. In my mind it is one less variable for me to worry about.

As for keeping up with the Joneses I actually find that acutely patronising. I am fortunate not to have kids and an understanding wife who likes me to enjoy my golf and is happy for me to spend MY disposable income on golf equipment. My point is that it is my decision and is not born out of any desire to keep up with anyone else. I bought it based on the merits of testing my club pro's sky caddy and the fact that he did me a deal at least £30 (or 10%) cheaper than the cheapest online price.

 

[DCB]

Wel it's been a long wet summer and I haven't played nearly as much golf as I'dhave liked to have played, but, I feel that I have progressed in the right direction this year.

As far as staed goals was concerned,I haven't got down as I wanted, but I have enjoyed my golf more that I have in last couple of years. I have played well in foursomes as the summer progressed, missed matchplay in club champs for first time in a few years, but I was working/strugling hard to get through some fairly drastic changes to my swing.

Now, I feel confident teeing it up on a saturday as I feel I may well have a chance. Tee to Green has been good but putting has been hard on wet greens. Stats prove that I've hit more fairways and have hit a good number of greens in reg. Just need to keep things going in this direction and see what happens next year.

 

[haplesshacker]

Brendy. You're obviously more into the, pardon the phrase, geeky, stuff than I am and I start getting lost when cab and exe files are discussed. However when I feel brave enough, or it becomes a real problem I might take you up on that link. But thanks anyway, it's appreciated.

My summary of the Diamond must seem quite (again pardon the expression) beneath you. Brendy 1, HH 0. Don't I feel a charlie!

Herb. Whilst I agree with you to a certain extent, in my previous sport of 30 years being yacht racing. You would not believe the difference that 'technology' brings to the sport. The information that is available to you as a tactician aboard these yachts is huge, not unlike an aeroplane. And it's the tacticians ability to understand this information and deceide from one moment to the next what is useful and what isn't that seperates the wheat from the chaff. It also allows me to use that information and then put the boat in the best place to win the race. Yes there is a lot of spatial awareness required and a certain amount of seat of the pants stuff, but the 'gizmos' take a certain amount of guess work out of it. Yacht racing is far more fluid than golf; changing tides, tide flow, wind changes, other boats yadda, yadda...

Maybe we club players need the info more than pros as we are less experianced than the pros. I know that one minute I can hit a 6 iron 170 and the next shot will only be 130, but if I know my averages then it might help me lower my scores. Just as playing with my MX19s will give me a better score than with a set of blades.

As for keeping up with the Jones'. This version I've found is free. Okay it doesn't have the bells and whistles of my preferred choice of Caddyaid, or the features of Homers unit. But it is an exceptional opportunity to try something at no cost. I also know that at least one person I play with will just laugh at the idea of GPS, but will be the first to ask how far he is from the pin.

At the risk of alienating myself. Do you still ride around on horseback, or have you got a beemer? Sky? Broadband? Mobile phone? Ipod? Flat screen TV? Bet your clubs are reasonable new as well!!

The above is tongue in cheek of course!

 

[haplesshacker]

DCB.

Did you hit the wrong thread per chance??

 

[brendy]

HH, far from it matey, I had a problem with my tytn and googled it a load of months ago, since then ive learned so much from that forum, there is a few strange terms but apart from that its invaluable for obtaining unlocks and better versions of windows mobile. Im not madly into it in a technical way, but now know how to fire on a newer or revised 3rd party version of windows mobile onto my phone should i ever need to (usually extra games or apps that I find handy).

 

[haplesshacker]

Back on track.

I've downloaded freecaddie onto the phone and I have to admit that it all appears to work fine. It only gives you distance to front, middle and back of green, but that'll do for now. You can also check on their website how those stats have been got at. Basicaly it's just markers placed in google earth and those positions are then logged and downloaded as lat and long, which is how the distance is then measured.

I'll let you all know how I get on when I next play in 3 or 4 weeks time.

This phone does it all. If I need to view an aerial view of the hole I can go straight to google earth on the phone and look for 'unseen' hazards. Not bad.

Andy, sorry, SS2. Ever considered a tie in with caddyaid or some one?

I'll say again though I do not work for any of these guys, just in case.

 

[Cernunnos]

Out of curiosity is there any free downloadable software for none GPS phones to give the equivelent of the usualy course guides. This subject just peaked my curiosity

 

[viscount17]

doubt it, there are few courses that have their course guides online let alone available for download