GPS dont need to be exspensive!

[Richie13]

played carden park yesterday and used an free app on my phone, it helped me more than i ever realised a gps could,

i know my basic distances 56*wedge 100yds PW 110yds ect, but knowing my exact distence from the point of the ball to the middle of the green helped me ten fold, yesterday combined with me actually alligning myself properly i hit some of the best iron shots in my short golfing career,

without the gps and understanding how far i personally hit each club, i would of choose wrong and not seen the results i had

so when i got back in i looked for an app with great reviews, and payed a massive £1.22 it has distences of cartpaths bunkers and the front middle and back of the greens,

so anyone with smartphone running android may want to look into this!

 

[TonyN]

What app is it?

I have recewntly sang the praises of Sonocaddie on the iphone. There is a trial version for one free course.

Found it to be spot on!

 

[Aztecs27]

This is a grey area that's been talked about many times.

As far as the rules of golf go, I believe that the use of an iPhone is banned in competition play due to there being an unremovable Compass app on the phone.

Android phones, as I understand, are "ok" as there are no compass apps built in that can't be removed.

Though I'm not sure what would stop someone with an android phone installing a compass app walking down the 1st and uninstalling it coming up 18.

I have a HTC and use Free Caddie Pro. It's a great little app and has got me out of a few binds.

 

[TonyN]

This is a grey area that's been talked about many times.

As far as the rules of golf go, I believe that the use of an iPhone is banned in competition play due to there being an unremovable Compass app on the phone.

Android phones, as I understand, are "ok" as there are no compass apps built in that can't be removed.

Though I'm not sure what would stop someone with an android phone installing a compass app walking down the 1st and uninstalling it coming up 18.

I have a HTC and use Free Caddie Pro. It's a great little app and has got me out of a few binds.

Not my stone age Iphone 3. I think it was on the 3gs they introduced the compass.

 

[Richie13]

this is the app i bought last night not yet tested it personally, but had go in the house and it seems very detailed, currently 1124yds from the middle of the first green haha

http://www.skydroid.net/

just search skydroid on the android market place

 

[Ken_A]

This is a grey area that's been talked about many times.

As far as the rules of golf go, I believe that the use of an iPhone is banned in competition play due to there being an unremovable Compass app on the phone.

Android phones, as I understand, are "ok" as there are no compass apps built in that can't be removed.

Have you any proof of this???? We are not allowed 'other non dedicated gps devices' I got DQ'd for using my HTC HD7 in a comp :-(

 

[johnboywalton]

I do not understand how these are allowed in Golf.

Can someone please explain???

I know what they are, but surely knowing the exact distance of the shot takes a real amount of fun/skill out of the game??

 

[Ken_A]

And as the name suggests Freecaddy is well, mmm, FREE and great for Front Middle and Back

 

[Aztecs27]

I also have Skydroid on my phone, it's pretty good, but I find freecaddie to be better.

 

[Richie13]

just worked out if you press the zoom button then press and hold on the screen it will tell you the distance to any particular spot you wish

this is for skydroid, for £1.22 its fantastic!

 

[Aztecs27]

This is a grey area that's been talked about many times.

As far as the rules of golf go, I believe that the use of an iPhone is banned in competition play due to there being an unremovable Compass app on the phone.

Android phones, as I understand, are "ok" as there are no compass apps built in that can't be removed.

Have you any proof of this???? We are not allowed 'other non dedicated gps devices' I got DQ'd for using my HTC HD7 in a comp :-(

They may have a local rule in place which bans them all. I can't get on the R and A website at work, hopefully someone will be able to clarify.

 

[Ken_A]

Thanks - would be good to clarify it

 

[chris661]

I do not understand how these are allowed in Golf.

Can someone please explain???

I know what they are, but surely knowing the exact distance of the shot takes a real amount of fun/skill out of the game??

What stops you going out early withyour strokesaver and marking any important points on it and where the pin is etc? All it is doing is giving the same info as a strokesaver.

 

[Hendo007]

I do not understand how these are allowed in Golf.

Can someone please explain???

I know what they are, but surely knowing the exact distance of the shot takes a real amount of fun/skill out of the game??

What stops you going out early withyour strokesaver and marking any important points on it and where the pin is etc? All it is doing is giving the same info as a strokesaver.

Or a Caddie for that matter. Just we can't afford a professional caddie every week. does the same job though.

 

[palindromicbob]

What the R&A say.

Q. What about multi-functional devices, such as a mobile phone, with a distance measuring application?

A. On the course, subject to any club or course regulations, a multi-functional device may be used to phone, text or email – provided the purpose is not a breach of the Rules, e.g. you are not asking for advice.

When an application that measures distance has been downloaded to the device, the application must be restricted to providing only distance information in order to conform to the Local Rule. If there are any other features or applications on the phone that gauge or measure other conditions that might affect a player’s play, such as a temperature gauge, compass or anemometer, this would render the device non-conforming regardless of whether these other features or applications are used or not.
____________________________________________________________

From the above, if your phone has a GPS device that measures only distance and no other apps or features that measure the excluded parameters above then it would be allowed. This is only if the local rule allowed the use of distance measurement devices during competition.

Looking at specs for HTC HD7 it contains a digital compass so would therefore be non conforming.

If you want to be safe then don't use a multi-function device as a GPS in competition.

TBH though the R&A need to clarify the situation. They either need to list conforming multi-function devices or ban them outright.

 

[Leftie]

TBH though the R&A need to clarify the situation. They either need to list conforming multi-function devices or ban them outright.

"When an application that measures distance has been downloaded to the device, the application must be restricted to providing only distance information in order to conform to the Local Rule. If there are any other features or applications on the phone that gauge or measure other conditions that might affect a player’s play, such as a temperature gauge, compass or anemometer, this would render the device non-conforming regardless of whether these other features or applications are used or not."

Seems quite clear to me.

Listing conforming devices as you suggest is really a non-starter as they would have to update the list far too often.

Now, if they should however decide to reconsider the rules regarding "non-conforming" apps, then that is a totally different matter but we have been down that line so many times now that I don't think (hope) that it needs to be discussed here any further

 

[rosecott]

This is a grey area that's been talked about many times.

As far as the rules of golf go, I believe that the use of an iPhone is banned in competition play due to there being an unremovable Compass app on the phone.

Android phones, as I understand, are "ok" as there are no compass apps built in that can't be removed.

Though I'm not sure what would stop someone with an android phone installing a compass app walking down the 1st and uninstalling it coming up 18.

I have a HTC and use Free Caddie Pro. It's a great little app and has got me out of a few binds.

Can anyone explain to me how having a compass - digital or otherwise - can improve my chances of having a decent score?

 

[Imurg]

I suggested to MikeH a week or 2 back that this grey area would make a decent feature in the mag. There's never been any definitive publication of what you can and can't use so I suggested that Jezz sits down with the Rules Bod at the R&A and gets that definitive answer.

Hopefully they'll use it and we'll see it in the mag sometime soon.

 

[d2cko]

It's the weather app on the iPhone that makes it illegal in comps. It gives you wind speed, direction and temperature but you can't un-install it. I recently entered a Yorkshire Golf Union comp where they stated this quite clearly as a rule of golf, not a local rule.

I think at our level though knowing the exact temperature and wind speed is no real advantage, you can look at the tree tops for wind speed and direction and we don't hit the ball pure enough for it to be too affected by slight fluctuations in temperature.

My two penneth.

D2

 

[Ken_A]

What a load of pish - we can all cheat on the course and have many oppertunities but we dont - why can't we self regulate this??????