High-Tech Golf Assistant

[Brad Adrian]

<a href="http://www.handango.com/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=311&amp;platformId=2&amp;productType=2&amp;catalog=0&amp;amp;sectionId=0&amp;productId=32437">http://www.handango.com/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=311&amp;platformId=2&amp;productType=2&amp;catalog=0&amp;amp;sectionId=0&amp;productId=32437</a><br /><br />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 <a href="http://www.starcaddy.com/index.cfm">LinksPoint</a>. 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.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/adrian/starcaddy.gif" /><br /><br />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 <a href="http://www.starcaddy.com/gpsattch.cfm">StarCaddy site</a>). 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).<br /><br />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:<br /><br />"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!

[yellow1]

One thing I'd pay attention to is that the thin CF GPS shown in the pictures on the box and on some of them on the site is the infamous Leadtek 9534 which has since been recalled due to the poor performance of its antenna. The one they show next to the $199 price looks like the bulkier Pretec or Emtac GPS and that should be fine. Don't know which one htey currently sell though !

[dave]

are all the course maps $19.95? it would be nice to see some sort of bulk or subscription pricing.

it's clear where the razor blades are in this business model.

[rhaylon]

Hi. As you can see from my email address, I work for StarCaddy and I thought I'd answer a couple of the questions. (No sales pitch -- I promise!)

We had originally been planning to go with the pictured receiver, but after significant testing opted for another choice. Customers have been very happy with the one we chose. Of course, if you have your own receiver, the StarCaddy software will work with that, too.

As for the map pricing: We certainly welcome the feedback. Right now, we feel this is a reasonable price for what we're delivering but I'm sure we'll look at other options down the road.

Thank you all for your comments.

[yellow1]

So which "pictured" receiver are you referring to, there are two models pictured on your site !
Did you drop the "thin" one, i.e. the Leadtek 9534 v1 or the other one, which looks like the Pretec GPS ?
thanks

[rhaylon]

Sorry I didn't make it clear. We ship the "bulkier" receiver (shown on http://starcaddy.com/gpsattch.cfm).

[humor]

Has anyone tried it with the Ipaq Navman GPS reciever (the one that comes with Pocket CoPilot)?

[rhaylon]

We've tested that (as have the folks from Navman) and it works well.

[Grey]

Sorry I didn't make it clear. We ship the "bulkier" receiver (shown on http://starcaddy.com/gpsattch.cfm).

This link will work, http://starcaddy.com/gpsattch.cfm

Grey

[humor]

rhaylon,

Do you know the com/baud config for the navman?

Humor

[JonnoB]

Not that it matters, but is there a logical reason to have screenshots of the software running on a PPC 2000 OS and the device to be a 2002 OS based device?

[Brad Adrian]

Not that it matters, but is there a logical reason to have screenshots of the software running on a PPC 2000 OS and the device to be a 2002 OS based device?

Ha! Good question. If you knew how GIF-challenged I am you'd know it's because that's the screen shot provided by the developer.

[rhaylon]

A couple answers:

- Com/baud config for the Navman: port is usually UART2 HotSync, Baud Rate is 57600, Protocol is NMEA
- Image mismatch: good catch! obviously, the image was constructed by our marketing department! But, to your point, the software works well under either version of the OS.