how golf GPS works

If you’re a lover of gadgets and you’re looking at getting into sports, then there are few games that are more likely to satisfy your craving for technology than golf. The slower paced nature of golf, as well as the technical precision it requires, means that this is a game that’s perfectly tailored to being helped along by gadgets and tech whereas someone playing football would likely just smash something like a smartphone if they took it on the pitch with them – and they’d hardly have time to get it out. As such it’s golf that has seen the largest number of gizmos emerge and if you’re a fan of the sport who’s looking to improve their game then this is something very much worth looking into.

And one of the most popular and useful golfing gizmos? No doubt the various GPS devices that can help to give you almost omnipresence around the course. Here we will look at what they can do for you and how they work.

 

What Does It Do?

The main idea behind a GPS device on the golf course is of course to tell you what’s around you and to give you a birds-eye view of the action and of the features of the course such as the holes and the bunkers. Of course this then allows you to see the things that you can’t easily from where you’re standing and thus better avoid getting yourself into a tight spot. Depending on the precision of your GPS too, and whether or not it includes a built in compass (the best ones do) you’ll even be able to see precisely which way you’re pointing which in theory can help you to line up the shot.

There’s more though too, and if you have a good golf GPS device then this will also enable you to measure the distance of shots and other objects which can allow you to record how far you’ve hit the ball in order to measure improvement r settle bets.

 

How it Works

So how does this marvel of technology work? Well it’s actually quite clever. Essentially, any GPS device works by sending a signal up which bounces off of a satellite. This signal will travel at a set speed unaffected by things like weather conditions and so by measuring the amount of time it takes to reach the destination it’s possible to tell how far away you are from it. When the satellite receives your signal, it bounces it back to your device thus enabling it to do the basic maths and work out how far away from it you are. The satellite of course is in ‘geosynchronous’ orbit which means it follows the Earth through it’s rotation remaining at those precise coordinates at all times.

Of course that’s not enough information though, so what the device also uses is a second satellite in another position or more even, and by listening to the time it takes for the signal to bounce from these it’s possible to triangulate an exact position and then match it to a map of the golf courses that are stored on your device in order to show where you are. Combined with a compass to see which way you’re pointing this can then give you detailed information about where you are on the course.