Thursday, March 26, 2015

Game Golf - How good is this golf game tracking device and does it work well?



The Game Golf - Digital Tracking System for Golf

Statistics are probably the best and most important indicator helping any professional golf player to see where he or she stands with their game.

Professionals as well as low handicap players keep constantly track of their game. Those statistics can range from 2 or 3 points to a very complex sheet which includes by far more references.

But it does take time, patience and effort to get this done and done correctly. This is where Game Golf comes into play. One of the most interesting devices you can get today.

I myself keep comprehensive stats at all times. The only way to find out the weaknesses and the strengths of your game is to take notes whenever you play and practice. If you do that enough, you eventually find patterns and then can work on specific things. Ultimately leading to better rounds and more fun.

When I heard about Game Golf and what it might do, I was immediately excited. Only took me a little research and I bought myself this brand new tracking system. The price at that time was 249 $ plus tax. However, I received a discount because I am a member of the GC Am Tour and we got a 50 $ of coupon. I saw that the device now is 199 $.

Set up:

It was very easy to set up the device and to attach the transmitters to the clubs. Most grips today have the proper hole in the back. You need to add your clubs to the software online. Identify each club and put the corresponding transmitter on the back. Does not take very long at all. Also I did not think it is invasive at all and does not bother me while playing.

1 hour after charging the device I was actually ready to go.

On the course :

When turning it on the first time, you need to be patient. At times it takes a little time to find a satellite. But most of the time it does not take longer than 2 minutes.

The LED lights will tell you when you are ready to go. There is nothing else to do. The device knows where you are and what course you play.

Once ready for your tee shot, tag the transmitter on the bag of your device to the bottom of the device itself. It will give you a little vibration. That means your device is ready to record the shot. Play your golf shot just as you always do and then continue to your ball.

There you do the same thing again and continue to do so before every shot. Do not worry about double tapping or anything.

I was not bothered or hindered by the Game Golf at all. As a matter of fact, it helped me to stay with my routine. When I was not sure if I tapped it right, I did it again and if I thought I forgot it, I made a note on my score card. ( you do not have to do that, but I like to be accurate and keep some stats anyhow).

Loading data to the website:

Really simple. You connect your Game Golf device and the computer will lead you through all further steps. Once you have an account on the Game Golf website, things go pretty much automatic. You will see the loading bar and it will tell you when your round is downloaded completely.

Final editing of the round:

This is one part I found not to exciting, in the beginning. When I opened my round and then the first hole I found that some of my tagging points where not consistent with my true location on the course at the time of play. Also I had some double tags as well as missed tags. Further I was not sure how to deal with hazard shots or OB balls which I had on other holes. Last , on the putting green many locations where not 100 % correct and at times I did not record putts.

So I had less strokes than I really had. I worked my way through my round. correcting locations as well as strokes and adding penalties etc. Took me a little while to get it right and to figure all things out. But once I was done, it looked great and I had my actual round right in front of me. Pretty exciting.

The second time around I did it in half the time and from there on the entire process only took me minutes. So you must be patient and see the big picture of the entire process and why you are doing it.

I suggest to do the download and edit as soon as possible after the round ( I do it immediately after every round I record). The computer screen picture shows you the holes and where you tagged the device. Your short term memory can help to make necessary corrections.

 I used the help section to guide me through the process and also found advice from other users. It was a little different than I though, but again. Once you made it through the first time it gets easier and you start having fun doing it.

Statistics:





Once you have a few rounds in the system, you start to see patterns of your game. It really does not matter how good you edit the round when putting it in. A few yards will not make a different. You will find out some very interesting things about your game. Where you miss when teeing off and how many putts from what distance. Most interesting to me was distance of the tee and on approach shots.

At times I was surprised on how short I was. But in the end, the device seemed accurate.  What I really liked what the visual. You see the hole, your shots and locations and you see stats at the bottom of the screen. This is much more helpful than just numbers.

What do I think about the Game Golf?

I love it. It is a great addition to my practice tools. It works well and is easy to work with. the quality of the product is good. The price seems high. But that is a matter of opinion. It all depends on what  you are working on and how serious you are interested on improving your game.

Game Golf will help you to learn about your distances and tendencies. After working with it for many months now I can say that the distances I get are mostly accurate. But you will need to pay attention to your round to make sure that you can make final corrections if necessary.

First I thought the 200 $ were to much. After my first few rounds I thought the price is OK.

The Game Golf is a nice and good functioning GPS tracking device which might help you to improve your game. Certainly it will help you to see where on the course you actually play.  I am glad I bought and will use it a few times each months to see where I stand with my game.

Note: I dropped my device many times. But it works great even after that. So it is durable. But I did lose the spring which helps the clip to hold the device to your belt and I was not able to put it back on. I will keep working on it and also I wrote to Game Golf asking for advice. But if I can not replace it I am sure I will find a way to get it done so that I can use it again.

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Eastwood Golf Course in Fort Myers with World Golf Amateur Tour - March 22nd 2015

The WGAT USA brought us to many courses before this one and I will try to catch up as soon as I can. But first things first.

A couple days ago we were scheduled to play Eastwood Golf Course in Fort Myers. This golf course is run by the city. Based on that my expectations where not exactly high. The fact remains, that city golf courses do not have the funds needed to get their tracks in top condition.

When you go through my reviews you will find that I actually did a short review about the range some time ago. The range did not change at all since then. Almost looked like they did not replace any of the range balls as well. But it was good enough to get warmed up.

The course is easy to find and driving in to the parking lot is actually pretty nice. Lots of trees. Lots of green. Drove straight to the bag drop. Nobody around there to greet nor to provide me with a cart.

I did not stop at the pro shop because I signed in with the tournament director. Nothing I can say about the shop at all. The restaurant was empty. Looked like they have a kiosk where you can buy drinks and snacks. But I did not look any further as well. Looked a little strange and not to inviting.

Because I did not meet any of the staff members at this point I can not even tell if they were friendly or helpful. So let's go to the course.

The tee boxes through our round were OK. Nothing special. But they had a level spot to tee off and were green for the most part. We played the second set of tees , which gave us about 6500 yards or so.

Fairways were in good condition. Not to many brown spots or grounds under repair. For the most part if you found the fairway with your drive, you found a decent lie.

The rough was not too high, but represented a good challenge. Not sure what kind of grass they have there, but it was not the toughest one you can run in to. I think it is save to say, that you have a good chance to get out of the rough and back in the fairway or on to the green ( depending on your location). Now that is from the first and second cut. There was some deeper rough where the ball was sitting down. Yet again , you would be able to get it out.

Fairway bunkers were plenty and in good position. They were not to big and not to deep. So they represented a good challenge, but were not scary or intimidating. The sand was fluffy in general and there was plenty of it in it ( much better compared to most municipal tracks I played before).

What I really liked about the traps was the cut. They were cut, but in a way which made them almost look like in Scotland. A little rough and wild.

The traps around the green were a little more challenging, but not overly deep. There were plenty of them though. The greens were protected nicely by those bunkers.

Once you where on the green a real challenge came right on to you. Slow greens with tons of grain. It was not easy to put on those greens. For the most part I struggled to get the ball to the hole although I was hitting my putts pretty hard. I just could not get adjusted from the fast greens I usually play. On top of that the grain was tremendous. It was difficult to get the break right. Sometimes I even had the feeling the grain was going two ways on one putt.

Chipping was even more difficult. I could not find a way to find a middle between stopping the ball or letting it roll out. The greens seemed to have their own mind.

On a good note: They were all cut and green with no bad spots.

There were plenty of hazard areas on this course. Most of them marked OK. However, some hazard areas were marked so bad, that we did not know where to drop. No lines and the sticks were at times so far apart, that it was hard to find a line.

My favorite feature was the landscape. There is a lot of trees and bushes. Put that together with the water and you have a really nice looking golf course. Almost reminded me on WA at times. The thing is, that all those trees also can give you some headaches. You have to be straight on this track.

Overall I would say that Eastwood Golf Course is a medium municipal golf course which looks nice because of the landscape and plays tough because of the same. The course is not easy to play because you need to be in the fairway and away from trees to get your ball to the green fast.

While not of country club quality, the course is in decent condition to play. I did not pay in the pro shop , so I have no idea about the green fees, but would not think that they are very high. The course was not exactly full and thinking about quality it should be a good price Check out the official website for that part. ( I posted the link at the bottom).

If you are in the area and look for a quick round or some practice Eastwood Golf Course might be an option. I personally would not play this course unless there is an event going on or I have a great deal to play.

Let me know your experience if you played the course.

Official Website of Eastwood Golf Course in Ft Myers