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Golf is an acquired taste. Once acquired, it becomes an
obsession for some, for others a pleasure--and for many, a curse.
But when you combine golf with fine wine, fine food, and fine living
in general, it becomes something else entirely. We call that
something Pebble Beach.
OF COURSE, I'm talking about the annual AT&T National Pro
Am, which concluded last week on the hallowed shores of the
Pebble Beach Golf Links in Carmel, Calif. Ever since film and
recording star Bing Crosby started the tournament in 1937, it's been
a bastion of the Blue Blood golf world and steeped in golfing
tradition. But now, thanks to its primary sponsor (AT&T) and its
proximity to Silicon Valley, this high-profile sporting event is
becoming steeped in technology, as well.
For example, in addition to footing a big part of the bill for
this annual shindig, corporate sponsor AT&T blankets the course
with an invisible mobile network.
To bolster the signal for its ubiquitous AT&T
Wireless phones, the company places "Cells On Wheels"--aka
COWs--alongside the fairways. These portable base stations serve as
self-contained, portable telecommunications sites, providing the
same (theoretical) call capacity as a freestanding cellular tower.
Those COWs came in handy for me on the event's opening day. As I
ogled the star-studded amateur roster, a call came in to inform me
that my child had taken sick at school. Thanks to the COWs, I was
able to arrange a low-tech solution--aka grandparents--that let me
stay and watch the tournament.
TECHNOLOGY was working behind the scenes, too, to keep the
high-profile hackers and duffers honest. That same AT&T Wireless
network provided the infrastructure for an army of 150 sweater-clad
scorekeepers, who padded quietly behind every player on every hole
of the 7-day tournament. Trading in their clipboards and pencils for
wireless Palm
Vx handhelds and styli, the scorers used a software program
called ShotLink to record every slice, hook, and divot.
Developed by the PGA in partnership with IBM, ShotLink not only
captures and reports real-time information on every players' every
swing, but also uses Global Positioning System (GPS) and laser
technology to measure the length and accuracy of every shot around
and on the greens. The fanny-pack-mounted GPS systems are reportedly
accurate to less than an inch, thanks in part to their built-in
digital maps of every PGA course.
For now, ShotLink is for professional golfers only. But even
Pebble Beach-inspired amateurs can add a high-tech twist to their
fairway high jinks, in the form of GPS-equipped gadgets, including:
- StarCaddy from LinksPoint displays a digital
map of the golf course on your PDA, using a GPS module to give you
the exact distance to the green, doglegs, sand traps, water
hazards, or any other course feature.
- SG2
Personal Digital Caddie from SkyGolf GPS is another
handheld, satellite-based range finder. The SG2 automatically
calculates distances to the hole in under a second. Available as a
stand-alone device or a module for Palm V/Vx, Palm
m500, or Handspring
Visor handhelds.
- Inforemer GPS from Inforetech Wireless is a
stand-alone, Windows CE-based portable GPS device. It provides a
high-resolution map of each hole, along with details ranging from
the topography of each green and distance measurements to the pin,
to the location of green-side bunkers and water hazards. It also
includes a digital scorecard, pro tips, course rules, and related
information.
IF YOU CAN forgo the GPS capabilities,
there are all sorts of PDA apps available to keep score, plan your
shots, and more. For starters, check out Golf
Scoring System for the Palm or Golfwits for Palm
OS or Pocket
PC.
Finally, if all this high-tech tomfoolery seems to be getting in
the way of finding your true "authentic swing," remember the words
of the late Sam Snead, winner of the first two Pebble Beach
competitions (in 1937 and 1938). Asked whether the increasing role
of technology was ruining the sport of golf, the legendary
88-year-old told a PGATOUR.COM reporter, "Well, it's the ball more
than anything else..They could make a ball go only so far."
Steve Kovsky is author of High-Tech Toys for Your
TV: Secrets of TiVo, Xbox, UltimateTV, ReplayTV and More (Que
Publishing, March 2002), and a daily technology commentator for the
KFWB/LA Times Noon Business Hour on CBS Radio in Los
Angeles .
What's your high-tech secret to a low score? Can a cool
gadget save par on what Mark Twain called "a good walk spoiled"? TalkBack
to me!
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