GPS Question

[Strider]

i have a garmin 60csx handheld unit. it takes a micro sd card so i was wondering if there was any golf gps software out there that i could use on this unit? probably a long shot but i thought i would look into it.

[Eracer]

Originally Posted by Strider

i have a garmin 60csx handheld unit. it takes a micro sd card so i was wondering if there was any golf gps software out there that i could use on this unit? probably a long shot but i thought i would look into it.

I've been hoping to find software for my 60CS. So far, no luck.

[Pa Jayhawk]

Just based on my experience with GPS systems, it is probably unlikely. Simply because the device would need to be loaded with an interface to interact with the card (kinda like what a palm does on their systems). If it had the capability, Garmin would certainly already have a device for sale of their own. They are already in the industry with the Golflogix, so it is not like it is a stretch but just probably not available for any given unit without first doing a firmware or software update. Probably not to far off in the future but would be a costly venture without first having a proven base to support the idea. Probably not something they would be willing to do right away, when it would likely come at the expense of their interest with Golflogix.

That being said, there are software units available for things such as palms or phones, but again without an interface they would likely do you little good.

Just my opinion though. Certainly a great thought and one I thought about when I bought mine in already have several GPS devices for both trail and road.

[Strider]

thanks guys. i was hoping maybe there was something out there. basically my gps sits around most of the summer till fall so i was hoping i could get some more use out of it.

[Eracer]

Jayhawk - why wouldn't it just be a matter of uploading course maps, rather than street maps? I guess I don't understand how much the hardware and firmware control the data. I know a golf GPS keeps track of distances to fixed points. But isn't that what a street GPS does at it's most basic?

I know my ignorance is showing, and would like a little better understanding.

[Pa Jayhawk]

Originally Posted by Eracer

Jayhawk - why wouldn't it just be a matter of uploading course maps, rather than street maps? I guess I don't understand how much the hardware and firmware control the data. I know a golf GPS keeps track of distances to fixed points. But isn't that what a street GPS does at it's most basic?

I know my ignorance is showing, and would like a little better understanding.

No ignorance there, I only know it because I tried it out.

The first thing that would stand out would likely be having a conversion to yards. This would be the biggest, with this you could just do your own courses and test it out. Not sure about that model, but most have miles changing to feet inside a certain point.

Second would be for ease of use you would want to tie in the Points per hole, otherwise you would likely be sorting and picking up points based on the existing format from other holes. Like the fairway bunker on 2 may be closer to the one on 1, and if it sorts by distance it will show first. You may be able to get around this by setting up routes. But then, this isn't going to tell you the distance to the 100 yard mark if you have 4 points in between without alot of work. You could use clever naming options, but again, alot of work to navigate.

Third, you are usually limited in number of waypoints for the device, usually around 500. So for instance, my iGolf has 11 points per hole, and 18 holes. So that is about 200 points. So you could fit a couple courses, however again due to sorting, you don't know which are for which course. So you would likely only want 1 course at a time. Yeah, putting it on an SD Card could logically fix this if you limit one course per card.

Really you could do it even with feet, but logically you are using this for ease of use, and that would actually make the game more difficult.

You also need to consider that this device may not be really designed to be stable and accurate to yards. I took my GPS III on the course, and it is just not as stable and consistant for that use. Not as important on hiking when you see what you want to reach once you get within a few hundred yards. Not to say there are not device that are maybe newer to accomodate this accuracy. They just didn't build the stablizer, a higher sensitivity reciever, WAAS correction and functionality into the device because it was not as important to have acceptable functionality for hiking or driving. The same reason why many swear by the accuracy of the GPS and other say it jumps around and fluctuates by 10-15 yards and to buy a range finder. All in how they designed the device. If I had to rely on the GPS III by Garmin for golf, I would not do so. Great for hiking though.