Mobile phone system and method for self-caddy

Abstract

A mobile phone incorporates a positioning system to calculate a user's distance from a golf hole. Based on the distance, the mobile phone recommends a golf club to use.

1 . A method, comprising:
 determining a stroke location of a golfer using global positioning system data received by a mobile phone carried by the golfer;   determining a hole location;   calculating a difference between the two determined locations;   determining a club to use based on the difference; and   presenting the determination of club.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the determining the hole location comprises:
 receiving golf course data including hole locations; and   selecting a hole location, by a user's selection or by automatic hole detection algorithm, to the determined stroke location.   
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the receiving golf course data comprises:
 transmitting a request from a mobile phone to a server; and   receiving the golf course data from the server.   
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the determining the stroke location comprises:
 determining a location of a mobile phone carried by the golfer.   
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising storing round play data. 
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the determining the club comprises:
 looking up clubs and associated average range for the golfer from stored round play data; and   selecting the club having an average range closest to the calculated difference.   
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the determining the club comprises:
 looking up clubs and associated distance to hole when used based on stored round play data; and   selecting the club having the associated distance to hole closest to the calculated difference.   
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising displaying round play data overlaid on a map. 
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the determining the club comprises:
 looking up clubs and associated preset distances; and   selecting the club having the associated preset distance closest to the calculated difference.   
   
   
       10 . A system, comprising:
 means for determining a stroke location of a golfer using global positioning system data received by a mobile phone carried by the golfer;   means for determining a hole location;   means for calculating a difference between the two determined locations;   means for determining a club to use based on the difference; and   means for presenting the determination of club.   
   
   
       11 . A computer-readable medium having stored thereon a program that causes a computer to execute a method, the method comprising:
 determining a stroke location of a golfer using global positioning system data received by a mobile phone carried by the golfer;   determining a hole location;   calculating a difference between the two determined locations;   determining a club to use based on the difference; and   presenting the determination of club.   
   
   
       12 . A mobile phone, comprising:
 a global positioning system chipset for determining a stroke location of a golfer;   a hole engine for determining a hole location;   a distance engine, communicatively coupled to the chipset and the hole engine, for calculating a difference between the two determined locations;   a club recommendation engine, communicatively coupled to the distance engine, for determining a club to use based on the difference; and   a club presentation engine, communicatively coupled to the club recommendation engine, for presenting the determination of club.   
   
   
       13 . The system of  claim 12 , further comprising a golf course engine for receiving golf course data including hole locations; and wherein the hole engine selects a hole location, by a user's selection or by an automatic hole detection algorithm, to the determined stroke location. 
   
   
       14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the golf course engine transmits a request from a mobile phone to a server; and receives the golf course data from the server. 
   
   
       15 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the GPS chipset determines the stroke location by determining the location of the mobile phone, which is carried by the golfer. 
   
   
       16 . The system of  claim 12 , further comprising a storage engine for storing round play data. 
   
   
       17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the club recommendation engine determines the club by looking up clubs and associated average range for the golfer from stored round play data; and selecting the club having an average range closest to the calculated difference. 
   
   
       18 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the club recommendation engine determine the club by looking up clubs and associated distance to hole when used based on stored round play data; and selecting the club having the associated distance to hole closest to the calculated difference. 
   
   
       19 . The system of  claim 16 , further comprising a map engine for displaying round play data overlaid on a map. 
   
   
       20 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the club recommendation engine determines the club by looking up clubs and associated preset distances; and selecting the club having the associated preset distance closest to the calculated difference. 
   
   
       21 . A method, comprising:
 using a global positioning system chipset in a mobile phone to determine a golf course hole location; and   transmitting the golf course hole location to a database for storage so that other users can access the golf course hole location.