Game Golf Smart Caddie App

[Jeremie Boop]

2 minutes ago, billchao said:

Really? I didn't know that. I'm not sure I trust it's accuracy. 

GG barely knows where I am sometimes when I use it.

I agree, it doesn't seem to be super accurate. This is also why I wouldn't trust the wind accuracy. I would guess it's going to be accurate to within a few yards/mph most of the time, good enough for the average golfer. Also probably at least as accurate as a person's best guess most of the time. I can see how it could speed things up a little bit. Still wouldn't say it's worth the cost for me.

[billchao]

19 minutes ago, Jeremie Boop said:

I agree, it doesn't seem to be super accurate. This is also why I wouldn't trust the wind accuracy. I would guess it's going to be accurate to within a few yards/mph most of the time, good enough for the average golfer. Also probably at least as accurate as a person's best guess most of the time. I can see how it could speed things up a little bit. Still wouldn't say it's worth the cost for me.

https://www.quora.com/Can-the-Galaxy-S6-sense-altitude/answer/Christoph-Marschall?share=af4d61bb&srid=pcYX

I did a quick Google search and the results are not promising. Consumer GPS has an altitude accuracy error of +/- 15 meters? That's less useful than guessing.

Also have to consider that a lot of golf courses are lined with trees, so a horizontal satellite read would actually be of the canopy and not ground level. Then you have to think about different trees being different heights and you might as well not bother with the thing at all.

[Jeremie Boop]

12 minutes ago, billchao said:

https://www.quora.com/Can-the-Galaxy-S6-sense-altitude/answer/Christoph-Marschall?share=af4d61bb&srid=pcYX

I did a quick Google search and the results are not promising. Consumer GPS has an altitude accuracy error of +/- 15 meters? That's less useful than guessing.

Also have to consider that a lot of golf courses are lined with trees, so a horizontal satellite read would actually be of the canopy and not ground level. Then you have to think about different trees being different heights and you might as well not bother with the thing at all.

Interesting. Seems strange that they would implement a feature with so much margin for error. I had thought that consumer GPS had improved over the years, since the S6 is several years old, but admittedly I don't keep up on that aspect of phone development either.

Edited July 11, 2018 by Jeremie Boop

[billchao]

2 minutes ago, Jeremie Boop said:

Interesting. Seems strange that they would implement a feature with so much margin for error. I had through that consumer GPS had improved over the years, since the S6 is several years old, but admittedly I don't keep up on that aspect of phone development either.

The S6 is an older phone, but the science behind how satellites triangulate position should be the same.

Even if your phone has a barometer in it, it is going to tell you the altitude where you are, not some spot 150 yards away. The only way I can think of GG doing that is by using the gyroscope in your phone which seems like a clunky process and you might as well just get a rangefinder with slope technology. 

[Jeremie Boop]

21 minutes ago, billchao said:

The S6 is an older phone, but the science behind how satellites triangulate position should be the same.

Even if your phone has a barometer in it, it is going to tell you the altitude where you are, not some spot 150 yards away. The only way I can think of GG doing that is by using the gyroscope in your phone which seems like a clunky process and you might as well just get a rangefinder with slope technology. 

I don't think it's the satellites and triangulation that causes the inaccuracy. According to this article it's more of a gps chip issue.

https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/9/25/16362296/gps-accuracy-improving-one-foot-broadcom

Maybe they are banking on that technology to make the new service worthwhile? Also, I thought google earth was able to give you elevation changes if you select two points on the map? If that's the case, then couldn't the GG app do something similar based on your location and the green? Just spitballing here, as we obviously don't know the technology they are using for calculations.