DerekR

@David in FL @CarlSpackler We looked extremely close into the phone battery issue using the GPS apps and had some great results. Through out testing we found that when using TLink with the GPS app it will save roughly 30% more battery life than if you were to be using the phone by itself. Thanks to the advancements in Bluetooth Low Energy the power consumption from the connection is almost nothing and you can expect to run about 30% of your phone battery in a long round of golf. As for the connection TLink will stay connected to the phone up to 100 feet away so just keeping that in mind you should be able to leave it in your bag. As a precaution if it does disconnect it will automatically reconnect when back in range so you don't have to worry about taking your phone out again.

@cipher @RonTheSavage Thanks for the question guys. The device itself has three buttons on the right hand side. Just use the top and bottom buttons to change between the next and previous hole, no need to take your phone out.

Thanks for the warm welcomes and feedback everyone! @vangator you are exactly right, we decided to make TLink run 100% off the GPS in your smartphone which has helped us save tremendously on size, weight, and cost :)

Hey Everyone! Derek Rucki here, founder of TLink Golf. Just wanted to personally share my new product with all of you and why I created it :) I loved the idea of the golf GPS watches when they were first released because of how convenient it was to have those yardages just a quick glance of the wrist away. But as an avid golfer I immediately was thrown off by the size and weight of the watch during my swing as I do not usually where one anyways. So with that in mind I decided to try and create something that was actually made with golfers in mind, and TLink was born. After bringing on a team that has worked on projects for companies like Motorola, Dell, Nokia, and past wearable tech successes we are ready for production. TLink uses Bluetooth Low Energy to run off already exiting GPS golf apps on your smartphone. Although it is the lightest GPS golf watch in the world coming in at only 30 grams, we decided to build it to give golfers a choice. TLink is an individual unit that comes with both a silicon wristband skin and a belt clip skin allowing you to choose how exactly you would like to wear it, so if watches don't exactly tickle your fancy we got you covered! Another beauty of this design is that we are able to offer multi colored wristband skins so you can match your outfit for the day. On top of this TLink will also be able to count steps, distance walked, and calories burned on or off the golf course. So after months of research and development/testing we are finally accepting pre-orders for a discounted price of $99 and will be shipping before the holiday season. My intent is not to make this a big sales pitch but just want to let the golf community about this product because as an extreme golf enthusiast myself I would have liked to know about it :) To get more information and pre-order go to www.golftlink.com and because I am a big fan of this forum and want to make this available to truly everyone you can use the discount code SANDTRAP to receive another $10 off. Please fire away at any questions, comments, or concerns and I will happily answer! Cheers, Derek www.golftlink.com

Hey Guys! So I feel I contribute to this post because I am going to be launching a GPS golf watch that functions off a GPS app on your phone. I went to a few local golf courses and compiled some data on several of the most popular GPS apps. I analyzed the accuracy of the app by picking a green that had a central flag and comparing the yardages from the app to my Bushnell yardages. Golf Logix: Accuracy 1-2 yards (very good) Update time: Updated almost instantly while walking Update time from unlock: 2-3 second delay to update yardages Note: Slow interface due to the graphics but the yardage quality is very good. If you want more than just front, middle, back this app has some good features. nRange Golf: Accuracy: 1-2 yards (very good) Update time: Almost instant while walking Update time from unlock: Instant (very good) Note: Very fast interface, switching between holes is very quick, great for just getting front, middle, back yardages iGolf: Accuracy: 1-2 yards (very good) Update time: Almost instant while walking Update time from unlock: 1 second delay Note: Very fast interface switching between holes. It did crash on me though. SkyDroid: Accuracy: 5-10 yards (not great) not sure why but the signal on the app from the same spot was not nearly as good with this app. Update time: Instant (very good) Update time from unlock: Instant (very good). Note: An interesting feature with SkyDroid is you can hit the pause button on location services when you are not using it in order to save on battery life Golf Pad: Accuracy: 1-2 yards (very good) Update time: 1-2 second delay Update time from unlock: 1 second delay Note: Scorecard feature is nice and the interface is quick Mobile yardage GPS: Accuracy: 3-5 yards Update time: 1-2 seconds Update time from unlock: Instant FreeCaddie: Accuracy: 1-2 yards (very good) Update time: Instant Update time from unlock: Instant (NICE) Note: Love the simple easy to use interface of this app. If you are just looking for your front, middle, back yardages the free version is the one for you! The pro version show hazards and such. Overall I am very impressed with how close the majority of these apps came to matching my Bushnell yardages which was the main thing I wanted to test for. Hope this helps a little :)

This also depends on your swing speed. If you have a higher swing speed and are looking for some spin and control around the greens I have to go ahead and hop on the Pro V1 band wagon even though you will get more distance out of the 1X. I find the Callaway HEX Chrome series is almost too much spin for my game and the ball just gets chewed up after 5 full swing wedges but man can you rip those things back. Its all a matter of finding that right ball for your game that gives you enough spin, but is not so soft that you are going to be loosing distance :)

Hey guys, I have personally been doing a lot of market research on the GPS golf watches including surveying users of the watch. Everyone loves the convenience of having the yardages right there on your wrist. The number 1 complaint with them has been their size and weight being a distraction. Just something to keep in your mind if you are not use to wearing a watch when you play because they are fairly large watches and might be a distraction. Just pop over to a golf store and smack some in the simulator with one on before you decide to buy is my suggestion!

Hi Everyone, My name is Derek and I have been a highly competitive golfer since a young age which has taken me some pretty awesome places! Like most people on this forum I am just a golf nut and I basically eat, sleep, and breath everything golf. My passion for golf along with my business sense has brought me down an amazing path and I am going to be launching an alternative product to the current golf GPS watches this summer called TLink. Only difference is it is 4X lighter at only 15grams, can be worn either on your wrist, belt, or bag, displays yardages from your phone, and is going to retail for $99. Very exciting stuff and I am pumped to get some feedback from the forum as we make our way down this crazy road to our product launch! Not looking to be that annoying guy trying to sell stuff on such an active forum like this so I am really just here out of my love for golf :) Let'r rip, Derek Rucki