Method of determining a flight trajectory and extracting flight data for a trackable golf ball

Abstract

A method for determining a shot trajectory of a trackable golf ball is disclosed, wherein substantially real-time position information transmitted by the ball for a time period is received and processed to determine a shot trajectory for a golf shot, wherein a velocity value and an acceleration value is determined, and wherein an initial and final location of the shot trajectory is determined based on at least one of the acceleration and velocity values. Also disclosed is a method for determining a spin rate of a trackable golf ball, wherein the shot trajectory and a profile of the shot trajectory are determined, wherein at least one of an initial velocity, a maximum height, an initial shot angle, a curvature of the trajectory, and an in-air shot distance are calculated using the shot trajectory, and wherein the spin rate is determined based on the calculated values.

1 . A method for determining a shot trajectory of a trackable golf ball hit by a golfer, comprising: 
 providing a receiver configured to receive substantially real-time position information transmitted by the trackable golf ball over a time period and a processor configured to process the location information and to determine a shot trajectory;    identifying whether a shot of the golf ball by the golfer has taken place using the processor;    computing a velocity value and an acceleration value for each of several portions of the time period using the processor;    determining an initial location and a final location of the shot trajectory based on at least one of the acceleration values and the velocity values using the processor; and    outputting the shot trajectory.    
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the steps of: 
 obtaining substantially real-time weather information including at least one of wind speed, temperature and precipitation, and    modifying at least one of the velocity values, the acceleration values and the shot trajectory based on the weather information using the processor.    
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising displaying the shot trajectory on a display.  
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 3 , further comprising accessing course information on a golf course being played by the golfer, including at least a coordinate map, and displaying the shot trajectory in relation to the coordinate map.  
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining an in-air portion of the golf shot and a first ground contact position using the velocity and the acceleration values.  
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining at least one of a roll distance, an initial launch angle, and initial shot velocity, a number of bounces, and a bounce height using the shot trajectory.  
   
   
       7 . A method for determining a spin rate of a trackable golf ball hit by a golfer, comprising: 
 providing a receiver configured to receive substantially real-time position information for the golf ball for a plurality of time periods and a processor configured to process the location information and to determine a shot trajectory;    identifying whether a shot of the golf ball by the golfer has taken place using the processor;    determining a profile of the shot trajectory using the processor;    calculating an initial velocity, a maximum height, an initial shot angle, a curvature of the shot trajectory and an in-air shot distance based on the shot trajectory using the processor and determining the spin rate based on the calculated values; and    outputting the spin rate.    
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising ascertaining a ball type of the trackable golf ball and determining the spin rate using the ball type.  
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising receiving substantially real-time weather information and including the weather information in determining the spin rate.