Systems and methods of gathering and transmitting golf tournament information

Abstract

Systems and methods of gathering and transmitting golf tournament information, including a server configured to receive data from a plurality of portable devices carried by spotters of the golf tournament, the data being entered by the spotters into their respective portable devices in real time during the golf tournament, the data being related to the status of golf balls played by particular players after the balls have been hit by the players, the server being configured to selectively transmit at least some of the collected data to another portable device in a format permitting display according to pre-formatted screens.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system of gathering and transmitting golf tournament information, comprising:
 a server, the server being configured to:   receive first player data input into at least a first transmitter device by at least a first spotter of the golf tournament, the first spotter being associated with at least a first player of the golf tournament, wherein the first player data is related to status of a first golf ball played by the first player at a first location of a golf course after the first golf ball has been hit by the first player; and   receive second player data input into at least a second transmitter device by at least a second spotter of the golf tournament, the second spotter being associated with at least a second player of the golf tournament, wherein the second player data is related to status of a second golf ball played by the second player at a second location of the golf course after the second golf ball has been hit by the second player, the first location being different than the second location;   wherein the server is configured to receive the first and second data from the first and second transmitter devices, and   wherein the server is configured to selectively transmit at least some of one or more of the first player data and the second player data to a handheld device in a format permitting the handheld device to display selectively transmitted player data according to formatted screens.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the server is configured to store historical performance data of particular players in the golf tournament, and to transmit the historical performance data to the handheld device in a format permitting display on the handheld device of the historical performance data according to a formatted screen. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the server is configured such that the historical performance data is derived from statistical player data transmitted to the server. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the server is configured such that the historical performance data is derived from statistical player data associated with distance information and club selection information related to particular shots of particular players of the golf tournament. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the server is configured such that historical performance data is based on statistics relating to the total number of birdies, pars, and/or bogies scored by a particular player on one or more holes of the golf course. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the server is configured to transmit endorsement information of manufacturers of equipment used by players of the golf tournament in a format permitting display on the handheld device of the endorsement information according to a formatted screen. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 2 , wherein the server is configured such that the historical performance data is formatted to include comments regarding a particular hole of the golf course from one or more players of the golf tournament for display on the handheld device. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the server is configured to transmit a map of the golf course for display on the handheld device such that at least one of the formatted screens is configured to display location and distance information of at least one of the first golf ball and the second golf ball relative to the map on the handheld device. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the server is configured to receive video footage associated with a notable shot by a particular player in the golf tournament, and to transmit the video footage for display on the handheld device upon the server receiving a request from the handheld device. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the server is configured such that one or more portions of the first and second data are transmitted by the server to the handheld device for display on the handheld device upon the server receiving a request from the handheld device. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the server is configured such that one or more portions of the first and second data are transmitted by the server to the handheld device for display on the handheld device in real time during the golf tournament. 
     
     
         12 . A method of gathering and transmitting golf tournament information, comprising:
 receiving first player data from at least a first transmitter device associated with at least a first spotter of the golf tournament, the first spotter being associated with at least a first player of the golf tournament, wherein the first player data is related to status of a first golf ball played by the first player at a first location of a golf course after the first golf ball has been hit by the first player;   receiving second player data from at least a second transmitter device associated with at least a second spotter of the golf tournament, the second spotter being associated with at least a second player of the golf tournament, wherein the second player data is related to status of a second golf ball played by the second player at a second location of the golf course after the second golf ball has been hit by the second player, wherein the first location is different than the second location; and   selectively transmitting at least some of one or more of the first player data and the second player data to a handheld device in a format permitting the handheld device to display selectively transmitted player data according to formatted screens.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising transmitting historical performance data of particular players in the golf tournament to the handheld device in a format permitting display of the historical performance data on the handheld device according to a formatted screen. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising deriving the historical performance data from statistical player data transmitted to the server, the historical performance data being associated with particular holes of the golf course. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising formatting the historical performance data in a format permitting display of statistics relating to the total number of birdies, pars, and/or bogies scored by a predetermined player on one or more holes of the golf course on the handheld device. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising transmitting endorsement information of manufacturers of equipment used by players of the golf tournament in a format permitting display on the handheld device according to a formatted equipment screen. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 13 , further comprising formatting the historical performance data in a format permitting display of comments regarding a particular hole of the golf course from one or more players of the golf tournament on the handheld device. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising transmitting a map of the golf course for display on the handheld device such that the formatted screens are configured to display location and distance information of at least one of the first golf ball and the second golf ball relative to the map on the handheld device. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 receiving video footage associated with a notable shot by a particular player in the golf tournament; and   transmitting the video footage for display on the handheld device upon receiving a request from the handheld device.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising transmitting the one or more portions of the first and second data to the handheld device for display on the handheld device upon the server receiving a request from the handheld device. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising transmitting the one or more portions of the first and second data to the handheld device for display on the handheld device in real time during the golf tournament. 
     
     
         22 . A system of gathering and transmitting golf tournament information, comprising:
 a server, the server being configured to:   receive first player data input into a first spotter transmitter device at a first location during a golf tournament;   receive second player data input into a second spotter transmitter device at a second location during the golf tournament different than the first location; and   wherein the server is configured to receive the first player data and the second player data from the first spotter transmitter device and the second spotter transmitter device after the first player data and the second player data has been input to the first spotter transmitter device and the second spotter transmitter device, respectively, and   wherein the server is configured to selectively transmit at least some of one or more of the first player data and the second player data to a handheld device in a format permitting the handheld device to display selectively transmitted player data according to formatted screens.