Systems for locating a golf ball position of a plurality of golfers

Abstract

Systems and methods for determining the at-rest position of the golf ball of one or more golfers during tournament play. Beacons worn either by a golfer or another person associated with the golfer's playing group collect or receive a location signal from one or more global navigation satellite system (GNSS) satellites, wherein the signal's accuracy can be enhanced using real time kinematic (RTK) correction data. Location signals collected or received by the beacons are requested by, and transmitted back to, a portable device in radio frequency (RF) communication with one or more of the beacons and operated by the user. Methods and systems of the present invention can also utilize a laser rangefinder, operated by the user, to measure line-of-sight distance, inclination angle, and azimuth to a golfer's golf ball from the user's determined GNSS location when the beacon is worn by the user.

We claim: 
     
         1 ) A method of locating the at-rest position of a golf ball, in real-time, of a golfer competing in a golf tournament at a golf course, comprising the steps of:
 requesting, by a portable device configured to be carried by a user associated with a playing group comprising one or more golfers, a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) location of a beacon worn by the user, wherein the request is made by the portable device to the beacon;   collecting or receiving, by the portable device, real time kinematic (RTK) correction data from a RTK corrections source;   transmitting, by the portable device, the RTK correction data via a first radio-frequency (RF) communications link between the portable device and the beacon;   collecting or receiving, by the beacon, a location signal associated with the beacon, from one or more GNSS satellites;   combining, by the beacon, the location signal with the RTK correction data, thereby determining the GNSS location of the beacon;   transmitting, by the beacon, the GNSS location of the beacon to the portable device via the first RF communications link;   measuring, using a laser rangefinder operated by the user, the relative position of the golf ball, wherein the relative position of the golf ball is determined from a line-of-sight distance, inclination angle, and azimuth value of the golf ball relative to the user;   transmitting, by the laser rangefinder, the relative position of the golf ball to the portable device via a second RF communications link between the laser rangefinder and the portable device;   determining, by the portable device, the at-rest position of the golf ball, upon geometrically applying the measured relative position of the golf ball to the GNSS location of the beacon.   
     
     
         2 ) The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the beacon is unconnected to the Internet or a cellular network. 
     
     
         3 ) The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the determined GNSS location of the beacon has an accuracy of +/−2 centimeters. 
     
     
         4 ) The method according to  claim 3 , wherein the RTK corrections source is an RTK base station, positioned at a fixed location on the golf course. 
     
     
         5 ) The method according to  claim 3 , wherein the RTK corrections source is a Networked Transport of RTCM via Internet Protocol (NTRIP) service provider, the NTRIP service provider having one or more RTK base stations positioned offsite relative to the golf course. 
     
     
         6 ) The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the one or more GNSS satellites are Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites. 
     
     
         7 ) The method according to  claim 6 , wherein the location signal transmitted by the GPS satellites is transmitted over one or more frequencies selected from the group consisting of the L1 band, L2 band, L5 band, and any combination thereof. 
     
     
         8 ) The method according to  claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first RF communications link and the second RF communications link comprise a Bluetooth communication protocol. 
     
     
         9 ) The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the portable device comprises a user interface configured to receive an input from the user requesting the GNSS location of the beacon. 
     
     
         10 ) The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the playing group comprises a plurality of golfers. 
     
     
         11 ) The method according to  claim 10 , wherein the portable device comprises a user interface configured to receive an input from the user to select one of the plurality of golfers prior to measuring the relative location of the selected golfer's golf ball. 
     
     
         12 ) The method according to  claim 11 , wherein upon the selection of one of the plurality of golfers, the portable device executes a computer-readable instruction stored within a memory of the portable device to request the GNSS location of the beacon. 
     
     
         13 ) The method according to  claim 10 , wherein the user is a walking scorer for the playing group. 
     
     
         14 ) The method according to  claim 13 , wherein the method further comprises the step of transmitting, by the portable device, the at-rest position of a selected golfer's golf ball to a scoring system. 
     
     
         15 ) The method according to  claim 14 , wherein the method further comprises the steps of:
 accumulating, by the scoring system, one or more at-rest positions of the selected golfer's golf ball on a golf hole; and   determining, by the scoring system, a score for the selected golfer on the golf hole from the accumulated golf ball positions for the golf hole.   
     
     
         16 ) The method according to Step  14 , wherein:
 the scoring system accumulates one or more at-rest golf ball positions for each golfer on the golf hole; and   the scoring system determines a score for each golfer on the golf hole, using the accumulated at-rest golf ball positions for each golfer on the golf hole.   
     
     
         17 ) The method according to  claim 14 , wherein the portable device and the scoring system are in electronic communication via the Internet or a cellular network. 
     
     
         18 ) The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises the steps of:
 determining the GNSS location of a pin position on a golf hole;   storing the GNSS location of the pin position within a memory of the portable device; and   executing computer-readable instructions stored within the portable device memory to compare the stored GNSS location of the pin position with the determined at-rest position of the golf ball, thereby determining the distance from the golf ball to the pin position.   
     
     
         19 ) The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises the steps of:
 storing the determined at-rest position of the golf ball within a memory of the portable device;   measuring, using the rangefinder operated by the user, the relative position of a golf pin on a golf hole, wherein the relative position of the golf pin is determined from a line-of-sight distance, inclination angle, and azimuth value of the golf pin relative to the user;   determining, by the portable device, the at-rest position of the golf pin, upon geometrically applying the measured relative position of the golf pin to the GNSS location of the beacon; and   executing computer-readable instructions stored within the portable device memory to compare the stored at-rest position of the golf ball with the determined at-rest position of the golf pin, thereby determining the distance from the golf ball to the golf pin.   
     
     
         20 ) The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises the steps of:
 storing the determined at-rest position of the golf ball within a memory of the portable device, thereby accumulating a first at-rest position of the golf ball;   striking, by the golfer, a golf shot that displaces the golf ball from the first at-rest position of the golf ball;   determining a second at-rest position of the golf ball upon repeating each of the steps of  claim 1 ;   executing computer-readable instructions stored within the portable device memory to compare the stored first at-rest position of the golf ball with the second at-rest position of the golf ball, thereby determining the distance of the golf shot.