{"id":1756,"date":"2020-09-16T22:31:18","date_gmt":"2020-09-16T22:31:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/?p=1756"},"modified":"2020-09-16T22:31:18","modified_gmt":"2020-09-16T22:31:18","slug":"green-reading-books-for-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/jaystuller\/golf\/equipment\/1756\/green-reading-books-for-all","title":{"rendered":"Green-Reading Books for All"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Coming

Coming to a pro shop near you: The GolfLogix Green Book.<\/p><\/div>\n

For a company that introduced golf\u2019s first handheld GPS distance measuring device way back in 1999, and a decade later one of the first smartphone apps that used the GPS to literally duplicate the course on-screen, Golflogix is now riding one of the most old school products to hit the game\u2019s mainstream since Old Tom fastened his kilt. \u00a0Released last April, the Green Book<\/strong> is a four-and-a-half by seven-inch paper green-reading guide<\/em><\/strong>, with arrows and colors that illustrate the slopes and severity on putting surfaces down to the centimeter.<\/p>\n

It fits in a back pocket – – of any golfer.\u00a0 And eventually, there will be a version for any golf course for which a player wants one.<\/p>\n

Less expensive than most green fees, Green Books are currently available for roughly 4,500 courses in the United States, but if ordered could be quickly made for almost every one of the 14,000 courses in the country. \u00a0Rules compliant, the Book is pretty much identical to the guides used by Tour professionals, their caddies and athletes in well-funded collegiate golf programs.<\/p>\n

Flipped open, the Green\u2019s bottom page is essentially a yardage guide for the entire hole, which can help players with club selection. \u00a0The top page has two<\/p>\n

\"The

The guidebook is useful from tee to green.<\/p><\/div>\n

illustrations of the green.\u00a0 One is a quick view \u201cheat map,\u201d which used color codes that show that hot and cold areas of green undulations, essentially the percentages of the slopes, revealing a desired landing area depending on pin placement.\u00a0 The other shows a set of arrows – – which point downhill – – that show the direction of the break within five-yard grids, with each line representing three inches of elevation change.<\/p>\n

What was once an exclusive, rather secretive and expensive tool for golf\u2019s elite can now be in the hands of ordinary players, enabling the golfers to quickly read the break and speed on any putt, without grinding time looking at it from all directions.<\/p>\n

High to Low Tech<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

The magnitude of the success of the Green Books has actually surprised GolfLogix President and co-founder Pete Charleston.\u00a0 \u201cWhen we first put this together the great unknown was whether golfers would purchase one book for their home course, maybe a second for a tournament venue, and be done with us,\u201d he explains.\u00a0 \u201cBut last month, 23 percent of our sales were re-orders from prior customers, which is huge and suggests this might be more to this than we suspected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Far more detailed than yardage books sold at most golf courses, the Green Books have been aggressively marketed. \u00a0Golflogix has been sending three free books to PGA members who can test them for themselves, or loan them to members who have difficulty in reading greens. \u00a0The company is also emphasizing the book\u2019s potential for tournaments and member-guest events, where half the field isn\u2019t familiar with a track that\u2019s usually slicked up for competitions. In July alone, the number of courses stocking the Green Books grew by 300 percent.<\/p>\n

(When printed for specific courses, the Club\u2019s logo is often included and the covers are laminated with plastic, making the books more durable.)<\/p>\n

\"A

A typical heat map showing the steeper slopes and flat spots on a green.<\/p><\/div>\n

A great deal of high technology went into a product that appears about as low tech as a golf scorecard.\u00a0 But unlike the GPS-based products developed by the Scottsdale, Arizona-based company, satellites are not used to generate Green Books.\u00a0 \u201cAll of the data is gathered from airplanes and drones, because the technology just doesn\u2019t work from space,\u201d explains Charleston, data that must include radio signal returns that reveal the variations in a green\u2019s terrain. \u00a0\u201cWe obviously have a large and proprietary computer program to process the information. \u00a0It\u2019s based on a crazy amount of data, about two million points per green.\u201d<\/p>\n

Retro Chic<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

At my home course, which I\u2019ve played for 16 years, the Green book\u2019s arrows and colors are remarkably accurate.\u00a0 (While I already know the breaks and speeds, putts almost never go where I want, a tragic affliction that book-learnin\u2019 will never cure.)\u00a0 But my head pro has loaned copies to several of the club\u2019s better players who can putt, but had difficulty reading greens, and they have found the book instantly helpful.<\/p>\n

\u201cReading greens has always been one of my<\/em> problems,\u201d admit Charleston.\u00a0 \u201cI just can\u2019t see subtle breaks and I know there are lots of players just like me.\u00a0 Now that I\u2019m used to the book, I can see the break even as I\u2019m walking onto the green.\u00a0 It really gives me a sense of confidence on those five to six times a round when your eyes just can\u2019t figure the break.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, hackers who behave like Tour professionals is what worries head pros , who fear any impact on pace of play. \u00a0Charleston believes that the Book can speed time on the green.\u00a0 \u201cYou eliminate all the fellows trying to plumb bob the hole from several directions.\u00a0 It\u2019s like having a caddie.\u201d<\/p>\n

GolfLogix has a phone app for Green Books, but carrying a cell phone to the green simply isn\u2019t much fun.\u00a0 The tactile nature of whipping a greens book from your back pocket is what can make one feel <\/em>like a Tour pro, at least for a retro chic moment.<\/p>\n

As it has with its GPS units and golf apps, Golflogix keeps products up to date, despite remodels, weather events and other course changed, largely thanks to its army of five million product owners.\u00a0 I\u2019ve reported a couple inaccuracies on the app and saw it fixed within 48 hours.\u00a0 \u201cWe rely on customers for that kind of feedback,\u201d says Charleston.<\/p>\n

Green Books for an 18-hole course are currently retailing for $40 direct from GolfLogix, and $30 for a 9-holer.\u00a0 Clubs may retail them for considerably less as a service to members.\u00a0 A list of the courses currently available can be found at this site<\/a>.\u00a0 For more information, go the GolfLogix site<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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