Section 86. Use Your Device As a High-tech Golf Scorecard


86. Use Your Device As a High-tech Golf Scorecard

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

11 Install a New Application to Your Device


Regardless of your skill level, if you play golf, you might find that using your BlackBerry device as an electronic scorecard is a simple and efficient way to keep up with your rounds. Technology has infiltrated the golf world in so many ways that it's a bit surprising more golfers don't already use their handheld devices and mobile phones as electronic scorecards. Now you can add your BlackBerry device alongside titanium club heads and GPS navigation systems on golf carts as a cutting-edge golf technology that can help improve your game.

86. Use Your Device As a High-tech Golf Scorecard


Several BlackBerry golf scorecard applications are on the market, and you might want to spend some time analyzing each one to get an idea of which one suits your needs the best. Some of the applications I ran across are mScorecard, Wireless18, My Golf Card, and Golf Score Keeper. After tinkering with some of these applications, I decided to focus on mScorecard because it appears to be the most professional and full-featured of the BlackBerry golf applications.

1.
Download and Install the mScorecard Application

The mScorecard application is available for purchase and download directly from the mScorecard website at http://www.mscorecard.com/. A free evaluation version of mScorecard allows you to run the application 10 times to see whether you like it; if you decide to purchase the application, its purchase price as of this writing is $19.99. To try mScorecard, download a file to your desktop PC and then install the application to your device. After installing mScorecard to your device, an icon is added to the Applications screen where you can launch the application.

2.
Open the Applications Screen

Scroll to the Applications icon on the Home screen and click the trackwheel. The Applications screen appears, displaying a list of applications you can launch.

3.
Launch the mScorecard Application

Scroll to the mScorecard icon and click the trackwheel. The mScorecard application launches and appears.

4.
Start a New Round of Golf

The main screen in the mScorecard application includes a list of options that enable you to navigate to different parts of the application. The first step in using the application is to start a new round of golf. To start a new round, scroll the trackwheel to select New Round and double-click. The Select Course screen opens, which prompts you to select a golf course for the round.

TIP

The full version of mScorecard allows you to download golf courses, which saves you the hassle of having to create courses yourself. Of course, this assumes the courses you play are available for download. You can check with the publisher of mScorecard (Velocor Corporation) to find out exactly which courses are available before buying the full version; visit the mScorecard website at www.mscorecard.com.

5.
Create a New Golf Course

Unfortunately, because you're using mScorecard for the first time, there are no courses to select for the round. So, select New Course in the list and double-click to create a new course. The Edit Course screen appears, including several fields for entering details about the golf course. The only field you have to enter is Course name , which is simply the name of the golf course. After entering the details about the course, click the trackwheel and select Save from the menu that appears. Click once more, and the course is saved; the screen changes to a hole-by-hole view of the course. Here you enter information about each hole, such as the par for each hole. An additional screen enables you to enter the slope for the course and other, more detailed, information. You can forego entering all this information for now if you're just trying to get a feel for using the application to keep score.

When you finish editing the new course and save it, you return to the Select Course screen where you can select the newly created course. Scroll to select the course and double-click the trackwheel.

6.
Select the Number of Players

The next step in starting a new round is to specify the number of players. Just scroll the trackwheel to select the number of players, and then double-click.

7.
Create New Players

Of course, mScorecard keeps up with players just as it keeps up with courses. You need to create players in the application that correspond to each of the players in the round. Select New Player on the Player 1 screen and double-click to create a new player. The Edit Player screen appears, including several fields for entering details about the player. The only fields you have to enter are Name and Short Name (two characters ), which are used to uniquely identify the player. You can enter as much additional player information here as you want, such as the player's handicap and golf association membership. After entering the details about the player, click the trackwheel and select Save from the menu that appears. Click once more, and the player is saved. You have to create a player or a course only oncefrom then on, you can just select the player when starting a new round or the course when playing on another day.

NOTE

The short name of a player is displayed on the scorecard to identify the player, which helps conserve screen space.

You must repeat the player creation process for each player in the round; when you're done, you see each player listed on the Player 1 screen. The screen is called Player 1 because it is the screen used to select the first player in the round. So, select one of the newly created players and double-click. You are then asked to select the tee location for the player, after which you are asked to select the second player. Repeat the player selection process to select all the players for the round.

After creating and selecting the players, you are given a chance to enter the handicap for each player for the round. After setting the handicaps for the players, click the trackwheel, select OK from the menu that appears, and click again. The round starts and you can now begin entering scores for each hole.

8.
Enter the Scores for Each Hole

You can be as detailed as you want when it comes to entering scores for the round of golf. The simplest approach is to just enter the score for each player on each hole, as you are accustomed to doing on a traditional paper golf scorecard. mScorecard takes things a bit further, though, by allowing you to get much more detailed; you can specify the number of putts, fairway hits, saves, and penalties for each hole, to name a few of the additional stats you can track.

TIP

To scroll horizontally on the golf scorecard, hold down the Alt key while scrolling the trackwheel.

NOTE

If you're a gambling golfer, you can use mScorecard to track side games while you're scoring the round. Click the trackwheel, select Side Games from the menu that appears, and click again to edit information related to gambling games played on the side.

When you finish entering the score for the first hole, click the trackwheel, select Next Hole , and click again. Continue scoring the rounds like this until you're finished playing. mScorecard automatically saves the round as you enter data, so you don't have to worry about saving.

9.
Exit the Application

Press the Escape button to exit the application. Press the Escape button again to navigate back to the Home screen, or just press the End key once to exit the application and return directly to the Home screen.



BlackBerry in a Snap
BlackBerry in a Snap
ISBN: 0672326701
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 149

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