Improve Your Golf Game. Golf Pad GPS Tutorials/FAQ

Edwin, I may give this a try.  Thanks for the idea.  I’ve been wondering why a couple tags are hit and miss when scanning.

I use a phone holster and what I noticed is that the metal and little magnets in the holster interfere with the NFC signal. Another thing was my putter grip. Because of the 'metal' bolt on top it had big troubles getting read by my phone.

My solution was to put a ferrite sticker on the entire back of the tag. It worked wonders so I ended up putting ferrite stickers on all my tags at the back.

Maybe it might be an idea for golfpad to look at NFC tags made for on metal surfaces. It realy boosts the performance on reading the tags.

Get a phone clip. It does wonders. 

My Tags are supposed to arrive soon so I have no experience with tagging and my iPhone. The Game Golf "Classic" device that I have used for years was easy to work with. I've seen mention of people keeping the phone "nearby", or taking it out to tag. Has anyone tried putting their phone in a holster or belt clip and tagging their shots?

I thought the bunker shots would be automatically selected, similar to the fairway results of a drive.  This doesn't seem to happen, so I'm always going in after the round and editting the shots to "fix" those things.  It does help tremendously that I can recall all of my shots in a round even up to a week later (I only play once a week or so), so I know which shots were from the sand or from the fringe or first cut.

I only have the tags and not the Link, so I have no idea how the Link works.  I'll have to speak to a friend who uses a Pebble watch with his tags and see if that is simple to do "on the fly".

The most important capability of the LINK reader is to bring TAG functionality to the iPhone. There missing that huge market segment without it. I think the secondary consideration is for ease of scanning for all users. I think if Apple allowed NFC reading in their phone, you wouldn't see the LINK being introduced at all.

I'm in the other camp. I going to enjoy leaving the phone in/on the cart and will get yardages from my cheapo smart watch. I'll grab the phone in the rare instance when I'm playing a new course and don't know yardages to hazards. I hate carrying my phone is the bottom line. I'd prefer the reader and a smart watch. I know you prefer your phone.

I think the goal of the design of the TAGS was to make them as low profile as possible. So less chance of breaking or dislodging them if struck against something. So I don't think they'd be as durable in a slanted format as you suggest.

As for the cost of the tags themselves, yes, it's way too much but you have to understand the app-for-phone market.

A normal marketplace should work like this.

1. - ALL users pay a fee for the software (say $35); it ain't free;
2. - some extra features and upgrades are a yearly fee (say $20); i.e. premium subscription
3. - other goodies like TAGS are $15-20

But the app-for-phone market works like this:

1. - YOU MUST GIVE THE APP AWAY FOR FREE; the cheap freeloaders out there won't download anything that hits you up for a fee right off the bat; you'll never get any traction with an app otherwise; the cheapskates out there won't even pay for premium features, and will kick and scream if they have to (and then they'll go download something else);
2. - because of point #1, you have to recoup ALL of your costs (and your profit margin because nobody works for free) from the extras (like the overpriced TAGS), and to pay for future enhancements, and development every time there's a new iOS or Android flavour. So you have to realize the $99 covers the app (which you should have paid for), the freeloaders, and part of future development.

Now the interesting part is that smart watches are being developed WITH NFC readers. That would eliminate the need for LINK (and for having your phone in your pocket). That would be the ultimate solution in my books.

A simple solution is for GolfpadGPS, or perhaps one of their competitors in case anyone else is listening, to make tags that are slanted. Instead of making the TAGS slanted, GolfpadGPS makes the additional reader slanted to entice users to buy the reader.  A benefit of GolfpadGPS is that it's able to use a phone's built in NFC.  Making it awkward to the point of annoyance to scan a club with a phone removes that benefit.

With the recent redesign of the TAGS not including a slant option for those who don't want to buy or carry extra equipment on their person during a round is a disappointment.  Given that the TAGS sell for a hundred dollars with manufacturing costs probably less than 10% of that, and the fact that the app itself is not free, there is no excuse to not make the TAGS user friendly for us Android users.

Some people must be golfing with a tough crowd. I've even golfed as a single with a group, and others weren't even aware of what I was doing with the app and phone most of the time.

On the tee, I usually tag while everyone is still clamoring up to the tee box (and I or another player is not yet ready to tee off), and in the fairway, I'm tagging while others are making a practice swing, etc., so that's not an issue. For most first putts, I tag just as I reach my ball before I even mark it, so again it's no issue/no delay with playing partners. The only part I don't like is when I'm about to make my second putt that's less than a foot to the hole, and I have to tag before putting it away. Until that point, most people aren't aware of what I'm doing with my phone and clubs. I may try to get in the habit of marking from my watch (Mark Shot/As putt) instead, but still that's not perfect.

I have had them for over a year.  They never worked well for me.  As the person who started this thread stated, you look ridiculous trying to scan the club and the rest of your group gets irritated waiting on you.  That means that after a few holes, I have to stop using them.

Interesting. How old are they and about how many rounds have you played? I've recently gotten the tags and am still inside my return window. They are supposedly more durable now but if they aren't going to live long enough to really benefit from them there may not be a point. 

I have not Adam.  My golf tags are falling apart now.  I have already lost 3 of them.  I pulled my clubs from the bag and the top of the tag has come off.  They didn't work great to begin with and I have even less love for them now.

Anyone seen an update on the status of the Link recently?

I played some rounds on charted courses now and I´m happy to have the tags.
After I did the shot I put my phone out of my pocket, hold it over the tag (club vertical) and put the phone back. That need no time and I get a good feedback from the vibration, that my shot was tagged.
This routine became so natural that I sometime had to watch at my phone to check if I did the tagging. Every time all right. I don´t have to think about it.
The pitty is, that 2 of the tags seem to be broken. I can´t tag them, even with other NFC-apps the can´t be read. They are not damaged, as I can see. Let´s see hao long the other last.