iPhone App Gives Golfers a Break

A golf GPS device will help golfers make their way to the green untarnished by the hazards along the way; however, over 40 percent of golf shots are putts, so it would be great if there was a device that helped the golfer make more shots on the green (during practice only, of course). The Course Club’s Putt Reader claims to be such a device. It is an iPhone app that uses a “groundbreaking” scientific algorithm to calculate the break and give you the proper line of the putt (I suspect it merely determines the equation of a parabola by simple interpolation, but I digress). The instructions for the proper use of this app are as follows:

1. Set the distance of your putt by pinching or spreading your thumb and index finger along the length of the screen. To figure out your distance walk off the length from the hole to the ball, the average adult step is 3 feet so 5 steps would equal 15 feet. (This low-tech pacing off of the distance can be inaccurate.)
2. Set the distance to the break by placing your index finger on the phone logo on the screen and move it closer or farther from the hole. (Hmmm. Doesn’t the shape and contour of the green have something to say about where the break occurs?)
3. By setting the distance of the break you are measuring the break at a certain [point] of the putt so if you have a 20 foot putt and you want to see the break at 10 feet, set the distance of the putt to 20 feet and the break to 10 feet. Then line up the ear speaker with the hole at 10 feet from the phone and the Putt Reader will show you how your putt will break. (Where you want the break to occur is not necessarily where it will occur.)
4. Once the Putt Reader has calculated your putt, you may freeze frame your putt so that you can move your phone back with your ball and study your line.
5. The Putt Reader Caddie tip will give you a good idea on how many balls outside the hole you should aim

I am skeptical about the how accurate this app can be, but at an introductory price of only $1.99, you can’t really go wrong by giving it a try. Available at the App Store.