Imagine having your own personal golf instructor with you on
each hole
– spouting out helpful tips, outlining the fairway hazards, and
giving exact yardage to the green or pin.
GILROY – Imagine having your own personal golf instructor with you on each hole – spouting out helpful tips, outlining the fairway hazards, and giving exact yardage to the green or pin.
At nearby Coyote Creek Golf Club, head professional Steve Janisch won’t be joining golfers on the course – but the latest ParView Global Positioning System (GPS) will be there every step of the way.
“It’s a yardage system for golfers. It tells them wherever they are on the course how far from the green they are. It’s really state of the art,” said Janisch, who will have a new fleet of 156 golf carts on site with the GPS built in. “We’re in the middle of Silicon Valley so we’ve gone high tech to try to enhance the experience for the golfer.”
Throw away the yardage books and don’t worry about trying to find the yard markers on the sprinkler heads because the ParView GPS does it all. With both course lay-outs (Tournament Course and Valley Course) programmed in, a golfer gets a graphic layout of each hole from tee box to green – almost like a video game on the cart. The system details the distance to sandtraps and other hazards starting off the tee and running all the way up to the pin position.
“I’ve taken it out. I think it’s great,” said Janisch, who currently has five demo carts at Coyote Creek. “It’s an experience-enhancer for the player. Our goal at Coyote Creek is to provide the best experience possible.”
The GPS has a fairway view to start and, as the golfer gets closer to the hole, they can switch over to the green view. As the cart moves so does the yardage – which is exact. There also is an information menu with options to request a new cart, report a lost or found club, request emergency assistance, and to request a ranger. There’s even a scorecard and helpful tips for each hole by Janisch.
According to Janisch, the GPS helps track the golfers on the course – helping to speed up the pace of play. Golfers can contact the Pro Shop at all times and the Pro Shop can send messages to the golfers. The GPS even lets a golfer know how far the group is ahead of them and what pace they are on. In addition, there will be advertising on the screen and golfers can even order food.
“It will help with the flow of play. It will give the golfer a better overall experience,” said Coyote Creek GM Joe Hough, who’s installed other GPS systems like ProShot and Uplink on different courses. “There’s no more excuses because it gives exact yardage.”
The only other area course to use the Global Positioning System in Cinnabar Hills – which installed them three years ago. But Coyote Creek now has the latest state-of-the-art system.
“What it’s really going to do is help inexperienced golfers from a yardage standpoint,” Janisch said. “Golfers won’t have to walk around looking for sprinklers (for yardage). There’s no more guess work.”
The $100,000-annual investment in ParView will not increase rates at Coyote Creek, according to Janisch. While other golf courses give golfers the option to pay extra for the GPS, Coyote Creek allows everyone to use it because it will be in every cart by mid November.
“Everybody will be able to use it,” Janisch said. “We’ve got a lot of things going on.”
Coyote Creek is also changing its rates. Fridays – which have always been considered weekends on the golf course – will now have weekday rates for good.
“We’re really proud of that,” Janisch said. “I’ve always been against (weekend rates on Fridays.)”
In addition, as of Nov. 1, Coyote Creek’s ‘Winter Rates’ go into effect. The regular rate Monday through Friday is $40 for the Valley Course and $55 for the Tournament Course. The weekday twilight rates (12 p.m.) have dipped to $30 for Valley and $45 for Tournament. The weekday supertwilight rates (2 p.m.) have decreased to $20 for Valley and $35 for Tournament. The weekday senior rates are $40 for Valley and Tournament, while the weekday junior rate is $20 for Valley and $35 for Tournament.
The weekend and holiday rates are $75 for Valley and Tournament. The weekend supertwilight rates are $45 for both. On Sundays, a nine-hole round is just $25 for both. For information, call Coyote Creek at 463-1400.
