GeoGolf: A GPS Game
Just look at the cloud above and one sees I write a lot of about GPS games. One of the games I like to play is GeoGolf. It was created by Scout and is one of the six games he offers at GPSgames.org.
GeoGolf is a game using your GPS to navigate to randomly placed waypoints (golf holes). These holes are generated based on a waypoint and distance you provide. Input the center of the circle and how large a radius you desire to play, and the generator produces a course specially designed for you. There are checks to the system so your holes do not fall in the ocean or other large bodies of water.
Once you have your course, it is time to play it. The closer you position yourself to each hole, the lower your score for that hole. If you can get to within 10 meters, you can claim a hole-in-one!
The game is highly customizable to fit your needs. Some players like to create courses in town centers for walking courses while others create courses with a radius of 12 km or more. There is even a current course set with a 1000 km radius. The distance created will obviously determine the type of course you are playing. The distance of the course also determines how close to the waypoint one needs to get for a specific score.
You can re-play a course you create, play someone else’s course to see who gets a better score, or keep creating new courses to play yourself.
While GeoGolf can be played with and against other players, for most, it is a solo game. As such, I have found that shorter courses suit my fancy more than the longer ones. I have been playing with different starting points in downtown Millville. Some courses I set in the center of the bridge over the Maurice River. These courses produced holes on both sides of the river and Rt. 49. Later, I moved my starting point more to the middle of Millville so the holes would normally play on the same side of the river.
For me, I like having a different walking course each time I go out. And by incoporating the GPS, I am still seeking without accumulating. 
The area may be the same, but the paths taken are different. That keeps walking interesting.
One of the pleasures for me with GPS games is the planning. For GeoGolf, I produce a paper map to use in conjunction with my GPS.
- First, I set up a golf course at GPS Games.
- Then I download the waypoints. I usually take the file in Mapsend’s format, but one can download a GPX, LOC, Mapsource, or Explorist formats as well.
- Then I convert the file to CSV using GPSBabel.
- The waypoints are then imported into Streets & Trips (I use an old version that can be had off of eBay for just a few dollars). I zoom in so all 18 holes are displayed.
- Then I save the map as a PDF.
- I open the PDF in Acrobat and manually add text boxes with the names of the holes.
- I also create another text box with the probable order of playing the course. I duplicate this text box for each quadrant. This means the order of play will be viewable once the paper s folder into quarters.
Finally, I print the map.
One can dump the GPX into Google Earth and do all this much faster, but I like S&T’s maps better for in-town navigating than satellite photographs. YMMV.
One needs to transfer the coordinates to the GPS too. I use Mapsend to do this, but you can use whatever tool works best for you.
I have found that planning the order of play as well as having a paper copy of the course is helpful for me. While my GPS has maps, the screen is such that it is not always convenient to determine the order of play while in the field. I set my courses to be .5 km, so holes are a block or so away from each other at times. The GPS can be hard to read when zoomed out to see where to go with so many waypoints bunched together.
The order of play for me is often determined by where I park. Parking is easy at the Culver Center, city hall, and the library, so I often start from those areas and try to create a loop to return to the vehicle.
Another golfer, Tom Arneson, creates wonderful maps of his completed courses with each leg in highlighted and he also logs the walking distance he does. That is impressive!
For me, GeoGolf is a quick outing with the GPS that doesn’t produce the woodsy smell Gert comments about when I come home from caching. Golf is good exercise. Give it a shot, you just may become addicted.
Oh yeah, by playing courses in town centers, it is opens up the possibility of the 19th hole. What good golf course doesn’t end on a barstool?
By Patty on Apr 5, 2006
Great story…makes me want to try geo-golf. Maybe I will once my house sells and I settle into my new community - sounds like a good way to explore an area.
I suggest you submit this story to your local newspaper. The sport can use good, well-written publicity. Your descriptions would allow novices to use their GPSrs to try geo-golf themselves.