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BETA NOTICE – Golf Simulator Tours Members (http://golfsimulatortours.com/home.php)
Range Caddy is a utility app that provides a little extra insight into your shot performance through analytics of the shot data published in your member profile on Golf Simulator Tours. The extra value of the data collected by your golf simulator can be exposed through Range Caddy by providing both visual and graphical representations of the information that it contains. From basic elements such as club distance averages and shot pattern comparisons, Range Caddy also offers some insight into the quality of shot and club selection decisions. I’ve certainly identified that my shot performance isn’t what I hoped!
With this first release, I am soliciting the help of other forum members to help test and validate the application against your own experiences. I must highlight that I am not a programmer by profession and that I’ve only been able to test this application using my own data on Windows 10 machines. As such, there remains much I’d like to do to improve the user experience and the overall usefulness of the application, and I may not have foreseen the challenges of the use of this application in others’ hands. Your insights, suggestions and comments are very welcome (positive or negative).
I thank you in advance for your support.
Things to know…
Provided below are a few things you may find helpful in your understanding of both the application and its use.
System Requirements
This application assumes a minimum screen resolution of 1035 x 900. If your screen is smaller than this, you may find it difficult to navigate, although there is a way of making it very usable. Sorry. It works nicely on larger screens.
The application footprint is about 10Mb.
The faster the CPU you have, the better it will perform. On slower machines, there may be noticeable delays in application operations. I’m considering options of how to make the user experience less dependent on the impact of your history size.
Installation
To download this file, proceed to Dropbox at this URL: https://www.dropbox.com/s/tnntamf1cj...lease.zip?dl=0
This application uses Microsoft’s SQL Compact Edition 4.0 database engine which presently requires Administration level privileges to function properly. I honestly don’t know why, but I’m trying to find a solution to this during installation. However, by default, the installation script will request Admin access to execute and install correctly. You’ll have to accept the request when it pops up during installation.
I’ve provided a ZIP file that contains two files. The setup.exe file and setup.msi. Extract these files to a temporary location and double-click the setup.exe file to begin installation.
Accept the privilege notice, and allow it to progress. By default, the application will be placed into the directory “C:\\Program Files (x86)\”. You can move it anywhere you wish.
Please note that by default, the installation script does not yet provide a desktop icon. You can create a shortcut as you deem appropriate.
This application is a Microsoft WPF application written in C# using Visual Studio. It began as an Excel spreadsheet using VBA to create and refine the flight model using simple manually entered data. It progressed over several months of Sundays into the Range Caddy application.
First Use
Once you start the application for the first time, you’ll be presented with a default dashboard. It also has an RSS Reader for two popular golf news sites (you can modify this list yourself).
You’ll need to progress to the settings page to import a previously downloaded shot file.
For those who have never downloaded your shot data previously, proceed to the Golf Simulator Tour web site and access your profile through the Tour Players menu. Once you have reached your profile, scroll down to the shot statistics section and select the “All Shots” tab. Once the list is presented, select the “Export into CSV” file and save that to your local machine. If you open the file in Excel, please do not save it from within Excel. It will mess with the CSV formatting.
The importation process is fairly simple, but depending upon the size of your shot history, it may take several minutes to complete the intake. It will present a status to you as it progresses.
NOTE: As the club name stored in the shot file may differ from the club you use (for example, selecting a 5W in TGC instead of the 3Hybrid you might actually be using) you may remap these during import. While I won’t go into detail of this process, the trick is to change the ImportFileXMLDefinitions.xml file located in the program’s directory. It’s not hard, and likely simple enough to understand. Back-up the original file just in case, though. 😊
After First Use
The next section provides a bit of insight into the various modes available to you.
Shot Analysis Page
The Shot Analysis Page provides a visualized view of individual shots. There are three modes of operation, which are: Single Shot Visualization, Multiple Shot Comparison, and Manual Mode. These are explained more below.
You may filter on the Session Date, the Course and the Club through the drop-down lists above the list box.
Single Shot Visualization
Select an item from the list and it will be visually displayed on the field chart and provide some interesting shot result data in the right-hand column. Please note that the Bounce and Roll calculation is estimated.
Multiple Shot Comparison
Located at the bottom of the window underneath the shot listing is a set of buttons that control the mode of operation. Hover over them to see what they do.
To enable Shot Comparison, depress the middle button.
This will allow you to select up to ten (10) shots to compare the performance of each shot. You can use CTRL and SHIFT to make multiple selections. Once more than one item is selected, you’ll see the shots graphed with a shot radius for the shot grouping.
Please note that Shot Detail in the right-hand side of the screen will only show the results of the first shot.
You may exit this mode by depressing the Shot Comparison button again.
Manual Mode Shot Calculation
The third button will allow you to enter your own data into the fields in the right-hand column. You may specify Ball Velocity, Launch Angle, Horizontal Angle, Total Spin and Spin Angle. This is helpful when you want to see the affect of a change in one parameter or the other.
Please note that you cannot access Manual Mode while you are using the Shot Comparison mode. You must first disable Shot Comparison mode before turning on Manual Mode.
Club Analysis Page
This page allows you to dig into the details of the performance of each club. It provides both summary and detail modes, as well as a “Second Club Analysis” option.
Once you select a club from the drop-down list, you’ll be presented with the analytical view of the results, including the Shot Pattern and Club metrics. You may filter out shots by using the drop-down list and the distance slider.
The Second Club Analysis will allow you to select and display the information for a second club.
Final Thought
Thanks for your help. I look forward to your thoughts.
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