Sport personal coach system

• US 8,303,311 B2
• Filed: 10/16/2009
• Issued: 11/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2009
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Carl Anthony Forest
• Original Assignee: Carl Anthony Forest
• Inventors: Forest, Carl A.
• Primary Examiner(s): BROCKETTI, JULIE K
• Application Number:
  US12/580,902
• Publication Number:
  US 20110076657A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,117 Days
• Field of Search: 434/252, 473/131, 473/407, 473/409
• US Class Current: 434/252
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/19 Sporting applications
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 19/0038 Sports

Abstract

A call center system for coaching a player in judgmental aspects of an athletic sport or for practicing judgmental aspects of the sport includes a call center computer having a display and a memory. The system may also include a camera, a telephone, and a position locator system. Either the pictures stored in the memory or pictures taken with the camera are used to provide coaching or practice. Pictures of a golf course, golf course mapping data, or both are stored in a call center system. GPS data indicating the position of a golf ball on a golf course hole is used to provide either an overhead view of the hole and terrain features, pictures of the course at or near the location of the ball, or both, on a golf professional computer display.

Claims

1. A method for coaching a player in judgmental aspects of golf or for practicing said judgmental aspects of golf, said method comprising:

providing a client computer having a first display;

providing a professional computer remote from said client computer, said professional computer having a second display;

providing a communication process for communicating a lie of the golf ball, said communication process comprising;

displaying a plurality of pictures on said first display, each of said pictures showing a different physical situation of a golf ball that may occur in golf and are pre-stored in a course database, said pictures including one or more pictures illustrating a possible terrain on which a golf ball may lie, said pictures being displayed simultaneously as a set of pictures and at least one of said pictures being sufficiently close up that a viewer can determine if the ball is embedded in said terrain;

receiving an input indicating that said player has selected one of said pictures to describe a golf ball physical situation with respect to which said player wants coaching;

said method for coaching further comprising;

receiving additional inputs describing said golf ball physical situation, including distance information and location coordinates of the location of the client computer, sufficient to provide coaching related to said golf ball physical situation;

displaying said selected picture and said additional inputs on said second display; and

providing coaching to said player relating to said golf ball physical situation shown in said selected picture, said coaching comprising review of said selected picture and additional inputs by an expert in the sport of golf; and

communicating said coaching to said player by said expert.

2. A method as in claim 1 wherein:

said client computer includes a range finder system and said receiving additional inputs comprises using said range finder system to generate an overhead view of a golf course hole showing distances from said golf ball to predetermined terrain features of said golf course hole;

said displaying on said second display comprises displaying said overhead view of said golf course hole with distances on said second display; and

said providing coaching comprises providing said coaching based on said overhead view as well as said golf ball physical situation shown in said picture.

3. A method as in claim 2 wherein said displaying a plurality of pictures and said receiving an input are repeated a plurality of times and each time a different set of pictures is displayed.

4. A method as in claim 3 wherein said plurality of pictures are selected from picture sets illustrating the lie of a golf ball, the slope of the course in the direction of the intended line of flight at the position of a golf ball, or the ball position uphill or downhill of the player along a line substantially perpendicular to the plane of the player'"'"'s body.

5. A method as in claim 1 wherein said displaying a plurality of pictures comprises:

displaying pictures selected from the group consisting of;

pictures showing the lie of a golf ball, each of said pictures showing a different lie that may occur on a golf course, wherein “

lie”

means the type of terrain on which the ball lies or in the immediate surroundings of the ball, including fairway, rough, sand, mud, water, gravel;

pictures showing the slope of the course in the direction of the intended line of flight at the position of a golf ball, each of said pictures showing a different such slope that may occur on a golf course; and

pictures showing the ball position uphill or downhill of the player along a direction substantially perpendicular to the plane of the player'"'"'s body from left to right, each of said pictures showing a different such ball position that may occur on a golf course.

6. A method as in claim 1 wherein said client computer has a camera associated with it, and comprises taking a picture of a golf ball in a physical situation with said camera.

7. A method as in claim 1 wherein said client computer includes a range finder system associated with it, and said selecting a plurality of pictures comprises, using said range finder system, generating an overhead view of a golf course hole showing distances from said golf ball to predetermined terrain features of said golf course hole, and wherein said transmitting and displaying comprises transmitting and displaying said overhead view of said golf course hole.

8. A method as in claim 1 wherein:

said providing a golf professional computer comprises providing a plurality of said golf professional computers, each having a display;

said method further comprises providing a golf call center server computer; and

said transmitting comprises, using said golf call center computer, choosing one of said golf professional computers to which to transmit said pictures.