US20130196792A1

US20130196792A1 - System for providing information on playing golf

Info

Publication number: US20130196792A1
Application number: US13/719,983
Authority: US
Inventors: Takuichi Shimizu; Masataka Kai
Original assignee: Bridgestone Sports Co Ltd
Current assignee: Bridgestone Sports Co Ltd
Priority date: 2012-01-30
Filing date: 2012-12-19
Publication date: 2013-08-01
Also published as: JP2013154177A

Abstract

A system for providing information on playing golf includes: an input unit; a processing unit that receives input information from the input unit and calculates output information concerning playing golf; and a display unit portable by a golf player that displays the output information. The input information may be a current position of a golf ball of the golf player. The golf ball may include an RFID system storing information concerning the golf ball. The input unit may include a reading unit for reading the information stored in the RFID system without any contact from the golf ball, and the information read by the reading unit is shown on the display unit. The system may include a data receiver that receives information dispatched by other player via a network. The system may include a data transmitter that transmits information dispatched by the golf player via a network.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present invention relates to Provisional Patent Application No. 61/592,160, filed on Jan. 30, 2012, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a system for providing information on playing golf, more particularly to a system for providing information on playing golf using radio-frequency identification (RFID).
Generally, an RFID tag includes an IC chip made of silicon and an antenna made of metal. Currently, no golf ball having an RFID tag has yet been realized for actual use. In addition, little effort has been made in research and development of a system for using the RFID tag effectively when a player walks around a golf course using the golf ball containing the RFID tag.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a system for providing information on playing golf, the system including: an input unit; a processing unit which receives input information from the input unit and calculates output information concerning playing golf; and a display unit which displays the output information concerning playing golf calculated by the processing unit, the display unit being portable by a player.
According to an embodiment of the system of the present invention, the output information transmitted from the input unit to the processing unit may be a current position of the golf ball. In this case, the output information concerning playing golf may be a layout of a golf course in which the golf ball currently exists. This system may further include a data receiving unit that receives information concerning the layout of the golf course via a network and supplies it to the processing unit.
The output information concerning playing golf may be a distance from the current position of the golf ball to a target position on the layout. The target position may be a cup, a bunker, a water hazard or a combination thereof.
The output information concerning playing golf may be a condition of a country club or a golf course where the golf ball currently exists. The condition of the country club or the golf course may be at least one selected from a group consisting of the weather information and the length, density, hardness, and water content of the lawn. This system may further include a data receiver that receives information concerning the condition of the country club or the golf course via a network and supplies it to the processing unit.
The output information concerning playing golf may be a recommended number of the golf club for hitting the golf ball from the current position to the target position on the layout. The processing unit may calculate the recommended number of the golf club taking into account the condition of the country club or the golf course where the golf ball currently exists as well. This system may further include a data storage unit that stores a result of previous plays and the processing unit may calculate the recommended number of the golf club taking into account the result of the previous plays as well.
The input unit may include a manual input means for inputting information of the current position of the golf ball manually. The input unit may include a GPS receiver for obtaining information of the current position of the golf ball. The input unit may include a reading unit for reading information stored in the RFID system without any contact from a golf ball incorporating the RFID system, and when the reading unit reads the RFIS system in the golf ball, the GPS receiver obtains information of the current position.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, the input unit may include a reading unit for reading information stored in the RFID system without any contact from a golf ball incorporating the RFID system, and the information concerning playing golf may be information concerning a golf ball to be read by the reading unit.
The output information concerning playing golf may be information concerning whether or not the golf ball read by the reading unit is the golf player's golf ball.
The output information concerning playing golf may be attribute information of the golf ball to be read by the reading unit. The attribute information of the golf ball may be at least one selected from the group consisting of manufacturer's name, name and characteristics of the golf ball, and a comment of a user. The characteristics of the golf ball may be at least one selected from the group consisting of golf ball hardness, feeling of striking the ball, suitable head speed, spin performance and fly course type. This system may further include a data receiver that obtains the attribute information of the golf ball to be supplied to the processing unit via a network.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, the system of the invention may further include a data receiver that obtains information dispatched by another player via a network. The information dispatched by the other player may be a playing situation. The information dispatched by other player may be a comment on golf gear.
The system of the present invention may further include a data transmitter for transmitting information dispatched by a player via the Internet separately from or together with the data receiver for obtaining the information dispatched by the other player. The information dispatched by the player may be a playing situation. The information dispatched by the player may be a comment on golf gear.
The playing situation may be at least one selected from the group consisting of a player's position in a country club or a golf course, his or her score, a fly distance of the ball, name of golf gear, text message, voice, moving image and still image.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a system for providing information on playing golf according to the present invention and its surrounding environment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the system for providing information on playing golf according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the system for providing information on playing golf according to the present embodiment includes an input unit 110 for reading information stored in a RFID tag 12 without any contact from a golf ball 10 having the RFID tag 12, a central processing unit (CPU) 130 for calculating information on playing golf based on the information sent from the input unit, and a touch panel 140 for displaying the information on playing golf calculated by the CPU.
The system 100 includes a RAM, a ROM and the like necessary for execution of the CPU 130 (not shown in FIG. 1). To simplify description of the operation of the system 100, which will be described below, to give priority to understanding of the present invention, description about reading of data by means of the RAM is omitted.
The input unit 110 includes a RFID reading unit 112 for reading information such as individual identification information stored in the RFID tag 12 and a global positioning system (GPS) 114 for obtaining information on a current position by receiving a signal from a GPS satellite 20. The touch panel 140 serves not only a display unit for displaying the information on playing golf calculated by the CPU 130 but also a touch type input unit 116 which is a part of the input unit 110.
The RFID reading unit 112 is connected to a GPS receiver 114 communicably, so that when the RFID reader 112 reads a RFID tag 12 in a golf ball 10, information concerning the current position of the golf ball 10 is obtained by the GPS receiver 114. Furthermore, the touch panel 140 is connected to the GPS receiver 114 communicably, so that when the touch panel 140 is operated to obtain the current position, the GPS receiver 114 obtains information concerning the current position. The current position of the golf ball may be input directly through the touch panel 140.
The input portion 110 is connected to the CPU 130 communicably, so that information about individual identification and the current position is sent from the input unit 110 to the CPU 130. Although not shown in the FIGURE, the input unit 110 may include a camera for taking a moving image or still image and a microphone for recording voice sound.
The system for providing information on playing golf 100 further includes a network interface 150 which receives a variety of data stored in a host server 40 via a network 30, for example, the Internet, and which sends a variety of data to be stored in the host server 40. The various data received by the network interface 150 includes, although is not limited to, data concerning the layout of a golf course of a country club, a condition of the country club or the golf course, attributes of a golf ball and information dispatched by other golf players. The various data sent through the network interface 150 includes data concerning information dispatched by the player.
The data concerning the layout of the golf course includes, although is not limited to, country club name, golf course name, par, a location of the golf course, and positions and shapes of a teeing ground, a fairway, roughs, trees, out of bound (OB), green, cup, pin, bunker and water hazards such as a pond and a river. The data concerning the position and shape of the teeing ground includes data capable of representing the layout of a golf course in the form of two-dimensional or plane graphic image.
The data concerning the condition of a country club or a golf course includes, although not limited to, a series of correlated data including country club name or golf course name, playing date and time or time zone, weather information, and the length, density, hardness and water content of the lawn. The weather information includes, for example, climates such as fine, rain, cloudy, and temperature, humidity, wind direction and wind strength.
The data concerning the attributes of the golf ball includes, although not limited to, a series of correlated data including, for example, individual identification information, manufacturer's name, golf ball name, golf ball characteristics, user's comment and commodity information. The golf ball name includes, for example, product name, brand name, model name, part number and model number. Furthermore, the golf ball characteristics include golf ball hardness, feeling of striking the ball, a suitable head speed, spin performance, fly course type, and the like. The commodity information includes price, selling shops and catalog information.
The data concerning information dispatched by other players includes, although is not limited to, playing situation, comment on golf gear and the like. Furthermore, the data concerning the information dispatched by the players includes, although is not limited to, for example, playing situation, comment on golf gear and the like also.
The data concerning playing situation includes, although is not limited to, a series of correlated data including for example, a player's name or nickname, a player's position in a country club or golf course, a player's hole-by-hole score and play-by-play (shot-by-shot) score, a fly distance of the ball, name of golf gear such as a golf ball and golf club for use, text message, voice, moving image or still image. In the meantime, these respective information pieces may be information input by a player manually through the touch panel 140 (116), information input from the RFID reader 112, information input into the input unit 110 from a camera or microphone (not shown) or information presented by CPU 130's processing the input or stored respective information.
The data concerning comment on the golf gear includes, although is not limited to, a series of correlated data including, for example, a name of golf gear such as golf ball and golf club, comment thereon, and a name or nickname of a player who makes the comment. As above, these respective information pieces may be information input to the input unit 110 through the touch panel 140 (116), the RFID reader 112, a camera, a microphone (not shown) and the like or information presented by CPU 130's processing the input respective information.
The system for providing information on playing golf 100 further includes a data storage portion 160 for storing various data. The various data stored in the data storage portion 160 includes, although is not limited to, for example, a fly distance of a golf club, a result of previous plays of a player, individual identification information on a golf ball used currently by a player, and information dispatched by the player. Of course, the data storage portion 160 can store not only various data input from the aforementioned input portion 110 but also various data received by a network interface 150.
The data concerning the fly distance of the golf club includes, although is not limited to, a series of correlated data including, for example, a number of a golf club and a fly distance of the golf ball. In the meantime, the data concerning the fly distance of the golf club may be changed freely in the data storage portion 160 using updated data received through the network interface 150 or added data.
The data concerning the result of previous play of the player includes, although not limited to, a series of correlated data including, for example, player's name, country club name, golf course name, a ball hitting position, a ball arrival position, a fly distance of the ball, a name of a used golf gear such as golf ball and golf club, playing date and time, and a golf course condition.
The data concerning individual identification information on a golf ball used currently is individual identification information stored in the RFID tag 12 of the golf ball 10 which a player currently uses. The individual identification information is input preliminarily to the input portion 110 by the RFID reading unit 112 and stored in the data storage portion 160.
The data concerning information dispatched by the player is information stored in the data storage portion 160 which the player dispatches to the host server 40 through the network interface 150 and has the same configuration as the data concerning information received by the network interface 150. These data may be input through the input portion 110 or may be extracted partially from the data concerning the result of previous play of the player.
An operation of the system for providing information on playing golf having the above-described configuration, that is, a method for providing information on playing golf, will be described below.
A first embodiment of the method for providing information on playing golf is a method for providing information on playing golf in a case in which the current position of a ball is input into the system for providing information on playing golf 1. According to this first embodiment, first, a golf player inputs a current position of the player's golf ball. For the input of the current position, the player may input information concerning the current position such as coordinate data through the touch panel 140 (116), the player may obtain information concerning the current position through the GPS receiver 114 by operating the touch panel 140 (116), or the player may obtain information concerning the current position through the GPS reading unit 114 which reads information stored in the RFID of the golf ball 10 when the golf ball 10 is held against the RFID reading unit 112.
The information of the current position is sent from the input portion 110 to a CPU 130. Based on the information of the current position, the CPU 130 reads data concerning the layout of a golf course in a country club from the network interface 150 or the data storage portion 160 and performs a processing of specifying the country club and the golf course. Then, the CPU 130 performs a processing of displaying an image of the layout of a specified golf course on the touch panel 140.
When the layout image of the golf course is displayed on the touch panel 140, if a player intends to input a current position of a golf ball manually, a point which he or she touches on the layout image is input as its current position.
Next, the CPU 130 performs a processing of displaying a distance from the current position of the golf ball up to a target position on the touch panel 140. The target position may be preliminarily set to a cup, bunker, water hazard or the like in the golf course by the player. Furthermore, to finish a given golf course with its par, the CPU 130 may calculate a position where the ball should reach as a result of a next hitting from the current position and set that position as a target position. In the meantime, in this case, the player can change the par to a number of strokes fewer or more than the par through the touch panel 140. This change may be performed even after a tee shot. Furthermore, the target position may be set to arbitrary freely selected point where the player touches on the layout image of the golf course displayed on the touch panel 140. Every time a new target position is input or changed, the CPU 130 performs a processing of displaying a distance from the current position to the target position on the touch panel 140.
Furthermore, the CPU 130 reads data concerning a fly distance of a golf club from the data storage unit 160, and based on a distance from the current position to the target position calculated above, performs a processing of displaying a recommended number of the golf club for the player to hit the golf ball from the current position to the target position, on the touch panel 140. In the meantime, it is permissible to omit the processing for the recommended number of the golf club if the target position is a bunker or a water hazard.
Additionally, the CPU 130 reads data concerning the condition of a country club or a golf course from the network interface 150 or the data storage unit 160 and performs a processing of extracting the condition of the given golf course and displaying part or all of the data on the touch panel 140. This condition data may be used in a processing for the recommended number of the golf club. That is, the CPU 130 performs a processing of displaying the recommended number of the golf club corrected depending on the condition on the touch panel 140. The correction depending on the condition is not limited to this example, but may be performed depending on, for example, at least one of the wind direction and wind strength.
Furthermore, the CPU 130 reads data concerning a result of previous plays of the player from the network interface 150 or the data storage unit 160, and performs a processing of extracting a corresponding play result of a given golf course and displaying part or all of that data on the touch panel 140. The data concerning the previous play result can be used for the processing for a recommended number of the golf club. That is, the CPU 130 performs a processing of displaying a recommended number of the golf club corrected based on the result of the previous play on the touch panel 140. The correction based on the result of the previous play is not limited to this example, and the correction may be performed based on an average of the result of the previous fly distance from an identical or similar current position of the same golf course with an identical golf club.
The processing on the recommended number of the golf club may be performed by combining a correction based on the condition of the country club or the golf course with a correction based on the result of the previous play.
After information on golf play such as a distance to a target position, a recommended number of the golf club is displayed on the touch panel 140, actually a golfer hits a golf ball with reference to these data. Then, the golfer moves to a position where the hit golf ball exists and again, enters a current position of the golf ball using the above-described various means.
When a new current position of the golf ball is input to the input portion 110, with the current position of the golf ball input last regarded as a ball hitting position, the CPU 130 regards the current position of the golf ball input this time as a ball arrival position, and calculates a fly distance of the ball from these two positions. Then, the CPU 130 performs a processing of correlating these data with the name of a country club and the name of a golf course to produce a series of related data. Then, this series of data is stored in the data storage unit 160 as data relating to the result of previous play.
Furthermore, the CPU 130 performs a processing of correlating the above-described series of data with a player's name, a number of the used golf club, a name of the used golf ball, characteristics of the ball, playing date and time, and conditions of a country club or a golf course.
The player's name may be input and registered as a user of this system 100 preliminarily so that it can be automatically correlated with other data. If a player's name is input every time when the current position of the golf ball is input through the touch panel 140, a single system 100 can provide multiple players with each golf play information.
As the number of a used golf club, the number of a displayed recommended golf club may be automatically correlated as it is. Alternatively, the number of a golf club used by a player may be input manually through the touch panel 140. If a player executes a procedure of reading information stored in the RFID chip 12 of the golf ball 10 using the RFID reading unit 112 to input the current position of the golf ball, a name and characteristics of the used golf ball can be fetched into the CPU 130 and correlated with each other because they are contained in the read information. When the player executes no procedure of reading with the RFID reading unit 112, the player may input a name of a used golf course and the like manually through the touch panel 140.
The playing date and time can be automatically correlated as a date and time when the current time of the golf ball has been input last. The condition of the country club or the golf course can be automatically correlated by fetching in the data concerning the condition of the country club or the golf course read by the CPU 130.
Next, based on this new current position information, the CPU 130 reads data concerning the layout of a golf course of a country club again and performs a processing of specifying the country club and the golf course. Then, the CPU 130 performs a processing of displaying a distance from the new current position of the golf ball to a new target position on the touch panel 140. At the same time, based on the data concerning the fly distance of the golf club and the calculated distance up to the target position, the CPU 130 performs a processing of displaying a recommended golf club again by correcting the data with reference to at least one of the condition and the result of the previous play as required. The player hits the golf ball again by referring to this displayed information. Then, the golfer moves to a position where the hit golf ball exists and enters a current position of the golf ball again. By repeating this procedure until the player holes out by dropping the ball in the cup, he or she can record all stroke data of a single hole into the data storage unit 160.
The CPU 130 is capable of performing a processing of calculating a score of a given hole from a frequency of input procedures of the current position of the golf ball in an identical golf course. In addition, the CPU 130 is capable of performing a processing of calculating a total score by summing all scores of the golf course. Furthermore, the CPU 130 is capable of performing a processing of calculating an average score, a rate of a green in regulation, an average fly distance, and an average number of putting. The CPU 130 is capable of performing a processing of, when the current position of the golf ball is within an area of a green in a golf course, identifying a player's strike to be a putting.
A second embodiment of the method for providing information on playing golf is a method for providing information on playing golf in a case in which the individual identification information of a golf ball is input into the system for providing information on playing golf 1. According to the second embodiment, first, the individual identification information stored in the golf ball 10 is read by the RFID reading unit 112 and input into the input portion 100.
Furthermore, the CPU 130 performs a processing of reading the individual identification information from the input portion 110, reading data concerning the attribute of the golf ball from the network interface 150 or the data storage unit 160, extracting the attribute information of a corresponding golf ball from the individual identification information, and displaying part or all of the information on the touch panel 140. The player can use this attribute information of the golf ball as a reference to his or her hitting of the ball. Particularly, this system is advantageous for a case in which a lost ball is used.
If the attribute information of the golf ball as well as the individual identification information is described in the RFID chip 12 of the golf ball 10, these are read by the RFID reading unit 112 and input into the input portion 100. The CPU 130 is capable of performing a processing of displaying part or all of the attribute information of the golf ball on the touch panel 140.
When the CPU 130 reads the individual identification information of the golf ball from the input portion 110, then it reads the individual identification information of the golf ball used currently by a player from the data storage unit 160 and performs a processing of determining whether the individual identification information read from the input portion 110 meets the preliminarily-stored individual identification information of the golf ball used currently by the player. If the individual identification information read from the input portion 110 meets that of the golf ball used currently by the player, the CPU 130 performs a processing of displaying that the ball is a player's golf ball on the touch panel 140. Otherwise, the CPU 130 can also perform a processing of displaying that it is not a player's golf ball on the touch panel 140. Such an indication may be based on characters, symbols, or a change in color or voice. As a result, the player can be prevented from hitting another player's golf ball.
Furthermore, a series of processing for the CPU 130 to display golf play information such as the distance up to the target position and the recommended number of the golf club may be performed when the individual identification information read from the input portion 110 meets the preliminarily stored individual identification information of the golf ball used currently by the player.
A third embodiment of the method for providing information on playing golf is a method for providing information on playing golf to other systems for providing information on playing golf 100 a to 100 c in order to share the information on playing golf stored in the system for providing information on playing golf 100 with other players. According to the third embodiment, first, a player inputs information to be transmitted by operating this system. The information to be transmitted by the player includes a playing situation, comments on golf gear, and the like. The information to be transmitted by the player may be input through the touch panel 140 (116), the RFID reading unit 112, or a camera or a microphone (not shown) by the player or may be obtained by processing data stored in the data storage unit 160 by a player's operation.
As the data processing, the CPU 130 performs a processing of, for example, reading the result of the previous play stored in the data storage unit 160 under a player's operation and performs a processing of displaying all or part thereof, for example, an item corresponding to a playing situation. Next, the player selects information which the player would like to share therefrom. As a result of this operation, the CPU 130 performs a processing of processing the information selected by the player to information which the player intends to transmit.
When the player performs an operation of sending such input information or processed information through the touch panel 140 (116), the CPU 130 stores these information pieces in the data storage unit 160 as information which the player intends to transmit, and instructs to transmit these information pieces to the host server 40 from the network interface 150 through the network 30. Such transmitted information is stored in the host server 40. The transmission of such information pieces is carried out from other systems for providing information on playing golf 100 a to 100 c.
For the player to see the information pieces which have been transmitted from multiple players and stored in the host server 40, under a player's operation or automatically, the CPU 130 of the system for providing information on playing golf 100 instructs the network interface 150 to receive information transmitted by the player from the host server 40 through the network 30. Then, the CPU 130 performs a processing of displaying this received information on the touch panel 140 under a player's operation or automatically. As a result of exchanging information among the multiple systems for providing information on playing golf 100, the golf play information can be shared among multiple players.
Sharing the information can be performed among all players capable of accessing the host server 40 or may be limited to among players of a particular group. The individual identification information of the player may be identical to a player's name or nickname or information independent of those. The individual identification information of the player and a password can be set upon registration to enjoy such sharing of information. As a result of transmitting the individual identification information and password of the player from the system for providing information on playing golf 100 to the host server 40, the system for providing information on playing golf 100 becomes capable of communicating with the host server 40 to share the golf play information and exchange other data.
Setting up a group which shares information can be executed freely by each system to provide information on playing golf 100. To invite other players to a group or request or approve participation of other player into the group, data exchange can be performed between the system for providing information on playing golf 100 and the host server 40. As for the group, usually, four people walk around the golf course together. If a plurality of groups occurs, by setting these plural groups as a single group, players can know a playing situation of other players immediately. For example, a driving contest can be set in the same group and a golf course in which the contest has been set up allows production of a series of data that enables players of the same group to compare their play results, and the players can share this series of data in the same group.
Exchange of data for sharing the information is not limited to during a round on the golf course but may be performed even after a play is finished. Furthermore, the system for providing information on playing golf 100 is not limited to use by golf players but also their families or friends may have and operate this system to grapple a playing situation.
In the meantime, although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above in detail, the present invention is not restricted to this example.
Although FIG. 1 shows a case in which the display unit is a touch panel 140 which displays an image, the present invention is not restricted to this example, but the display unit may be a unit which notifies a player of golf play information by voice, for example, using a speaker or earphone. In this case, the CPU 130 performs a processing of producing voice output information instead of or together with the above-mentioned image output information. As an input unit, it is permissible to use a voice input unit such as a microphone. In this case, the input unit 110 performs a processing of converting voice input information to the same data as the above-described input information by analyzing the input voice. Through such input and output by voice, the system for providing information on playing golf according to the present invention enables the player to make a communication just like a communication with a caddie.
The system for providing information on playing golf 100 is incorporated in a unit which a golf player can carry with him or her. Furthermore, the system for providing information on playing golf 100 may be substituted by a portable general-purpose communication unit such as a smart phone and a portable computer. That is, it is permissible to record a program for realizing the function of this system in a recording medium readable by a portable communication unit and have the program recorded in this recording medium read by the portable communication unit so that the program may be executed therein. The recording medium includes a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, hard disk, a means which holds the program dynamically for a short time, as in case of transmitting the program via the Internet (e.g., transmission medium, transmitted wave), and a volatile memory in a computer which serves as a server in that case. In the meantime, unless the RFID reading unit is provided on a portable communication unit, another RFID reading unit which is different from the general-purpose portable communication unit is connected to the general-purpose portable communication unit by radio or wire.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A system for providing information on playing golf, comprising:

an input unit;

a processing unit that receives input information from the input unit and calculates output information concerning playing golf; and

a display unit portable by a golf player that displays the output information calculated by the processing unit.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the input information from the input unit to the processing unit is a current position of a golf ball of the golf player.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the output information concerning playing golf is a layout of a golf course where the golf ball currently is.

4. The system according to claim 3, further comprising a data receiving unit that receives information concerning the layout of golf course via a network and supplies it to the processing unit.

5. The system according to claim 3, wherein the output information concerning playing golf is a distance from the current position of the golf ball to a target position on the layout.

6. The system according to claim 5, wherein the target position is a cup, a bunker, a water hazard or a combination thereof.

7. The system according to claim 2, wherein the output information concerning playing golf is a condition of a golf country club or a golf course where the golf ball currently is.

8. The system according to claim 7, wherein the condition of the golf country club or the golf course is at least one selected from a group consisting of weather information and length, density, hardness, and water content of a lawn.

9. The system according to claim 7, further comprising a data receiver that receives information concerning the condition of the country club or the golf course via a network and supplies it to the processing unit.

10. The system according to claim 3, wherein the output information concerning playing golf is a recommended number of a golf club for hitting the golf ball from the current position to the target position on the layout.

11. The system according to claim 10, wherein the processing unit calculates the recommended number of the golf club taking into account the condition of the country club or the golf course where the golf ball currently is as well.

12. The system according to claim 10, further comprising a data storage unit that stores a result of previous plays of the golf player, wherein the processing unit calculates the recommended number of the golf club taking into account the result of the previous plays as well.

13. The system according to claim 2, wherein the input unit comprises a manual input device for inputting information of the current position of the golf ball manually.

14. The system according to claim 2, wherein the input unit comprises a GPS receiver for receiving information of the current position of the golf ball.

15. The system according to claim 14, wherein the golf ball comprises an RFID system,

wherein the input unit comprises a reading unit for reading information stored in the RFID system without any contact from the golf ball, and

wherein when the reading unit reads the RFID system in the golf ball, the GPS receiver obtains the information of the current position.

16. The system according to claim 14, wherein the golf ball comprises an RFID system storing information concerning the golf ball,

wherein the input unit comprises a reading unit for reading the information stored in the RFID system without any contact from the golf ball, and

wherein the output information concerning playing golf is the information read by the reading unit.

17. The system according to claim 16, wherein the output information concerning playing golf is information concerning whether the golf ball read by the reading unit is the golf player's golf ball or not.

18. The system according to claim 16, wherein the output information concerning playing golf is attribute information of the golf ball read by the reading unit.

19. The system according to claim 18, wherein the attribute information of the golf ball is at least one selected from a group consisting of manufacturer's name, trade name and characteristics of the golf ball, and comments of a user.

20. The system according to claim 19, wherein the characteristics of the golf ball is at least one selected from a group consisting of a hardness, feeling of striking the golf ball, suitable head speed, spin performance and fly course type of the golf ball.

21. The system according to claim 18, further comprising a data receiver that receives the attribute information of the golf ball via a network and supplies it to the processing unit.

22. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a data receiver that receives information dispatched by another player via a network.

23. The system according to claim 22, wherein the information dispatched by another player is a playing situation.

24. The system according to claim 22, wherein the information dispatched by another player is a comment on golf gear.

25. The system according to claim 23, wherein the playing situation is at least one selected from a group consisting of a player's position in a country club or a golf course, player's score, ball fly distance, name of golf gear, text message, voice, moving image and still image.

26. The system according to claim 1, further comprising a data transmitter that transmits information dispatched by the golf player via a network.

27. The system according to claim 26, wherein the information dispatched by the golf player is a playing situation.

28. The system according to claim 26, wherein the information dispatched by the golf player is a comment on golf gear.

29. The system according to claim 28, wherein the playing situation is at least one selected from the group consisting of a player's position in a country club or a golf course, player's score, ball fly distance, name of golf gear, text message, voice, moving image and still image.