Systems and methods for calculating a critical velocity of a putt using a mobile device

A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions executable by a processor to:

• receive green reading data at a processor, wherein the green reading data comprises at least a critical velocity for a golf ball, an approach angle at which the golf ball will approach a cup, and an overall velocity of the golf ball as the golf ball crosses an edge of the cup;
• wherein the overall velocity as the golf ball crosses the edge of the cup is compared to the critical velocity, and wherein if the overall velocity is less than the critical velocity then the golf ball is considered to be holed;
• and
• use the green reading data to create user output data that is displayed to a user on a user interface.

A method of calculating a critical velocity of a golf ball to determine if a putt will be holed from a particular approach angle, comprising:

• defining a frame of reference between a golf ball and a golf cup location on a golf putting green, wherein a line between the golf ball and the golf cup location defines a y-axis;
• calculating a distance between the ball and the cup, wherein the distance between the ball and the cup defines a radius of a circle on the putting green, wherein the cup is located at the center of the circle and the golf ball is located on a position on the circumference of the circle;
• orienting the frame of reference so that an axis of rotation is a horizontal line going through the cup location, wherein a high side of the cup is located at a twelve o'clock position;
• calculating an angle between the axis of rotation and the ball on the circumference;
• calculating a preferred target line of a putt, which is based at least in part by the calculated angle between the axis of rotation and the radius;
• calculating an approach angle at which the golf ball will enter the cup, which is based at least in part by the preferred target line;
• computing a critical velocity in roll and pitch dimensions, which is based at least in part on the approach angle;
• computing the overall velocity of the golf ball as the ball crosses an edge of the cup, which is based at least in part on the critical velocity in the roll and pitch dimensions;
• comparing the overall velocity as the ball crosses the edge of the cup to the critical velocity in both pitch and roll dimensions, wherein if the overall velocity is less than the critical velocity in both the pitch and roll dimensions, then the ball is considered to be holed.