iPhone App Modernizes Golf

February 24, 2009

Steve Galluzzo , Sports Editor

Don't be surprised to see the pros breaking out their cell phones during next year's Northern Trust Open. No, not to call their coaches for advice, but to figure out how far they need to hit the ball.

Thanks to a new iPhone application designed by Geno and Ryan Andrews, the sons of longtime amateur golfer and Pacific Palisades resident Gene Andrews, yardage is at your fingertips. Now, the touch of a button is all anyone needs to figure out chipping distances.

"My father died in 2001 but one of his legacies is that he was known as the father of playing by yardage. He even invented a yardage guide that is still used to this day," Geno said. "He played in the Masters three times, the British Open four times and his accomplishments for his golf inventions span the globe."

Geno and Ryan, who graduated from Palisades High in 1982 and 1984, respectively, decided to add a "modern touch" to one of their father's ingenious inventions and the result was the iPitching Guide--which they have ported to an App for the iPhone and iPod touch.

"It's an interactive chart on the iPhone or iPod touch for calculating exactly how far to pitch a golf ball to have it stop at the hole," Geno explained. "There's an official news release you can download and read at the Web site and you can read all about my father's accomplishments and how his sons are continuing his efforts to help golfers improve their game and lower their scores with the use of modern technology."

On the site, www.ipitchingguide.com, Ryan demonstrates through video how to use the pitching guide: "If you play golf, this app is as crucial to your shortgame as your wedge!" he says.

"We've all used a yardage guide to help us with our distances from tee to green, but inside 30 yards our shortgame becomes a game of guesswork and feel. But not anymore. The "iPitching Guide" tells you exactly where to pitch the ball, based on your distance to the hole, for it to land, roll and stop at the pin."

Back in the 1940s, long before the days of GPS or the Sky Caddy, Gene Andrews, a mathematician at heart, took a scientific approach to the game that revolutionized the sport forever. His calculations were charted on a graph giving players the ability to read the graph and know exactly how far to pitch the ball. He called this nifty little chart "The Chipping Guide" and his calculations are the same ones used to calculate the pitch distances in the "iPitching Guide."

To see the online demonstration visit www.ipitchingguide.com. To reach Geno or Ryan, e-mail contact@ipitchingguide.com.