Original review published on Steve Litchfield's 3-Lib. The Internet-only commercial application GolfCard, from
MP(Golf) Systems, needs to really stand out to
be distinguished by the casual golfer from the various
spreadsheet,
freeware and shareware solutions. Installation is a
doddle, via standard SIS file, although the creation of a new root folder on
the C drive is a bit messy. Before a match can be played a course obviously
needs to be defined, with GolfCard demanding a full data entry session of
yardage, par and stroke index. There were some discrepancies between pen and
keyboard use in this section and GolfCard could do with quite a bit of
interface-polishing. Graphics are limited to a piece of clipart on the splash
screen.
Once the match is off and scoring is in progress, things proceed smoothly
enough via keyboard entry. The Enter key opens a dialog for each hole's scores
and the space bar toggles to a summary screen. At any time, several analysis
tables can be pulled up, showing the distribution of pars, bogeys etc. MP
(Golf) Systems pride themselves on the accuracy of their product, and the range
of match types allowed is indeed impressive, as is the ease of printout after
the game.
Post-match analysis is handled by a separate (for some reason) Extras bar
application, 'Analyst', which handles career statistics and handicap
adjustments. Significantly, GolfCard is written in the UK and so its handling
of the UK handicapping system is more thorough than its competitors.
There's a lot of statistical power here, with good rule variations and
functionality. It's just a pity that it's all wrapped up in such a lack-lustre
interface. Much of it is non-standard too (e.g. Control-S for 'Players' and
Control-C for 'Save'?), with the toolbar being just about the only element that
will be immediately familiar to new users. Lots of user feedback and a few
program development cycles should sort most of it out though. In the meantime,
there's a demonstration version available for download from their
web site.
|
