JP7738319B2 - Golf Reservation System - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a golf reservation system that accepts reservations for golf courses.

Traditionally, open competitions have been held in which anyone can participate by paying an entry fee. Open competitions are often hosted by golf courses. It is possible to participate in such open competitions alone.

When playing a round at a golf course, parties of four people are usually formed, but if there are multiple players participating in groups of three or less, each player must be matched with a group of four to form a party.

In response to such demands, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a system that allows individuals to apply to play at a golf course via the Internet. When a reservation is made, this system selects a member to form a party with the person making the reservation under specified conditions from among members who have previously formed parties with the person making the reservation, and then provides play instructions to the selected member.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-312530

However, there is a problem in that players cannot apply if they have never played at that golf course before. Some players feel hesitant to participate alone in an open competition at a golf course they have never played at before, as the majority of participants are often members of that golf course.

In addition, when golf courses plan and host open competitions, they face the problem of having to bear a heavy burden, such as setting dates and times, creating application information, handling reception on the day, and tallying scores. Furthermore, because they need to secure consecutive reservation slots, they also face the problem of having to limit reservations from general players who are not participating in the open competition.

Furthermore, open competitions hosted by golf courses have set dates, times, and golf courses, so there are cases where an open competition is not being held on the date and time a player wants to play, or there are no available reservations, making it difficult for players to casually participate alone.

The present invention aims to solve the above problems, reduce the burden on golf courses, and provide a golf reservation system that allows people to easily make reservations on their own.

The golf reservation system of the present invention is a system for making reservations to participate in an unspecified competition, the details of which are not specified before play. It comprises a mobile device carried by the player, a terminal device provided by the golf course, and a server device connected to the mobile device and the terminal device via communication means. The server device has a reservation acceptance unit that accepts reservations to participate in the unspecified competition, and a calculation unit that calculates the results of the unspecified competition, and the calculation unit calculates the results of the unspecified competition based on calculation conditions specified after play.

Furthermore, in the golf reservation system according to the present invention, the participation reservation may be made by connecting the mobile terminal to the server device, entering the unspecified competition, and then inputting the player's desired conditions.

Furthermore, the golf reservation system according to the present invention may allow multiple selections of the calculation conditions.

In addition, in the golf reservation system according to the present invention, the server device may have a matching unit that connects to the terminal device, reserves a reservation slot at the golf course, and assigns the player who has made the participation reservation to the reservation slot.

In addition, in the golf reservation system according to the present invention, the matching unit may be able to assign reservation holders other than those who have reserved participation in the unspecified competition to the reservation slots.

In addition, in the golf reservation system of the present invention, the results of the unspecified competition may be a leaderboard.

The golf reservation system of the present invention allows you to make a reservation to participate in an unspecified competition, the details of which are not specified before playing.

1 is an explanatory diagram showing an overview of a golf reservation system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 1 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of a server device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a reservation procedure according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a reservation slot allocation procedure according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the embodiments described below do not limit the scope of the present invention as defined in the claims. Furthermore, not all of the configurations described below are necessarily essential requirements for the present invention.

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of a golf reservation system in this embodiment. In the figure, the system is configured such that a mobile device 1 owned by each user, a player P, and a server device 2 are interconnected via communication means 4 such as the Internet, and the server device 2 and a golf course terminal device 3 are interconnected via communication means 5 such as the Internet. Note that the mobile device 1 and the golf course terminal device 3 may also be interconnected via communication means 6 such as the Internet. While only one mobile device 1 is shown in Figure 1, if multiple players P are present at the same time, multiple mobile devices 1 with similar configurations will be connected to the communication means 4. Also, although only one golf course terminal device 3 is shown, in reality, multiple golf course terminal devices 3 can be connected to communication means 5 and 6.

The mobile device 1 held by player P has the functionality of a typical smartphone, and the front of the flat main body 11 is provided with a display unit 12 for screen display and an operation unit 13 for manual operation. In this embodiment, the mobile device 1 is assumed to be a smartphone, but it may also be a portable personal computer, a mobile phone, a tablet device, a wristwatch-type device such as a smartwatch, a portable information processing terminal, etc.

Figure 2 shows the electrical configuration of the mobile terminal 1. In addition to the display unit 12 and operation unit 13 described above, the mobile terminal 1 also includes a control unit 14, a transmission/reception unit 15, and a memory unit 16.

The display unit 12 is composed of a liquid crystal module and a liquid crystal panel that are exposed on the front of the mobile terminal 1. As is well known, these liquid crystal modules and panels display images using a dot matrix in which a large number of sub-pixels are arranged in a grid pattern.

The operation unit 13 receives operations from the player P and sends electrical operation signals to the control means 14. In the mobile terminal 1 of this embodiment, the display unit 12 is a touch panel, and the surface of the display unit 12 functions as the operation unit 13.

The control means 14 is a control device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and its operation is controlled by a program 17 that is downloaded in advance by accessing the server device 2 and stored in the storage unit 16. This control means 14 has a software configuration that functions by reading the program 17 from the storage unit 16.

The transmitter/receiver 15 enables two-way communication with the server device 2 via the communication means 4. This allows the mobile terminal 1 to send and receive data including various information to and from the server device 2.

The memory unit 16 is configured using various memory devices such as a magnetic hard disk drive or semiconductor memory device, and is capable of writing and reading player P's score information 18 and handicap information 19.

Figure 3 shows the electrical configuration of the server device 2. In this figure, the server device 2 includes a control unit 21, a transmission/reception unit 22, and a storage unit 23.

The control means 21 includes a CPU (central processing unit) and controls the entire server device 2 based on a program 24 stored in the memory unit 23. The CPU executes calculations in accordance with the program 24, thereby realizing each function of the server device 2. The control means 21 includes a reservation acceptance unit 25 that accepts reservations from players P, a matching unit 26 that assigns players P whose reservations have been accepted to reservation slots on the golf course, creates parties, and confirms the golf course reservations, a counting unit 27 that creates a leaderboard based on score information 18 and handicap information 19 from each player P, and a condition acceptance unit 28 that receives calculation condition information from the mobile terminal 1.

The transmitter/receiver unit 22 enables two-way communication with the mobile terminal 1 via communication means 4, and also enables two-way communication with the terminal device 3 via communication means 5. This allows the server device 2 to send and receive data including various information to and from the mobile terminal 1 and the terminal device 3.

The memory unit 23 is configured using various storage devices such as a magnetic hard disk drive or semiconductor storage device, and is capable of writing and reading participation information 29 entered by player P when making a reservation, allocation information 30 that assigns player P to a reservation slot, score information 18 and handicap information 19 for each player P, etc.

Figure 4 shows the electrical configuration of the golf course terminal device 3. In this figure, the terminal device 3 comprises a control means 31, a transceiver unit 32, and a memory unit 33.

The control means 31 includes a CPU (central processing unit) and controls the entire terminal device 3 based on a program 34 stored in the memory unit 33. The CPU executes calculations in accordance with the program 34, thereby realizing the various functions of the terminal device 3. The control means 31 also includes a reservation registration unit 35 that confirms reservations from the server device 2, and a reservation slot search unit 36 that searches for available reservation slot information.

The transmitter/receiver unit 32 enables two-way communication with the server device 2 via the communication means 5. This allows the terminal device 3 to send and receive data including various information to and from the server device 2.

The memory unit 33 is configured using various storage devices such as a magnetic hard disk drive or semiconductor storage device, and is capable of writing and reading, for example, reservation slot information 37 indicating whether reservations have been confirmed for all reservation slots, and confirmed reservation information 38, which is confirmed reservation information for reservation slots.

Now, with reference to Figures 5 and 6, a reservation method using the golf reservation system of this embodiment will be described. First, player P accesses the server device 2 using his/her mobile device 1 and enters participation information 29, such as the desired date and time of play, golf course, and number of participants, using the operation unit 13 on the unspecified competition entry page. The reservation acceptance unit 25 of the server device 2 then stores the participation information 29 in the memory unit 23 and transmits reservation acceptance notification information to the mobile device 1 via the transmission/reception unit 22, notifying that the reservation has been accepted. Note that the desired time of play may not only be a narrow time range, such as a start time of 9:00 AM, but may also specify a wider time range, such as a start time in the morning, or multiple time slots, such as a start time of 8:00 AM to 10:00 AM or 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM.

When a reservation is accepted, the matching unit 26 of the server device 2 begins creating parties of four people for each reservation slot. The matching unit 26 connects to the golf course terminal device 3 in advance and reserves the first reservation slot W1. Here, reservation slot W1 is assumed to be a reservation slot with a start time of 9:00. In this embodiment, one reservation slot W1 is reserved in advance, but multiple reservation slots may be reserved in advance. Once reservation slot W1 is reserved, the matching unit 26 assigns one person's tentative reservation R to reservation slot W1 (see assignment procedure 1 in Figure 6).

After that, when the reservation reception unit 25 actually receives the first person's reservation R1, the matching unit 26 allocates reservation R1 to reservation slot W1. Subsequently, when the reservation reception unit 25 receives the second person's reservation R2 and the third person's reservation R3, the matching unit 26 allocates reservations R2 and R3 to reservation slot W1 (see allocation procedure 2 in Figure 6).

When reservation R3 is assigned to reservation slot W1, the matching unit 26 connects to the terminal device 3 and checks whether there are any other available reservation slots. At this time, the reservation slot search unit 36 of the terminal device 3 reads the reservation slot information 37 from the memory unit 33 and checks whether there are any available reservation slots. If there are any available reservation slots, the matching unit 26 secures the second reservation slot W2 and assigns the tentative reservation R that was assigned to reservation slot W1 to reservation slot W2 (see assignment procedure 3 in Figure 6). In this example, reservation slot W2 is the reservation slot with a start time of 9:15.

Next, when the reservation reception unit 25 receives a fourth reservation R4 and a fifth reservation R5, the matching unit 26 allocates reservations R4 and R5 to reservation slot W2 (see allocation procedure 4 in Figure 6).

After that, when the reservation acceptance unit 25 accepts a sixth reservation R6, the matching unit 26 assigns reservation R6 to reservation slot W1, completing party P1 of four people (see allocation procedure 5 in Figure 6).

Next, when the reservation reception unit 25 receives a seventh reservation R7, the matching unit 26 allocates reservation R7 to reservation slot W2 (see allocation procedure 6 in Figure 6).

After allocating reservation R7 to reservation slot W2, the matching unit 26 connects to the terminal device 3 and checks whether there are any other available reservation slots. As described above, the reservation slot search unit 36 of the terminal device 3 checks whether there are any available reservation slots, and if there are any available reservation slots, the matching unit 26 secures the third reservation slot W3 and allocates the tentative reservation R that was allocated to reservation slot W2 to reservation slot W3 (see allocation procedure 7 in Figure 6). In this example, reservation slot W3 is the reservation slot with a start time of 9:30.

Next, when the reservation reception unit 25 receives a reservation R8 for the eighth person and a reservation R9 for the ninth person, the matching unit 26 allocates reservations R8 and R9 to reservation slot W3 (see allocation procedure 8 in Figure 6).

After that, when the reservation acceptance unit 25 accepts a tenth reservation R10, the matching unit 26 assigns reservation R10 to reservation slot W2, completing party P2 of four people (see allocation procedure 9 in Figure 6).

Next, when the reservation reception unit 25 receives the 11th person's reservation R11, the matching unit 26 allocates reservation R11 to reservation slot W3 (see allocation procedure 10 in Figure 6).

When reservation R11 is assigned to reservation slot W3, the matching unit 26 connects to the terminal device 3 and checks whether any other reservation slots are available. As described above, the reservation slot search unit 36 of the terminal device 3 checks whether any reservation slots are available, and if there are any available reservation slots, it secures a fourth reservation slot (not shown) and sequentially assigns the received reservations to that reservation slot. Subsequently, the fifth reservation slot (not shown), the sixth reservation slot (not shown), and so on are sequentially completed in the same manner. Here, we will explain the case where the reservation slot search unit 36 checks whether any reservation slots are available and there are no available reservation slots. When the reservation reception unit 25 accepts a twelfth person's reservation R12, the matching unit 26 cancels the tentative reservation R and assigns reservation R12 to reservation slot W3, completing a party P3 of four people (see assignment procedure 11 in Figure 6).

When reservation slot W3 is completed, the reservation acceptance unit 25 stops accepting reservations and starts accepting cancellation standby reservations. For example, if the reservation acceptance unit 25 accepts cancellation standby reservation R13 (see allocation procedure 12 in FIG. 6 ) and reservation R5 for reservation slot W2 is canceled (see allocation procedure 13 in FIG. 6 ), the matching unit 26 assigns cancellation standby reservation R13 to reservation slot W2 and completes party P2 of four people again (see allocation procedure 14 in FIG. 6 ). Note that if no cancellations occur by the end of the reservation solicitation period (e.g., 3:00 p.m. on the day before play) after accepting cancellation standby reservation R13, the server device 2 sends reservation failure notification information to the mobile terminal 1 of the person who made cancellation standby reservation R13, informing them that no cancellations have occurred and that the reservation cannot be accepted.

The matching unit 26 can also adjust the number of people in a party depending on the number of reservations. If the last reservation received at the end of the recruitment period was reservation R8, reservation R8 allocated to reservation slot W3 is moved to reservation slot W2, completing party P2 of four people. Note that reservation slot W3 only has provisional reservation R, so the unit connects to terminal device 3 and cancels the reservation for reservation slot W3. If the last reservation received was reservation R9, reservation R8 allocated to reservation slot W3 is moved to reservation slot W2, completing party P2 of four people. At this time, reservation slot W3 only has provisional reservation R and reservation R9, so the unit sends a reservation failure notification to the mobile terminal 1 of the person who made reservation R9, canceling the reservation due to an incomplete party, and connects to terminal device 3 and cancels the reservation for reservation slot W3. Alternatively, reservations R4, R5, and R7 may be assigned to reservation slot W2 to complete party P2 of three, and reservations R8 and R9 may be assigned to reservation slot W3 to complete party P3 of two, on the condition that the person who made reservation R9 pays a surcharge. If the last reservation accepted is reservation R10, reservation R10 is moved from reservation slot W2 to reservation slot W3, and reservations R4, R5, and R7 are assigned to reservation slot W2 to complete party P2 of three, while reservations R8, R9, and R10 are assigned to reservation slot W3 to complete party P3 of three. If the last reservation accepted is reservation R11, reservations R8, R9, and R11 other than tentative reservation R assigned to reservation slot W3 complete party P3 of three.

The reservation acceptance unit 25 of the server device 2 can also accept reservations from the mobile terminals 1 of general reservation applicants who do not wish to enter the unspecified competition. Therefore, when the matching unit 26 creates a party for each reservation slot, it can assign a mixture of entrants for the unspecified competition and general reservation applicants who do not wish to enter the unspecified competition to each reservation slot. In other words, it is possible for those who will enter the unspecified competition and those who will not to form parties and play together. Therefore, even if the number of entrants for the unspecified competition is small, it is possible to complete many parties.

The memory unit 23 of the server device 2 stores participation information 29 of accepted reservations, and allocation information 30 of parties P1, P2, and P3, which have been completed by allocating reservation users to reservation slots W1, W2, and W3.

When the reservation acceptance period has elapsed, the control means 21 of the server device 2 transmits the completed allocation information 30 to the golf course terminal device 3 via the transmission/reception unit 22. When the terminal device 3 receives the allocation information 30, the reservation registration unit 35 confirms the reservation and stores it in the memory unit 33 as confirmed reservation information 38. The control means 21 of the server device 2 also transmits reservation confirmation notification information via the transmission/reception unit 22 to the mobile device 1 of each player P assigned to the reservation slots W1, W2, and W3, notifying them that the reservation has been confirmed. Note that the transmission of the allocation information 30 from the server device 2 to the terminal device 3 and the transmission of the reservation confirmation notification information from the server device 2 to the mobile device 1 may be performed when each reservation slot W1, W2, and W3 is completed in the server device 2.

In this embodiment, the unspecified competition does not have a competition organizer (e.g., a golf course). Therefore, the golf course does not need to set the date and time of the competition, create recruitment information, secure consecutive reservation slots on the golf course, handle special reception for the competition on the day, tally scores, etc.

Furthermore, the date, time, and location of the competition are not yet determined, and Player P makes a reservation by entering participation information 29, such as the desired date to play, the desired golf course, and the number of participants. This allows Player P to decide the date and location to play, reducing the chances of having to give up on playing because no open competition is being held on the desired date. Even if the golf course at which Player P wishes to play does not accept single-person reservations, the golf reservation system of this embodiment is a system that makes reservations for golf courses by reservation slot (party), so Player P can essentially make a single-person reservation. Furthermore, it is thought that golf course members typically make reservations directly with the golf course, and therefore the golf reservation system of this embodiment is likely to be used infrequently. Therefore, when making a reservation using the golf reservation system of this embodiment, there is a high probability that Player P, who is not a member of the golf course at which they will play, will form a party with other Players P.

After finishing play, player P uses the mobile terminal 1 to input score information 18 and handicap information 19 into the server device 2. Score information 18 is the number of strokes (gross score) for each hole played, and handicap information 19 can be based on the JGA/USGA Handicap Index established by the Japan Golf Association or the World Handicap System, which is scheduled to be introduced in the future. Handicap information 19 can also be transmitted to the server device 2 in advance of play and stored in the memory unit 23.

By storing the score information 18 and handicap information 19 in the memory unit 23 by the server device 2, player P can check the leaderboard for the unspecified competition. The aggregation unit 27 of the server device 2 reads the handicap information 19 stored in the memory unit 23, subtracts the handicap from the gross score, calculates the net score, and creates the leaderboard. Note that the leaderboard may also be created using the gross score.

A leaderboard showing the results of an unspecified competition is created when a player P inputs calculation conditions into the calculation condition specification page of the server device 2 using his/her mobile device 1. For example, when the golf course where the player played is input as calculation condition information, the condition receiving unit 28 of the server device 2 receives the calculation condition information, and the tallying unit 27 creates a leaderboard based on the score information 18 and handicap information 19 of all players P who played at that golf course, which is stored in the memory unit 23. By checking this leaderboard, a player P can confirm the ranking and score of each player P.

Other calculation condition information such as age (e.g., junior high school student, 35 years old, 50s, etc.), a specific period (e.g., September 2021, Sunday, etc.), and gender may be entered to create a leaderboard. To create a leaderboard using this calculation condition information, information such as player P's age, play date, and gender must be stored in advance in the memory unit 23 of the server device 2. In addition, by storing the weather at the time of play in the memory unit 23 of the server device 2, the weather (sunny, rainy, etc.) can also be used as calculation condition information. Furthermore, a leaderboard may be created based on multiple pieces of calculation condition information. In this way, by storing various calculation condition information in the memory unit 23 of the server device 2, the aggregation unit 27 can create a variety of leaderboards.

As described above, the golf reservation system of this embodiment is a golf reservation system for making reservations to participate in an unspecified competition, the details of which are not specified before play. It comprises a mobile device 1 carried by player P, a terminal device 3 provided by the golf course, and a server device 3 connected to mobile device 1 and terminal device 3 via communication means 4 and 5. Server device 3 has a reservation acceptance unit 25 that accepts reservations to participate in the unspecified competition, and a calculation unit 27 that calculates the results of the unspecified competition. The calculation unit 27 calculates the results of the unspecified competition based on calculation conditions specified after play, allowing player P to check the results of the unspecified competition based on various calculation conditions after play. Furthermore, for player P making a reservation for one person, because it is in the form of a reservation to participate in a competition, it is less hesitant to make a reservation for one person.

In addition, with the golf reservation system of this embodiment, participation reservations are made by connecting the mobile terminal 1 to the server device 2, entering the unspecified competition, and then inputting the player P's desired conditions. Unlike open competitions hosted by golf courses, the player P can decide the date, time, and golf course themselves. This prevents situations where an open competition is not being held on the date and time that player P wants to play, or where there are no available reservations.

In addition, the golf reservation system of this embodiment allows multiple calculation conditions to be selected, making it possible to create leaderboards based on a variety of conditions.

In addition, the golf reservation system of this embodiment has a matching unit 26 in which the server device 2 connects to the terminal device 3, reserves reservation slots W1, W2, and W3 at the golf course, and assigns players P who have made reservations to reservation slots W1, W2, and W3, allowing parties P1, P2, and P3 to be created by multiple players P who have made reservations. Furthermore, reservations can be confirmed for the golf course for each reservation slot W1, W2, and W3, rather than for each player P. Therefore, the golf course can accept reservations for parties of four people (or in some cases, a party of three or two people), rather than for each individual player P.

In addition, in the golf reservation system of this embodiment, the matching unit can assign reservation holders other than those who have reserved participation in the unspecified competition to reservation slots W1, W2, and W3, allowing those who will enter the unspecified competition and those who will not to form parties and play together. Furthermore, even if the number of entrants for the unspecified competition is small, it is possible to complete many parties.

In addition, the golf reservation system of this embodiment displays the results of the unspecified competition as a leaderboard, allowing players P to check the rankings and scores of each player P.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the present invention. In the above embodiment, the results of an unspecified competition are shown as a leaderboard. However, the results of an unspecified competition may also include rankings based on the distance tee shots landed on the fairway on a specified hole, or the distance to the pin on a specified hole, such as the longest drive award or nearest to the pin award.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Mobile terminal 2 Server device 3 Terminal device 4 Communication means 5 Communication means 26 Matching unit 27 Counting unit 30 Reservation reception unit P Player W1 Reservation slot W2 Reservation slot W3 Reservation slot

Claims (6)

A golf reservation system for making reservations for participation in unspecified competitions whose contents are not specified before playing,
A mobile device owned by the player;
a terminal device provided at the golf course;
a server device connected to the mobile terminal and the terminal device via a communication means;
the server device has a reservation accepting unit that accepts reservations to participate in the unspecified competition, and a counting unit that calculates the results of the unspecified competition,
The golf reservation system is characterized in that the tallying unit calculates the results of the unspecified competition based on calculation conditions specified after the play. The golf reservation system described in claim 1, characterized in that the participation reservation is made by connecting the mobile terminal to the server device, entering the unspecified competition, and then inputting the player's desired conditions. The golf reservation system described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that multiple calculation conditions can be selected. The golf reservation system described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the server device has a matching unit that connects to the terminal device, reserves reservation slots at the golf course, and assigns the player who has made the participation reservation to the reservation slot. The golf reservation system described in claim 4, characterized in that the matching unit is capable of assigning reservation holders other than those who have reserved participation in the unspecified competition to the reservation slots. The golf reservation system described in any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the results of the unspecified competition are a leaderboard.