I used to make them for my frequently played courses until I bought a laser.

Using Photoshop (or any other freeware graphic editor) I would download the course from Google Maps. Google maps now has a "ruler" so that you can calculate how many pixels make up 100 yards, for example.

So I would rotate and crop the image so that the green was at the top. Then I would choose points to measure from, such as trees, greens, etc. And using the ruler tool in the graphic program I would know how many pixels in length it was, and convert that to yards using the scale that I determined beforehand.

Here's an example of the first hole:

http://www.areddy.net/misc/silverlake1.jpg

As you can see I would also draw concentric circles out from the center of the green and from the tee box. Using white for the tee box and yellow to the green.

This is a time consuming job, for sure. Often I would have to copy a couple images from google maps and paste them together. The other issue is that you'd then have to scale the image so it would fit in whatever size book you want. This would of course change the scale, so you'd have to remeasure what 100 yards is in pixels for each hole.

So this take care of the yardage, then there's the whole other job of mapping the greens!

I'm no caddy but did try making one once for a quick trip that we made. Similar to what larrybud said, I used google earth to find a 'blimp' view of the hole then manipulated it in photoshop elements. The original picture isn't always the best so I did play with the colors and try to remove any blemishes that showed up. I added the course logo and the background then used Excel (I know this wasn't the best idea but it worked for me) to put in the yardage boxes.

If I was to do this as a caddy, I would start off the same but leave it blank and take the actual measurements at the course...I used the ruler on google earth and am not sure as to the accuracy....but it did atleast give me an rough guess.

Here is a low-resolution copy of the page for the 1st hole.

buy a skycaddie....

buy a skycaddie....

I second that one!!!!!

this brings up the question,

"would pro's use a GPS over a yardage book if they were allowed?"

I have seen Caddies using them in practice rounds to verify their yardages. Just wondering if they changed the rules that would allow them to be used during play if they would use them.?

I guess they would still keep a book for reading greens and knowing where the different levels of the green are.... right? Maybe a GPS would just be something else they dont want to carry.

buy a skycaddie....

 

 

I second that one!!!!!

 

this brings up the question,

"would pro's use a GPS over a yardage book if they were allowed?"

 

I have seen Caddies using them in practice rounds to verify their yardages. Just wondering if they changed the rules that would allow them to be used during play if they would use them.?

 

I guess they would still keep a book for reading greens and knowing where the different levels of the green are.... right? Maybe a GPS would just be something else they dont want to carry.

Im sure the would because it would be easy for them but I dont know if the pro would like it or now.

I'm no caddy but did try making one once for a quick trip that we made. Similar to what larrybud said, I used google earth to find a 'blimp' view of the hole then manipulated it in photoshop elements. The original picture isn't always the best so I did play with the colors and try to remove any blemishes that showed up. I added the course logo and the background then used Excel (I know this wasn't the best idea but it worked for me) to put in the yardage boxes.

 

If I was to do this as a caddy, I would start off the same but leave it blank and take the actual measurements at the course...I used the ruler on google earth and am not sure as to the accuracy....but it did atleast give me an rough guess.

 

Here is a low-resolution copy of the page for the 1st hole.

I just moved to WV and we are not that advanced here. lol lol

Before computers, I made three yardage books for the courses I played. They were crude, but easy to make.

Since the courses were familiar my yardage books started where my average drive would land, about 200 yards from the White tees. I'd pick out the nearest topographical landmark and begin pacing forward to obstacles. When drives went longer or shorter I'd just make a mental note to add or substact the difference.

I didn't bother with the par 3s, except to note what club I needed to use off the tee. I'd put each hole on a sheet of graph paper and on the back I'd draw the green noting the biggest breaks.

Give this a try:

Lucas Yardage Book Kit

Cliff J.

Rangefinders are the best way to get yardages when maping out yardage books. You have probably figured out that google earth is not the best answer for actual mapping. A good start might be to try to attain a copy of the course blueprint or even just a map. Then you can get a rough idea of the layout and then start pacing distances off and using a rangefinder to speed up the process.