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Golfers were among the first lay people beyond boaters, pilots, orienteerers, and the owners of some upscale automobiles to grasp the potential of the Global Positioning System (GPS) for their favortie pasttime.

Here's the short course for those who don't know much about GPS: A receiver gathers pulsed signals from as many of the two dozen or so GPS satellites orbiting the earth as it can lock in. Using triangulation -- by measuring and comparing the travel time of individual signals -- the receiver calculates its position, and it's accurate to within twenty yards or so.

The golf industry leverages this accuracy to help golfers plan shots and more.

Take iGolf Technologies' new SD GPS receiver ($250) for palmOne's Treo 650. The company says the unit provides golfers with accurate distance measurements to the front, center, and back of a green and four customizable points—such as water and sand hazards. The company’s iGolfgps v.2 application also includes a scorecard with player statistics and real time scoring for up to four golfers.

Of course, most golf afficionados drive too. So when you're traveling to and from the course, you can use Mapopolis Navigator for navigation. Mapopolis Navigator delivers spoken and visual navigation prompts before each turn and generates routes in the United States, Canada, and Western Europe.

Golf GPS doesn't have to take the form of a handheld, however. For instance, there is the four-star rated Glynns Creek Golf Course in Long Grove, Iowa. A firm called GPS Industries equipped the course's fleet of 76 gas-powered carts with 10.4 inch color GPS units along with two grounds-keeper units.