The Goodlife

At Your Service — A Landmark amenity keeps your score, takes your food order, and more.

You’ve studied the desired trajectory, gauged the potential wind effect, and completed the perfect backswing. Then it hits you. That pang of hunger breaks your concentration, the strike of the ball misses the sweet spot on your driver, and your shot goes awkwardly awry. What can you do?

If you’re playing at Landmark Golf Club in Indio, you can walk over to the TeePod and order something from the clubhouse restaurant and be served on the course.

The convenience of refreshments may not be the greatest advantage of the revolutionary TeePod system (personal opinion notwithstanding), but when the technology is there, you might as well take advantage of it.

In May, Landmark’s two courses became the second and third courses in the world to feature 4everSport’s solar-powered, interactive, touch-screen kiosks. The Nova Scotia-based company installed its first system (not including its hometown “lab” course) at the public Dobson Ranch Golf Course in Mesa, Ariz. Landmark asked for — and received — customized upgrades, which resulted in the next version of the system installed late summer at Disney’s Celebration Golf Club in Florida and Arcadian Shores Golf Club at Myrtle Beach Hilton in South Carolina.

In addition to ordering food and beverages (or perhaps a new club from the pro shop), TeePod provides a slew of capabilities.

Ditch the pencil and paper. TeePod scores electronically.

Get real-time updates to tournament leader boards. No more wondering if you really need to take risky chances or can play it safe to get or stay in the lead.

Access your personal history (on Landmark’s course) and hole-by-hole statistics.

Access a graphic yardage book, hole information and pro tips; calculate handicaps; and, yes, even have a color photo taken of your foursome and e-mail it to your home computer (or someone else’s).

Call for a ruling, report a lost club, or get other assistance.

Through wireless Internet, you can also create a “golfing buddy” network that will alert your friends, your mom, or your spouse when you are on the course. They, in turn, can send you a text message like “Great shot!” or “Don’t forget to pick up the dry cleaning on your way home.”

Believe it or not (though we wouldn’t make this stuff up, knowing how important golf is to valley residents and visitors), your ability to take advantage of TeePod doesn’t stop after the 18th hole — or, in many cases, the 19th. After you get home, you tap into the Internet and customize your personal playing statistics to analyze whatever aspects of your game you choose and book your next tee time.

You don’t pay any more to use the system, as the cost is borne by kiosk screen advertisers hoping to reach a target market (such as the 23 percent of golfers who will purchase an automobile in the next 12 months). And you don’t have to use the kiosk scoring system to play at Landmark — though you can still use it to get a burger, Arnold Palmer iced tea, and sun visor.