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By Chris O’Toole

There have been many horrific tales and near-disaster cases of when the average person will need GPS. However, in the case of my father, GPS tracking played a pivotal role even during a time of leisure. Golf is arguably the safest sport that one person could play and thus, it serves as a perfect example of how the GPS tracker shifts its purpose from a want to a need. In the most secure situation, the GPS tracking system was an absolute essential. Fortuitously, my father happened to have RMT’s PT 200 for his expensive golf clubs in the event of theft. His love for his golf clubs ended up inadvertently saving his life.

I found myself in the running for top prize at a Father-Son Golf Tournament at my father’s country club. My father and I were performing in tandem with excellent precision and ball striking. Even further, our other teammates (who were known to be hacks around the links) were playing the rounds of their lives. Our success encountered a slight hiccup when my father abnormally shanked a shot off the tee box into the “spinach patch” or forest, as it is otherwise known.

If there is one thing about my father, it is that he loves his Titleist Pro V1’s almost as much as God and his own son. So, he began his typical search through the woods for his pristine golf ball. The only difference was that this time, my father did not return from the woods. We waited by our golf carts for nearly twenty minutes before we knew that something was awry. We began our rescue search for him but the wooded area was massive and the dusk had arrived. It seemed to be a losing battle, until it had occurred to me that the GPS was in his golf bag. I raced back to the clubhouse and launched the internet tracking program.

He is in the native? That’s odd, I thought to myself.

Nonetheless, I procured a flashlight and sped back to the #4 hole. I arrived at the waypoint to find my father writhing in pain. He had a bite mark in his leg, most likely from the indigenous Colorado rattlesnake. In addition to this venomous insertion, he had also taken a dangerous fall down the hill that was complemented by cacti and rocks. He was whisked to the nearest poison control center and our match was put on hold. I am eternally grateful to RMT’s PT-200 GPS tracking system for allowing me the chance to save my father from a painful and poisonous mortality. It was this simple precaution that allotted time for the doctors to give my father-who is my hero- the antidote and treat his injuries as well.