First I want to start by saying I hope everyone had a blessed, safe, and Happy Thanksgiving yesterday.
When it comes to golf and technology, most people think of changes to equipment. Today that is not the case. Technology in golf has come a long way with rangefinders, GPS devices, launch monitors, and of course now on cell phones.
Today I am going to tell you about what I think are the best ones. Each of these is on my phone and I switch between all three of them. I even will use one during a round then add the round to the others I did not use.
All three of these apps are available on the Google Play and Apple App Store.
My go-to golf app is 18Birdies. It is the one I use most as I like how the stats are tracked slightly better. The main thing I love about the stat tracking on this app is it is manual. You tell it if you hit the fairway or the green and it will count all chip and bunker shots. Many apps base your up and down percentage off of hitting the green in regulation. True stats will count all, for example, the stat for a single hole could be 1 of 2 as in I got up and down, but it took two chips to do it. Another great benefit of 18Birdies is you can find tee-times through the app. The GPS uses satellite view and is pretty accurate. The one con is they use their own handicap system and it will not match a USGA Handicap.
Highlights -
Stat Tracking
Tee Times
Social Features
Groups and Leagues
Player Matching
Practice Tracking
Pro Tips
Overhead Satelite GPS
My second most used on the course app is from TaylorMade Golf called MyRoundPro. One of the best things about this app is it is connected with your TaylorMade Golf Loyalty Rewards Program. You can earn points towards purchases just by downloading the app. There is even a storefront built into the app to get your favorite products from TaylorMade and tee times via GolfNow. One of my favorite things is the stats by club feature. This does require tracking shots and does take longer, which can be a hassle, but if you use it it will show you distance, shots per round, strokes gained, and more for each club. The GPS is more of a yardage book style, which I do like, but there are times it does not seem accurate, and moving the cursor to a specific spot sometimes does something else. This is strictly about golf and had no social features in it.
Highlights -
Stat Tracking
Storefront
Simple - Sticks To Golf
Yardage book Style GPS
Black Friday Deals -
The last one and one that I am new to and trying to get used to is The Grint. This one has some very cool features like letting friends track when you play. The app will tell you a friend starts a round and you can view their card as they play. Other great things such as adding pictures to your round are cool too. The one thing so far I do not like is the stats. There is no ability to say I had a chip shot and hit the green in regulation like when you go for a par-5 on your second shot and miss. It only tracks scrambling and honestly not sure what it uses to do that. All other stats are great. The very best parts of this app are two things. One you can have a friend attest your round and two it keeps a true handicap. If you want to pay for an official handicap you can for about $20 a year. It will pair you with an official USGA affiliated club giving you a GHIN (Golf Handicap Index Number) and scores you post through the app attested by a friend will automatically go toward your handicap. If this app used better stat tracking features as 18Birdies does, this would probably become my number one go-to app.
Highlights -
Official Handicap
Stat Tracking
Friends Features
Photo Round Tagging
Overhead Satelite GPS
All of these apps have great features and it all depends on your preferences of what one you really want to use. My main goal when uses an app while playing golf is tracking my stats for game improvement. For that sole reason is why I use 18Birdies more than the other two, however, if I was to build a perfect golf app I would take the stat tracking, groups and leagues features of 18Birdies combined with the friend features and official handicap of The Grint and throw in the yardage book style, club tracking and store feature of MyRoundPro.
I would highly recommend giving all three a try and decide which one suits you best. You may find stats do not matter and an official handicap is best.
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