Our Verdict
Airfare from Portland , Oregon to Monterey , California : $ 280 . Seven nights in The Lodge at Pebble Beach : $ 6,475 . Seven round of golf at Pebble Beach , Spyglass Hill , and The Links at Spanish Bay : $ 2,665 . Two 12 golf balls : $ 80 . Playing golf at the west coast ’s finest courses on a Macworld expense account , in purchase order to review all of the iPhone golf game - relate applications : invaluable .
That , at least , was how the scenario played out in my head when I suggested to my boss that I review every golf - related applications programme usable for the iPhone . As of today , that ’s seven different applications ( nowhere near the 18 version of Sudoku that Dan Frakes recently worked his way through ) . All of these broadcast are related to helping you track a round of golf of golf ; one even provides distance information for tracking shots during your round of golf . Given that most of these apps are n’t free , and some be $ 20 a tonic , we thought it would be utilitarian to take a flavour at all seven program , and then see at the best of the bunch in more detail .
The reality of such a project , of course , was much different than my dream scenario outline above — much like sealed credit card commercial message that may have suffice as my inspiration . In those commercial message , you never see the reality of the credit card customers pass out when they open up their huge bills at the last of the month . In my reality , I did most of my examination of the iPhone ’s golf game scoring applications while seated in my dwelling or walking around the locality ( to model usage while playing ) . I did , however , take the top pick out for a bout of golf game at a local trend , to see how it ( and the iPhone ’s battery ) would harbor up to the rigour of real - humans use .
From left to right: Birdie, Golf-Ace, Golf Memoir, Golf Tracker, and Hey What’s the Golf Score? Click the image for a larger version.
Desired features
While golf game is a comparatively aboveboard game — place club behind ball , swing society , say risky words , repeat — keeping grudge can actually be somewhat complex . For each actor , you may want to track slash and putts per hole , indicate whether their driving hit the fairway or not , give chase any penalization strokes for balls hit out of bounds or into the piss , and keep track of any bet between the group members . It would also be prissy to store notes for each cakehole on a path — tips on which ball club to hit , which side of the fairway to target , etc . Ideally , all of this information should be cover ( and present with statistics ) over metre , so you may gauge your procession . In improver , a golf grading program should be able-bodied to preserve a collection of course ( using manually - entered or downloaded course data ) you typically fiddle on , along with name and handicap information for the players you commonly recreate with .
None of the available programs do all of these things — in fact , none of them can track wager at all . Of the remaining measure , each computer programme handles at least some number of them , with varying degrees of achiever . Overall , though , none of the seven programs uncommitted scores an ace in the field of golf marking on the iPhone — they all have defect for someone who ’s serious enough about golf game to be in the market for something to replace their old - fashioned card . With that said , two programs stood out from the rest — one because it takes a different approach to golf scoring , and one because it ’s just honorable than the balance . Before we get to the winners , though , get ’s attend at the other players .
The contenders
Here ’s a brief overview of each of the five golf game scoring programs available today that did n’t make the gash for a full inspection .
From left to right wing : Birdie , Golf - Ace , Golf Memoir , Golf Tracker , and Hey What ’s the Golf Score ? snap the range of a function for a turgid variation .
Birdie($19 )
Tee Shot’s entry screen for each hole is easy and fast to use.
At first glance , Birdie depend like a very good entryway into this subject . However , after using it for a few minute , I find myself frustrated with sure features of the curriculum . Perhaps the most thwarting aspect of Birdie is the account entry technique . Birdie uses a yellow-bellied terrapin that must be moved leave ( deoxidise ) or good ( growth ) for each diagonal on a hole . So if you ’ve got four players in your mathematical group , and you all take a seven on your club ’s knotty equation five , you ’ll be slip your finger to the right a totality of 28 metre , just for one golf hole ! While the slider reckon nice on the screen , a set of bare plus and minus button would be much firm and less nerve-racking on your index finger’s breadth .
Birdie does have some singular lineament in this group — it ’s the only platform that includes a timer for use when hunting lose balls , and it includes your score in sodding , net , and Stableford format . you may also send your final card out by vitamin E - mail , which is very useful
With just a few tweaks , I think Birdie could be a unattackable competitor in this chemical group , but as it stand now , other programs are easier and faster to use .
My scorecard from Red Tail Golf.
Golf - Ace($20 )
The grade entry method acting used in Golf - Ace is very well done — it ’s super tight to use , and improbably nonrational . However , the plan miss much in the way of statistics , and I get some bugs and crash during my testing .
The developer has an update that ’s already been give in to Apple ( on July 6th ) for favourable reception . Based on therelease notesfor the update , many of the bugs I encountered will be cover once the update is released . Unfortunately , it ’s not clear at this point when the update will be made available by Apple . Once it is , and assuming the update addresses the observe issues , Golf - Ace will become a unattackable competitor in this niche .
Golf Memoir($5 )
While Golf Memoir jolly works as a renewal for the basic pencil and card , the world is that it ’s much easier to use the scorecard than it is to practice this program . The independent screen look promising , with a smirch to enter a course name , and an Invite Friends section listing people ( seemingly in random fiat ) from your contacts database . However , inviting multitude to join your rung of golf does n’t seem to do anything at all — there ’s no alteration in the scoring screen , nor are you give the opportunity to call the multitude you ’ve invited to enquire them to encounter . I ’m not sure I infer the point of this picky characteristic .
To me , this program really does n’t feel like it was quick for oecumenical spill — the company ’s website comprise of a half - dozen condemnation and a broken mental image link , there are features ( such as the Invite Friends bit ) that do n’t seem to run at all , and features that should be in even the most canonic of golf grading programs ( such as savable class information ) are missing .
Golf Tracker($5 )
Golf Tracker is another program that has an unfinished feeling to it . The primary projection screen has but one button — New Round — that takes you to a datum debut projection screen for your new turn of golf . In the Course incision , you may enter a new course by script , but you ca n’t download course data from the net . produce courses is fourth dimension consuming , and they ’re not editable nor deletable when done — once figure , the course rest forever , everlasting with any misprint you made .
Entering your sexual conquest on a hole is relatively loyal , though middling annoying — you tap a small box next to your name , which then brings up a full - screen overlay with clit label from 1 to 10 ; tap a button to infix that score , and the full - screen overlay go away . It ’s nimble enough , but it seems like overkill to bring in a full - screen overlay to go in a unmarried number — a row of buttons would carry out the same result without the ocular interruption .
Golf Tracker is light-colored on feature , though it works jolly well ( once you ’ve manually enter your line ) for get across dozens .
Hey , What ’s the Golf Score?($10 )
This programme , like a couple of the others , feels unfinished in many style . Entering course data , for instance , is quite frustrating . After entering the basic trend information , you then have to tap on a hole number to enter the equality and yardage for that golf hole . However , you ca n’t just enter those values on the first screen you reach — you must first tap an arrow next to Par , then employ a scroller to choose that muddle ’s par economic value ( which goes from equivalence 1 to par 9 , so you could , I guess , enter putt - putting courses ) . You then beg Select , wiretap an arrow next to Yards , and then enter the yardage using three different sliders — one for each fingerbreadth ! get across Select when done , then take over the intact operation for the next hole .
When you ’re tally a beat , the outgrowth is similar — tap an arrow next to a player ’s name , use a scroller to take the musical score ( which maxes at 9 ) , then tap Select to go back to the premature screen and repeat for the next instrumentalist . Between the data entranceway difficulty and the missing features , I ca n’t urge Hey , What ’s the Golf Score in its current form ; there are better alternative available .
Golf scoring done differently
iYardage(Free )
iYardage is a somewhat unique app in this collection , in that holding score is n’t really its independent purpose . alternatively , its designed to help you track your progress during a rung , include yardage entropy for each shot . It does n’t do this with any sort of advanced GPS or cell sound tower triangulation . Instead , it habituate class maps that have been drawn to scurf , and you then literally drag your shot ( on the map ) from its starting stage to where it wind up . At that point , you’re able to see exactly how far your golf tee shot lead , and how many yards are left to the pin . ( pin tumbler and tee positions can be put by only dragging the marker to the correct spot on the map . ) The curriculum records each stroke emplacement , so you could review your round in the future .
Flip your iPhone sideway , and you ’ve bring a scorecard , complete with a putt counter , along with indicator for a fairway hit , green in regulation , and up - and - down . You see nine hole at a clip on the scorecard , but unfortunately , there ’s no total for the rotund — you’ll have to add the two halves together yourself .
Because of the demand for these customized single-valued function , there are only a smattering of row presently available . This is , by far , the biggest drawback to the computer programme . Unless you ’re playing Poipu Bay ( Hawaii ) , or Pebble Beach , Poplar Creek , or Metro Golf Links ( all in California ) , you wo n’t be able-bodied to habituate iYardage . The developer , though , haveposted instructionson how to use a Windows PC ( or practical Windows on an Intel Mac ) and a innocent NASA syllabus to put in and upload your own courses .
This map creation cognitive process is n’t superficial , but the selection of usable course of instruction should be growing in the future tense . I design on influence through the task for one of our local courses , and then trying iYardage out on the course of study to see how well it really works — potentially , it could supersede an expensive GPS - base range determination car . notice that iYardage can only get over one player ’s round of golf .
The best of the bunch
Tee Shot ’s entry silver screen for each hole is well-situated and quick to use . TeeShot($20 )
At $ 20 , TeeShot is tied with Golf - Ace as the most expensive programme of the bunch . In this pillow slip , though , you really do get what you pay for , because it ’s also the best of the bunch .
Course data point can be entered in any of four ways : there ’s a lively search feature to find and download courses from the vane , you’re able to go into trap entropy as you toy , you’re able to utilize the very good built - in path editor ( and then upload your finished course to the entanglement ) , or you’re able to apply the freeCourseBuilderon the Mac to enter data for a number of courses at once , which you then upload to the World Wide Web and download to TeeShot on your phone . CourseBuilder is really easy to use , and make water creating entry for all your local courses about as simple as potential . Because users everywhere are creating and upload courses , the population of available courses is gravid and growing day by day .
When you prefer to download a row from the web , Safari launching and displays TeeShot ’s course download varlet . set apart your lookup domain , tap hunting , then press the course of action in the final result heel that you ’d wish to download . Tap a couple more clitoris , and you ’re back in TeeShot , with the new course of study downloaded and quick for use . unluckily , you could only download one course of instruction at a time , so you ’ll repeat this mental process when downloading multiple track .
TeeShot is a one - player software — so much so that you ca n’t even embark your name or handicap . You just start a round , and then start recording your score . TeeShot can track cerebrovascular accident and putts ( with elementary positive / minus buttons ) , fairway hit ( and miss left-hand or right ) , and penalty stroke . But if that ’s not enough detail , you could shot - by - shot item — which include club used , yardage encompass , the result ( fairway , green , in the jam , etc . ) , and if the shot get a punishment or not — for every unmarried shot on each hole on the course .
Completed rounds can be reviewed at any time , including all of the muddle - by - hole item . There is n’t , however , a traditional card view showing equivalence , shuttlecock , and bogey . ( The summary projection screen for the stave is airless , but it ’s not as easy to read as a scorecard , and does n’t include sum . ) Instead , a Round Details screen will tell you the entire strokes , putts , fairways hit , penalization cam stroke , and greens in regularisation , in addition to the duration of the beat . you could see these stats as you play , too , include a timekeeper that displays just how long the rhythm is taking .
For the real statistic junkie , a Statistics screen displays a ton of cumulative solution — cycle played , full strokes and putts , stroke averages per cakehole case , and the total numeral of birdies , pars , eagle , up through the infamous ( and way too vernacular on my card ) “ threefold bogey+ . ” There ’s no per - course statistics , however , but even as it is , these statistics render information you could apply to assist meliorate your plot .
The biggest defect of TeeShot is that it ’s a one - player diligence ; the ability to traverse scores for a IV would be a nice improver . I ’d also like to see a notes field , both for hole on the course ( “ Stay left off the football tee here ” ) and for a given snapshot on a hole ( “ Pull glom the campaign ; skillful ! ” ) .
Out on the course
My scorecard from Red Tail Golf . I tested TeeShot with an 18 hole around at a nearby municipal course , Red Tail Golf Club . At the risk of embarrass myself , you’re able to see the first part of my card at right — note the indicator showing whether or not I gain the fairway ( F ) , or missed left or right ( the arrow ) . Nine over equation for the first six holes is n’t expectant , but hey , it ’s been about a year since I last play !
data point for the course was usable for download from the WWW , so no data entry was required . I recover the program easy to practice while playing — even though I walk the course and carry my clubs on my back . I kept my iPhone — protected with afull - reportage leather case — in my back pocket . If you ’re going to walk and carry a phone , some form of heavy - duty showcase is extremely recommended . The iPhone is light enough that I did n’t even mark its mien even while swinging the club .
At first , I had some troubles with double - counting strokes , but that was due to user error ( when entering shot - by - shot info , those strokes are automatically added to your total , so you do n’t need to also recruit them one by one ) . After I calculate that part out , the program worked flawlessly . Battery life was n’t a problem — at the remnant of the round ( 4.75 time of day , harmonise to TeeShot ) , I ’d only lost maybe 1/10th of the shelling indicator on my year - old iPhone . ( I infix shot - by - dead reckoning entropy for most every muddle , not just my grievance . ) During the rhythm , I was also checking eastward - post occasionally , and I made and receive a run call , just to see if that would mess up TeeShot ( it did n’t ) . I was impressed at how well the barrage held up to veritable ( if abbreviated ) use over about five hour , especially render my phone is running on a year - sometime barrage .
TeeShot add up through my substantial - creation mental test with flying color . Compared to an old - fashioned scorecard , TeeShot was really easier to apply , and the program tag a net ton of interesting selective information about your round . Now , if I could just get out enough to use some of that data to meliorate my game !
Conclusion
Overall , if you ’re going to purchase just one golf grading program , TeeShot is the cream of the current crop . When compared to other political platform in the App Store , $ 20 seems expensive . When liken with the cost of a turn of golf , or even that of a twelve golf game formal , it ’s really not much at all – specially for something that works this well . Over time , I guess we ’ll see melioration in all the apps I ’ve covered here , and I ’m looking ahead to “ round out two ” of these computer program to see what they have to offer up .
