Apple Watch for Golf

[Str8Putt]

FunGolf question. If you do the monthly sub to download your course. Will you not be able to use them after a month if you don't renew your sub?

There should be at least a 7 Day trial with it

[Augustok]

I’m trying Golfshot and some other one tomorrow and Friday. Golf season almost over for me, maybe by next Spring I’ll have something workable.

[aadadams]

I’m trying Golfshot and some other one tomorrow and Friday. Golf season almost over for me, maybe by next Spring I’ll have something workable.

 

Looking forward to your comments on Golf Shot...

[Augustok]

Got nowhere with golfshot. However Hole19 worked perfectly. Played 3 Rounds with it. The last one one was a crowded tournament which took a long time and the battery ran out before I was finished. Returned the watch today because being able to use the GPS for golf was main reason for buying it.

[jpdx]

Wow. I use hole19 and I have easily 50% left after 36 holes. How long was the tournament?

[Augustok]

5 hours. Maybe my watch was defective but it was charged overnight. Season is about over here anyway.

[aadadams]

Wow, I typically have over 60% left after a round. Also, I suck and rounds can take 5 h to complete. Maybe the apps will get better over the winter, or maybe Garmin would be a better fit... Though as I say that I recall my S6 struggling to complete 4 h rounds before running out of battery...

[ChadR7371]

I've been trying a bunch of the apps so I'll drop the reviews here. I've been on iPhone with Apple Watch Series 3 LTE. I've gone through the buying and begging Apple for refunds when the apps didn't work quite right. I liked GolfShot Pro subscription the best.

 

With any app, I haven't seen battery life issues on the Series 3 LTE. I have no measurements, but it should have no issues with 18 holes if you start with above 50% battery life. I have had my phone in range (with 10 feet) with bluetooth off (use watch GPS) or bluetooth on. Those with battery life issues may be leaving the phone in their car or cart?

 

The Grint:

I tried the free version, seemed okay. I did like the free handicap system the grint has set up. Feels like the app is better on the phone than using the watch.

 

Hole 19:

Seemed alright, I didn't test too much because the documentation seemed lacking. It isn't clear if you can use the watch's GPS standalone (notice bluetooth has to be on)

https://hole19.zende...-on-Apple-Watch

 

Fun Golf GPS

The "circles" interface was way too complicated for the watch face. My local par 3 course had a few holes where their data was just wrong and the hole refused to load correctly. It just showed me being hundreds and hundreds of yards away and I couldn't use the interface correctly. I hated this app, but it had a lot of praise on this forum, so I tried it.

 

TrackMyGolf

They claim that this app will automatically detect your swing via your watch and won't record practice swings - but this is false. I had to manually edit almost every swing, the crown would get bumped and change the club selection mid swing and I'd have 3 swings 1-3 yards apart. As others have reported, support isn't the greatest and they seem kind of dismissive. The best feature they have is that they will show you ever stroke and putt on a map for each hole. The map drawing is slightly off for instance, the image below this shows a green in regulation followed by a 15 foot putt and a final putt for par, but it draws it to make it look like I had to chip onto the green.

 

The club tracking worked well, but seemed pretty inflexible and you couldn't say what your putter is for instance.

 

They also have a companion app for $10 called Swing Analyzer that shows you your swing path in 3D. Unfortunately, this app is buggy and I couldn't get the premium features to always sync to the watch. Not sure if it's helpful or accurate.

 

GolfShot:

DO NOT BUY THE $30 "PLUS" VERSION. It is two years worth of subscription to Pro and doesn't include any of the bonus features or updates. Just get free and upgrade to the subscription ($15/year?).

See their comparison guide to see why.

https://szuserguides.s3.amazonaws.com/en/golfshot-plus-comparison-guide.pdf

 

I really like GolfShot pro. It has the best documentation online and they always update to the latest features. Contacting support is easy and they are very professional.

http://blog.golfshot...cal-discussion/

 

I like the achievements, the score tracking. I really like the shot tracking features and how it will caddie for you and tell you what club is probably best for you. These suggestions will change over time and you can add new clubs and "retire" old ones.

 

The watch interface allows you to see distances to front of green, mid, and back. Distances to hazards. It lets you keep track of score with the typical score and putts, but also hazards, penalties, shots in sand, etc.

 

The shot tracking feature is a little clunky, you have to press and hold to start tracking, hit your shot, then walk to your ball and remember to look at the watch and hit "At my ball" and set the club and if it was on target.

 

The one downside to this app is the GPS. To save battery life, they don't leave GPS on all the time and it takes about one to two seconds after raising your watch for the signal to come in. I find that playing with a partner or especially four people, I usually have down time to wait, but alone it does feel like it slows you down a bit. See their link above to see why they do this currently.

 

I hope one day they will show entire holes like TrackMyGolf does, here's an example of a tracked shot, which they unfortunately only show one at a time.

 

As a bonus, the what's in the bag tool is really cool and has nice pictures of the clubs and you can put every club including putter into it.

 

[aadadams]

I bought Fun Golf too. I'm not completely sold as like you i had bad experiences on a number of par 3s, and I really don't like using the crown for data entry. The watch face seems to be an afterthought for input in this app... I will try your approach when I grab Golf Shot. Thanks for posting.

[jpdx]

 

 

Hole 19:

Seemed alright, I didn't test too much because the documentation seemed lacking. It isn't clear if you can use the watch's GPS standalone (notice bluetooth has to be on)

https://hole19.zende...-on-Apple-Watch

 

 

 

it must be on ONLY to start the round. then turn Bluetooth off and the watch will work with the standalond GPS. they've added some new features that I have not tried that are on the premium version.

[RLL33]

Feel like I have to chime in again on Fun Golf. For the AW3, I have found that it is best, most accurate, easiest to use app that I've ever had on a golf course. It is the only app that I've found comparable to wearing a top notch Garmin smart watch.

 

To clarify though, since there have been some contradictory comments here lately, I do NOT need or want all the bells and whistles offered by most of the apps discussed here. I'm more concerned with playing my golf game on the course than playing with a smart watch. For those who want/need an app that keeps score, tracks their shots and swing (supposedly...), makes tee times, keeps their handicap, calculates betting games, etc...I have no idea if Fun Golf would be good for you. I'm a single digit hc and I have no interest in these features. I write my scores on a scorecard which I have to turn in at the end of a round when registering my score.

 

What I'm interested in is a GPS app that instantly gives me my distance to anywhere on the hole I'm playing, and then automatically moves to the next hole. AND leaves me a surplus of battery time when I'm done with my round(s).

 

And Fun Golf is that app -- at least on the AW3. It does these things flawlessly and without any effort or geeky preoccupation with technology while on the course. It is also the easiest to use interface I've ever encountered on a golf watch. I have no idea what the person commenting above on "the circles interface" is talking about...

 

In short, if you're a golfer who has used a laser rangefinder or something like a Garmin, and you want to duplicate the accuracy and instant read out's you're used to on the new Apple watch, Fun Golf is just the ticket. If you're someone who wants to obsess on all the other features, then maybe one of the other apps is yours.

[ChadR7371]

Clarification on Fun Golf: completely bugged out on two of the nine holes and wasn't usable. There wasn't any way to recover or manually set the hole or positions. It either automatically works and puts you on the correct hole or it doesn't.

 

Since you don't use any features of Fun Golf and just view it passively, you won't have noticed the circles interface. It draws huge circles around your position, one for every club you have. If you turn or bump the crown on the side of the watch, it starts cycling through these clubs and will tell you the wrong distance.

 

The combination of bad course data in Southern California and the poorly designed interface with the circles and no interface to recover from problems made this not the app for me.

 

Here's their screenshots that show this feature:

 

[Fiveten03]

Chad, when I used this app the circular lines were to highlight different distances from your location and not club distances. I’d agree with RLL that the app works quite seamlessly 90% of the time. I’ve had errors auto transitioning to the wrong hole when the course overlaps or has multiple 18 that run in parallel. Overall, worked great on AW2 but prefer using a laser.

[Jab3384]

From strictly a gps standpoint, FunGolf has been working really well with my AW3. Download the course, start the round, and then disconnect the watch from the phone. Boom!

[Always_rough]

For anyone wondering about Golfshot, I've literally been using it for the past 9 months, so if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

 

Some general comments on it, the app was absolutely amazing up until this last IOS update. I have no idea what happened, but it takes me absolutely forever to get the yardages to adjust on my Apple Watch 2. I sit there looking like a donkey waiting for it to give me my yardages now while everyone else is looking at me to take my shot.

 

Pre-update, it was almost spot on with yardages to bunkers, water hazards, front and back of the green. It was always within 1-2 yards of my Father in laws rangefinder. Now, it just takes absolutely ages to update the yardages in between shots.

 

Only gripe I have about the app is it can be a bit buggy on the watch, skipping holes or not recording your score after you've hit the button 3-4 times.

[JPW75]

This isn't a AW specific question, but a Fun Golf question. Does anybody know how to delete a recorded shot, or cancel recording, or a way to manually modify a recorded shot if you make a mistake?

 

You really have to be "on it" using the record shot feature from what I see. I've had a couple times where I've driven back to the tee box to record my shot after I forgot. Even worse is when you forget to "enter putts" on a green. I have found no way to enter putting stats (length, short/long/left/right, etc) unless you are standing right on the green. Nothing worse than realizing you forgot to "enter putts" when getting into you cart, only to have to run back on the green for so you can hit the "enter putts" button (you can't "enter putts" unless the GPS thinks you're on the green). The group behind me must think I'm an idiot with my cell phone in my hand...

 

I've gotten pretty good with the app...but hopefully I'm missing something?

 

I try to record every shot and "enter putts" on every green...absolutely love the stats in this app. Just wish it was more user friendly.

[kenstl]

I used to be a GolfLogix user and switched to Hole 19 when I got my AW last year. It works pretty good, but when I would turn off blue tooth on phone and just use the watch, there were times that the GPS did not load as fast I would like. I am going to turn my setting to "always load last used app" and see if that helps.

 

After reading about Fun Golf, I downloaded it as I am going to play a round tomorrow and thought I may try it out. Fun Golf users, is there a way to record hit fairway, sand or penalties on the AW when keeping score? Hole 19 has a nice interface on the AW to do so, but I am only seeing a way to keep score on the Fun Golf while on the AW. Am I missing it ?

[kenstl]

I tried the Fun Golf app today in my rounds, using only my AW. I have to say, the gps worked great with the AW and Fun Golf, it was very quick to update. Using the AW on Hole 19, I would have some days where I would get delays in getting yardage or when standing still, it would flash 150 / 144/ 152/150 etc, changing like it was having trouble getting a read.

 

The downside for me with Fun Golf is that you can't get the full range of stats by keeping score on the AW, it only lets you keep score and putts. You have to use the phone if you want fairways hit, penalties, etc. That is where Hole 19 exceeds in IMO, the AW will let you keep score, mark fairways / left or right, penalties and sand.

[sven365]

I want an app that gives me front back and middle of the green distances only. Nothing else.

 

I’d rather not pay subscriptions or anything.

 

What’s the best option for me?

 

Cheers

[Minarets]

I want an app that gives me front back and middle of the green distances only. Nothing else.

 

Id rather not pay subscriptions or anything.

 

Whats the best option for me?

 

Cheers

Hole 19

[enelrojo]

Really great information in this thread. Thank you posters for sharing your experiences.

[larryd3]

I got an apple watch 3 for Christmas and tried out both Golfshot and Fungolf. I had no issues with battery drain with either of them. I did not like Golfshot on the watch, just had problems with it. Works great on the phone though. Fungolf for me works the best for the watch. Doesn't have all of the bells and whistles of Golfshot but is simple to use and does what I need. I deleted Golfshot and am sticking with Fungolf for now.

 

Anybody else have any new ones to try out?

[Jab3384]

I got an apple watch 3 for Christmas and tried out both Golfshot and Fungolf. I had no issues with battery drain with either of them. I did not like Golfshot on the watch, just had problems with it. Works great on the phone though. Fungolf for me works the best for the watch. Doesn't have all of the bells and whistles of Golfshot but is simple to use and does what I need. I deleted Golfshot and am sticking with Fungolf for now.

 

Anybody else have any new ones to try out?

 

Been an AW3 user since late September and my experience mirrors yours. Front, Middle, Back yardage’s and distances to short/carry hazards. I really like the functionality of the dial to scroll the over the hole and pick your yardage.

 

There was too much flipping back and forth with Golfshot.

 

I’ve also tried the 19th Hole, but ended up purchasing the yearly

FunGolf script.

[Minarets]

I got an apple watch 3 for Christmas and tried out both Golfshot and Fungolf. I had no issues with battery drain with either of them. I did not like Golfshot on the watch, just had problems with it. Works great on the phone though. Fungolf for me works the best for the watch. Doesn't have all of the bells and whistles of Golfshot but is simple to use and does what I need. I deleted Golfshot and am sticking with Fungolf for now.

 

Anybody else have any new ones to try out?

 

Been an AW3 user since late September and my experience mirrors yours. Front, Middle, Back yardages and distances to short/carry hazards. I really like the functionality of the dial to scroll the over the hole and pick your yardage.

 

There was too much flipping back and forth with Golfshot.

 

Ive also tried the 19th Hole, but ended up purchasing the yearly

FunGolf script.

 

How much better is fun golf over hole 19? Been. 3 year user of hole 19 and the only thing I don’t like is no way to calculate your HC.

[emo]

I been very happy with The Grint no issues always load, easy to navigate excellent stats and the Handicap is a plus.

[larryd3]

I got an apple watch 3 for Christmas and tried out both Golfshot and Fungolf. I had no issues with battery drain with either of them. I did not like Golfshot on the watch, just had problems with it. Works great on the phone though. Fungolf for me works the best for the watch. Doesn't have all of the bells and whistles of Golfshot but is simple to use and does what I need. I deleted Golfshot and am sticking with Fungolf for now.

 

Anybody else have any new ones to try out?

 

Been an AW3 user since late September and my experience mirrors yours. Front, Middle, Back yardage’s and distances to short/carry hazards. I really like the functionality of the dial to scroll the over the hole and pick your yardage.

 

There was too much flipping back and forth with Golfshot.

 

I’ve also tried the 19th Hole, but ended up purchasing the yearly

FunGolf script.

 

How much better is fun golf over hole 19? Been. 3 year user of hole 19 and the only thing I don’t like is no way to calculate your HC.

 

I have not tried Hole 19 but with Fungolf, I don't think it does handicaps either. I know Golfshot linked directly to GHIN which was nice for posting scores.

[Jab3384]

I got an apple watch 3 for Christmas and tried out both Golfshot and Fungolf. I had no issues with battery drain with either of them. I did not like Golfshot on the watch, just had problems with it. Works great on the phone though. Fungolf for me works the best for the watch. Doesn't have all of the bells and whistles of Golfshot but is simple to use and does what I need. I deleted Golfshot and am sticking with Fungolf for now.

 

Anybody else have any new ones to try out?

 

Been an AW3 user since late September and my experience mirrors yours. Front, Middle, Back yardage’s and distances to short/carry hazards. I really like the functionality of the dial to scroll the over the hole and pick your yardage.

 

There was too much flipping back and forth with Golfshot.

 

I’ve also tried the 19th Hole, but ended up purchasing the yearly

FunGolf script.

 

How much better is fun golf over hole 19? Been. 3 year user of hole 19 and the only thing I don’t like is no way to calculate your HC.

 

I actually haven’t even tried out any of that stuff haha... When I made my decision, I was just concerned with finding the best GPS watch interface and I think that’s where FunGolf shines. After you download the course on your phone, you can put it away until it’s time to grab the cart girl’s number.

 

[Minarets]

I been very happy with The Grint no issues always load, easy to navigate excellent stats and the Handicap is a plus.

 

I liked the grint but it killed my battery like no other

[shifu]

Do you have to have your phone in your pocket for these apps to show yardages accurately on the watch? I'm one that doesn't like having the phone in the pocket while playing.

[jpdx]

Do you have to have your phone in your pocket for these apps to show yardages accurately on the watch? I'm one that doesn't like having the phone in the pocket while playing.

 

No. I use h19 all the time. You have to have your phone to load the course, but then you can disconnect the Bluetooth, put the phone in your bag and just get distances using the watch.