Phone apps are ruining the game

[FreeWilly613]

I've been using Golfpad, I'm well  over 15 lol.  I mostly use the stakes for my distances but sometimes check the app if I'm wide.  After my shot I'll input my club and stroke and walk to my ball. At first I pulled it out after the hole and tried it was a nightmare and slow.  Now after every shot a quick tap tap and I'm off.  We usually average 4 hours a round and I'm not the slow one. 

 

But thanks for looping me into your broad generalizations.

 

Fwiw- I know the kind your talking about so your frustrations not lost on me.

[RCGA]

I'm not sure how a GPS app is any slower than pacing off yardages. So what do you expect? People just to guess, hit and hurry on?

 

Your enjoyment be damned! I need to finish my round 5 minutes quicker! 

[jordan2240]

2 hours ago, RCGA said:

So what do you expect? People just to guess, hit and hurry on?

Not what I was suggesting.  I believe a dedicated GPS or rangefinder would normally be quicker, though the rangefinder is questionable for some.

[rooski]

On 6/23/2021 at 5:53 AM, jordan2240 said:

Anyone else find it frustrating to see phones becoming a significant part of the game?

 

Hey Grandpa, didn't you say it was supposed to be Ethyl's turn on the computer at the retirement home? 😛

Edited June 25, 2021 by rooski

[nsxguy]

My rangefinder is waterproof and accurate to < a yard.

 

My old dedicated GPS, no longer used, was waterproof and accurate(?) to +/- 3-4 yards

 

My phone ain't waterproof and I'm not sure if an app would be as accurate as the dedicated GPS.

[nsxguy]

4 minutes ago, rooski said:

 

Hey Grandpa, didn't you say it was supposed to be Ethyl's turn on the computer at the retirement home? 😛

 

[rooski]

Just now, nsxguy said:

 

 

[nsxguy]

1 minute ago, rooski said:

 

 

THEY don't KNOW one another.

 

[rooski]

1 minute ago, nsxguy said:

 

THEY don't KNOW one another.

 

 

 

The more things change, the more they stay the same

[nsxguy]

Just now, rooski said:

 

 

The more things change, the more they stay the same

 

 

Another picture where most of them likely don't know each other.

 

Keep trying !!!

 

[rooski]

2 minutes ago, nsxguy said:

 

 

Another picture where most of them likely don't know each other.

 

Keep trying !!!

 

You're right, a photo of a group of people having dinner in a small room is in no way comparable to the picture you linked of a group of people having dinner in a small room.

 

My apologies, frankly embarrassing how I could be so out-debated and out-smarted. 

[jholz]

I think people should be using newspapers to determine yardages on the course!

[rkinsm03]

Yeah I'm not great at golf, but I also don't agree pace of play is a phone issue.  In addition to a Bushnell golf watch for distances, I'm running the GHIN app to keep track of everything that app can do with regards to details, and similar to others most of the time I'm making those inputs/adjustments between the green and the subsequent T-box.  I am always waiting for someone else in whatever group I end up in, and prefer to walk/carry vs be tied to the cart zigzagging all over the earth wondering where someone else's ball is.

 

Complacency and slow-ness is contagious and needs to be proactively coached out, when and where possible in the group you're in, every time.  What to have in your pocket and how to be ready on deck, carrying an extra ball (or two), approaching the stroll with urgency, ready golf, etc.  I'm also allergic to slow walkers in the grocery store, so yeah, fast guys are gonna fast.

 

Except if the slow golfer is your spouse, because that conversation escalates quickly.  I just, uhh, know that, now.

[RCGA]

2 hours ago, jordan2240 said:

Not what I was suggesting.  I believe a dedicated GPS or rangefinder would normally be quicker, though the rangefinder is questionable for some.

 

I used a SkyCaddie for years. I now use Hole19 on my iPhone. Apart from unlocking your phone (2 seconds, max), there's no meaningful difference in speed.  

[Greenie]

6 hours ago, RCGA said:

I'm not sure how a GPS app is any slower than pacing off yardages. So what do you expect? People just to guess, hit and hurry on?

 

Your enjoyment be damned! I need to finish my round 5 minutes quicker! 

 I agree with you. It's not the app it's the person using it. I used an app and it slowed me down. I use the Voice Buddy and it speeded up my play a lot. No more pacing off yardages.

 

I've paired up with people that use apps and use range finders. I don't even realise they are using them they are so quick with them. 

 

I see other people on the course using devices sometimes and I think to myself I see why the course is backed up. I'm glad I have never been paired up with those people. It would drive me crazy.

[Leftyjoe89]

I play a lot of courses with elevation changes that have lots of blind shots ...using the app speeds up play I can easily check hazards to clear and distances and select a club.  If in playing a course I know wel or it is flat then I just use a range finder.  It shouldn’t take someone more than 20 seconds to view the app and make a decision.  Pace of play is definitely slowing down but I think it’s from courses overbooking and lot of new to sport golfers who can’t play at a reasonable pace.  

[Rosey31]

It's not the app/GPS/Rangefinder, it people not knowing or wanting to play at a proper pace. Even before the tech was available you still had slow players. 

 

What needs to happen is if you wind up playing with someone who is a slower player you need to help them play faster. Teach them to fill out their scorecard or stat sheet at the next tee box. If you are not sure which club to hit then take 2 or three to your ball. Playing the proper tee boxes for you skill level. 

 

There are many things that can be done to help with pace of play. 

[TimAZ]

On 6/23/2021 at 3:03 PM, Laznasty said:

This is the same guy that waits for the green to clear 250+ yards away on a par 5 because he can "get it there if he catches it clean", but we all know what happens next.

 

I might push back on this a little. Yes, if you're physically incapable of the distance then you shouldn't be waiting. But if there's even a small chance that I could roll one up on the green, then I'm letting them putt out. I know I get upset when someone rolls one up near the green when I'm putting, so I can't have it both ways. And if I'm in position to have to be making that decision, it means I'm probably doing fine keeping up with the group ahead of me, so what's the big deal if I wait a few minutes for them to walk off? I'm just going to catch back up on the next hole.

 

But I do take your overall point. People need to get over their egos and play to their real distances, not what they imagine they're capable of.

 

I also think there's a different perception of PoP among occasional players, many of whom expect to take 4.5 hours to play and don't don't if it edges close to five. A day on the course is an event and they're not necessarily in a rush to finish, they're just having a day out with their friends. That doesn't excuse the lack of consideration for the groups stacked up behind them, but I do understand their perspective.

[BIG STU]

On 6/23/2021 at 8:53 AM, jordan2240 said:

I golf with several people who have apps on their phones for determining distances.  Some also use them to keep score and other stats.  After every hole, they are taking time to poke around on the keypad to enter information, and upon arriving at their ball they are poking around to get the phone to show the distance.  Often, they seem to have some difficulty seeing the screen because of the sunlight.  Then they ponder over club choice (some of them do anyway) and proceed to send the ball rolling along the ground or off in some direction or distance totally off kilter.  All of this poking and pondering slows down the pace of play, and likely provides them with no benefit.  I suspect the same for most hackers out there using phone apps.  I tried '18 birdies' for a couple of rounds, and decided it wasn't for me.  I have a rangefinder that takes me about 10 seconds to use when I find it necessary, and can usually tell my playing partners what distances they have well before they can read it from their phones.  Anyone else find it frustrating to see phones becoming a significant part of the game?

Absolutely!!! On my home course I know most of my yardages anyhow. But if in doubt I can pull the range finder and click and shoot quicker than the apps guys fiddling with their phones. IMHO it has not ruined the game as a whole but it does slow up play.

[BIG STU]

On 6/23/2021 at 11:02 AM, North Butte said:

Fortunately, none of the guys in my current regular groups do that sort of thing. But a few years ago it seemed more popular than it is now. Even one guy in a foursome pulling his phone out, unlocking it then swiping around for a minute or so, once or even twice a hole, just ruins the pace of the entire group. Can't even imagine if there were two people doing it in the same group.

 

I've messed about with a couple of the apps during a solo practice round, just to see what they were like. Never made it through even three holes. Just awful. 

I had 2 guys on a pick up scramble team the other week. They had evidently 2 different apps and would argue over distance which I know pretty well at that course but then again click and shoot if needed. We had a shotgun start and we had started on #7. Usually I am pretty laid back but had had enough by #9. I told the guys to put those things away and quit bickering or keep their yardages to themselves or I was outta there going to the house. It was not so much the use of the apps but the bickering between those 2. I have had other players before that have used apps and will double check with me or others using rangefinders to confirm but never anything like those 2 cats

[dreynolds819]

I think some people just can't put their phones down now. One of the things I enjoy about golf is being away from 'normal life' and my phone. 

[North Butte]

On 7/5/2021 at 3:41 AM, dreynolds819 said:

I think some people just can't put their phones down now. One of the things I enjoy about golf is being away from 'normal life' and my phone. 

I had gotten into the habit lately of keeping my phone in my golf bag during a round so I could look at it during down time (waiting on slow groups ahead of me, etc). The last three rounds I've gone back to leaving it in my locker and I had forgotten how relaxing the extended break from "screen time" is.

 

[jg1166]

Interesting, in Australia nearly 80% of the private clubs have moved to a scoring app with in built GPS for all competition rounds to speed up pace of play, it even includes the handicap for the course for the day.

 

We have found that it has achieved the required result though you do still get the players that have to range find every aspect of the hole/shot before they hit but overall it is far more convenient

[Marty86]

when I play unless it's a dire work call or family I'm just using it to track scores and check distance estimates. It may take me 15 seconds to do both or one, it'll probably take a person longer to write their scores down and use the range finder honestly.

[Humble]

I tried the apps on the course but found my self staring at my phone instead of being in tune with the game. I went back to old fashion pencil and scorecard and keep all my stats that way and just upload my score onto the app for handicap purposes once I’m home.

[deadsolid...shank]

My best friend uses a phone app. He’s a fast player, but this does slow him down. It’s especially frustrating when I laser the flag to give him a distance and he still insists on checking the phone app. 
 

Ive used 18 Birdies a couple of times when I’m on a new course and want to see a picture the hole and any potential trouble. But by the time I open the phone and get to correct hole I’m usually frustrated with how long it takes and probably won’t  look again during the round. 

[cstewart913]

On 7/11/2021 at 11:31 AM, deadsolid...shank said:

My best friend uses a phone app. He’s a fast player, but this does slow him down. It’s especially frustrating when I laser the flag to give him a distance and he still insists on checking the phone app. 
 

Ive used 18 Birdies a couple of times when I’m on a new course and want to see a picture the hole and any potential trouble. But by the time I open the phone and get to correct hole I’m usually frustrated with how long it takes and probably won’t  look again during the round. 

 

He's doing it wrong then.  When I finish a hole, I'm entering the score as I move to the next tee box.  After I enter my score, it automatically advances to the next hole and begins tracking GPS immediately.  By the time I get near the tee box I already know the distance because it's updating constantly as I move.  I know the distance before you stop your cart, much less before you pull out your range finder and laser the flag.

 

"Opening the phone and getting to the correct hole" just doesn't make sense if you're using the app for each hole.  The app stays up, at worst I need to swipe to unlock my phone but the app is right there as I left it.  It's keeping up as I go from tee, to fairway, to green, to the next tee.  It all stays in sync.

[deadsolid...shank]

13 minutes ago, cstewart913 said:

 

He's doing it wrong then.  When I finish a hole, I'm entering the score as I move to the next tee box.  After I enter my score, it automatically advances to the next hole and begins tracking GPS immediately.  By the time I get near the tee box I already know the distance because it's updating constantly as I move.  I know the distance before you stop your cart, much less before you pull out your range finder and laser the flag.

 

"Opening the phone and getting to the correct hole" just doesn't make sense if you're using the app for each hole.  The app stays up, at worst I need to swipe to unlock my phone but the app is right there as I left it.  It's keeping up as I go from tee, to fairway, to green, to the next tee.  It all stays in sync.

I don’t know how he’s doing it. Just that it does in fact take him longer. 
 

As for my experience with 18 Birdies, because I only looked every few holes, I had to move to the correct hole. Maybe if I were using the paid version it would advance automatically and always be on the correct hole, I don’t know. I always did like my GPS watch that was updating as I moved.  A number at the ready when you get to the ball.  

[dubbelbogey]

Something doesn't add up with the original premise of this thread.

 

While I use a rangefinder for most distances, there are times where I don't have a good sightline to the flag, and will use a phone app.

 

Since I walk 90% of my rounds, I can have the phone open, on the hole I'm playing and reading distances all within a few steps of arriving at my ball. And this all includes the fact that my particular app doesn't reliably  advance to the next hole, so I have to hit a couple of extra buttons to do it manually, but still, the amount of extra time spent getting a distance on the phone is effectively zero as I'm still walking to the ball. No different than a GPS watch, really. It's absolutely faster than trying to get distances from sprinkler heads - especially because the spots I'm using the phone app are typically not close to a marked sprinkler head. (Otherwise, I'd be using a rangefinder)

 

Now, if players are getting distracted with doing all sorts of other stuff on their phone, that's another deal altogether.

Edited July 14, 2021 by dubbelbogey

[nsxguy]

On 7/12/2021 at 8:13 PM, cstewart913 said:

 

He's doing it wrong then.  When I finish a hole, I'm entering the score as I move to the next tee box.  After I enter my score, it automatically advances to the next hole and begins tracking GPS immediately.  By the time I get near the tee box I already know the distance because it's updating constantly as I move.  I know the distance before you stop your cart, much less before you pull out your range finder and laser the flag.

 

"Opening the phone and getting to the correct hole" just doesn't make sense if you're using the app for each hole.  The app stays up, at worst I need to swipe to unlock my phone but the app is right there as I left it.  It's keeping up as I go from tee, to fairway, to green, to the next tee.  It all stays in sync.

 

The distance you "know" is to the front or back edge(?( or the middle of the green.

 

What do you do about the flag ?

 

Also, (most ?) GPS is accurate to +/- 3 or 4 yards. RF is <1. Or doesn't that matter ?

 

1 other thing. What do you do when it rains ?