MEMBER REVIEWS: StrackaLine Ultimate Member Testing Experience! See What Members Are Saying!

[GolfWRX_Official]

We have 10 members testing StrackaLine's Green Reading and Yardage Books. StrackaLine's "The Book" has been used by the players on the PGA TOUR, LPGA, and at the collegiate level. Additionally, StrackaLine has provided each tester with all-access to their digital GPS and Make Putt Feature. The members below will be reporting back to the community about the things that they have noticed while testing this product. Please feel free to ask any questions that you might have, as the testers will be happy to answer them!

The testers are:

@MillerLowLife

@TWshoot67

@Rubenc87

@Nickiet55

@Tugu

@stryper

@ButcherButters

@scooterhd2

@Largey

@tssgj65

 

Thank you to @StrackaLine for providing our members with this testing opportunity! Search for your course HERE and use the promo code "GOLFWRX" at checkout to get 20% off your order at www.StrackaLine.com!

[stryper]

Received my book yesterday, haven’t made it to the course yet (probably early next week), but after after flipping through it and familiarizing myself with the legend, so far I’m giving it a tentative thumbs up for accuracy.  👍

 

[MillerLowLife]

Super excited for this testing. I typically play all over the state but with recent addition to the family I tend to save on green fees and keep it close to home. I buy a player's pass to two sister courses nearby to get discounted fees and for the most part, play those two courses (one course has 27 holes) 80% of the time. I know them pretty well, but was super pumped to have better information on the greens. I ended up purchasing a 2nd book using the WRX discount for testing purposes.

 

Initial thoughts on the book:

• Information is thorough on the greens with slopes and percent of grades. I received this after a round I had 4 birdies but a couple missed eagle looks and good birdie looks. I quickly went to those greens to see if the information would've changed my approach. I think for me, I'm interested in getting a feel for slope % and if I have an uphill 2% grade if I'll get a better feel for how firm I need to hit it over a round using this information.
• This book is put together with some a couple lose staples so I highly suggest buying a yardage book to store this. I see this falling apart in the chaos of my bag and how much I use it if I'm not keeping them protected. Especially in the summer when I sweat more or getting in and out of a cart with this in my back pocket.
• Online Access - Doesn't seem like something I'll use all that much. It has most of the information in the book. I'll check this out more as I start to use the product before/during/after rounds.
• Phone App - This is something I find highly useful as it has all the information in the book (I'd prefer having the book during the round) but you can actually use the app to place the pin+ball on the green to get more visual representation of your putt with the addition of distance your putt to the hole. Going to use both the book and app for my testing at times.

The Ridge Golf Club - This is a far easier course of the two. Most of all the tee shots are elevated boxes so the course plays way shorter than what the scorecard will show. You get a lot of birdie looks on this course and for the most part, can steer clear of the trouble on the course. I purchased this book on my own. Course got pretty beat down last year with warm winter and late spring snow storms but this year its in much better shape.

 

StoneBridge Golf Club - This has 27 holes so you constantly get a mix of 9's you play for 18 hole rounds each week and which one you play first. Really keeps this course fresh and challenging IMO. This is a Johnny Miller design that's "Scottish Links Inspired" but also has a quite a bit of water on play so it can make the course really hard if you don't know where you can miss. Such a great course for so many reasons, conditions are some of the best in the valley, they just held the 6A girls champ, and each 9 holes has a fantastic par 5 to finish.

 

Will report back next week after I get my first round in the books.

 

 

[stryper]

Okay, navigating my way through this...I now see that there is a digital account set up in my name.  Downloaded the app, will be interested to see how the digital content compares with the print edition.  I’m assuming the same, of course, but depending on font/glare/whatever, I wonder if digital might be the way to go, especially with Miller’s concern about paper durability during hot summer months.  (I’m in the Midwest, and that was my initial concern as well.)  I’m also curious to see how the app affects battery life on my aging iPhone 7.  That report will follow too.

 

On another early note...the font, scale, and print quality are easy to read, even for someone on the back nine of life, like me. 😎

 

 

 

 

[Jpowell2142]

Would love to see a comparison to PuttView

[stryper]

More about the app:  took me a few minutes to figure it out, but I finally found a feature that could be very useful on the greens.  The app allows the user via drop and drag to approximate ball and pin position, so I pulled up my home course (which I know very well), worked my way around, paying attention to some of the more difficult reads.  Attached are a couple of screen shots showing some of the information available.

 

 

Edited May 22, 2022 by stryper

[Nickiet55]

Hello WRX'ers! 

I was very thankful to be able to have this opportunity to try the Strackaline book out for my local golf course that I am a member at - Delphos Country Club in Delphos, Ohio! 

 

I have heard about the Strackaline books before so I was really excited to be able to get one in my hands and see what it is like! As @MillerLowLife mentioned previously, it is only put together with two staples at the top, so I have put it in my college scorecard holder and it fits perfectly! It is a nice, compact size, and has a really good layout as you use and open the book! 

 

I took a picture of the first hole at the course, and this just gives you a pretty good idea of what it looks like for the rest of the holes! They give such a great layout and a plethora of details for what you need. Unfortunately, my course doesn't have the greens scanned (perks of living in the middle of nowhere Ohio) 🤣. When I am looking at the book, it shows all yardages to cover bunkers, hazards, etc. and it shows a really well-laid out image of what the hole looks like. It has the yardage to the hole on the left side of the book, and then it has the yardage into the hole on the right side of the book. If you go to the black numbers that are kind of running up the fairway, the green number underneath that is what you have into the hole! I love how it is laid out and it really does a great job of giving you as many details as you need. I am normally a guy that relies on a rangefinder, but this will be a fun thing to take out with me and feel like I am getting a more in-depth look at the hole rather than just shooting the laser to find the flag and going off of that. As I play throughout the year, I will be able to also take notes and figure out where my shots normally go, so I can keep that data over the year and determine what yardages I will have in from the different places I will be playing from! 

 

I am going to be playing in a "league" tonight (just a bunch of guys who get together and put some money down) so it will be my first time taking it out on the course with me! I am looking forward to being able to find out where the yardages will be and how it will help me to know what clubs to hit as I go throughout the year! 

 

I normally don't like to bring my phone out on the course, so I will probably just be using the actual book as I play. I may take some information from the app and transpose it onto the book throughout the year, but I am just really excited to be able to make my own notes and kind of figure out what I do with my own knowledge of the course, combined with the great information that Strackaline has given me! 

 

I will certainly be putting some more information on this review as I get more throughout the year, but I am truly excited to have this book with me and allow me to get as much information as I can for my rounds throughout the year! 

 

Thank you again to @StrackaLine for this opportunity and I cannot wait to use it as long as I am playing at this course! 

[scooterhd2]

Im still waiting for the book delivery, but I am have been very impressed with the digital GPS so far. I do alot of new course and tournament prep with google earth, but its really convenient to have all the yardages as a drag able feature. Its not super intuitive, but you can also drag any two points to acquire a horizontal landing distance which is really helpful for anyone like myself preplanning club selection and/or using DECADE.

 

This is Hole 4 at Las Sendas in Mesa, AZ. It's only 400 yards, but it plays uphill into the mountain, the tee shot is completely blind, and the wash area takes driver out of your hand. I haven't been too confident in club selection or line here before. You really need to maximize distance or face a really tough uphill second shot to a narrow landing area choked off by bunkers.

 

 

 

With Strackaline you can quickly measure out the distance. Its 245 to run through the fairway. 190 to clear the bunker. If you can carry 215-220, the right side opens up a bit as well. I've hit hybrid here before mostly because past the bunker is out of view and I'm never sure how much room there is, but it leaves such a long second shot. I think next time the play is a 5 wood, playing a 230-240 cut over the center of the bunker. 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's the landing width at 235 yards, 74 yards. And I dont think that is accounting for the rough which is minimal on the right side, but does have some room to the left. Has to be an 80-85 yard landing zone easily. So I feel comfortable with the distance. Of course, the right side shortens the hole, but just in case my cut play turns into a pull, I should still be in play.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 24, 2022 by scooterhd2

[stryper]

Took the app to the course for the first time today.  (Left the book in the car.)  Played 12 holes, paying more attention to functionality and available information than to my actual golf.  Playing alone and unhurried, I was able to check yardages against plates on tees and fairways and found the numbers to be more or less accurate to within +/- 3 yards.  Those yardages are measured to the center of the green.  Front and back numbers are on either side of the green on the range view.  From what I could see, there is no topographic information presented in the app itself.  The GPS worked smoothly and easily kept up with my movements around the course.

 

The green view also gave some really good information.  It seemed to read subtle breaks well, however, I did find the aim line function to be a bit slow to respond.  And of course with the drop and drag feature it is only possible to approximate ball and hole locations, so approximation is all you’re going to get here anyway.  

 

On both the range view and green view all the information was quite legible with no glare issues in the sun.  I started the round with 96% battery life on my iPhone 7 (yes, I know I’m about due for an upgrade), ended with 67% after those 12 holes.

 

Next time out, I’ll take the book and add a review of that.

Edited May 25, 2022 by stryper

[stryper]

More fun with Strackaline today!

 

I was marshaling an empty course this afternoon, with literally nothing useful to do, so I fired up the app and conducted some scientific experiments.

 

First I opened up my free GolfLogix app and made side-by-side yardage comparisons with that and Strackaline on a few random holes from multiple points on each hole.  In every case, the yardages were within 2-5 yards of each other, but mostly in the 2-3 yard range.

 

Next I repeated the same experiment comparing Strackaline with my paid SkyCaddie mobile app…similar results.  I’m no expert at GPS, but I can only assume they all use the same satellites. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Finally, I wanted to test the Strackaline putt aiming feature again, since it didn’t quite behave correctly the first time.  So I found a ball (marshaling is an Easter egg hunt for that), went to several different greens and rolled some putts from several different positions.  This time the app responded more or less instantly to touch, and ball and pin positions were easily set. Again, I could only get an approximation on those two factors, but after getting the “read” from Strackaline, if I hit the line I was trying for, the putt did pretty much what Strackaline said it would…very impressed with this feature today. ⛳️

 

[TWshoot67]

Hey Fellow WRX'rs Received my Stracka Line Book this past weekend. I'm not sure when I'll be getting out as I've been dealing with Siatica for the last week and went to Doctors to see if there's something that can be done. I was doing yard work and moving winter debris, removing some old scrubs and somehow I tweaked my back and thought I'd be good in a day or two but it's gotten worse an now siatica has been really making these last few days brutal. So as soon as I feel well enough to get out I will give this a run through and keep everyone posted. Sucks getting older.... I'm going to check out Stracka's site and see about the app.

 

 

[stryper]

Active brag (and shout out to Strackaline):  dropped a 35’ bomb during my match today.  I’d always read that putt as straight, Strackaline told me to go two cups right.  I went with Strackaline and…birdie!

[Largey]

I've been using a combination of the physical book and the online app over the last week. 

Physical book: The book is well put together. The full hole information is easy to understand and so far has been very accurate. I really like how the StrackaLine information is presented over other yardage books I've used. Even at a course I'm very familiar with, I found myself referring to the book constantly to help position myself with more precision.  

Online: I have already spent way too much time looking through the greens, setting pins, and reading the putts I've had before. After just 10 minutes of use, there's a few greens that I will never look at the same. For example, the 9th green. This is a green that "visually" slopes back to front, with a ridge in the middle. The left side of the green is a popular pin area because there is less slope. However, I don't think I have ever made a putt on that side. The online app revealed that I have mis-read every putt I've ever had on that side..  


 

I already know this book will benefit me in two areas.
1) It will help me commit to reads on putts that have subtle breaks. 

2) It will change my approach shots. This might have the biggest impact on my scoring because I will be swinging to a number for a flat putt instead of swinging to the number of the pin. 

First round with the book: -1. Bad striking day but made some good putts. 

[tssgj65]

Happy to be selected to participate in this test, especially to test the App which I have not used before.

 

A little background on me.  I've played in five USGA events and one R&A, and am currently playing with a +1.4 handicap.  I have experience with Strackaline and the other yardage/green reading books.  I also coach at the D2 level.

 

I look forward to getting out on the course tomorrow with the Strackaline book.  As always I like the hole charts, distances displayed from tee to various bunker/fairway locations and to the green, and elevation numbers calculating the amount of yardage to add or subtract to distance based on fairway elevation.  Very thorough.

 

The green reading portion is useful especially for courses with which one has little playing experience.  The green contours will help to identify spots to land approaches (and where not to miss) and will be useful for club selection.  As usual I am suspecting I will rely less on the greens guide for putting unless the break is not apparent but will approach with an open mind.

 

More to come after tomorrow's round.  

[StrackaLine]

On 5/20/2022 at 8:30 PM, Jpowell2142 said:

Would love to see a comparison to PuttView

Hi @Jpowell2142.  Thank you for participating in the forum.

 

Stracka competes with Puttview for college teams.  Stracka has over 600 teams.  Puttview has very few.  The feedback from college coaches is that Puttview's quality of data and customer service is poor. 

 

If you need any additional information please don't hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected].

 

[scooterhd2]

Quick comparison to the GolfLogix books. 

 

If we are going to judge a book by its cover, GolfLogix easily takes the win here. The book cover is a higher quality paper, and the plastic cover provides some confidence in its durability. The logos, the color map, the fonts, all give a more professional look. The Strackaline is quite basic and bland in comparison. 

 

 

 

 

One thing Strackaline does have going for it is the size. I've got the dimensions as 3.75x6.5 while the GolfLogix book is 4.25x7. The Strackaline book does have more pages and is slightly thicker, but that seems less relevant to me. 

 

 

 

 

Set inside my Craftsman Golf yardage book cover, the extra width and length of the GolfLogix book is a killer. Its too wide to stuff into the black elastic holders (I could not fit the book through both bands), and too long to close properly and protect the book. I used these books at Spyglass and Pebble Beach and had to take the plastic cover off for the round to fit into my cover, and it was still difficult to take out and flip through the pages on the course. So while protected during storage and travel, the benefit of the added durability from the cover is lost on the course, where the book might be most vulnerable. 

 

 

 

 

Here's a demonstration of hole 4 in each book. The GolfLogix books on the left show one entire page per hole. To me, the 2 sections of the green with the heat map and white and black arrows are more than sufficient. The Strackaline book does have 3 different views, 2 being very similar and an added showing a numbered severity to the breaks which could be very nice for aim point users. Everything is also larger which could be an added benefit for those that need reader glasses up close. I do also like the section for notes if you are one to write inside your yardage book.

Whereas the GolfLogix presents the fairway view on the same page, the Strackaline dedicates another entire page. This is a clear win for me. It actually allows for details and specific yardage numbers to hazards or landing boundaries. There are specific numbers from different tee boxes that eliminates any of the guesswork. Both of these holes require some planning off the teebox where driver may not be the play and the GolfLogix books leaves you counting squares and lines trying to figure out what line and distance might be best. The Strackaline book gives you all the details in a more intuitive manner. The full page view also leaves more room for notes. 

 

 

 

 

 

For me, the smaller footprint makes the book easier to use on the course. I also love the exact distances from the tee. That's one of the most important things to me when playing a new course. I hate to be hitting the ball well, but not knowing exactly where to aim and what club to play. For my next yardage book purchase, I would choose Strackaline over GolfLogix. 

 

Edited June 1, 2022 by scooterhd2

[tssgj65]

I've now tried the Strackaline App and I have to say I really like it!  It is easy to use and has great features!!!  I REALLY like the range finder which you can adapt to show what carries will be and/or front back of greens.  The only bummer is that some of the time I was in a dead zone for phone coverage so the app didn't work as well.  All in all it is very good!

 

I will also say I do prefer Strackaline over PuttView and GolfLogix.

[StrackaLine]

On 5/20/2022 at 5:53 AM, stryper said:

Received my book yesterday, haven’t made it to the course yet (probably early next week), but after after flipping through it and familiarizing myself with the legend, so far I’m giving it a tentative thumbs up for accuracy.  👍

 

Hope you enjoy the book!

 

[stryper]

1 hour ago, StrackaLine said:

Hope you enjoy the book!

 

Yep, so far so good.  My only concern (also expressed by others) is how well the paper cover will hold up in high Midwest humidity.   Plan on grabbing a scorecard holder to take care of that but haven’t found one yet.  Until then I’ll be using the app, which is more than satisfactory.  
 

As a quick review thought, when playing alone the putt line is very good/accurate, when you can take the time to (somewhat) accurately set ball and pin positions.  When playing with others, it can be a bit distracting.  So in that respect I think the book might actually be a better way to go.  Either way, awesome product. 🏌️‍♂️⛳️

[Badshaft]

On 6/8/2022 at 6:55 PM, stryper said:

 

As a quick review thought, when playing alone the putt line is very good/accurate, when you can take the time to (somewhat) accurately set ball and pin positions.  When playing with others, it can be a bit distracting.  So in that respect I think the book might actually be a better way to go.  Either way, awesome product. 🏌️‍♂️⛳️

 This was my thought about the app -  I like the idea of the App but, I play in a fairly large group of members basically in tournament style every week and if it becomes slow and cumbersome that might be a game changer.

 

- I would like to hear how efficient the app can be if you are using in a group situation. 

- Is the app GPS driven? How much battery does it use in the round? I use my phone for a scorecard already.

 

 

[stryper]

3 hours ago, Badshaft said:

 This was my thought about the app -  I like the idea of the App but, I play in a fairly large group of members basically in tournament style every week and if it becomes slow and cumbersome that might be a game changer.

 

- I would like to hear how efficient the app can be if you are using in a group situation. 

- Is the app GPS driven? How much battery does it use in the round? I use my phone for a scorecard already.

 

 

As to battery life, I’m on an old iPhone 7, and I didn’t see a huge drain.  I posted earlier that I dropped ~30% after 12 holes.  
 

As to the efficiency  issue, I would think with a large group you’re pretty much okay.  Unless you’re away.  Personally I wouldn’t want a foursome waiting on me to set ball and pin positions before I putt.  But obviously, in those situations, you’d just take a quick glance at the contour arrows and guess.  From what I’ve seen so far, the information is more than good enough.  (And again, I’m putting on subtle greens that I’m very familiar with.)

[Badshaft]

27 minutes ago, stryper said:

As to battery life, I’m on an old iPhone 7, and I didn’t see a huge drain.  I posted earlier that I dropped ~30% after 12 holes.  
 

As to the efficiency  issue, I would think with a large group you’re pretty much okay.  Unless you’re away.  Personally I wouldn’t want a foursome waiting on me to set ball and pin positions before I putt.  But obviously, in those situations, you’d just take a quick glance at the contour arrows and guess.  From what I’ve seen so far, the information is more than good enough.  (And again, I’m putting on subtle greens that I’m very familiar with.)

Thank you that is exactly what I needed to know - I should have been clearer We play as a larger group but we are always divided into foursomes. Sounds like the App might be too much of a time waster, as pace of play is always a conscious element.

- You don't want to be known as the slow guy or the guy messing with his phone during play.

I'll probably keep it simple and get the book-

Edited June 12, 2022 by Badshaft

[stryper]

3 minutes ago, Badshaft said:

Thank you that is exactly what I needed to know - I should have been clearer We play as a larger group but we are always divided into foursomes. Sounds like the App might be too much of a time waster, as pace of play is always a conscious element.

- You don't want to be known as the slow guy or the guy messing with his phone during play.

I'll probably keep it simple and get the book-

 

I think the book will serve you well.  As mentioned earlier, you’ll probably want to keep it in a scorecard holder for the sake of durability.

[MillerLowLife]

Been waiting for another round before I give my review. I will say that the app didn't seem like my thing as I guessed. Seems way more logical just to pull out the book and check information quickly throughout your round rather than pulling up an app and waiting for it to load.

[Rubenc87]

Hello WRX'rs,

 First, I would like to say Thanks to Strackaline for selecting me to be a tester. Here is my first impression to Strackaline.

This is what I have so far. This was the view I had from the green.

This was the view from the digital GPS from the phone. 

Haven't posted prior to today as I was testing the digital GPS prior to receiving The Book. Personally I prefer the Book as I like leaving the phone on the cart. I did give the GPS option a try and I did like what I saw. I think I would use that option more when walking as the phone would be with me rather than on the cart. 

Packaging. This is what I received 

 

I was surprised with the square top as apposed the usual halfway fold. This told me that this was not an ordinary book. 

This book even had the putting green in the book. What?? 

Used the book to see the break on the green pertaining to the pin placement. BGC Hole #7

BGC Hole #7 green

Missed the green to the right no worries, let me see what The Book says.

Ugh, hit too firm and ended up left of the hole. 

Lets see what The Book says

The Book is very detailed and full of information. Having this book can only help your golf game. With practice this book can help avoid the three putts. Of the three views it would be individual preference as to which would be your first choice to view. The top view has the percentage of slope. I like glancing over at the other two options as they are easier to view as per pace of play. 

Here is a pic of the other books I have used in the past. Far left is one I made, center is from another company and to the right is The Book from Strackaline. Mine was super basic second was OK The Book looks like the way to go. 

The Book dimensions fit easily into the majority of Yardage book covers. 

And 

The Book fit very well into both covers. I am going to continue testing this book and continue to figure the ways in which this book will help me improve my game. 

Once again Thank You to Strackaline and WRX for giving us the opportunity to test products. 

 

[jml4]

On 5/30/2022 at 2:17 PM, stryper said:

Active brag (and shout out to Strackaline):  dropped a 35’ bomb during my match today.  I’d always read that putt as straight, Strackaline told me to go two cups right.  I went with Strackaline and…birdie!

 

Does the app always show the spot to aim or can you turn that on/off? I feel like this could get a little dicey in tournaments if an app is telling someone to aim 2 cups right.

[stryper]

44 minutes ago, jml4 said:

 

Does the app always show the spot to aim or can you turn that on/off? I feel like this could get a little dicey in tournaments if an app is telling someone to aim 2 cups right.

The app doesn't know where the ball or the hole are until you tell it.  Once you set that, you still have to hit another button before it gives you the aiming point.  So while it's not a difficult process, it does take more than a quick glance to get that information, and it would be pretty obvious to all in the group if someone was doing that.

[jml4]

3 hours ago, stryper said:

The app doesn't know where the ball or the hole are until you tell it.  Once you set that, you still have to hit another button before it gives you the aiming point.  So while it's not a difficult process, it does take more than a quick glance to get that information, and it would be pretty obvious to all in the group if someone was doing that.

 

Got it, that's good to know. thanks!

[stryper]

Another quick update...having used the green reading app several times now, I must say I’m finding it to be a game-changer.  While I rarely use the aiming point feature (too time consuming for group play), just  a quick glance at the arrows gives me a near perfect starting point for my read.  And that is making the rest of my “guesses” so much better after that.

 

Still need to pick up a scorecard holder for the paper version, as I could easily see using this forever at my home course. 😉

[StrackaLine]

Justin with StrackaLine here...StrackaLine has the Best Books and the Best Price.   With a little practice, the book will speed up your play. Use the PROMO CODE "GOLFWRX" to save an additional 20%!