Sports performance technology continues to advance and gain popularity as high-tech tools are utilized to enhance player performance in all types of athletics.
Golf is no exception. Technology can be used to make aspects of this popular and challenging sport less difficult and frustrating and more rewarding and enjoyable.
For example, during the coronavirus lockdown, many golfers continue to practice their game on high-tech training equipment such as in-home golf simulators.
In addition to golf training equipment, thanks to innovation, there are applications for smartphones, tablets, and smartwatches to help golfers improve their game.
Here are three apps that can help golfers improve their skills, locate courses, and book tee times to enjoy their next round.
V1 Golf – Swing Analysis & Coaching
Have you ever wanted to see how your swing compares to the best in the game? By recording your swing with the V1 Golf app, you can compare yours against the pros and use a full suite of tools to analyze exactly what you need to work on.
The app equips golfers with a full range of video tools, including the ability to send your videos to your instructor and receive voice-over video lessons with evaluations from your pro. If you don’t currently have a coach, you can connect with one of several thousand pros who teach with the V1 Sports network.
Most golfers will find value in the V1 Golf App, but it will be especially valuable for players who are looking for consistent feedback from their instructors and aren’t always playing their home courses.
For younger players and aspiring pros that are on the road playing competitively in tournaments, updated instruction while away from home is a big benefit. The app also works well for those who travel often or can’t always make time for an in-person lesson with their instructor.
On the flip side, golfers who are at their home course often and have the ability to see their instructor frequently on an in-person basis won’t see much benefit from this app’s technological edge. Additionally, for players who aren’t tech savvy, the ability to grasp and benefit from the capabilities of the app will likely not be realized.
V1 Golf is available as a free download from the App Store and Google Play. In-app purchases are offered.
GolfNow – Book Tee Times, Golf GPS
With over 5,000 courses onboard, at any time of day or night, users can book a tee time at courses in the U.S., England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Bermuda, Canada, and Mexico.
Using your phone’s location services, the app shows golf courses in your area, making it an essential tool for any golfer that is always on the go, looking for nearby links.
GolfNow is currently used by over 3 million golfers and now features a free golf GPS and golf rangefinders, scorekeeping, and post-game analysis.
The “Hot Deal” search function enables users to find various discounts and savings — and to get better prices on tee times, with weather protection.
Also worth investigating is the GolfNow Rewards program, which allows you to automatically earn points on each round and, coupled with the GolfNow VIP membership, offers members additional savings and benefits.
While the GolfNow app features the ease of booking a tee time, one thing to keep in mind is that some users have reported issues trying to redeem rewards for weekend reservations — and as is the case with many promotions, other restrictions may apply.
GolfNow is available as a free download from the App Store and Google Play.
GolfLogix GPS + Putt Line
The GolfLogix GPS + Putt Line app is a perennial worldwide leader in golf apps. Like other golf apps, it offers free GPS, scores, and stats, but it also provides top-quality 3D course maps that give precise GPS distances to all hazards, layups, and greens.
Most impressive are the Approach and Putt Break views.
The Approach view lets you see the green’s contours and the areas surrounding the green from the fairway. This tool helps to avoid the frustration of hitting that perfect shot only to see the ball drift from the hole or even off the green. As you move your target on the hole overview, the app indicates which clubs are suggested to hit that target, as well as from the target to the green.
The Putt Break view is a cool feature; although, to use it, there’s a need to precisely locate your ball and hole on the green map and pull out your device after every putt, which can be distracting and time-consuming. If you (and others in your group) can tolerate that, the app’s “Putt Line” feature shows a visual read of the putt’s line to help see breaks and determine speed so you know how to aim your shot.
Many users start off by only gauging their accuracy and speed on the putting green. The GolfLogix tech in the accuracy aspect is quite precise, but the speed gauge is less so.
For each hole, the app provides up to four different distances, with a bird’s eye view, moveable target, approach view, and putt break option.
By choosing the “Play Golf” tab, you can search manually for a course or use your current location to create a list of courses nearby. There are more than 35,000 golf courses in the GolfLogix course library, with at least 12,000 that include 3D-mapped greens. After making your selection, the course is quickly downloaded to your device, and you’ll be ready to tee off.
This app has a score and stat tracking feature like many GPS golf apps. GolfLogix improves on this by allowing users to customize which stats to keep and which to disregard. Trackable stats include putts, greens in regulation, driving distance, fairways hit, fairway and greenside bunkers, chips, pitches, penalties, and missed putts. Whether keeping a simple score or compiling a bunch of stats on your round, inputting the data is done quickly and easily.
Finally, users can access a personal round analysis and lessons via Golf Digest and get exclusive equipment deals from GolfNow and Golfsmith.
GolfLogix GPS + Putt Line is available as a free download from the App Store and Google Play. In-app purchases are offered.
Heading In
Try these apps to find out which ones suit your golfing needs — and let us know what you think in the Reader Comments section below.
Enjoy your next round — and remember to stay out of the bunkers!
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The apps are great!
This is a rather nice and comfy start for beginners in my time it wasn’t this easy or helping in any form I even found a good guide for golf on other sites.