Our favourite… Apps
Save shots, track scores, know the rules and just have fun with these (mostly free) downloads
VPAR Free The best app for live scoring. To set up a competition, choose from matchplay, strokeplay or Stableford formats, and get your mates to upload their scores after every hole. The app then displays a real-time leaderboard so everyone can feel like a pro. Users can also access GPS distances to holes and hazards, and archived performance and scoring stats. Your Sunday morning roll-up or society will never be the same again!
R&A Rules of Golf Free Free up space in your golf bag by chucking away that weather-beaten rules book for a digital copy. To keep disputes and slow play to a minimum, all 34 rules and sub-sections are condensed into a quick guide covering the most-commonly broken rules. If you need to go into more detail, the complete rulebook is available to view alongside a separate guide on golf etiquette. There’s also an interactive quiz if you have some time to kill.
PGA Tour / European Tour Free A must for every golf fan. Both apps feature real-time leaderboards (including player scorecards) and a bunch of video highlights. The big difference, however, is that the PGA Tour’s version is quicker to update and features ‘added extras’ such as in-play highlights, podcasts and a live video of featured holes and groups at selected tournaments. You can also pay to subscribe and watch live coverage from over 30 tournaments.
V1 Golf Free Capture, compare and improve your swing. Simply press record and then play it back frame by frame or in super slow-motion. Features include a drawing tool to measure and highlight form, drills to fix your faults and a splitscreen so you can compare your swing against dozens of tour pros’, including Rory, Spieth and Tiger. TG reader Kevin Lancaster used the app to go from 18 to nine in one summer.
WGT Golf Game by Topgolf Free If you were a fan of the PGA Tour video games, this one’s for you. It’s just as realistic and challenging, plus it doesn’t cost a penny. The graphics are the big seller and while you can’t play as Rory or Tiger, you can play the US Open, a ‘WGT virtual tour’ and Topgolf. You are limited to strokeplay and have to earn credits to unlock extra courses and a full range of clubs, but why bother when you’ll spend most of the time challenging friends?
Shot Tracer
£5.99
A pro-tracer for your phone. It records and tracks every shot (putts included) from start to finish and saves them in your photo library. You can also view carry and total distances using GPS, and switch between the swing and 3D map tracer to see the full cause and effect of those good (and bad) shots. But please, don’t bother with the special effects. Adding a rocket launcher to your shot tracer doesn’t make it look good!
Golfshot: GPS + Scorecard + Tee Times Free
The most versatile and comprehensive golf app you can get. Use it before your round for course previews and 3D hole-by-hole flyovers, and then during it for distances to the centre of the green and scorecard and performance tracking. You can even sync it to your watch or health app to relay your pace of play, steps, miles and calories, or simply check out some cheap tee-time deals.
Metronome Beats Free
You might be thinking that this is a strange choice, but this app – or something similar – is an easy way to improve your putting tempo. Just set the metronome between 65-75 – the standard for your pros – and then start your stroke on the first beat, and hit the ball on the next. Apply the same rhythm to all your putts – long and short – and you’ll soon find that you have a far more reliable and consistent stroke.
Visulax Golf
Free
Golf is, as we know, 90% mental, so why not follow the trend of pros investing in a psychologist? It may be that a session on the sofa with a £50-an-hour shrink isn’t your thing, which is why this app ticks all the boxes. It teaches you how to block out nerves and distractions and improve your course management – and all from the comfort of your own home. Put the visualisation and relaxation tips into practice on the course.
Motocaddy GPS
Free
Join over 50,000 golfers by downloading this GPS rangefinder. With over 36,000 courses mapped, you can view yardages to the front, middle and back, zoom in on the green and measure the distance of every shot hit. You can also plan ahead by using the overhead course map to plot different distances, and activate the power save mode to save draining your phone’s battery. It also links to your Motocaddy trolley.