Apple Watch is good at a lot of things like tracking BPM, the number of steps in a day, workouts, and more. Thanks to advancements in watchOS, chip, sensors, and combined efforts from various developers, your Apple Watch is effective for tracking various golf metrics too. Today, we will cover some of the best golf apps that you can use on Apple Watch to keep score, track swings, get an aerial view of the golf course, and much more.
Let’s begin.
Table of Contents
1. TheGrint – Best for Scores and Stats
TheGrint adopts the World Handicap System or WHS allowing users to enter their scores on USGA servers using GHIN# details. TheGrint is an excellent choice for keeping scores and tracking stats on your Apple Watch though it also has a companion app for iPhone.
You can track scores on individual hole level, get notifications on how your friends are performing on the golf course, number and distance of puts made for each hole, strokes, and whether you encountered any hazards. Earlier, the only way to track all of this was when each player handed their card in. The golf GPS feature is equally good.
The Pro membership begins at $39.99 a year and adds the ability to upload scorecard pictures to grab data automatically, performance indicators, advanced level stats, track on shot level, and more.
Pros:
- Official World Handicap System
- Advanced scoring and stats
- Track friends’ scores, pictures, stats
- Golf GPS
- Can function without iPhone
Cons:
- None
Download TheGrint
2. Golfshot – Best for Augmented Reality
Golfshot is probably the first golf app for Apple Watch to bring AR or augmented reality and Auto Shot Tracking features. You can visualize the course, your swing, shot movement, distance, and much more.
With thousands of golf courses measured and tracked, you get get the location of the hole, distance to hole or hazards, and an overview right on the Watch itself. The flyover views are pretty cool. While the Apple Watch app is excellent and displays lots of useful GPS data, iPhone app is stunning. It shows 3D animations of the golf course with your shot, swing, and other movements marked.
Subscription begins at $4.99 per month or $49.99 for a year.
Pros
- Auto Shot Tracking
- Augmented Reality and flyover
- Support for Siri, and can be used handsfree
- Realtime scores, distance, stats
- Over 40,000 courses mapped
Cons
- Little expensive
Download Golfshot
3. 18Birdies – Best Allrounder
18Birdies is a feature-rich app that gets several things right. One of the few golf apps for Apple Watch that gets live weather conditions like wind, humidity, and elevation right and uses it to recommend clubs in the surrounding area. Regular features like stats, rangefinder, etc. are all there and for free.
Then there is the ability to auto-switch holes, side games so you can place bets, and a social feed to stay involved and engaged with other golfers.
Pricing begins at $2.99.
Pros
- Live weather conditions
- Social feed
- Side games
- Rangefinder, stats
- Affordable
Cons
- UI is lagging compared to others
Download 18Birdies
4. Arccos – Best AI
Arccos not only make apps for iPhone and Apple Watch but also caddie smart sensors that you can easily fit. Arccos then uses AI to track your shots, distance, club average, and other interesting game insights automatically. The accuracy is what will impress you, thanks to the sensors. However, this adds to the cost. Golf is, after all, an expensive game.
Thanks to the sensors, you won’t have to carry your iPhone around, like you do have to in case of some other golf apps for Apple Watch.
Arccos app is free but the sensors are not. They start at £179.99.
Pros
- Acurracy
- Convenience
- No need to carry iPhone
Cons
- Can be expensive
- Needs sensors to take advantage of
Download Arccos
5. Tag Heuer – 3D Flyovers and 2D Maps
While there are some other Apple Watch golf apps that offer this feature, none do it like Tag Heuer. You get detailed 3D maps, golf course flyovers, and 2D interactive maps right on your Watch.
Other features are that you would expect from a Watch GPS golf app like yardage to greens and hazards, club recommendation, scores and stats, and more. However, Tag Heuer can be used in addition to one of the other golf GPS apps on the list as a companion.
Subscription begins at $19.99 per year.
Pros
- 3D flyovers of golf courses
- 2D maps on Watch
- Scores and stats
- Yardage
Cons
- Cannot be used as a standalone app
Download Tag Heuer
Golfing With GPS
So these were some of the best golf GPS apps for Watch. However, there are some honorary mentions like Hole19 that didn’t make the list, as we wanted to keep it short, but are equally good. So do check these out on the App Store. Whatever you select to act as your virtual guide, remember that these are tools. So don’t spend more time on them than required. Instead, focus on the game more.
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