Leveraging the benefits of an Apple Watch is a simple, but effective way for any level golfer to improve their game.
Golf transformed through developments in materials and design. We gained distance, consistent contact, and even the most average can golfers could put up decent numbers now. Today we’re looking at the next big thing, the best golf apps for Apple Watches.
The game is changing again with how we use technology to understand our own game and apply what we learn to our advantage. We can do this with something as basic as the watch we wear on our wrists. Golfers don’t wear Rolexes; we wear Apple Watches and fitness trackers.
Put yourself in the best position to learn about your game and shave strokes (legally of course). Do this by using any one or two of the best golf apps for Apple Watch we profile below. We talk about paid versions of each app as that’s where you’ll be able to find value with each app. Read every review and find the best option to improve your golf game with your golf watch.
1. SwingU
If free is what you’re looking for, free is all you need with the SwingU Apple Watch app. Unlike most that require a subscription for anything more than the basics, SwingU is different. Their product offers plenty of useful features with their zero-cost version.
Without paying a dollar, you get something a GPS, a scorecard, and an app that jumps hole to hole with you—no manual changing over after every green.
Despite this, you’ll want the paid version. Once you subscribe, it’s like having a caddie—a good one, with you at all times. As you use SwingU, your watch gets to know you. After a few rounds of recording shots and distance, your watch will be able to recommend a club that takes wind and everything else into account.
Round insights also get more in depth with the paid version. Fairways, greens, putts, and more are stored in their database. You can easily go back to it later when you try to figure out what went wrong (or on those special days, what went right).
SwingU as a company is a bit different than most others you’ll find here. Your experience is not limited to the app, and can be accessed on your phone and computer. They offer a full database of instructional articles and videos that only add to the improvements you’ll see with regular use of their watch app.
2. 18Birdies
Keeping it simple is the best thing most golfers can ask for—and that’s exactly what 18Birdies does. If you’re new to searching for the best golf apps for an Apple Watch, this is where you want to start.
18Birdies has a clean interface and all of its functions are intuitive. You’ll see the basics like hole layout and distances to the front, middle, and back of the green sprawled across the whole watch face. Even those in need of reading glasses see this information clearly.
Part of the virtual caddie in this app is that it takes into account data from other players. If you play at a popular course, your watch will help you out even more. This is especially clutch when playing a course for the first time.
One thing we like about 18birdies you don’t see on most other apps is putt distance tracking, which plays a part in your strokes saved statistic.
3. The Grint
The Grint app is sleek in design, but incredibly easy to use. Maybe it’s because of the black interface (perfect for playing in sunny conditions), but it just has a feel of being designed by golfers who wanted more. I mean The Grint even offers a feature that keeps a handicap for you.
When it comes to stats, you have the option to pick and choose what you’ll track before the round begins. Taking a break from counting putts while you go through a change where numbers don’t reflect results? Turn the feature off until you steady your stroke and want the analysis again.
Each stat tracking interface has a simple layout and you do not have to search for anything. Miss a fairway left? Click the left arrow. Hit a shot out of bounds? Tap the “OB” button.
4. TAG Heuer Golf
Value, value, value. The company that sells watches for thousands produces an Apple Watch app that costs less than $3.50 per month. Doesn’t make much sense, but we’re not here to ask questions.
It can be difficult to combine graphics with distances on a screen as small as the Apple Watch’s, but not for TAG Heuer. Their display provides immediate context for each distance measured. Even better, their recommended club feature shows exactly where your ball should land on the hole.
While we decided to profile the paid versions of each app, it’s worth noting that there is not a free version of the TAG Heuer app. If you want this one, you’ll have to pay for it. Good thing they’ve made it so affordable.
5. V1 Game
Golfers hardly ever take a straight path to where their ball stopped. The V1 Game app knows this and reflects it back to us as we review our round later on. By tracking where you walk and stop, it is able to pick up precise distances. And if you’re inputting your club selection, it will only improve the recommendations for future shots.
We did our best to stick exclusively to the best golf apps for Apple Watches. But it wouldn’t be a proper review if we didn’t mention how it interacts with your phone. When you have the app on both, the data collected by your Apple Watch shows on a phone dashboard that gives you an in-depth look at everything in the round.
Knowing how to use the watch and phone versions of the V1 Game app is as close to professional round and season tracking as you’ll get.