Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Standard Features And Functionality Of The Golf App

By Anne Harvester


Many golfers have discovered a wide range of features by using a golf app on their phones. These apps help keep score, determine distances while playing on the course, track handicaps, and monitor statistics. They also provide information on local golf courses and tee times.

By accessing the location services feature of the phone, apps can search for nearby courses, or you can search by name. Courses can be saved to a favorites list for later access. Once you select a course, applicable information is displayed, including map to the course, contact information for the clubhouse, website, address, and other course data like total yardage. With some apps, you can access available tee times by course or region. You can book tee times directly from the application or call the course directly.

Being able to see yardages on the course is one of the main features of golfing apps. This is done by using the internal GPS on the phone. After arriving at the course, you select the tee boxes to be played to set the starting point. Courses have previously been mapped for the application to identify shape, distance, landmarks, and specific features of each hole.

As you hit the ball, the application determines distances to the green as well as other features of the course. You are able to see yardage to the front, middle, and back of each green. You can also determine how far to reach a particular hazard, like a bunker or creek. Various points along the hole are shown so that you know how far it is to layup to a particular spot, or distance to clear something like a water hazard.

Phone applications allow you to enter scores and store results in electronic scorecards. Data is entered into the phone as each hole is played. This is possible for one or more golfers as indicated before the round starts. Additional statistics can be entered along the way, like greens in regulation, fairways hit, or number of putts taken on each green.

Scores can be stored over time to show a history of rounds played. Most apps use the scores entered over time to calculate a handicap. The handicap takes into consideration which tee boxes were played and the slope rating of each course. You can determine which scores you want to use for handicap calculation.

Golfing applications allow users to enter statistics and track numbers over many rounds. This shows results and how your game is progressing. It can also indicate potential areas for improvement. Basic statistics are greens in regulation, driving accuracy, and putting averages. Other options include sand shots, recovery shots, or distance off the tee. Some apps offer a graphical representation of each statistic calculated over time.

Finding a good golf app to use on your phone can be an excellent tool for helping your game. Although GPS distances are a main feature, there are a growing number of other useful features for information, scoring, and statistics. Regardless of skill or experience level, any golfer can find a nice benefit from using these apps.




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