GolfCard by Senygma, Inc.
(June 27, 2009) — If you have an iPhone or iPod Touch, and you are a serious golfer, stop reading this article right now and go to the iTunes App Store to download GolfCard by Sengyma, Inc. Go on… Go.
You will not be disappointed.
There are dozens of golf apps available, and more are being introduced every week, but I have yet to see an app that is as complete and user-friendly as this one. It offers downloadable course information for over 23,000 courses across the world. (And if you play at a course that isn’t available, you can add it to the database.) It has a built-in GPS rangefinder function so you can mark and find yardages on the course. It allows you to keep score in as detailed a fashion as you’d like, and it will keep track of your side games such as skins, nassau or a Stableford system. Oh yeah, you can also output your playing statistics to the Web or send it away via email to print.
Yes, it isn’t the cheapest app out there, currently selling for $7.99, but it is worth every penny. Let me provide more details for you.
Main Menu Screen
From the Main Menu screen you see the basic options, and it is here that you will access the app’s different features. The Players area allows you to input yourself and the other golfers you play with. Define name, gender, preferred tees, handicap, and more here–it is all stored in the app so when you play with that individual in the future, adding them to the round is a snap.
The Courses menu is your library of golf courses that you’ve played or plan to play. You can either create a course (if it isn’t already in the database–so far all the courses I have wanted to add have already been in the database, but I’m sure there are some that aren’t) or download it. Downloading can be based upon your current location using the iPhone’s GPS function, or you can search by name, city, zip code, etc. By the way, if you’re in an unfamiliar area and wonder if there is a golf course nearby, this is a great way to tell, just search by your location and presto! Golf courses!
Raspberry Falls Golf Club
The course detail page then gives you all of the pertinent information about the course. See the example photo, which is the details page for Raspberry Falls Golf Club, a great Gary Player layout near my area. It has the course telephone number, address and website (all of which are accessible right from that screen if you want to map the course’s location or call for a tee time). It also shows the type of course, different tee boxes, and how many “courses” the facility has. Note that GolfCard breaks each nine into its own course. This way you can match your score card to the order played if, for example, you start on the back nine instead of the front.
The Rounds menu allows you access details from rounds played previously, or it allows you to set up a new round at your chosen course. When you set up a new round, you’ll input the course played, time and date, whether you’re playing in a tournament or not, and any side games that you wish to score. Once you’ve set up the round, you’re ready to go and begin scoring.
In the Score Card section, you’ll see all of the details that you’d see on a paper card–hole number, par and yardage, hole handicap and each player’s scoring line. Touching on the hole number takes you to the GPS positioning screen where you can mark up to 8 features per hole. You’d need to do this as you play, and the points would then be available in future rounds, if you want to rely on the GPS to give you yardage to the hole-type of information. Honestly, I have not used the GPS and location functions on the golf course, so I can’t speak as to how well they work. (I use a laser rangefinder for yardages, and don’t need this extra feature.) If you don’t have a rangefinder, however, this app can help with getting around the course.
Score Card Detail
Also in the Score Card section is the part of this app that I absolutely love–hole details. Now for the record, I track a lot of details every time I play. I track my fairways hit, GIRs, Up-and-down and sand save statistics, my putt totals, penalty strokes, and of course, my score. I had a pretty good system which I used on paper scorecards, but then had to transfer the details into another program to track and trend. With ScoreCard, all of that becomes automatic, PLUS it allows me to track my choice of club off of the tee.
Within 30 seconds after finishing a hole, I can record my score and all of those other details and be ready for the next hole. It is awesome. When the round is over, I have immediate totals for the day–number of fairways, number of putts, and so forth. No adding. No trying to decipher my handwriting. It’s all just there ready to be studied. When I’m finished up, there is an option to email the scores (to myself and/or to anyone else I choose–perhaps a coach or a friend) in a printable .PDF format. Also, if you sign up for a free account at OobGolf.com, you can upload the scores to that site automatically.
Honestly I could gush on and on about this app, but I’ll finish up at this point. If you own an iPod Touch and/or iPhone and are still reading this, shame on you. (Unless you’re back from the App Store and are now simply finishing reading the post!) If you want to track your statistics and be the techno-envy of every group you play in, go to the Senygma website where you can learn more.
By far the best golf app I’ve seen and used. Highly recommended!!
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{ 2 comments }
Absolutely! Once you get the hang of it (which only takes a few holes of practice) you can put all of the details in in seconds. And if you need to, you can always go back and edit–even if it is after the round is over. Thanks for your comments! Glad I’m not alone in my GolfCard Love Boat!
I couldn’t agree more. GolfCard is one of the few apps I’ve paid for, and it’s been worth every penny. As you mentioned, the ability to easily track a tremendous number of stats is invaluable. What I really like is that it’s very easy to enter all your data between holes, or on the next tee while your partners are hitting. My point is, despite how robust it is, there is nothing about the app that encourages slow play.
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