The ability to download free golf apps has never been better. Golf apps offer a multitude of options and features which can save you hundreds of pounds on things like rangefinders, GPS devices, and even lessons.
Most of us spend a lot of our time on our phones, and within a few seconds, we can calculate what club to hit, book a tee time, or watch what’s going on with Rory on the other side of the world.
In this article, we highlight some of our favourite free golf apps to help you get the most out of your game.
The best free golf apps
1. Arccos Caddie
The average new Arccos Caddie member improves their handicap by 5.71 strokes in the first year—that is some claim.
You’ll need a set of Arccos Caddie Smart Sensors to use this app (these are attached to the top of your grip and chart where your shots have gone), but it allows you to dig deep into your game.
Powered by A.I Custom mapping, there are over 40,000 courses on the system, and every aspect of your game is tracked alongside rangefinder and caddie advice, so you can quickly understand your game, make smarter decisions on the course, and see your scores tumble.
2. VPAR
VPAR is a great accompaniment to any golf day, providing GPS technology to 30,000 courses, stat tracking, and challenges to maintain your interest.
This golf app is perhaps best known, though, for its live leaderboards, so whether you’re playing in a competition, society or just in a club roll-up, you can keep track of what all your fellow golfers are up to.
The app also provides great feedback on how you play the game to help you understand where your strengths and weaknesses are—far simpler and more informative than the days of the old-school pencil and scorecard.
3. My England Golf
We’ve seen the introduction of the World Handicap System in the last couple of years, and this app makes keeping your Handicap Index up to date very straightforward.
Everything is done for you in the app, which is well laid out to help you keep check of your overall playing record and where your good (and bad) scores have come. You can also follow your golfing friends for more of a community feel, too. The actual inputting of your scores couldn’t be easier, so you can add cards with minimal fuss.
4. SwingU
SwingU comes highly recommended among all the free golf apps available. There’s a GPS, a digital scorecard with basic stats, a free unofficial handicap after three rounds, manual shot tracking, and Apple watch connectivity that provides front, middle, and back distances.
You can also upgrade to an AI-powered digital caddie to tap into the ‘plays-like’ distances, live wind speed, elevation, and even club recommendations. There’s also the option to take advantage of green-reading maps and hole insights to tally with how you might tackle it.
5. Hole 19
Without paying a penny, this app gives you accurate GPS yardages to the front, middle and back of your green on over 43,000 courses, as well as where the main hazards are located and a complete overview of each hole.
You can also track your scores, and there’s an archive of every shot you’ve hit. The device offers a bright and detailed screen and can be paired with your Apple Watch or Wear OS smartwatch.
Hole 19 claims its users can expect a three-shot reduction each year they use the app!
6. V1 Golf
If you’re interested in monitoring and working on your swing, V1 Golf is brilliant.
There are many functions to take advantage of here; you can accelerate to key positions and view things frame-by-frame, use drawing tools to measure and highlight key moves, compare two swings side-by-side, and everything is saved to the Cloud.
You can also group your swing videos and lessons so you can easily watch them later rather than having to scroll through all your videos. This is a great app to improve your game and to see how your swing marries up with the textbook moves.
7. The Masters
The Masters app is widely considered one of the best sports apps, even though it’s only operational for one week of the year.
No other tournament gets close to what Augusta and IBM pull together. Throughout Masters week, there is what is essentially a streaming service where you can watch every single shot of every single player in the tournament. That’s around 20,000 shots over the course of the week!
The leaderboard is more functional than on other golf apps, too. And it must be said—tuning into the beautiful sights and sounds of Augusta National is a great pick-me-up during the other 51 weeks of the year.
8. BRS Golf
Thousands of golf clubs use this free golf app as their booking system, as it’s an easy way of getting a tee time.
The Tee Sheet takes you straight to your club’s tee times, allowing you to add names and make a booking in a matter of seconds, as well as scroll across the coming weeks to ensure your starting spot.
You can also use this app to keep abreast of club and open competitions and important club messages. It’s far easier than logging on to the club website or even ringing the pro shop (which was still the case not so long ago!)
