Anyone use their iPhone as a golf GPS?

[buttuh]

Accuracy has to do with how many satellites the GPS receiver in your phone is able to pickup. The more points of referrence, the better the accuracy. My GPS is most accurate when it can pick up at least 7 satellites. Anything less due to weather, obstructions, then I can be off by 10-20 yards.

[lordnazgul2]

The biggest limitation for me, is the quality of cellular phone signal on the golf course. If your signal is no good, your 'rangefinder' is out of commission.

My phone does not have to have any phone signal to work as a gps device, they are completely separate functions, its the same for the i phone. The GPS receiver is completely seperate from the phones internet and aerial! GPS phones work just as well as any car sat nav, GPS walking aid or golf course yardage finder, as long as it can pick up satellites then it will work. This means that is a phone can only pick up one satellite and is therefore less accurate, this would be exactly the same for skycaddie or any other expensive gps device, they all work exactly the same. You are paying for the hardware, not the software!!

[golfbarefoot]

I have the ViewTI app for my iPhone 3G and it's really cool and works great, but for tournaments I stick with my SkyCaddie. Haven't tried airvue, and really don't need it but it looks slick if you don't have a skycaddie, rangefinder or other iphone app already. $40 isn't bad in my opinion.

[wrx_junki]

Anyone know how to find out how many GPS sattelites are available at your current location? I'm using Googlemaps to see how many. When its only 3-4 available my location is not very accurate.

[buttuh]

This might help you out.

http://www.nstb.tc.faa.gov/index.htm - Real time map http://gps.afspc.af.mil/gpsoc/default.aspx - updated every 24 hours. Click on Performance Reports at the top of the page and choose CONUS (Best 4) MAX PDOP

Anyone know how to find out how many GPS sattelites are available at your current location? I'm using Googlemaps to see how many. When its only 3-4 available my location is not very accurate.

[Mathlete1123]

I just got airvue and it works great. I hit 6/9 greens my first using it.

[lobsterzilla]

my friend uses the free mycaddy gps app for the iphone and it's ALWAYS dead nuts accurate.

[fredloves2golf]

I have a HTC phone and use freecaddie, and i have a friend who has an iphone with freecaddie and it really is very good!

+1

iPhone isn't the only smartphone out there... I use FreeCaddie Pro on my Windows Mobile phone. Really simplifies things when you've only gotta keep track of a single device.

[NoGimmies]

I would highly recommend GolfCard, but NOT as a GPS / yardage device. The statistics and scoring program in GolfCard is excellent--lets you track all sorts of details and then email or upload the round right from the phone.

But most GPS units are only going to be accurate down to ~20 feet or so. That's almost 7 yards! And it's a +/- error, so you really may be getting a reading that could be more than a club off...

For me, I'll stick with my Bushnell any day of the week. I can get exact yardage to any point or distance. Granted, sometimes it is a little tricky to pinpoint the flag, but that doesn't happen often, and when it does you can always find something within a few yards to give you a reading. (Which would make it as accurate as GPS for those instances! LOL)

I've not tried the SkyCaddie's so maybe they're different, but I do know that for GPS measurements I wouldn't trust my iPhone at all.

[freed0m]

Love the TeeDroid app on my iPhone 3G, as accurate as my buddy SkyCaddie SG5 and for only $19.95 (unlimited courses download too!)

[kurtwainwright]

Wow.. Airvue looks pretty cool.

Too bad I can't use it. I have the first generation iPhone. Paid an arm, leg, and dibs to my first born to get it when they first came out. Now everyone seems to have em and Apple just announced a $99 version. Ugh! Frustrating.

Of course, the 1st gen iPhone doesn't have GPS. So I'm stuck. The only non-GPS iPhone app I've used was called Plum Caddy. I wasn't impressed though. You have to create your own hole-by-hole maps using Google Earth, which is apparently commensurated with GPS down to the pixel level. So if you know you're beside the little pine tree next to the cart path catty-corner from the bunker on the other side of the fairway, then you can use find the distance to the center of the green using the app. Otherwise, it's useless and a waste of $9.99.

I'd love to own a SkyCaddy. But that's just not in the budget. As a high-handicapper, it doesn't do me much good to know that it's 125 center, 138 back, and 112 front. If I had my clubs dialed in that tightly in yardage, I wouldn't have a high handicap! Besides, my approaches are never 125... more like 185, and my long irons are even less accurate than my wedges. Hoping I get better in years to come, but I'm workin on it.

I am, however, using Scorecard Golf to keep my stats on the iPhone. That's pretty helpful. I'd post my scores here, but I'd be too embarrassed. LOL

[wrx_junki]

I was skeptical about the accuracy of the GPS as well since when 7 satellites were available it was not dead on accurate as to my location on Googlemaps. Basically, I was standing at a corner one corner of the street and Googlemaps was showing me as being on the other end. So is that an application error or GPS?

[topspin4hand]

I purchased AirVue on a whim before my round yesterday. Great app.

I have purposely not bought a golf GPS unit thus far. It's not the $$$, but rather I didn't think I was good enough to benefit from one at this point in my life and my experience with the game (2nd summer playing on courses ... 3rd yr out of my residency) ... 45 yards, 55 yards or 65 yards from the pin doesn't change my shot strategy. But after yesterday's use of this particular GPS app, I can now see how these devices help even a high handicapper. On the final hole of yesterday's round, I poorly executed an attempt to scramble after a wayward 2nd shot on a par 5. So I'm lying 3 and a full 110 yards behind and to the right of the green in back of a large tree, beyond the cart path in a 6 feet wide space between two 3-feet high bushes and in front of a large pine tree. Luckily the ball had enough clearance for a full swing. Had I not known the distance, I would've pitched out of the small space so that I wasn't in back of the big tree. But I checked the distance - 110 yds - and realized I could get a gap wedge over the tree and onto the green. Luckily no branches interfered with my backswing and voila, I got the ball onto the green about 25 feet from the hole. That one shot made up for an otherwise unforgettful round and is perfect example of the little things that keep you coming back to the golf course.

Wow.. Airvue looks pretty cool.

[Yukari]

One more vote for freecaddie. I used it on my BlackJack II when it first came out and still have it loaded on my phone now.

Another vote for freecaddie. I downloaded the software to my iphone last Thursday to try it out because I had a tournament on Friday. I searched the database and found that it didn't have the course I was playing. I mapped it myself (very simple) using the satellite image within 10 minutes. Took it to the course and it was accurate within 3-5 yrds compared to a skycaddie that another person had.

[Keyhole]

I've tried a few different iPhone apps including ViewTi, CaddyCall, and MyCaddy. These were all decent for the .99 cent sales that I picked them up for. Today I noticed Airvue on sale for $9.99 and after reading some reviews of the new version 2.0 I decided to give it a try. It is head and shoulders above the other apps. Tons of great features and a very nice GUI. It certainly rivals my buddies Skycaddie for a fraction of the cost. Highly recommended.

[Dub]

This wasn't a biggie for me as my previous home course had gps on the carts....really cool. It was only an issue on the cooler months when I walked, but then it's fairly easy to keep up with distances as you hoof it by the sprikler heads and markers to your ball. The flag color was indicative of the position...so it really was an easy affair.

The course I'm considering joining doesn't have gps or the color coded flags. They use a one of 4 pin placements with a card displayed on the carts.

I recently played the course with a couple of buddies. One of then had the 3G iPhone and he had downloaded the 24hr free trial of Golflogix. I was absolutely amazed at how well this application worked.

The distances into the green positions were awesome but the other features really hooked me. Standing on the tee, on the main screen, you have yardages to the hazards and the 150 yard lay-up point. This was some crucial information. I found myself using 3 wood way more often and scored okay.

The other features were cool....you could seamlessly track the distance you hit each club (saves it for cumulative data on each stick) and the other stats of shot types.

I can see using this application for years to come.


The upgrade cost from the free 24hr version to the full blown program is $39.99 per year. All of the local courses I play are available. You can download the course on your way there!!!! I understand that courses not currently available can be requested.

We had no lapse in coverage on this course and the battery power was 20% remaining at the end of a long 5.5 hr round. The unit was used for yardages for each of us....so the unit stayed busy.

I will be adding a 3GS iPhone in the near future. I'll also be adding one of the cool cases that has a built in battery extender.

I can't get over how cool these phones are.....so many neat apps.

[patriotjack]

my course offers the golf gps that you see on commercials on golf channel. my dad has an iphone and i was using the gps the other day. it's much easier to use than i thought it would be and helps alot.

[Stephen Jones]

Hey guys,

I was wondering what you guys thought about using your iPhone as a golf GPS? Do you find the battery life is a problem, and how much detail do you get? I've tried one or two and been generally quite impressed, but I would quite like to get the opinion of some other fellow golfers.

Thanks,
Ste.