GolfSites App in Review

A detailed look at the most advanced GPS golf app in the market today – and better yet, it's from Hong Kong

A quick browse in Apple's App Store reveals myriad golf applications – from fun, time-wasting putting games to full-blown coaching aids that promise to knock countless strokes off your next round. We at HK Golfer should know; our iPhones are crammed full of them.

But the pick of the bunch – until our own is launched, of course – is GolfSites, a brilliantly useful yet simple GPS App that acts as your caddie by giving you accurate yardages on thousands of golf courses around the world. But unlike a caddie, GolfSites doesn't forget and it can actually track your progress, so that every shot you hit and every round you play is stored for later analysis. Most golfers love statistics, and we're no different. The fact that the developer behind GolfSites – Mooee – is a Hong Kong-based company, makes this fabulously practical App all the more appealing.

What does it do?

Everything, except rake the bunker. Perhaps that's a slight exaggeration but the fact is that GolfSites has plenty of cool features. Stand on any given tee – or indeed at any point on the golf course – and a map of the hole you're playing will appear, pinpointing your position and giving you an accurate yardage to the centre of the green and any annoying hazards that may be in your way. The key point here is accuracy. We've tried our fair share of golf GPS Apps before, and they've been hopelessly out in terms of distances. A few rounds over some of our favourite local courses and GolfSites proved to be amazingly accurate.

Where GolfSites also differs from other Apps is its stat-keeping. As you play, you simply tap the screen to indicate the type of shot you're about to hit and the club you are going to use and it does the rest. The App automatically tracks your location throughout your round and records data such as the length of your drives, the distance you hit your seven-iron and your scrambling statistics. It can even draw the path of your ball. It's humbling to know that that well-struck three-wood back on the fifth hole only actually travelled 210-yards, and not the 230-yards you thought it did but, crucially, that's why GolfSites is so useful.

It's also addictive. Naturally enough you find yourself trying to better yourself each and every time. Knowing you hit 39 per cent of the greens in regulation during last week's round makes you all the more determined to improve on your next outing. It doesn't mean you will of course, but there is no small amount of satisfaction when it happens.
 

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