The Best Free iPhone Golf GPS Rangefinder Apps

Johnny Farango

Hi there, new to the forum so hope I'm posting in the correct spot. Does anybody know what the best FREE iphone golf GPS thingys are?
Would love to have a good one for my phone which gives me a map of the hole and distances to the green etc.
Also, Android options if you have them would be great too as I've a mate in the same situation.

Any suggestions would be great, thanks in advance.:)

username?!

Johnny Farango wrote: »

Hi there, new to the forum so hope I'm posting in the correct spot. Does anybody know what the best FREE iphone golf GPS thingys are?
Would love to have a good one for my phone which gives me a map of the hole and distances to the green etc.
Also, Android options if you have them would be great too as I've a mate in the same situation.

Any suggestions would be great, thanks in advance.:)

Funny you should ask, I am just finishing developing one at the moment for Android. I've tried to keep it as simple, accurate and quick as possible.

I should have it done and in the play store by the end of the week. I'll stick it up if the mods allow.

SeanF

I tried a whole bunch of them last year, and Hole19 is definitely the winner, no question. It's free, simple, and has every course. It's got an excellent interface without ads, and round stats as well. They also have a premium version as well. I also use its Apple Watch app as well.

username?!

username?! wrote: »

Funny you should ask, I am just finishing developing one at the moment for Android. I've tried to keep it as simple, accurate and quick as possible.

I should have it done and in the play store by the end of the week. I'll stick it up if the mods allow.

Took a bit longer than I expected to get out but never the less, If mods are OK with this here is my App.

Play Store Link:
RangeBuddy - GPS Golf Rangefinder



Using your current location, it provides you with a birds eye view of the course. Allowing you to select any target and get a pretty accurate distance in meters / yards. Simple, easy, get your distance and carry on with your game.

I created the app purely out of frustration with existing applications in the Play Store. As most people will know there is plenty of Apps available that do the same but I either felt they were inaccurate, slow, outdated or did not allow me to select locations I wanted. I prefer to be able to manually pick my point instead of getting front, middle or back. Also because it relays solely on Google Maps, courses do not need to be maintained or updated.

it's still in the early phases so there could be some bugs, if so let me know and I'll be happy to help.

Any features you would like to see added in and I'll try my best.

ziggy

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Senna

Nice app, does exactly what you need it to do.
One request, can you allow zoom out on the map?

username?!

Senna wrote: »

Nice app, does exactly what you need it to do.
One request, can you allow zoom out on the map?

I've limited the zoom to a certain height, it stop the map freaking out if it can't find you and zooming all the way out. But I can add a button to disable it in settings.

username?!

ziggy wrote: »

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Not at the moment, If this ends up with a good number of downloads I will.

charlieIRL

username?! wrote: »

Not at the moment, If this ends up with a good number of downloads I will.

how would android downloads lead you to develop it for ios? Sure if there was an ios version as well you would get more downloads??

Get it done..........I want to have a look at it!!:D

ziggy

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golfguy1

Just a couple of questions

How is this any different or more accurate to any other app when all measurements are just taken from google maps?

What happens if course move greens or bunkers?
Surely updates are required?

Senna

username?! wrote: »

I've limited the zoom to a certain height, it stop the map freaking out if it can't find you and zooming all the way out. But I can add a button to disable it in settings.

Really minor and yes I can see why you limited the zoom, probably best not add a button to remove that.

golfguy1 wrote: »

What happens if course move greens or bunkers?
Surely updates are required?

Come on, you can hardly blame him if Google don't update their satellite images often enough to keep up with course changes.

I wouldn't be in any rush to develop on for ios unless you think you can make some money out of it. Apple make you jump through a lot more hoops.

golfguy1

Senna wrote: »

Really minor and yes I can see why you limited the zoom, probably best not add a button to remove that.



Come on, you can hardly blame him if Google don't update their satellite images often enough to keep up with course changes.

I wouldn't be in any rush to develop on for ios unless you think you can make some money out of it. Apple make you jump through a lot more hoops.

Wasn't blaming him. But he does say he created it because he found others inaccurate.
My only question is how can his be any different/accurate if all apps are relying on Google maps.

username?!

golfguy1 wrote: »

Wasn't blaming him. But he does say he created it because he found others inaccurate.
My only question is how can his be any different/accurate if all apps are relying on Google maps.

Good question, Yes all apps rely on google maps but there are a number of different formulas you can use to get the distance between latitude and longitude. Results can also vary depending on how you handle the data in your code. Along with poor interpretation of your current location.

I tested a handful against a friends rangefinder and found a formula I believed was accurate.

Regarding bunkers and hazards changing, you are right. There isn't much that can be done but I don't see it being much of an issue, as Google update the maps approx every 6 months.

username?!

Senna wrote: »

Really minor and yes I can see why you limited the zoom, probably best not add a button to remove that.



Come on, you can hardly blame him if Google don't update their satellite images often enough to keep up with course changes.

I wouldn't be in any rush to develop on for ios unless you think you can make some money out of it. Apple make you jump through a lot more hoops.

Regarding IOS, yes your right. Much more of a closed garden, As mentioned if I can see a demand for this type of app I would invest some time in moving the app over to IOS.