EQUIPMENT | TECHNOLOGY
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.
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 fullblown 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.
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.
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 identify the position where the shot is taken from and the club you have used. GolfSites does the rest. The App automatically tracks your location throughout your round and records data such as the length of your 66
HK Golfer・NOV 2012
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.
Ease of Use Let’s face it: the last thing you want to be doing on a golf course is constantly referring to and fiddling around with your iPhone. Fortunately, the people at Mooee understand this – they’re golfers too, importantly – and they’ve designed the GolfSites App to be as “invisible” as possible. As a result, the App is a breeze to use, requiring only two taps of the screen after each and every shot to keep a record of all your shots. Gauging yardages is also very straightforward and needs HKGOLFER.COM
little more than a glance at the screen. Simplicity is the order of the day with GolfSites. A few holes into our first round with GolfSites was all it took for us to become fully versed in its operation. One huge benefit of the App is the sheer number of courses available to download. Unlike many overseas-developed Apps that fail to include courses from our part of the world, GolfSites is very Asia friendly, with a comprehensive database of some 25,000 clubs to select from. Once the App is purchased from the App Store [for HK$158] users can download five clubs free of charge, with others available to download for a nominal fee. A favourite feature of ours is the App’s usefulness when travelling. Once you’ve downloaded a club there is absolutely no need to have data roaming on when playing. The iPhone’s built-in GPS does the rest. GolfSites is also remarkably efficient and isn’t a massive drain on the battery. The GolfSites App, which is optimised for iPhone 5 and iOS 6, is developed by Mooee Company Limited and is available to purchase through the Apple App Store for HK$158. For more information visit www.mooee.com
GolfSites for the iPad In recent times, Mooee has launched GolfSites Recap, a wonderfully designed iPad-based App that can be used by registered GolfSites users to review all their shots, rounds and statistics with the benefit of the iPad’s larger screen. The App, which is free (but which can only be used fully by those who have registered with the GolfSites iPhone App) boasts a wealth of updated and enhanced features, including animation and even a “Hole of the Day” element that relives your most memorable moment of the round. The golf stat nerds among us can’t fail to be impressed with the data available at our fingertips.
HKGOLFER.COM
HK Golfer・NOV 2012
67