Hole19: Golf GPS Range Finder Ratings and Reviews

Like the flexibility

I’m a casual golfer that has played since I was 8, but never competitively because other sports got in the way. At 48, I am enjoying golf with my kids and buddies, and actually playing the best golf of my life, breaking 80 and sometimes in the low 70’s all year so far. At times our outings are practice rounds for an upcoming summer league or HS match with my 18 year old, where I haven’t played before. The maps, with the ability to zoom and move the aiming point around really helps with shot selection and golf course management. The ability to clearly see how far it is to a dogleg or to reach/carry a bunker, and then how much you will have left to reach the green from there has changed the way I approach the teebox. It’s much more than getting a number from your watch. I grab my driver much less than I used to, in fact shot +2 on 9 holes last night and only grabbed my driver 3 times, because I knew exactly which shots I needed to hit for GIR before I ever walked to the tee. I’ve been using Hole19 for years as a GPS yardage function and find it consistent, accurate and flexible.

Great app focused on golf

I have had Hole 19 for a year, and as my subscription was coming up for renewal I decided to try some other apps. Hole 19 was the clear winner. It is much simpler and more focused on golf. The milestones in the app are golf milestones, not “are you using our app?” milestones. Things like lowest score, fastest round, longest course, best hole, etc. The shot tracking is accurate and simple to use. Off the tee, you select “track from the tee” and then afterwards, simply track “from my last shot”. The statistics do the work for you, automatically figuring out if you hit the green in regulation, up and down, etc. The one part I wish would be improved is the “my bag” function, where you list your clubs and the distances. It gives set selections, and I wish I could just enter what kind of club it is and what the loft is, instead of having to choose from the list. This is especially (actually, only) annoying on the wedges. It lists a bunch of lofts. I think it should name clubs (such as pitching wedge, gap wedge, lob wedge, approach wedge, etc…) and then allow you to enter the loft. So, I deleted the others apps and renewed my Hole 19 subscription. Definitely think I made the right choice. I’ll change my stars to 5 once they fix the bag function. Happy golfing, folx.

Developer Response ,

Hi! Thank you so much for rating and reviewing Hole19. Please reach us at help@hole19golf.com and give us your feedback. We'd love to deserve your 5 stars :) Best regards, Team Hole19

Disappointed

I purchased an Apple Watch largely because the hole 19 app was available for it. I downloaded the free app and it worked pretty good for a while. Then I started having problems just occasionally. Hole 19 kept sending me messages trying to sell me the premium version. When they sent a discounted offer for the premium I thought maybe that would help with the problems, and I liked some of the additional features they said it would include. So, I bought the premium hole 19 and it has been a nightmare ever since. I download the course before leaving my house. Then, I start the app on the first hole. By the end of the first hole it asks me if I want to save “the round”. Sometimes I can get it to work again but then if I do get it to work again, the same thing happens again and sometimes I can’t get it to work again. I have not had it work for a complete round for a long time, and fiddling around with it trying to make it work during the round had caused some bad rounds because of the distraction and frustration it has caused. Then, I have do the embarrassing thing of asking my golf buddies my distance for each shot. I have tried to get in touch with the hole 19 customer service without success. I’m not sure they even have a customer service department or anyone there that can or will give me help. What a disappointment hole 19 app has caused me along with much frustration and embarrassment. What a waste of money, and enjoyment of golf.

This app is a hole in one

I’m a skeptic and this is the first review I’ve written about anything. I tried the App and it worked very well. Then I bought the Pro version, or whatever they call it, and it is super. I can start my round on my phone and then get all my distances from my watch. I have to lay up on two holes and the flyover screen works perfectly for my landing distance. Other than those two shots, I don’t need my phone at all. Then it keeps track of my score and my phone and I can see my stats on my phone when I’m done. I like the shot-by-shot scoring but it is much easier if you remember to put each shot in as you go along—which I am not good at. My only wish is that the color for pars and bogies were reversed. A bright happy blue for bogy and a gray so light it’s hardly visible for par just doesn’t seem well thought out to me. But everything else is great. I highly recommend this program and the upgrade for all the extras. Try it!

Developer Response ,

Thank you very much for your support! 💙

Pleasantly surprised

Let me first say that all the golf analytics and stats are neat and nice to haves, but my main reason for a golf app is the GPS function. But trying to find a suitable (and simple) golf GPS app for the Apple Watch can be quite a task, especially if you don't need all the bells and whistles, and don’t want to get tied up with fees for stuff you really don’t want or need.

After seemingly endless searching on the App Store and the Web, and watching outdated You Tube videos, I found Hole 19. The basic GPS function that I want is simple and easy to use on this app. It’s also free, and doesn’t interrupt your game with annoying ads to get the “Pro” edition.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that it has scoring, number of putts and lots of other analytics like driving accuracy, GIR, recovery performance. Most of the apps that have this are expensive and require fees to view this data, but not this one.

The app immediately identified my course. I measured its accuracy alongside my Garmin device and the yardages were pretty similar, with maybe a few yards difference. (Some of the other, more popular apps that I tried were off by as much as 20 yards!) And, it didn’t crash during my round, something that frequently occurred with those other, costly apps.

So, I found a keeper and companion for my first Apple Watch! I rarely write app reviews, but this one deserved my time and attention. Love its simplicity, ease of use, accuracy and overall performance.

Would be a 5 star app but…

There should be a way to have a one time payment to get rid of ads, so many apps have this and it’s a shame everything has moved to a subscription service now. It costs the consumer much more than it would normally and personally when I see a subscription service outside of music or tv I try to avoid it. I think at least the ads could be one time pay. I will say though the app is nice to use and intuitive the only thing I would change from a ease of use standpoint is the scoring. There could be a setting that you can choose if you want simple scoring (hit a plus or minus to add or subtract from par) or advanced (the current way the scoring is done which lets you track normal strokes penalties and putts) I like the premium lite. It’s a nice touch for those who buy it to have score tracking on their watch. Thank you for that developers! But yeah pretty decent app just wish there was a one time pay for the ads or even better the full premium experience.

Now great!

Ever since the Apple watch came out, I have been searching for a usable golf app that was fast and accurate enough to use on the golf course. Hole 19 has now fulfilled that search. Although previous versions did not perform that well, the current version is VERY good. Loads and updates distances as fast, or faster than other golf apps on my iPhone 6; is very accurate. It is a very easy to use watch golf app. The only reason I don’t give it 5 stars, yet, is it doesn’t automatically advance to the new hole, so I have to remember to do that. I believe that functionality is coming. If you are looking for a quick, accurate distance golf app for the Apple watch, this app is for you. Battery drain is minimal on both the phone and the watch, typically using between 10-15 percent for 18 holes.

Update: better than ever. Full functionality now. Many features I don’t always use, but there if I need them. Watch updates immediately on yardage’s.

6 years strong!

I downloaded this app long before the Apple watch was even a thing. I wanted yardages, track my score and just keep data as much as possible. Be ready, you might realize just how bad at putting you really are, lol. This has been a strong app for any golf course I have played. I’ve only stumbled across one golf course where they changed their back 9 layout so, well it was a guessing game - old school golf. Now having the Apple watch, life is easy. Just a quick glance for back/middle/front of the green and you’re good to go. I golf in some extreme hilly terrain so I adjust that yardage myself. The best part, when apple updates, so will Hole 19! It might take a little bit but they are usually quick on feedback and will have your app up and running in no time. Just download it and forget everything else you’ve ever tried.

The Apple Watch version just got better

I think this will be my 3rd season using this app. I started using it because it was compatible with my Apple Watch. At first it was terrible. I almost gave up on it. The support people even told me at one point to wear my watch upside down so the screen would stay open to the Hole19 app. That was super annoying. But I’ve seen you work out the kinks and it just keeps getting better. Just the other day I fired it up and the watch version has a whole UI! (User interface for you non-tech folks) I really like it. I do pay for it and I do think it’s a tad expensive since it has to be renewed every year. I paid for it again this year because I like it. Would I pay more? I doubt it since there are a couple of other good options out there.

Developer Response ,

Thank you for your support! Happy Golfing!

I love this app!

I’ve been an avid golfer most of my life and now I do UI design professionally for a large software company. I have to say, this app makes me so happy. The design is great, it works flawlessly, the GPS is wildly accurate. I honestly think, if you play golf, this is a MUST HAVE APP!! I have so much fun looking at my rounds when I’m done. You really do learn so much about your game after your round!

My only suggestion is make it easier to share your scorecard with friends. I didn’t post/share after the round, but want to forward to friends later in the evening and couldn’t find an easy way to do it. That was a bit surprising. I also wanted to see my full scorecard in landscape view and didn’t see a way to do that either.

Otherwise, you all have thought of everything! Great job!!