Golf GPS 18Birdies 4+

Great app that has shaved strokes off my game

I used to use the free version of this app when I first started golfing about 3 years ago. Since I have gotten better and have started to hone in on my distances with each club, the premium version of this app has helped me shave almost 16 strokes off my game (from 36 to about a 20) and I keep getting better. Yes, the more I golf the better I get but this app definitely assists me out of the course - it’s like having a caddy in your pocket. The distance feature helps me decide which club to hit, the GPS is very accurate and with the ability to see distances to lay-up spots and traps I have gained more confidence. Why spend 200+ dollars on a range finer when this app does that and way more. I like being able to pair up with others in my group for easy scoring, and it cuts down on the amount of cards I need to keep. If you take the time to put in your GIR, fairways hit, birdies, and par goals, it also does a great job of showing you metrics on where you tend to miss. Overall, I am very happy with this purchase and would recommend it to any golfer regardless of handicap. Furthermore, it does not drain my battery like most other apps do (I can sit on 15% battery with the battery saver feature in the phone settings on for just about the entire round).

Shot Tracker

This is a great app. Elevation changes don’t always work great in areas where it is really hilly and possible shotty phone service. I also much preferred the old shot tracker. The new one is way to complex and harder to use. Takes more time to get the exact post up of the shot and could lead to misleading shot yardage’s. The old one allowed you to move the pins to disk in the exact location and give you a read. If it was not for that I would give 5/5 rating.

Edit* After further use of the app I am still just as unpleased after the recent update and will be looking for other apps. Golf bucks are worse in every way now, elevation changes do not show up most of the time, shot tracking is extremely inaccurate and hard to use (due to lag and takes longer to dial in your location which just adds to length of round and takes your actual focus off playing golf), and wind is always off. Bring back the older version or make significant improvements. That being said the yardage’s are accurate and good. Nice for keeping score.

Developer Response ,

Greetings jjsand1788, we appreciate your feedback and want to assure you that the recent changes to the GPS screen and tracking are part of the first phase of an overall plan to make the app more awesome and easier to use. This is also the same with GolfBucks, as we are using customer feedback to make this program even better. Regarding the elevation changes, you are correct that there are some occasions where the elevation readings can be affected by cell reception and the mappings of golf courses. Have you experienced this at multiple courses or just one? Please contact us at support@18birdies.com for further assistance and so we can take a look at the courses.

Why change something that was working well

I have been using 18 Birdies since it was developed a few years ago. We use it for our Saturday Skins and Birds rounds. Up until the recent, user interface changes it was perfect. Easy to see the leaderboard, players scores, and even guests could be included in the leaderboard. Now the new changes have made this so confusing.

We spend more time adding names and having to help the guys who don’t have an account, or the technically challenged players who have no one in the group who is familiar with the app. The interface changes are inflexible. Once you put someone’s name in your group, deleting them doesn’t always remove them from your scorecard. The tournament section is gone and they changed the names of the previous sections so you have to learn the apps terminology. The font is excessively large to the point that you can’t see the entire leader board. After entering your scores there are so many menu buttons to locate what used to be simple prior to the update.

I am not sure who requested all these changes or updates, but as a consumer this is my idea of have a great steak and pouring ketchup on it. You ruined it. Please give the user more options to use a scaled down version for scoring.

Developer Response ,

Thank you for the review and honest feedback on the 18Birdies GPS Golf App. We will be making some changes to the app that are related to the feedback that you have given us.

We would love to talk to you more about these updates, we’ll look for your contact information but please send us an email at support@18Birdies.com. Thank you for using 18Birdies and have a great day!