There are a lot of cool gadgets in the world of golf equipment that don’t always fit well The most requested tests OR Buyers Guides. You still want to know how it works. In our We Tried it series, we put the equipment to the test and let you know if it works as advertised.
What we tried:
Golf Pad. Golf Pad is a free golf app focused on scoringGPS and keeping statistics. It is an alternative to 18Birdies, GHIN, TheGrint and a number of other golf apps.
Who tried it:
Tyler. Soft Goods Test Manager and Certified Sports Card Pack Reproducer. Over the past couple of years, I’ve used both the 18Birdies and GHIN apps, making me very familiar with this type of technology.
What I liked:
Statistics
The first thing that blew my mind was how “in your face” the statistics are. I consider myself a big guy and enjoy getting into the weeds a bit. The Golf Pad app has everything you need, and more, to track your game and see what needs extra work.
Golf Pad gives you Strokes Gained statistics for a number of different categories, including by club, off the tee, approach, around the green, putting and overall. I learned very quickly that my 9-iron cost me the most strokes during testing.
As you can see from the image above, I really struggle to hit the greens: 22 percent is nothing short of nonsense and keeping under 2.0 has been the saving grace for maintaining a average handicap.
Seeing these stats that Golf Pad provides has helped me change my perspective on a few things.
- I average just over 2 double bogeys per round and at least 1 bogey.
With this knowledge, I can set benchmarks to reduce the large numbers. Golfers have a tendency to compete in the wrong ways. When you see your stats and a high tendency to father doubles or worse, you’re motivated to cut that number in half and compete against yourself the way the golf gods intended. 18Birdies provides similar data, but the bar graph illustration that Golf Pad provides speaks to me in a more direct way. - Play to your strengths.
When the data is right in front of you, it’s much easier to play to your strengths. If you know you’re a really good putter but you’re struggling with your approach, hit the ball in the spot most likely to bounce up and down. (This is also known as maturing as a golfer.)
Shot tracking is stellar (when you remember to use it)
The shot tracking feature is excellent. Knowing the distance of each club on the actual course is a huge bonus. The Golf Pad not only offers distance tracking, but dives even deeper with club strokes along with shot distribution.
Having access to these numbers is huge for understanding which clubs to favor and which clubs to avoid all together.
What I didn’t like
- The UI is more on the boring side.
This shouldn’t stop you from trying out the Golf Pad app, but the user interface felt too “vanilla” to me. I would appreciate a more attractive design that calls me back to the course like the box of gluten-free Oreos calls me at 11:30 p.m. - Handicap ratings currently do not exist in the US
I’ve been informed that some sort of handicap rating will arrive in the coming weeks, but it wasn’t there during testing, unless you want to set it up with a USGA sync (which usually costs money).I’ve been using 18Birdies long enough to rate the handicap they give me with updates after each posted round. I know 18Birdies is closer to a vanity handicap than a USGA certified handicap, but I’m not planning on playing in tournaments anytime soon. I want to see the number fluctuate. If you’re looking for a free, constantly fluctuating handicap, Golf Pad needs to implement something better before it’s the app for you.
- 18Birdies outperforms in terms of hole-by-hole statistics.
If you’re tracking every single shot using the Golf Pad’s shot tracking feature, you won’t care as much. 18Birdies does a better job FAST illustrating the number of chips, shots on the green, putts and other metrics. If you’re willing to track every shot, this isn’t a problem, but it can be tedious to click shot tracking multiple times for each hole.
Additional free features
- GPS front, middle, back
- Scorecard for up to four golfers
- Aerial view
- Nine and 18 hole score tracking
Additional premium features
- Better accessibility of golf lessons
- Green contours
- Scoresheet for up to eight golfers
- Offline course maps
- No ads
- Other Scoring Methods (Stableford, Match Play, Leather, Nine)
Should You Switch To Golf Pad?
I have two reasons you should start using the Golf Pad and two reasons you shouldn’t.
Why should:
- Golf Pad offers an annual premium subscription for $29.99. They have quite a list of clothes features included in their free version, but you get a lot more in the premium model. If you compare the premium Golf Pad offer against 18Birdies, you will notice that the Golf Pad is $70 cheaper. For what you are getting, Golf Pad’s premium offering is much better than 18Birdies.
- Are you unhappy with your current golf app or have you never used a golf app for scoring and tracking stats in the past? There’s nothing wrong with testing the waters, and the Golf Pad is a solid place to start. The Golf Pad can be simple or complex depending on your needs. If you’re new to golf app technology, it’s worth a try.
Why not?:
- If you’re happy with your current points app, I’m not sure switching is the best move. The old adage of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” comes into play here. If you have 18Birdies or another competitor you’re happy with, stay there. All things considered, you can at least download the free version and play with it before making the official switch. If you decide to make the switch, you can request that previous rounds be added to the Golf Pad by other competitors, which can make the switch more meaningful, but also adds more work.
- You are looking for naked results and GPS. If you’re looking for simple GPS score keeping and mapping, Golf Pad and other advanced golf apps will have you covered.
All things considered, I’m sure I’d rank Golf Pad a small step below 18Birdies, but a slight step above most other basic golf apps.
It has everything you need and more in terms of points, GPS and stats and I’m told more features are in the works. If you’re a new golfer looking for a premium app that’s about a third of the cost of 18Birdies, Golf Pad is for you.
Download the app, play around and let me know in the comments how it compares to your current golf app.
You can download and test the app for free from by clicking this link.
