Comparison
Best Strokes Gained Golf App
Six apps compute strokes gained and they split cleanly on two questions: do you have to buy hardware, and does the number arrive before the shot or after the round. Answer those two and the choice mostly makes itself.
PinFlag is best for
Golfers who want the cost of the shot in front of them, on any target they pick, and who would rather see the number than be told what to hit.
The field is best for
Golfers who want sensors to log for them (Arccos, Shot Scope) or a report after the round with nothing to tap (Golfshot).
| App | Hardware | Price | Number arrives | Phones |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PinFlag | None | $14.99 a month, $99.99 a year | Before the shot, on any target you pick, with your own pattern drawn on the hole | iPhone |
| WhyGolf | None | Free to use, PRO $8.33 a month or $99.99 a year | Before and after; names a target for you | iPhone, Android |
| UpGame | None | $9.99 a month, Pro $29.99 | After the round | iPhone |
| Golfshot | Apple Watch for auto tracking | Free to use, with a paid Pro upgrade | After the round | iPhone, Android |
| Arccos | Sensors $249.99, or Air $349.99 | Membership, no price published | After the round; names a club and a line | iPhone, Android, Watch |
| Shot Scope | Watch or tags, V5 $209.99 | No subscription | After the round | iPhone, Android |
What actually separates these apps?
Not the strokes gained maths. Every app here uses the same published baselines, so the totals will broadly agree. What differs is what you have to buy, and when the number reaches you.
Strokes gained is arithmetic on a published table. An app cannot have a better version of it, only a better or worse guess at where your ball was. So comparing these on "accuracy of strokes gained" is close to meaningless, and any review that ranks them that way is inventing a difference.
The real questions are narrower. Do you want to buy sensors or a watch so the logging happens without you, or do you want to tap it in yourself? Do you want the number after the round, when it is a report card, or in front of you while you still have a decision to make? And do you want the app to name a club and a target, or to price the one you chose?
Which one should you pick?
Six situations, six answers.
| If you want | Pick |
|---|---|
| The number before you swing, on any target you pick | PinFlag. It prices the target with your own dispersion and the lie read from the course, before you commit. |
| Your real dispersion drawn on the hole | PinFlag. Shot Cloud draws your launch monitor and past shots around the target and the number already reflects them. |
| Your launch monitor numbers on the course | PinFlag imports Trackman, Garmin and Rapsodo directly and any monitor by CSV, labeled Measured. UpGame imports Trackman. |
| A shot-by-shot breakdown after the round | PinFlag: strokes gained by category, proximity by band and club, Score Killers, heat maps and benchmark lenses. Arccos, UpGame and Golfshot report by category. |
| Sensors to log the shot for you | Arccos or Shot Scope. Sensors and watches capture the shot; PinFlag logs it in two taps and prices it before you hit it. |
| To spend nothing | WhyGolf charges nothing to start. PinFlag’s calculators on this site are free, and the app is $14.99 a month with every feature included. |
Before the shot, or after?
Most of these apps grade the round afterwards. Two price a shot before it: PinFlag and WhyGolf.
A number that arrives after the round tells you where the strokes went. That is worth knowing, and it is what most of this category does. It is also a report you read in the car park, about decisions you can no longer change.
A number before the shot is a different thing: it prices a target while you are still standing over the ball. Two apps here do it, and they do it differently. WhyGolf names the target it thinks you should use. PinFlag prices whatever target you point at with your own dispersion and the lie read from the course surfaces, and draws your real pattern on the hole so you can see how much of it reaches the trouble before you choose.
Do you need sensors?
No, and three of the six need none at all. Hardware buys you automatic logging, not better numbers.
Arccos sells sensors at $249.99 or the Air unit at $349.99. Shot Scope sells a V5 watch at $209.99 with no subscription after that. Golfshot can track automatically from an Apple Watch. What all of them buy is the same thing: you stop having to record shots.
That is a real benefit and it is the main reason to spend the money. It does not make the strokes gained more correct, because the maths is identical and the tables are public. If you are happy to tap a shot in, PinFlag, WhyGolf and UpGame all work with nothing but the phone in your pocket.
What does a year cost?
From nothing to about $350 up front, and the cheapest and most expensive routes both have a case.
| App | Cost over year one |
|---|---|
| WhyGolf | Nothing, or $99.99 for PRO |
| PinFlag | $80 on the annual plan |
| UpGame | $119.88 on the basic plan |
| Shot Scope | $209.99 for the V5, then nothing |
| Arccos | $249.99 or $349.99 of hardware, plus a membership they do not publish a price for |
| Golfshot | Free to use; Pro price not shown on the page checked |
Two of these could not be priced from the vendor’s own site on the day it was read, and rather than repeat a figure from a forum they are left blank here. Shot Scope is the cheapest way to reach year three, because the hardware cost does not repeat.
Frequently asked questions
Which strokes gained app is best?
Is there a free strokes gained app?
Do you need sensors for strokes gained?
Which strokes gained apps work on Android?
Which apps calculate strokes gained before you hit?
Sources
By The PinFlag Team.
See it on your own course
PinFlag prices the target you pick on the hole you are playing, before you swing.
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