How PinFlag works
PinFlag combines real course geometry, your own shot dispersion, GPS lie and position awareness, and the pin you set into a live expected-score and strokes-gained readout for any target you are considering. It prices options; you make the call.
1 · Real course geometry
Every hole starts from a full surface model — greens, tees, fairways, rough, bunkers, water, boundaries — built from commercial course geometry data combined with operator-verified courses. Before a course can back live numbers it passes a defect quarantine: units, topology, lie registration, spread, and hole count. A course that fails says so; it is never quietly patched.
2 · Your dispersion, one source at a time
Your shot pattern comes from exactly one source per number: measured launch monitor sessions first, tracked on-course data next, a model as the honest fallback — never an average of sources. A source must clear a real sample threshold before it is trusted at all.
3 · Lie and position
GPS places you; the geometry classifies the ground under your ball — fairway, rough, bunker, even a neighbouring hole’s fairway. When the map cannot vouch for your lie, the app says so and withholds the number instead of guessing.
4 · Today’s pin
You set the day’s pin by scrolling the green under the crosshair — placement is clamped to the real green polygon. A pin you set is one of the four conditions a “Measured” number requires.
5 · Live expected score and strokes gained
Aim anywhere by panning the map under a fixed reticle. Carry, leave, expected strokes, and strokes gained update live — priced by the same frozen, Broadie-verified engine that grades your logged shots afterwards.
The readout is descriptive, not prescriptive: PinFlag shows you the strokes-gained impact of any target before you commit. It does not recommend a target or a club — a better-informed decision is the product.
The honesty rail underneath
Every number carries its provenance: solid green Measured, amber-dashed Estimated, grey Pending. Measured requires verified geometry, a user-set pin, supported lies, and a real GPS position — all four. No wind or elevation model ships today, so those readouts show a dash. On a verified course, every number is real, traceable, and disclosed.
Frequently asked questions
- Does PinFlag work in a web browser?
- The PinFlag app is iOS-only (currently in pre-release). The web is where coaches run rosters and reports — the playing experience is the app.
- What happens when data is missing or unverified?
- The app degrades honestly: unverified courses read Estimated, quarantined geometry disables live strokes gained with a plain banner, and unsupported lies show a dash.