GolfLogix Review

[hckymeyer]

I was finally able to get out to the course on the perfect day to mess around with the GolfLogix app. It was a beautiful sunny day in MN so basically the course was packed. However one nice thing about a 4.5+ hour round is that it leaves plenty of time to mess around with your phone

 

1. Installation

 

Installation is pretty straight forward. You can choose to either sign up through the GolfLogix website or just download the app and register right on the phone. There is a free version of the app (which I didn't really play around with) and then the Champion upgrade with all the bells and whistles. Rather than listing all the upgrade features I'm just going to link to their webpage.

 

Champion Upgrade List

 

I registered through the website on my PC and when finished you can choose to get a text message with a link to the download through whichever app store applies to your phone, or just go in and find the app and download it. Once you download you just log in with the account you created online and it automatically transfers your membership to the phone. Overall installation was a breeze. I'm using the app on an iPhone 4.

 

2. Setup

 

Once you get up and running with the app it gives you an option to fill out more detail for your profile. I was able to complete this all right from the phone and it was actually kind of fun. Along with the usual questions of name, age, handicap etc... you can also upload a profile picture, input all of your clubs and set up your home course.

 

I really need to spend some additional time with this aspect of the app. From the little I played around with it, it seems like it would be very beneficial over the course of a season. It can track your distances with each club and give you an average. Along with tracking all kinds of shots and misses, it will also give you average distances for all your clubs.

 

3. First round

 

Finding my home course was a breeze. You can either type in the name, or just have it look for courses near your location. It found my course right away and started downloading. I would recommend finding and downloading the course you are playing from home over a wifi connection rather than right before you are about to hit your first tee shot. It took about 4 minutes to download and install the course, which isn't a long time, but longer than I expected while waiting to tee off.

 

The only weird part of the course view was that hole #12 didn't have a birds eye view. It said "hole view not available", but only for this hole. The course I was playing was The Links at Northfork in MN.

 

I was able to compare accuracy to the cart based GPS system my course has as well as my Callaway uPro GPS. All three devices were within 2-4 yds of each other on every shot. Sometimes they actually did all come out the same. I would chalk the slight difference up to the spot they determine to be the center of the green.

 

I was also quite happy with the battery life of my phone while using the app. I've heard complaints of GPS apps just eating through a battery, but for me this wasn't an issue. There is a nice little video on the GolfLogix website with some tips on extending battery life and it seems to help a lot. Basically just turn the screen of your phone off after every shot. It only took a second or two to update the distance when turning the screen back on. I never felt like I had to wait for a distance to show up.

 

I was very pleasantly surprised by the actual GPS features. You get a birds eye view of the hole (think google maps style) with a bullseye that shows how far you are from the green or to a dogleg. To get distances to hazards or different parts of the green all you have to do is tap where you want a distance to. You can pinch to zoom in and out on the hole which makes it easier to fine tune where you are tapping. My only complaint with this aspect was I would prefer to be able to zoom in farther than the app lets you. I found myself having a hard time pinpointing exactly where I wanted the bullseye. It was never bad, but if you could zoom in a little bit more it would make it easier to get just the right pin placement on a green.

 

Another very cool feature was individual shot tracking. You select what club you are hitting, play your shot, then drive up (or walk for those healthy golfers) to your ball and mark your distance. It will track your distances for every club in your bag and then you can get your averages over time. I think this could be the best feature of the app. I'm really looking forward to tracking my distances and getting a better idea of how far I ACTUALLY hit all my clubs instead of how far I THINK I hit all my clubs.

4. Final thoughts for today

 

Overall I was very impressed with GolfLogix and the Champion upgrade. I feel like I've only scratched the surface of what this app is capable of. I'm excited to use this over the course of the season and get some statistics about my golf game. I think it will lead to a much better understanding of my game and hopefully lead me to develop more focused practice sessions.

 

After using this for some additional rounds and diving deeper into the features I will come back in and update the review. I'm also planning on adding some screen shots.

 

Feel free to ask questions and I'll do my best to answer them. Hopefully this review isn't too random and jumping all over the place, I kept thinking of just one more thing I wanted to say and having to go back up and find a spot to put it.

[Addicted2Golf]

I don't want to post a review yet because I haven't used it enough on the course. I will say the installation was very straight forward and I was able to find all of my local courses for download. A great start.

 

However, when I got on the course to use the app during my 9-hole weekly league match, I ended up having to abandon it's use mainly because I couldn't figure out how to advance to the next hole. I tried swyping different areas of the screen and frantically pressing things while waiting to tee off. No luck.

 

That's what I get for not reading the instructions. I will say that another app I'm using was intuitive enough "out of the box" for me not to have that issue. But the GolfLogix app does have more bells and whistles.

 

More to follow later.

[hckymeyer]

On the top of the screen there is a button on the right for next hole and on the left for previous hole.

 

That said it would be nice if it could auto advance to the next hole based on GPS position.

[Phana24JG]

I don't want to post a review yet because I haven't used it enough on the course. I will say the installation was very straight forward and I was able to find all of my local courses for download. A great start.

 

However, when I got on the course to use the app during my 9-hole weekly league match, I ended up having to abandon it's use mainly because I couldn't figure out how to advance to the next hole. I tried swyping different areas of the screen and frantically pressing things while waiting to tee off. No luck.

 

That's what I get for not reading the instructions. I will say that another app I'm using was intuitive enough "out of the box" for me not to have that issue. But the GolfLogix app does have more bells and whistles.

 

More to follow later.

 

Thank you for standing on important principles. REAL MEN DO NOT READ THE INSTRUCTIONS!!! A golf device should be designed to faciliate real men playing manly golf.

[Addicted2Golf]

Thank you for standing on important principles. REAL MEN DO NOT READ THE INSTRUCTIONS!!! A golf device should be designed to faciliate real men playing manly golf.

 

Real men don't ask for directions either. That's why GPS Auto Navigation is one of the greatest inventions of the twentieth century.

[Tony Covey MGS]

I tried the GolfLogix app, and while I'm mostly impressed with the app, on my home course somewhere in the neighborhood of a dozen bunkers aren't mapped. I suspect this is the result of shady spots from the satellite imagery used. My course is heavily wooded, and just looking at google maps, for example, one can see how bunkers might get obfuscated.

 

The thing is, the one real advantage GPS units have over rangefinders is the ease with which they provide accurate measurements to hazards, and the next shot planning that results from it. If the app can't provide me reliable distances to some of those invisible bunkers, it's really not overly useful to me.

[Flv02]

Great review! Glad to see you like it. I love my GolfLogix GPS, and it has half the features of the app. That has always made me believe that the app has to be one of the best.

[GolfSpy WD]

What awful customer service by GolfLogix. I sent them an email requesting a feature of turning off GPS so I can use it purely for stat tracking. Here is the email chain. I can't tell if a human was responding or these were automated:

 

My initial email:

 

I would like to request the feature of turning off GPS during a round. I am mainly interested in the stat tracking with occasional use of GPS. I will probably continue using GolfShot until this feature exists because it's easier on my battery. I know there are ways to minimize battery usage, but GPS is always the biggest draw.

 

I will say I like the images and stat tracking on GolfLogix more than GolfShot, so this feature is the only thing keeping me from switching over.

 

Thanks,

 

Their response:

 

Dear Valued Customer,

 

Thank you for your inquiry. The following is how to change the brightness on your Smartphone.

 

1) Go into "Settings" and then "Sound & Display".

 

2) Next, scroll down to "Display Settings" and adjust the brightness to below 50%.

 

Don't forget to be a part of the fastest growing online golf community. As a GolfLogix Club/Champion Member you are already in the new GolfLogix Member Clubhouse. There you'll find your round stats and information. Come see what it's all about. It's FREE!

All you need to do is visit us online at www.golfgps.com/MemberLogin.aspx and use your current GolfLogix member log in. Forgot your password? Not a problem. Click on the forgot your password link in the Clubhouse to get help.

In our new GolfLogix Clubhouse you'll find a complete menu of options. You can do everything from view your rounds, participate on the leader board, challenge friends, search for tournaments, view course aerials and data, and much, much more. You'll even be able to personalize your page and start to exchange comments and rounds with friends or the whole community, if you choose!

 

If you haven't transferred your rounds from your phone yet, visit the rounds tab in the app to sync your data to the Clubhouse. It's that simple! Go to www.golfgps.com/MemberLogin.aspx and use your current log in to get started today. For further assistance, please call our customer service department directly at 1-877-977-0162 option 1. We are open Monday - Friday from 8:00AM to 4:00PM Arizona Time, Thursdays 9:00AM to 4:00PM.

 

Regards,

 

GolfLogix Customer Support

 

My response:

 

I know how to turn down the display brightness, however it isn't enough nor does it answer my inquiry.

 

I was asking for an option to not use GPS at all. Do you think this feature will ever be made available?

 

Their response:

 

Dear Valued Customer,

 

Thank you for your inquiry. The following is how to turn the auto-lock feature on. Open the GolfLogix application, press the "App Settings" tab on the bottom of the screen and press "Set Defaults". In "Set Defaults", you can toggle the Auto-Lock ON and OFF. This will help preserve your battery life. For further assistance, please call our

 

customer service department directly at 1-877-977-0162 option 1. We are open Monday - Friday from 8:00AM to 4:00PM Arizona Time, Thursdays 9:00AM to 4:00PM.

 

Regards,

 

GolfLogix Customer Support

 

I don't expect much from a free app. A simple "we are looking into implementing this feature" or "we do not intend to implement this feature" would have sufficed. Guess I'll be sticking with GolfShot...

[Kanoito]

wd, sometimes I just leave GPS off on my phone and use Golfshot to keep stats.

It will say Error: Satellite not found, but I just ignore it and skip to the next hole and key in my strokes.

 

Can't you do that with GolfLogix? What happens if you open the app without turning GPS on?

[GolfSpy WD]

wd, sometimes I just leave GPS off on my phone and use Golfshot to keep stats.

It will say Error: Satellite not found, but I just ignore it and skip to the next hole and key in my strokes.

 

Can't you do that with GolfLogix? What happens if you open the app without turning GPS on?

 

You can't use it at all without GPS, it won't load the course. Plus for some reason it sometimes never finds a GPS even when I have it enabled. I'm not sure if I can load a course and then disable the GPS to get around this issue, but I hate hackish workarounds and I can't test it right now because it won't find a satellite...

[GolfSpy WD]

I finally got a human response. They don't intend to allow disabling GPS at this time. Oh well...

[Addicted2Golf]

Well, I've spent some more time with the GolfLogix app for Android and I have to say it's a mixed bag. Once I got used to the controls, the functionality is quite good. I like the scorecard feature a lot. It's easy to use and you control what information you want to track during the round, which is a nice feature. I've found the GPS data to be accurate and being able to get yardage to any point on the golf course is a real stroke saver.

 

With that said, I don't think I will continue to use GolfLogix until they fix it's major flaw - battery drain.

 

I've followed the tips by powering off my display except when I need it but I've yet to get even close to finishing a round without my phone dying. Yesterday, I went on the course with a 70% charge and made it only 9 holes. And considering I have the Motorola Droid RAZR Maxx, which has the largest 4G smartphone battery on the planet, that doesn't bode well for users with lesser equipment.

 

Yes, I didn't fully charge my phone before the round but I submit how many people walk onto the golf course with a full charge on their phone? Probably not many. And what if I want to play one than one round in a day? Yeah, good luck with that (even on a full charge).

 

In comparison, I've used another app that I purchased off the Android Market (now Google Play) for $5 that gives me many of the same GPS features and I've never had an issue finishing a round with it. I've even been able to make calls to people afterward. Go figure.

[Addicted2Golf]

 

I don't expect much from a free app. A simple "we are looking into implementing this feature" or "we do not intend to implement this feature" would have sufficed. Guess I'll be sticking with GolfShot...

 

Yeah, but the problem is the app isn't normally free.

[GolfSpy WD]

In comparison, I've used another app that I purchased off the Android Market (now Google Play) for $5 that gives me many of the same GPS features and I've never had an issue finishing a round with it. I've even been able to make calls to people afterward. Go figure.

 

Which app is that?

[Addicted2Golf]

Which app is that?

 

FreeCaddie Pro (the paid version)... I think they should change the name to PayMeCaddie Pro, but whatever.

[drsongs]

Regarding: FreeCaddie

 

 

I'm using Shotly which I like accept for one issue It keeps going back to my main screen (I have a windows 8 phone).

So I have to open the app back up hit the play button and it resumes my round. But it really gets frustrating AND WHO NEEDS MORE FRUSTRATION WHEN THEY'RE PLAYING GOLF! So anyway I loaded the Free Caddie free version and the GPS worked well and didn't leave the program. I was going to go with "Free Caddie" paid version it's only $2.99 but they don't have a handicap element to there program which is something I really like. I don't want to have to go to a different program to re-enter my score so I can keep track of my handicap. I loaded Golflogix free and it just seemed like too much and too many steps just to start a round. I just changed the App setting for Shotly. I had it on Power Saver. Maybe, hopefully that might be the issue. Headed out to play a round right now. We'll see what happens.