14 Best Golf Apps for Your Apple Watch, iPhone & iPad: Updated for 2021

We've put together a list of our favorite Apple Watch golf apps and golf apps for your other Apple devices so you can improve your swing, find a range, calculate your handicap, check golf stats, and more.

By Jim Karpen Updated 02/03/2021

If you’re an avid golfer, having the best golf apps for your iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch can improve your game. With the recent release of the Apple Watch 6, many golfers are looking for golf apps that work with an Apple Watch so they can improve their game. As Apple releases the newest updates to its software and mobile devices, the best golf apps will only get better as they take advantage of the newest features and capabilities of the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. Read on to learn how the best golf apps for your iPhone and Apple Watch can help you find everything from golf tips to full-on golf lessons, so you can learn how to hit a driver, improve your golf swing, get better at chipping, and perfect your putt. Here's our roundup of the best golf apps currently available to improve your game.

Best Golf Scorecard & Golf Rangefinder Apps

1. Golf GPS SwingU (Free)

For iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch

This swing-by-swing golf app works on every course in the world. With the Golf GPS SwingU golf rangefinder app for Apple Watch and other devices, you can find the distance to the center of the green and to any obstacles. Satellite photos are available, which you can use to calculate distances from you to that point. A digital golf scorecard is also available that automatically advances from hole to hole. You can store your rounds for free online, use graphs and stats to track improvement in your game, and play handicap-adjusted games and matches. In-app purchases give you access to real-time wind speed, elevation, and “plays like” distance, as well as the ability to track the clubs you use. Apple Watch golf functionality includes distances, score keeping, and tracking shots.

2. Hole19 Golf GPS & Scorecard (Free)

For iPhone and Apple Watch

The beauty of the Hole19 app is that it gives you distances on over 43,000 courses. As a golf rangefinder app for Apple Watch and iPhone, this one is hard to beat. You can track your score and your partners’ scores, plus you can view graphs of your performance in driving, greens, short game, putting, and overall scoring. Shot tracking lets you also see how far you hit your last shot.

3. Golfshot: Golf GPS + Caddie (Free)

For iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch

This free version of Golfshot includes distances to the center of the green and a golf scorecard, along with an amazing augmented-reality feature that helps you plan your best shots. The augmented-reality functionality makes this one of our favorite Apple Watch golf GPS apps, and the fact that it works on your iPad and iPhone as well means you can enjoy felxibility in the device you choose to bring to the green.

You can zoom in on the satellite images to get a detailed view of each course. The golf GPS app offers the latest golf news and statistics such as fairways hit, greens in regulation, and putts per hole, and includes interactive, real-time distances to all targets and hazards, as well as GPS distances, scoring, tracking on your Apple Watch, and augmented reality with Golfscape. Other features include 3D flyover previews of each hole and personalized club recommendations based on your statistics.

4. GolfLogix Golf GPD + Putt Line (Free)

For iPhone and Apple Watch

If you use your Apple Watch Series 6 for golf (or really any other compatible Apple Watch), you'll enjoy this one. While the free version of this app is ad-supported, it comes with tons of features including GPS distances on over 35,000 courses worldwide, a yardage book with color 3D images of the course, and a scorecard for up to four players, as well as stat tracking and handicap support. Your stats sync to the GolfLogix website so that you can track your progress.

The many other features include an extensive archive of Golf Digest lessons and videos. The Champion upgrade gives you the distances to the front, back, and center of the green, as well as distances to hazards and layups. Plus, it offers video flyovers of every hole and club tracking that shows the location and distance of every club you hit. The Club Distance Grid shows where each of your clubs should land from where you’re standing. New features include an Official Tournament Mode that offers 3D fairway maps, green map books, and a Putt Line feature that helps players aim precisely.

The app for Apple Watch shows GPS distances, 3D course maps in color, four-player scoring, handicap tracking, and even discounted tee times. a pro-level stats, handicap tracking and discounted tee times

5. Golf Pad: Golf GPS & Scorecard (Free)

For iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch

This golf shot tracker and GPS app offers a lot of basic features for free, including scorecards for four players, GPS rangefinder, club recommendations, shot tracker, aerial course maps, and more. This works best as a free golf app for the iPhone. Apple Watch support used to be paid only, but now includes free scoring for four players, aerial maps with flyovers, instant distances, shot tracking, and more.

Best Golf Swing Tracking Apps

The iPhone and iPad are well suited to recording and analyzing your swing, especially if you have a device that’s capable of recording at a high enough frame rate for slow motion.

6. Golf Coach by Dr. Noel Rousseau ($7.99)

For iPhone Only

If you want a systematic program for improving your game, Golf Coach offers a set of 38 HD coaching videos and a swing analysis suite from Dr. Noel Rousseau, a PGA professional who’s an expert in effectively teaching complex movements. The lessons provide all the major swing and short game principles. In addition, the app lets you compare your swing with that of a model. You can use the overlay tools and variable-speed playback feature to analyze your swing.

7. Hudl Technique Golf (Free)

For iPhone and iPad

Hudl Technique Golf focuses on evaluating and improving your swing by allowing you to record it in HD slow motion and then analyze the footage frame by frame. You can also compare your swing to that of the pros. Other features include drills and lessons from coaches and swing feedback from the Hudl Technique community. The app lets you see side-by-side comparisons of videos of your swing and annotate and record voiceovers to go with them. You can share videos with others as well as import video from the Photos app.

8. Coach’s Eye - Video Analysis ($4.99)

For iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch

Coach’s Eye claims to be the world’s leading video platform for reviewing athlete technique. Features include slow motion, zoom, importing video, comparing videos side-by-side, drawing on videos, adding audio commentary and annotations, importing videos from the Photos app and Dropbox, and sharing videos. A fun new feature is the ability to annotate, and add commentary to videos.

9. Zepp Golf (Free)

For iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch

This app by Zepp works great on its own, and includes a scorecard, interactive leaderboard, the training system, a swing library, and video swing capture that helps users capture and edit their shots with graphics and voiceovers. Free Apple Watch features include a swing tracker and real-time metrics.

If you purchase the $149.99 Zepp Golf 2 Sensor, you can attach it to your golf glove to measure important aspects of your game such as club speed, club plane, tempo, and backswing. The Golf Sensor also unlocks a personalized Smart Coach training system with training plans from LPGA Pro Michelle Wie.

Golf Handicap: Calculate Your Handicap with These Apps

10. USGA Rules: The Official Rules of Golf (Free)

For iPhone and iPad

This rulebook comes directly from the United States Golf Association. It states the official rules updated for the year ahead, and includes a search function so you can find every rule, definition, and decision.

11. Golf Handicap Tracker & Scores (Free)

For iPhone and iPad

You can use this app to find out your handicap (though it doesn’t provide an official USGA or R&A handicap index for tournaments.) You can calculate your handicap based on U.S., Canadian, and Australian rules.

Best Golf News Apps

12. PGA Tour (Free)

For iPhone and iPad

The official app of the PGA Tour for the iPhone includes real-time leaderboards, player profiles and video, live player scorecards with shot trails and live stats, and access to live video for every PGA Tour event. The app also includes videos of tournament highlights in the United States, Canada, and Latin America. There are round recaps, player features, the latest PGA news and push notifications.

For the iPad, users will see shot trails and plots for all players, real-time stats, shot plots, and an 18-hole view that shows where leaders and favorite players are on the course. Users can listen to live PGA Tour audio while navigating the app, and watch live coverage, too!

13. LPGA Now (Free)

For iPhone and iPad

Redesigned and improved this year, the official LPGA app gives you live scores and tournament results, news, photos, videos, and player rankings and statistics, as well as tournament information and course conditions. Information for specific tournaments includes TV times, weather, and course map. You can select your favorite players to follow, including bio and stats.

14. Golf Digest Magazine (Free)

For iPhone and iPad

A monthly or yearly digital subscription gives you access to original video essays, columns, commentary, photos, player interviews, reviews of equipment and products, and you can even purchase back issues.