Every golfer thinks they know how far they hit it, but tracking your real distances on the course is harder than it sounds. Here’s how apps, watches and club sensors compare.
Knowing how far you actually hit the ball on the golf course is one of the holy grails of amateur golf. Not your “once, downwind, off concrete” 7‑iron number, but your real, repeatable distances with each club in the bag.
Over the past decade, a growing range of technologies has promised to solve this problem. From smartphone apps to GPS watches to sensors that screw into the butt end of your clubs, there are more options than ever before.
I’ve tried a few of them. Some work remarkably well. Others… less so. And almost all of them involve trade‑offs between accuracy, convenience, and sustainability over the long term.
Here’s a big‑picture look at the main types of distance‑tracking options available to golfers today, and what they get right (and wrong).
Smartphone Apps That Track Shot Distances
These are golf apps that use your phone’s GPS to track where you hit shots and calculate carry or total distance. Some focus purely on shot tracking, while others bundle in scorekeeping, stats, and GPS course maps.
Popular examples include Golfshot, Hole19, 18Birdies, and similar all‑in‑one golf apps.
How they work
In most cases, you manually tell the app when you’ve hit a shot and often which club you’re using. The app records your location, then calculates the distance once you reach the ball and logs the next shot.
The good
- Low barrier to entry. Most golfers already have a phone
- Usually cheap or free, at least at the basic level
- Can provide useful averages over time
- Often integrated with scoring and stat tracking
The not‑so‑good
This is where I’ve personally struggled. To get meaningful data, you usually need to:
- Take your phone out before each shot
- Tell the app which club you’re hitting
- Confirm or adjust distances afterwards
On paper, that’s not much. In practice, it’s surprisingly disruptive. It slows play, breaks rhythm, and is very easy to abandon after a few rounds. If you forget to log even a handful of shots, the data quickly becomes unreliable, or in my case, lose interest.
GPS Golf Watches and Wearables
Golf watches take the phone out of your hands and move GPS tracking onto your wrist. Brands like Garmin, Shot Scope, Bushnell, and Apple (via third‑party apps) all offer wearable options that track distances during play.
Some watches are GPS‑only. Others pair with club sensors or require manual club selection on the watch.
How they work
At their simplest, watches automatically track where shots occur by detecting movement. More advanced systems ask you to tag each shot with the club used, either by selecting it on the watch or via a paired sensor.
The good
- Much more convenient than pulling out a phone
- Constant front, middle, and back distances
- Shot distance tracking without stopping play
- Typically better battery life during a round
The not‑so‑good
Even with a watch, sustainability is the challenge.
If the system requires you to:
- Select a club on every shot, or
- Edit shots after the round
…then discipline becomes the limiting factor, not technology.
I’ve tested watch‑based systems that did the job well, but only when I was highly engaged and remembered to interact with them consistently. Watches strike a better balance than phone apps, but they still rely heavily on golfer behaviour.
Club‑Mounted Sensors
These systems use small sensors that screw top of the grip of each club. The most well‑known example is Arccos, though there are a bunch of other competitors.
Once installed, each club automatically identifies itself when you swing, removing the need for manual input.
How they work
The sensor detects motion during the swing and pairs that with GPS data from either your phone or a compatible watch. The system automatically records which club was used and where the shot occurred.
The good
- No need to select clubs manually
- Much more complete data capture
- Excellent for building reliable distance averages
- Particularly strong for long‑term analysis
This is where the technology really starts to shine. By removing the need to “do something before each shot”, these systems solve the biggest problem with distance tracking: golfer forgetfulness.
The not‑so‑good
- Cost is higher than apps or basic watches
- Batteries eventually need replacing
- Some sensors do require a tap on a tag
- Ongoing subscription fees are common
Club sensors are arguably the most powerful option, but they require commitment, both financially and mentally.
Launch Monitors (On‑Course and Practice)
While not designed solely for on‑course tracking, portable launch monitors increasingly play a role in helping golfers understand distances.
Units like Garmin, Rapsodo, FlightScope, and others can provide accurate carry numbers during practice and even casual rounds. And most driving ranges and indoor golf simulators are now decked out with shot tracking systems such as TrackMan that enable you to get a good read on your actual shot distances for each club.
While they don’t track every shot automatically on the golf course, but they can be invaluable for calibrating your distances in a controlled setting. Just keep in mind that different lies and playing conditions will markedly affect the flight of the golf ball.
So… Which Is Best?
There’s no single winner. The best option depends on what kind of golfer you are.
If you love data and routine, watches and club sensors can deliver incredible insights.
If you want occasional feedback without commitment, apps can still do the job.
If you just want to know how far you really hit it, a launch monitor session might be the simplest solution of all.
In my limited testing, I’ve found that anything requiring too much manual interaction quickly becomes unsustainable, no matter how good the data looks on paper. I’ve yet to properly test out the club-mounted sensors, which appear to be dominating the market, at least among golfers with low handicaps.
Over to You
I’m keen to hear from Aussie Golfer readers.
- Have you found a distance‑tracking system you’ve stuck with long‑term?
- Do club sensors live up to the hype?
- Are golf watches “set and forget”, or just another thing to manage?
If you’ve stumbled upon effortless distance tracking or any way I’ve missed here, let me know. Chances are, other golfers would love to hear about it too.