VPAR and the Future of Amateur Golf Scoring

Here at Golficity there are few things our staff loves more than golf and new tech gadgets, so when VPAR recently invited us to demo their world-class golf scoring app naturally we jumped at the opportunity.  But, before we get into the details of this exciting new app, let’s first take a minute to talk about the current state of amateur golf scoring.

The reality is that most of us—whether we care to admit it or not—are deeply in love with our smartphones.  Think about it, we have apps to make every aspect of our lives easier, from paying for our latte to managing our to-do list, our smartphones are what we rely on to help us navigate our perpetually busy lives.  So, why is it then that the vast majority of us are still clutching to pen and paper to track our golf scores?

We’ve now reached the days when we can find a date, make a dinner reservation, and even send for a car service with the swipe of a finger, and yet we still find it completely acceptable to wait around the Pro Shop for someone to manually tally and hand-write the results of our latest outing.  Where is the excitement in that?

Think about what makes watching the PGA TOUR so gripping—we (and they) know exactly where the players stand with every putt.  Now try to imagine having that level of immediate engagement in your weekly golf league, at your next company outing, or on your annual golf trip.  That’s where the VPAR golf GPS and live scoring app steps in to fill the void (available for iOS and Android).

Live Leaderboards

Sure the app comes with perfomance tracking and GPS for more than 30,000 golf courses (more on that in a minute) but the live leaderboards are where the VPAR app really shines, and best of all, you can get a game started in as little as three clicks.

Simply choose your course, set your format and player details, and you’re off and running.

As you can see, the app allows you to easily account for handicap allowance (full, 9/10, 7/8, 4/5, 3/4, 5/8, 1/2, 1/4, 1/10, or Nil) which means you’ll see live net scores on the leaderboard and no one is left keeping track of “who’s getting strokes on this hole?”

Speaking of entering scores, we found the overall process to be incredibly easy as anyone in your foursome has the ability to go in and enter scores for the whole group.  The results are also immediately visible to anyone participating in the game and can even be shared with those following along at home via a simple “Share Game” link—excellent for corporate outings who often have people who aren’t participating but want to follow along with the excitement from home (or the office).

Additionally, when the game is over, all participants automatically receive an email with a complete breakdown of the event’s results including score rankings on par 3s, 4s, and 5s, along with a number of other player stats.  The game breakdowns are also available (and shareable) online—you can see the results of our media outing here.

Although these features are fun—who doesn’t enjoy a little post-round trash talking—what we liked most was checking our position on the live leaderboards after every hole.  In the case of our recent outing, the game came down to the final hole with many of us standing just beyond the 18th green watching each put intently, wondering if we would emerge victorious—something that never would have been possible using the old method of pen and paper post-round tallying.

Large Outings

If you’ve ever been tasked with running a large corporate or benefit golf outing you know that administrating the event has an uncanny way of sucking the joy out of your day away from the office.  Now you may be thinking that VPAR is great in concept but coordinating everyone’s smartphone downloads for a large event is equally as daunting as the “old way” of doing things.  The good news is that for large outings VPAR is here to step in and handle the heavy lifting.

More than just your average golf app, VPAR is actually a multi-national company with an extremely talented and knowledgeable staff who are readily available to provide customized tournament services.

The devices are laid out and ready for scores ! Big day here at Trump National Westchester! ⛳️ #golf #NY #newyork #trump #donaldtrump #golfing #celebrity

A photo posted by VPAR Live Golf Scoring (@vpargolf) on Jul 20, 2015 at 7:37am PDT

As part of this service VPAR will help make your outing a memorable experience with a live scoring broadcast on interactive touchscreens in the clubhouse, and online scoring records that are viewable year after year.

On-Course GPS Functionality

Ok, so GPS is nothing new in the world of smartphones and chances are you already have at least one golf GPS app loaded and ready for your next round, but there is something to be said for not having to constantly switch between your scoring and GPS app.  

The GPS functionality of the VPAR app is nothing flashy but it does include push-pin distance calculations (which we love and is all to often exclude from free golf GPS apps) as well as super-accurate distances to the front, middle, and back of the green.  Plus, it’s extremely satisfying to be able to switch between your GPS distances and the live leaderboards with a single click of the screen.

Additionally, since the app GPS uses real arial imagery (rather than replicated graphics) it’s incredibly easy to gauge the layout of an unfamiliar course as you move from hole to hole.

Scorecards and Performance Statistics

We found the VPAR performance statistics to be simple and straightforward.  Those who are looking to dissect every aspect of their game might be left wanting more from the app—which doesn’t provide users with the ability to enter putts, track GIR, and keep track of fairways hit versus missed—but that was never the goal of the app’s developers who wanted to keep the focus on scoring the game, rather than tracking individual shot-by-shot performance.

The VPAR app will provide users with a detailed scoring breakdown and your basic scoring statistics as well as how you performed against the field.

Overall

With VPAR, the future of amateur golf scoring is here.  No longer is the the excitement that comes with knowing your exact position against the field something available only to the PGA TOUR’s elite.  Give the VPAR app a try for your next friendly competition and it’s safe to say you’ll never want to go back to the old pen-and-paper scorecard again.

We also want to take a moment thank the guys and gals at VPAR for including us in their recent outing.  After all, we can talk all we want about an app’s features but putting an app like the VPAR in your hands and actually getting out there on the course is where the magic really happens.

A photo posted by Golficity (@golficity) on Jul 22, 2015 at 1:03pm PDT

Find out more about the VPAR app and tournament services by visiting them on the web at VPAR.com.

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Cover and Other Photos by VPAR