For almost a decade, the Apple Watch has reigned supreme in the smartwatch market. Now, the Cupertino-based tech giant is making its mark in the sports arena.
With enhanced tracking capabilities for running, cycling, and hiking already available for users, the Apple Watch now aims to replace traditional golf watches with its latest on-watch experience.
Third-party developers such as Golfshot can detect the precise moment the club strikes the ball using the high-frequency motion API released in watchOS 10, which takes advantage of the wearable’s accelerometer and gyroscope to detect rapid changes in velocity and acceleration.
On-board sensors also offer a comprehensive analysis of a golfer’s swing from the beginning to the end of the motion, tracking key swing metrics, including tempo, rhythm, backswing, transition, and wrist path, to improve their gameplay.
The Golfshot setup is similar to how Apple integrated the Oceanic+ app into its ecosystem to monitor dives on the Apple Watch Ultra 2. It’s not impossible to imagine a native golf app appearing on Apple Watches after the WatchOS 11 update, akin to the Depth app for diving.
For now, though, Apple Watch owners can use Golfshot to monitor their on-course progress. The app offers GPS distances, scoring, Auto Shot Tracking, swing analysis, and Auto Strokes Gained on the watch and in the companion smartphone app.
Golfers can also track every shot and see real-time distances to the green, hazards, and targets on more than 46,000 courses worldwide.
Golfshot is available via the Apple App Store and requires an Apple Watch running watchOS 7.0 or later. For the cheapest prices on Apple wearables, check out T3’s best Apple Watch deals roundup.
