While researching the possibility of building a smart phone app for gg4golf, I ran across several existing apps that I found interesting.  Some offer game descriptions, some mainly track bets, and then there are multi-featured apps that have side games included.

BEEZER GOLF
www.beezergolf.com
Cost:  Free, or Premium / 6 mo $19.99 / Annual $24.99
Rating:  4.7 • 496 Ratings

They claim to be the #1 Side Game app.

What they say:  Beezer is  a complete on-course golf app with special focus on side games and group games for up to 120 players.   They offer the largest collection of games of any app with almost 30 games with multiple configurations. The App includes GPS, statistics, handicap tracking, and unique to Beezer, a Beezer “Bank” that lets you keep a record  of bets (who owes who) and the  balance can be used to pay off future bets.  Beezer also includes a very nice watch integration and keep track of achievements and personal bests.

Beezer prides themselves on a unique interface, centered around an interactive scorecard as opposed to a GPS centric approach of most apps. The scorecard is also configurable, you can add/remove/order columns.  The most popular games are Skins, Nassau, Match Play, Stableford,  Dots, Medal and Wolf.

My take:  Lots of features with the Free version.  Second most reviewed

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GOLF-BETTOR
www.golf-bettor.com
Cost: FREE 60 day trial then $9.99 year.
Rating:  4.6% • 198 ratings

What they say:  Golf Bettor is the most complete Scorecard and Game app for avid, recreational golfers. Golf Bettor has 12 game formats with 65 different options, 18,000 courses and over 85,000 tee box options in the US and Canada making for over 5 million game combinations.

See a YouTube video

My take:  Simple and affordable.  Great graphics.  Limited to their 15 game formats.

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I BET GOLFING
www.ibetgolfing.com
Cost: $4.99 month
Rating:  4.8% • 23 ratings

What they say:  Golf Bets is a multi-group golf app that allows users to create bets quickly and easily calculates all the 19th hole math for you. Ditch the pen/paper and avoid wasting time doing the figuring yourself. Not only does the iBet golfing app calculate the math for you, but it also creates all the betting combinations automatically.

My take:  The best for customizing your side game, simple without a lot of extra features. 

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18 Birdies
www.18Birdies.com

Cost: FREE, or for the Premium App: $7.99 per week | $19.99 per month | $99.99 per year
Rating: 4.9 • 123K Ratings

What they say:  Featured by Apple as ‘The best app for golfers’! Featuring Shot Distance Measuring /  3D Green Maps / Tracking performance & progress with a digital scorecard / Social feed. And you can create tournaments for groups of friends, get swing tips and share your love of golf with friends.

GPS like range finder with accurate “Plays Like” distances based on elevation change, wind, rain, temperature, and more.

Game improvement AI comparing your stats and reviewing a video of your swing- Like a coach in your pocket.

PREMIUM FEATURES:
-3D GREEN MAPS: Read putt breaks and see detailed slopes of the green for approach shots to help you hit it close.
-CADDY+: Get personalized distance and club recommendations based on elevation, temperature, humidity, wind data and more.
-ADVANCED STATS: Analyze your golf game with even more charts and custom filters.
-SHOT TRACKING: Our most popular feature! Track and get a snapshot of your shots based on distance, shot shape, quality, and power.
-STROKES GAINED: With strokes gained scoring, you can find out where you are losing or gaining strokes against the field – just like the pros!

My Take:  There is a whole lot to digest here. Multi-featured, Most reviewed.

 

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Loop Golf
www.loopgolf.co
Cost: FREE (They make money off their booking tool)
Rating:  5.0% • 20 ratings

Loop golf includes Tee Time Booking / GPS Tracking / A visual record of your loop / Keeping Stats / Scoring / Tracking friends / and Tracking Bets.

Since we are mostly looking for Side Game features, this is what Golf Digest says about Loop Golf’s side games:

LoopGolf brings  two elements—both the wagers and the payment of said wagers—under one umbrella, offering users the ability to place and manage ongoing bets throughout a round, as well as settle up when it’s over. Best of all, the functionality is very similar to what you’re used to with a traditional cash app. Once you download the app and login, you simply sync your debit card to your account. From there, you’re ready to throw some money around, but first you might want to set up a game.

Within the app, you can enter the critical details of your upcoming match, send out invites, keep track of ongoing side bets, and even collect the money from your playing partners in advance to make sure that Everybody Pays (this is one of LoopGolf’s most important mottos). The app will also auto-post players’ USGA handicap indexes, making it practically sandbagger proof.

My take: This is the most diverse app I have seen.  The focus is not necessarily on side games.

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GOLF SNAP
Find in App Store
Cost: $3.00/m0 or $39.99/year
Reviews: 5.0% • 17 ratings

What they say: The easiest way to bet on your game, keep score and track stats. Whether you’re playing as a foursome or competing against other groups, GolfSnap tracks games, scores, bets and total winnings for every player and displays the results in real time.

My take:  Good focus on betting, nice graphic displays.

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CONLUSION

I’ve heard it said that Golf Genius can track side bets, but it seemed like an expensive option.

Many have told me they find it too distracting to try to run an app while playing.  I think this complaint may be more common with older players.

Write us with your ideas about what you would want in a side game app!!  greatgolfgames@gmail.com

Others Mentioned – Not reviewed

Geez… once I got into this, I kept finding more apps.  Most are reviewed by very few, so they must not be that popular yet.

• The Golf App | Social Gaming
• Golf Crow
• Big Game Golf
• Gambling Golfer

Do you know of others?