U USGAThe latest GHIN mobile app arrived recently with a simple promise: to make the user experience a little better. Among the updated features are a revamped interface, easier scoring post, enhanced course graphics, expanded GPS capabilities, year-round performance tracking and a new feature that connects you with golfers in your community (and lets you compete against them).
I spent a week exploring the USGA’s new and improved app, and what really stood out was how these new features changed my approach to the game.
Not only do these cool features give me more reasons to open my GHIN app between rounds, but two things in particular really caught my attention: the new stats section and the GHIN challenges. One might help explain why my scorecard looks the way it does, while the other gives me a way to keep the rounds interesting. Let’s dig into them.
A closer look at your game
The redesigned app makes the essentials just a click away. Like the My Handicap Index feature, which is now front and center, so posting your scores is easier than ever. However, after a week or so of using the app, the stats section is where I find myself spending most of my time.
Inspired by GHIN Rewind, it brings the year-round experience in the magazine to golfers all season long. It gives you key information about your scoring trends, birdies, three-putts, Handicap Index progress and hole-by-hole performance, so you can access data about your game like the pros and identify weaknesses as well.
But let’s be honest. Who doesn’t want to know where those extra shots are coming from? It’s easy to blame a bad round on a cold putter or a disastrous hole, but when you can see patterns in multiple rounds, it starts to tell a different story.
For me, it was my decision on the course. After using the app, I realized that my ability to recover from a mistake was abysmal and that I needed to take a more conservative approach when I found myself in the rough or the occasional fairway bunker.
The advanced putting and spread stats also provided a deeper dive into my short game, turning an accurate score tally into something I can actually use when working on my game.
GHIN Challenges was the other feature I was excited about. Thanks to the Allied Golf Associations, your GHIN app now has local leaderboards where golfers can compete with their Handicap Index and net scores.
For someone like me who plays a lot of public golf, it’s a fun way to make your casual rounds competitive. The shared leaderboard is just another way for golfers to connect — and a little extra incentive to make every round count.
In addition, there are more than 750 challenges and about 30,000 golfers who participate, so the function is already gaining traction. You can see your local rankings develop and grow.
After a week, my overall impression is that the GHIN app is more than just a place to post scores. It gives golfers better ways to understand their game, find some friendly competition and stay connected to their community.
