Apple

SwingU Golf GPS by Golf Genius

by Swing By Swing Golf, LLC · more by this developer →

SwingU Golf GPS by Golf Genius has 136,022 ratings (+0.3% in 30 days), averaging 4.7 stars, #40 of 22,418 in Sports.

View in the Apple store ↗
Ratings
136,022
+106 (+0.1%) a week, measured over 12 days
Rating
4.7
136,022 ratings
Rank on Apple
#2,234
of 771,382
up 2 since 2026-10-15
Version
8.8.7
Last updated 2026-10-15

Also in the last two weeksv8.8.7 on 15 Oct

Description

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SwingU is the top-rated golf GPS rangefinder and scorecard app, trusted by more than 8 million golfers worldwide to play smarter, shoot lower scores, and get more out of every round. Rated 4.7 stars from 131,000+ reviews.

GPS, scoring, and handicap tracking are always free, no subscription required. Upgrade when you're ready — it's always your call.

WHAT DO I GET FOR FREE
• GPS rangefinder that works on every course in the world, with distances to greens and hazards
• Digital scorecard that tracks score and putts and auto-advances hole to hole
• Golf Genius tournaments, live leaderboards, and scoring
• Free handicap estimate after posting just 9 holes
• Shot tracking that shows how far you really hit each club
• Tap the flag on any hole for distances to 5+ tiers of the green
• A daily instruction tip from our team of Top-100 teachers
• Apple Watch app: distances and scoring for you and your group
• HealthKit support on the Watch, including calories burned

The only golfer community-verified course database in the world — 34,000+ courses and growing.

CAN I PLAY REAL TOURNAMENTS IN SWINGU
Yes. SwingU is part of the Golf Genius family, the tournament management platform used by thousands of clubs, courses, and golf associations worldwide. Golfers can join a Golf Genius event, post scores from the SwingU scorecard, and follow live leaderboards without leaving the app.

WHAT IS SWINGU PLUS
SwingU Plus is our AI-powered digital caddie subscription. It adds:
• AI Digital Caddie with "Plays Like" yardages using live wind speed and elevation
• Club recommendations based on your club distances, shot tracking, and conditions
• StrackaLine Green Maps for 20,000+ courses — precise slopes and break lines on laser-mapped greens
• Hole Insights — your hole stats vs. all SwingU golfers for strategic decision making
• Hole notes you can reference the next time you play
• Enhanced scorecard — putts, driver accuracy, bunker play, penalties, and detailed round summaries
• On-the-course games with handicap-adjusted scoring: Stroke Play, Skins, Stableford, Match Play, and Nassau

WHAT IS SWINGU PRO
SwingU Pro is our elite game-improvement subscription, and includes everything in Plus:
• SwingU strokes gained — the world's easiest-to-use strokes gained platform, used by 50+ active tour players and 100+ college golfers
• Performance comparison vs. your target handicap (from +6 to 30)
• Relative handicap for every facet: driving, approach, short game, bunker play, and putting
• Post-round #1 improvement priority, plus a prescriptive drill from a Top-100 teacher
• SwingU TV — 600+ lessons and drills from Top-100 teachers, anytime

WHY DO MILLIONS OF GOLFERS USE SWINGU
• Reliable and easy to use — one tap and you're playing
• Helping golfers improve since 2008
• The only golfer community-verified course database in the world
• Backed by Golf Genius, the technology behind competitive golf at thousands of clubs

===

OTHER INFO
Monthly and yearly subscription upgrades are available. Payment for in-app subscriptions will be charged to your iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. Subscriptions may be managed by you, and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to your iTunes Account Settings after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable.

As a registered user, you'll be subscribed to the world's top golf daily newsletter which includes promotions from our partners. You can 1-click unsubscribe at any time.

Despite years of optimizing the app, constant use of GPS running in the background can decrease battery life.

Full terms and the EULA are available at:
• swingu.com/terms-of-service/
• clubhouse.swingu.com/eula/

Reviews Reviews the App Store features, not the newest.

From 135,696 ratings.

  1. ★★★★★ Great Apple Watch integration - free version is amazing! Podeschi · 30 Jun 2024
    I did some research, visited online forums and was seeking the best free golf GPS app that would integrate with my Apple Watch. Swing U nails all my requirements and the free version does everything I need and more without hooks or limitations. I live on a golf course so have had the opportunity to double check distances for accuracy etc and this app is dialed. Most importantly the interface is clean, uncluttered and uncomplicated which makes it a dream to use and doesn’t slow me down. For example, it is super easy to input your score on each hole on my watch. The options how up with total sco
    morere and # of puts with placeholder on par/regulation. Just tap a different number on each and then slightly scroll up on watch (prevents accidentally hitting save…whoever at Swing U figured that out should be promoted) and hit save. I go into detail because the interface is so easy and streamlined it DOES NOT SLOW ME DOWN. KUDOs. I think I will get the pro version upgrade for the sole reasons of getting “plays like” distances and more importantly the visual reads of how the green plays.
    Developer reply · 20 Sep 2024
    Thank you very much for the 5-star review and so glad to hear how much you have enjoyed using the SwingU app with your Apple Watch!
  2. ★★★★★ Great and easy to use FREE version Taylormade Dad · 23 Oct 2022
    Have been using this app all summer. Works great and has detailed course layouts. Have found that the distances are pretty accurate for hazards and lies. Was able to find all of my local Northern Nevada courses. Calculated my handicap after three full rounds and has adjusted it as I’ve entered info. The ONLY issue I have, is that there are a few courses in Tahoe that have a smaller par (66, 68). Playing those didn’t recognize the par score there being smaller instead of the standard 72. So shooting a 78 on a par 66 calculated it in relation to a 72 and drastically lowered my handicap. I had to
    more exclude it from my calculation, which surprisingly was possible through the app. Just wish it would recognize those scores for what they were rather than in relation to 72. But otherwise an amazing app that I use every time I go out. The paid version would allow for better distance calculations, such as “plays like” and “club recommendations”. But for me the free version has been fantastic. Having the accurate course layouts has taken some real strokes off my game. I’m so close to breaking 80.
    Developer reply · 25 Oct 2022
    Thank you so much for the amazing review!
  3. ★★★★★ Excellent free app and even more excellent customer service! 867530niieeeiiinnnee · 30 Sep 2022
    I think this is the first app I’ve ever reviewed in probably 12 years of owning an IPhone. This app is so good it’s hard to believe it’s free. On top of that and what prompted me to right a review, the little 9 hole course I play has two holes on the back 9 that change par due to tee box position, so if you wanted to use this app to keep score, duplicating the front nine will make it appear you bogeyed a hole on the back 9 even though you hit a par on it. (I realize the score is going to be the same but it was bugging me) I emailed SwingU support about this to ask if there was a way to change
    morethe par number on the back 9. They responded very quickly and told if I’d send a picture of one of our scorecards, they would update their database. I sent them a picture of a scorecard this morning while out on the course, just looked at it a few minutes ago, and they have already updated my course in the app where I have an accurate front and back 9. Same day, fantastic customer service. Highly recommend SwingU!!!!
    Developer reply · 3 Oct 2022
    Thank you so much for this great review and so happy to hear that we were able to have a quick turnaround time on making sure the courses you play are up to date!
  4. ★☆☆☆☆ I wanted this to work xlassassinlx · 4 Dec 2021
    As a 3 handicap I wanted this app to help me with my club yardages. I wanted to use it with my Apple Watch so that I don’t have to carry my phone in my pocket when playing. It was very inconsistent with the yardages and if I wasn’t close enough to my phone it would not work at all. It’s also a lot to keep track of when you are also trying to focus on your round. I paid for a year subscription like a dummy but if it worked I would have been ok with it. I reached out twice to customer service over the next month to try and cancel it and attempt to get a refund for the full year and volunteered
    moreto pay for 1 month instead since I did try and use it and just didn’t work out. Customer service never reached out so I just gave up on it. Then about 4 months later I decided to try again for the 3rd time and warned about leaving a 1 star review and customer service actually reached back out. Customer service agent Adam Cattel told me that he would not issue the refund because I have been using the app for several months now and there was no emails on record from me. I forwarded the emails to him stating that I in fact did try and reach out and that if you look at my account you can see that I only tried the app on 2 courses within the first month. Never heard from him again. So here we are. Long story short. Don’t waste your money on this app.
    Developer reply · 6 Dec 2021
    Thank you for the review and feedback and I apologize if you have not been receiving our follow up emails with you, as I see that we have responded to all of your recent emails and we can continue to try and help improve your experience. Currently the app does require that you have your phone on you during the round, as all of the data comes directly from the phone. We are in the process of creating a standalone watch app for Premium users, so we would love to help make this an app that you can enjoy. Please reach out to support@swingu.com again so we can help resolve this matter for you.
  5. ★☆☆☆☆ Swing U Versus Lewisbigtins · 24 Mar 2021
    This was a total waste of time and money. All this does is focuses on the distance of each of your shots once your off the box. You say it’s for analysis and for swing u to send you advice on each type of shot you had. First of all it obvious only keeps track of 1 individual game at a time. Therefore if you have a tree sitting right in the middle of the fairway and you have to go over and around it, the app can’t see that and just treats it as a normal shot. There’s no room for analysis, and whatever analysis the app gives you would be counterproductive. Why do bunker shots only matter from 50
    more yds in? Just because you have to have a different type of swing from inside that distance. Doesn’t really make much sense. Why only cover recovery shots from certain distances? Also I’m at the point where if I miss the green on a chip from inside 50yds, I’m going home. This whole portion of stats are now just useless for me and just takes time for me to plug in. Swing U Versus just takes too long to record. The old way was 10x better. It looks like you guys are trying to be too sexy. Keep it simple, keep it about accuracy and the important factors that make golfers better. Distance is not one of them. If you can’t hit an approach accurately from 100yds you certainly can’t do it from 200yds so why keep track of that? Why would you want to focus on something you already know you need to improve? It’s redundant
    Developer reply · 25 Mar 2021
    Thank you for the review and feedback and I apologize if you do not see value in the Versus feature. The point of the feature is to take aspects of your game and try and pin point where you are losing strokes both in a given round and overall to help you lower scores and improve on your overall game. This is not just about distances but about finding areas to work on and get better. We know that not every user will find this feature beneficial but we offer it for those that want to use SwingU as an improvement tool. If you do not want to enter the Versus data or receive round analysis you can disable Versus in the pre-round settings and return to our normal Premium scorecard where less information is requested and regular stats are kept. If you have any additional questions about using the app with or without Versus, please let us know, support@swingu.com
  6. ★★★★★ Best pandemic Feature John the “Weatherman” · 26 Feb 2021
    The app never worked well with my 1st generation Apple Watch. That Apple Watch was way to slow to respond to the data. Well, that watch fell apart on my arm playing golf. The face and the back fell off. I got my money’s worth out of it. That day, I picked up a new Apple Watch before going home. I had not tried the app on the new watch until yesterday. I was pleased with how it worked. However, I use it to just track my shots. I have a laser range finder and use to often. The Apple Watch feature is perfect for keeping up with my health date on the course. Steps showed how much I walked even whe
    moren using the golf cart. During the wet winter conditions, I love being able to track my steps and other data. I like the share feature too. New 6th Apple Watch makes this app a must use! Even with a high dollar range finder. Sticking my iPhone in my back pocket is easier hauling that significantly heavier range finder. If Verizon didn’t charge a premium for data on an Apple Watch I’d sell my range finder.
    Developer reply · 1 Mar 2021
    Thank you so much, Jon, for the great review! Happy that we are able to track all the info you want for yourself while you are out there on the course!
  7. ★★★★★ Good Phone App, Horrible Watch App CCrunk · 30 Jan 2021
    The phone version of the SwingU app is pretty good. It tracks your handicap, it has an intuitive interface to input scores, and is pretty accurate on distances on the course. The club tracking is nice and the stat tracking is really informative on how you have played over several rounds too. However, my issue with the app is mainly through the Apple Watch version. I’ve played 90 rounds with this app and the watch version FREEZES EVERY SINGLE TIME. I’ve even tried keeping my phone in my pocket while playing too, which is not very comfortable, and it still freezes. Restarting the app when this
    more happens sometimes fixes the issue, but not for long. I even went out and bought the cellular version of the Apple Watch recently because I thought that it might help. No luck. It is very frustrating because I enjoy the phone app itself and get use out of many of the features. I just wish I could use the watch version more on the course and didn’t have to go to my phone after leaving every green to input my scores. If the developers could figure out how to solve the Apple Watch bugs, this would be a perfect golf app. But for now 3/5.
    Developer reply · 1 Feb 2021
    Thank you for the review and feedback regarding the Apple Watch. We would be happy to work with you to improve your experience if you could please email support@swingu.com. Please keep in mind that currently the watch pulls all information from the phone, so you need to keep it on your person during the round, as we do not take any GPS data from the watch itself.
  8. ★★★☆☆ Quit working on my Apple Watch ec jb · 25 Jun 2020
    I really liked the app and all the funtionality. The overhead satellite shots and distance calculation seems to be second to none. It had a really great interface with my watch, and gave me front middle and back of green distance. Also incredibly easy to enter in scores and know where you are in the round. Recently I found that a local course did not match up with my scorecard. I went on the website to edit the golf course, and they did have the correct information on their website. However, in my app the back nine was incorrect for nearly every hole. Their support got back to me quickly, but
    moresomething is not right between the scorecard on my app and what they show on the website. For the last three weeks, I have not been able to use my Apple Watch with the app. I work for a company that uses Apple exclusively, and I’m all up-to-date with the latest technology. I’ve gone online and spent half an hour going through mediocre instructions on how to set up the watch. It is all to no avail. It’s very frustrating having to pull out your phone all the time and not be able to use your watch. I am going to try GolfLogix. If the watch functionality works, it has five stars. Without the watch, three stars at best. To be clear, I used this for a year and a half with no problems, then all of a sudden around the beginning of June my watch no longer worked with the app.
    Developer reply · 25 Jun 2020
    Thank you for the review and feedback and we would be happy to assist you further if you could please email support@swingu.com
  9. ★★☆☆☆ Not Impressed with this app So done with this · 14 Apr 2019
    I used a different app that worked well with my Apple Watch. Unfortunately they were bought out and left me searching for a new app. I prefer to use my watch and leave my phone alone when I play. I decided I would try this app after reading some reviews. Here’s what I’m disappointed with in this app. I was very frustrated when I discovered there was no birds eye view of the hole as I was playing on the course that was viewable on my watch. Again, as someone who doesn’t like carrying or messing with my phone while on the course, i was unhappy. I was also frustrated with not being able to check
    morethe distances to hazard and objects on the hole I was playing. I know I could have checked the app on my phone and found these things out, but again, if I’m paying for an app that’s compatible with an Apple Watch, I would expect these types of things to be present. My bad for not trying the free version first and discovering this out. I did like some of the scoring stats I could enter on the watch version, but my entered stats didn’t update on my phone app. I actually stopped using the app by the 13th hole because I felt it wasn’t offering me any of the info I felt was important to have and needed during my round. I’m sure the phone version of the app works much better as it does have the features I wanted on my watch. For someone who’s had those features with a different app, this app left me feeling as though it fell well short of the mark. If the developers could include the features I mentioned, I’m sure I would find this app much more useable.
    Developer reply · 15 Apr 2019
    Thank you for the review, and feedback regarding your experience with the Apple Watch. We are looking to improve the functionality of the app on the watch and user insight like this is helpful in doing so. If you have any other improvements you would like to see, please email support@swingu.com.
  10. ★★★★★ Missing one feature dcfire · 24 Nov 2017
    I have used this app for a full year and have recommended it to all my buddies. It is a great app! I would rate this app with 5 stars except I think it needs one feature added. I would like to be able to manually enter club distances. I sometimes forget to tag a club or I fail to finish the distance until I move to the next shot. I often know the distance, but just don't get it entered. Being able to manually enter my distances would ensure that I get more accurate club data. Please add this feature. Additionally, the Apple Watch version needs some work. For instance, the app automaticall
    morey goes to the scoring screen when near the green. However, if you leave that screen, to finish tracking a shot for example, there's no way to go back to the scoring screen. Also, there is no way to delete a tracked shot if you shank one and decide not to track it. If you have already entered the club, you have to delete it from your phone. In fact, I still have to keep my phone within easy reach, because the phone app version is so much more user friendly. I could not accurately score a round with just the watch. I would also like to see the Apple Watch version use its own GPS and not the phone’s. I think this would improve the speed of the app since it’s slower than other apps I have tried. One more thing. It would be nice if the Apple Watch version would automatically track a golf workout in the Workout app Please upgrade. Thanks.
    Developer reply · 28 Nov 2017
    HI: If you would send an email to support@swingbyswing.com, we will be glad to respond to your suggestions and questions. Thank you

Search Apple reviews - every stored review from the store, not only this listing's.

Growth change in ratings

Per Growth Growth % Actual change Measured over
day Not enough history yet
week +106 +0.1% +184 12.2 days
month +440 +0.3% +730 49.8 days
year Not enough history yet
How these figures are measured

Change in ratings, scaled to each window from the real gap between crawls. A window needs a full period of history before it reports anything.

Rank among tracked Apple listings#2,234
2026-09-16 · #2,224 2026-10-29
Ratings136,022
2026-09-09 · 135,292 2026-10-29
New ratings per month+370 so far
Sep 2026 from 2026-09-09: +360 Oct 2026 so far: +370
Sep 9 Oct so far
Average rating4.7
2026-09-09 · 4.7 2026-10-29

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