Time to go ol' school and put the phone away...

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By Speedy

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  • 24 Replies
  1. Speedy

    Speedy
    East Coast, NH

    As we all know technology is taking over and over the last few years i've been using my iPhone to keep my score. I have a few apps that I use to keep my score and it's pretty cool since it'll give me stats like GIR, putts per round, driving accuracy, etc. It's fun. BUT there's one problem.. I have a very bad habit with my iPhone besides keeping score. Like taking stupid selfies, taking pics of the course, posting on social media etc. It's probably fine to do it once or twice but not every other hole or through-out the round. That needs to change....

    Last year I bought a fake Scotty Cameron scorecard holder (definitely learned my lesson on that one) and starting this year I think i'm gonna start keeping score with a pencil and scorecard. And then enter the score on my iPhone when i'm home. I really need to keep the phone in the bag and only look occasionally for any important text messages from family or work. That's it. Everything else can wait.

    I have to give credit to Josh aka Hotsauce on this one. Playing with him the last few years it's always been his scorecard holder (which is sweet by the way) pencil and scorecard. And never once do I see this kid take out his iPhone through-out the whole round. I need to do the same..

    Anyone else have this problem? And how do you keep score while playing?

    Cheers

  2. Gabriel G

    Gabriel G
    Cedar Park, TX

    Military
    Yeah! Good for you. I put my phone on silent and put it in my bag. I will check for texts from family at the turn. That is it. I must focus on my game and when I do I play better. I am with you, every word.
  3. richbow9

    richbow9
    Huddersfield,

    My I Phone goes on silent and is stuffed in the bag. Stick to paper and pencil, you know it makes sense ;-)
  4. Eric H

    Eric H
    Ridgway, PA

    Good idea man, ya know famous philosopher Ferris once said, Life moves pretty fast if you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it!

    Leave the phone in your car!
  5. Doug E

    Doug E
    Urbana, MD

    Rarely ever use my iPhone on the course. Definitely not for keeping score or stats. Hard enough to see it clearly for all the stats I like to keep. I keep them on my scorecard. If I need to share the scorecard with others, then I also get my own scorecard to keep my own stats. All scribed with an easily erasable pen so I can see it clearly and so much more visible than pencil. Actually the new Pilot Frixion erasable pens are perfect for this task. They erase better than pencil. But I digress.

    I keep track of: playable drives/fairways hit/left or right, sand shots, sand saves, penalties, putts, first putt distances, up and downs, GIRs, etc. Then afterward I enter them all into an online program which I have used for the last 7 years, which analyses my game in endless ways. I use my own code system on the card which is so much quicker and easier than scrolling around on an iPhone app, which typically can't give me all the details I like to keep up on anyway. I actually enjoy transcribing the score card to the stat-keeping program. It lets me re-live the round and make notes about it online.

    I never understood the obsession with phones on the golf course, but then again, I am of the age where cell phones were an extra-terrestrial fantasy idea when I started playing golf. Though, now I use one for nearly everything in daily life, using one on the golf course doesn't interest me. Of course, I would have to put glasses on to see what I'm doing if I ever tried keeping golf stats on a phone and that, in itself, would interrupt my focus on the game.

    I do, however, use my ear buds and tunes on my phone when I am working on the range during dedicated practice sessions. I sometimes find it easier to stay focused with ear buds on rather than socialize with various buddies on the range, which can easily get me off track from my goals for the session.
  6. Michael W

    Michael W
    Highlands Ranch, CO

    Doug E said:

    Rarely ever use my iPhone on the course. Definitely not for keeping score or stats. Hard enough to see it clearly for all the stats I like to keep. I keep them on my scorecard. If I need to share the scorecard with others, then I also get my own scorecard to keep my own stats. All scribed with an easily erasable pen so I can see it clearly and so much more visible than pencil. Actually the new Pilot Frixion erasable pens are perfect for this task. They erase better than pencil. But I digress.

    I keep track of: playable drives/fairways hit/left or right, sand shots, sand saves, penalties, putts, first putt distances, up and downs, GIRs, etc. Then afterward I enter them all into an online program which I have used for the last 7 years, which analyses my game in endless ways. I use my own code system on the card which is so much quicker and easier than scrolling around on an iPhone app, which typically can't give me all the details I like to keep up on anyway. I actually enjoy transcribing the score card to the stat-keeping program. It lets me re-live the round and make notes about it online.

    I never understood the obsession with phones on the golf course, but then again, I am of the age where cell phones were an extra-terrestrial fantasy idea when I started playing golf. Though, now I use one for nearly everything in daily life, using one on the golf course doesn't interest me. Of course, I would have to put glasses on to see what I'm doing if I ever tried keeping golf stats on a phone and that, in itself, would interrupt my focus on the game.

    I do, however, use my ear buds and tunes on my phone when I am working on the range during dedicated practice sessions. I sometimes find it easier to stay focused with ear buds on rather than socialize with various buddies on the range, which can easily get me off track from my goals for the session.

    Doug - I have been looking for a way to build a spreadsheet for stat keeping since starting competitive rounds. Care to share what you have developed?
  7. Chris M

    Chris M
    Grindelwald,

    during the round I try to stick away from my phone
    Usually I'm even too focussed, so I totally forget it in my bag - so even better
    Just some business partner are not too happy if they cannot reach me... :-P
  8. David T

    David T
    Grosse Pointe Farms, MI

    Totally agree! The battery on my rangefinder died at the end of the season mid-round and I purposefully left my phone in the car (posting season was over) so all I had was "pure" golf! It felt great!
    I had become pretty obsessive with stat keeping - I was writing down score, # of putts, and 1st putt distance as well as using a phone app AND shooting all my approach distances w/ laser! It was nice to just go out and hit balls like when I was young!
  9. Spudstarch

    Spudstarch
    Walnut Creek, CA

    I keep my scores on pencil and paper as I find it is much faster than fiddling with an electronic app, especially in the rain. I even have a pleather scorecard holder for it too.

    However, I still keep my phone in my back pocket for photos and videos. Some courses and especially some par 3 holes are designed with an aesthetic appeal, or sometimes interesting wildlife will pop out of the wood work. It would be a shame not to share these things on social media and show others what makes golf so great and to grow the game/community. Just look to the sidebar to the right and you will see even Titleist agrees. I just take the photos while walking to my ball or when it is not my turn and then post them after the round. Usually there is no wifi out on the course anyway and posting that stuff sucks up too much data that I do not want to pay for.

    Other times I use the slow motion video feature to check on my high handicap friends to see where we can make improvement. It's a useful tool to keep them learning so they don't quit golf in frustration. I do it quickly and quietly enough that they do not notice, which makes for a better sample to study. It doesn't affect pace of play. I don't show them during the round since it will cause them to think too much on their next shots.

    Bottom line, I think phones are fine as long as you keep pace of play in mind.

    Spud
  10. Bomber3

    Bomber3
    Lake St Louis, MO

    Military
    I will usually carry my phone in my bag and every now and then I'll bring it out to take a pic. I love using paper scorecards and a pencil. After my round I take it home and use it for entering my score into GHIN.
  11. golfinnut

    golfinnut
    Leesburg, VA

    The players that use their phones for everything are the one's that annoy me the most. I can understand here & there ... but every hole? I'm of the age that grew up without cell phones, so the need isn't there for me to be on it 24/7.
    You should just be able to write down the scores, stats, etc. on a scorecard then take it home and put it in your APP or Program. Not entering it on the phone on every hole.
    And the one's that leave the ringer on!? OMG! I have told many a player to turn it off if you are in my group.
    I will turn mine to vibrate and put it in the bag. Won't check it again until the turn. I let everyone know beforehand that I am playing golf ... wife, business, etc. so as to not disturb me. Some may say that I take it too seriously, but when it comes to golf, I may ... but there is a time and place for cell phone use, and the course is NOT it.
    You also have your naysayers that say "well I do my business on the phone, so I have to be in contact at all times." Are you a DR? Then by all means, but keep it short and sweet and on vibrate. Otherwise, keep it in the bag cause I am not waiting for you on the green or the tee box.
    Sorry .... ranting on & on.
  12. Bob T

    Bob T
    East Otis, MA

    Phones can be annoying on the course if used improperly where they can annoy others but I don't mind once in awhile if someone has to answer an import call that they have been waiting for. As far as score goes, I let some one else keep it. I do keep track how many shots above or below par that I am in my mind!
  13. MarkConner61

    MarkConner61
    Warren, IN

    I turn my phone off on the course. Golf is a place to get away, if only for 4 hours.
  14. Dwayne N

    Dwayne N
    Island, KY

    I have a Gamegolf on my belt swipe it just before each shot most people never even see it. It has become part of my routine even catch myself swiping it even when its not there and it tracks everything I do. I also track it on the scorecard thats how stat driven I am. But as for a phone keep it in the bag for emergencies and occasional photo opts like Hole-in-one,playing buddy falls in pond on #6 and nothing wrong with checking for messages at the turn. But in the bag on silent we barred one guy for a week because every other hole he would say I gotta take this and there we stood waiting on him. He got the picture. Love me some paper and pencil.
  15. Steve S

    Steve S
    Tuckerton, NJ

    At 58 years old, I must be a bit old school. I don't even have a smart phone. I have a G-Shock flip phone. I get busted pretty good from my group, but I'm happy with it. I can make a call, and text if I feel like it. It never makes the golf bag. I will check it after a round for messages from the family. Other than that, it has no place on the course.
    Play Well,
    Steve S.
  16. jim h

    jim h
    White Plains, MD

    i am an old school kind of guy when it comes to cell phones. if you need to be on the phone during a round you should't be at the golf course. and if you use your phone to enter starts wait till after the round, i've seen too many times where a guy is not ready to play his next shot because he's trying to enter score and stats from the previous hole
  17. Roger W

    Roger W
    Hampton Cove, AL

    I agree with Doug completely. I do almost exactly the same things. I tried an iPhone app for a couple of rounds and found it too distracting. I have my own code for pencil and scorecard and transcribe it later at home. At my age, I have to take my sunglasses off anyway to see close up.
  18. Don O

    Don O
    Madison, WI

    If I take a phone, it is only as a camera and then only when I forget to leave it in a car. I thought about all the great apps, but unless the phone is military grade to resist water, not real useful on rainy days. Even getting football scores in the fall aren't worth the distraction from being outside on course.
  19. killerbgolfer

    killerbgolfer
    Lacey, WA

    I"ll take a pic every now and then but I find I enjoy the round more and am more focus on the course without the distraction of the phone. I used to enter my scores on the TT site here so I hope that option returns.
  20. Todd T

    Todd T
    San Diego, CA

    Military
    I'm always on my phone, texting or taking pictures.. I'm never disrespectful or slow playing.
  21. Chris Hatem

    Chris Hatem
    Boston

    Good post Chris, for me I usually keep score on a scorecard or keep track of my score relative to par in my head. A lot of times I'm not out there keeping score anyway. I'm just out there hitting shots to targets. The phones are a good issue to bring up. If I'm by myself playing a practice round, I may have my phone with me just in case I need to chat with someone. If I was playing in a foursome, the phone would be in the car. SO, for me its situation dependent.
  22. John G

    John G
    Napa, CA

    I totally agree. I use an app that tracks my score and all of my stats and I tried using it while playing a few times but stopped. I track fairways hit, GIR's, and putts on my scorecard which is a lot quicker. Plus having my phone out would distract me and I'd start checking email and stuff. It's much easier to put all of the info in after the round and it gives me a little time to reflect on each shot.
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