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Improve your score with PocketPro Short Game Golf
Years ago I played with an older friend who consistently beat me on the golf course. He couldn't hit the ball nearly as far as I did, but he never three putted and always got the ball close from around the green. All golfers can cut several shots off their scores by having a good short game. PocketPro Short Game Golf provides users with a series of chipping, pitching, and putting exercises aimed at improving their short games. The free universal app requires iOS 7.0. The app offers two sections, one for putting and the other for chipping and pitching. In that segment you will find eight different training exercises that allow you to work on various parts of your short game. Each exercise comes with an accompanying video demonstrating how to do each drill. The eight exercises start further away from the hole and move closer. First is the 55 yard pitch, then a pitch from 30 yards followed by two chipping drills, two close in pitches, one high and one low, and finally a couple of bunker shots. The app has a system for the users to score points on each shot. For example users get 4 points for making a shot, three if they are able to get the ball within three feet, two for further 3-6 feet, and one point for 6-9 feet. Users take ten shots in each of the eight drills and total your points once you finish. Record your score as you complete each exercise and the app tracks how you did so that the next time you do the drill you have a score to try and beat. The putting section works basically the same way. It is made up of five drills, putting with a left to right break, putting with a right to left break, working on uphill and downhill puts, trying to eliminate three putt greens, and getting long putts close to the hole. Again in each drill the users will take multiple balls, place them on the green and putt until the exercise in complete. The scoring system is similar to the pitching drills. Overall the drills in PocketPro Short Game Golf are not unique and similar practice drills can be found in any number of instructional apps or books. I could do similar drills on my own without the app but by keeping score it adds a competitive angle to using the app. The only real way to improve any aspect of your game is through a lot of practice. Using PocketPro Short Game Golf as a practice aid will make your practice sessions more enjoyable and mean you are more likely to put in the time necessary for real improvement.
Shape up your golf game with Putting Bootcamp
The old adage is "drive for show and putt for dough" and refers to pro golfers where the best putters often make the most money. Well that also applies to us amateurs who are trying to best our golfing partners in a friendly wager. Now Putting Bootcamp has been released and offers a systematic way to improve your putting. The free universal app requires iOS 6.1 or later. The concept behind the app is to make your putting practice into a series of contests that you score. The app tracks your scores and the more you work on your game the higher the scores and in theory you should see a corresponding decrease in the number of putts you take each round. Fewer putts means better scores and an improvement in the chances of winning your best ball match with your friends. Putting Bootcamp lays out five basic parts of your putting game that you can work on: Setup, the Putter Path, Putter Face Alignment, Stroke length and Pace, and how to take what you learn to the golf course. Each segment starts with a video explaining what the drills are supposed to accomplish and why those elements are important. Then each segment offers four or five drills and explains how to do them to accomplish the goals of the segment. These become your contests where you compete against your self and work to improve your scores and hopefully your putting game. As an example, here is the breakout for one of the segments. Understanding the path of the putter comes with five drills: Edge Rail drill, Edge Mirror drill, Putting Rod drill, Balls of Steel drill and Four Corners game. The first four use special training aids which are conveniently sold on the developers web site. However, with a little ingenuity you can duplicate the aids from things around your home. For example, the edge is nothing more than a piece of wood with a straight edge about 12-15 inches long. The goal of the drill is to take the putter back so you keep the heel of the putter along the straight edge which means you are back and through the putt along a straight path. No taking it inside or outside the intended line. Once you see the aids I am sure you can find a way to make them for a lot less than what they would cost on the web site. Not all the drills require anything special. Despite the effort to sell you a bunch of training devices, the concepts demonstrated in Putting Bootcamp are solid and if you do the drills, practice a lot, and score higher, you should become a better putter and lower your handicap. Maybe pocket a few extra dollars from your weekend games with friends.
3BaysGSA Putt: a Bluetooth golf gadget that puts eyes in your putter (hands on)
Motion sensor-based golf devices are all the rage these days, but they mostly target the full swing. Can such electronics be accurate enough to measure a much smaller stroke, namely the all-important putt? Since golf season's nearly here, we decided to find out with the $200 3BaysGSA Putt, a tiny, lightweight device that fits in the handle of a putter and relays stroke information via Bluetooth to an Android or iOS device. As Engadget's resident golf nut, yours truly put the device through its paces both objectively and in a less-than-formal way to see whether it could accurately track a stroke. Will it help you lift your putter in victory, or make you wrap it around a tree? Hit the break to see how we did.
Crazy Mini Golf is deadly serious
The first gameplay footage of Crazy Mini Golf is in, and it isn't nearly as crazy as Data Design would have us believe. Sure, there's a few loops and tunnels here and there, but where's the emotion? The random strangers running back and forth with arms flailing wildly? Straitjacket as far as the eye can see? Yes, we're afraid Crazy Mini Golf is less crazy than your local Scientology clinic.The level shown above is situated inside a volcano, which is somewhat badass. However, first impressions are not all that great. We were hoping for a smooth, fun mini-golf experience, but the video shows rather awkward controls, a jerky camera and unimpressive ball physics. It seems like the worst possible footage to show with the first trailer, because if a mini-golf game doesn't look like much fun at the outset then there's a serious problem. We'll wait and see -- ultimate judgement shall be reserved until we're whacking the little balls into the clutches of Lord Xenu himself.%Gallery-25247%[Via press release]
Don't go mental at the sight of Crazy Mini Golf
We don't care who you are, where you're from, what you did, as long as you love ... mini-golf. It's slow, methodical and sometimes frustrating, but a gamer isn't a gamer until they enjoy a fun-filled round on those crazy putting courses. Real golfers are excused.Naturally, this is why Data Design Interactive decided to go with Crazy Mini Golf as the title for their upcoming putting challenge. The press release is clearly targeting the whole "kidz" segment (golf is too violent for the tots, they need GTA), but it seems to be a pretty full-featured game. You'll be waggling your Wiimote with two control options, 74 "crazy" holes, four courses and multiple gameplay modes.The first screens are fresh from the pro shop to our gallery! They look pretty smooth -- almost as smooth as this guy.%Gallery-25247%[Via press release]
