BAL.ON vs Short Game Chef
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
BAL.ON
This golf training app analyzes your swing using pressure and video data to provide AI-driven drills for faster club head speed and lower scores. It offers detailed swing metrics and visualizations to help you improve technique and ball striking.
- AI-powered swing analysis
- Pressure and video data tracking
- Customized drill recommendations
- Swing metric visualization (heatmap, CoP)
- Automatic swing detection
- Professional data comparison
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BAL.ON – the Foundation of Fast! BAL.ON is a mobile golf training system refining details of your swing technique to unlock higher club head speed and achieve lower scores. It relies on pressure and video data to analyze your motion along key metrics. Based on your scoring in these metrics, BAL.ON’s AI coaching recommends the one individual drill to fix your swing. You improve your technique, swing faster, hit it longer. Customized feedback, better shot The BAL.ON app records your pressure data and videos of your swings. It compares both with thousands of reference data, many of them from pros. Out of this, BAL.ON spots your chance for improvement. Relying on swing metrics and AI, you get customized drills that help you swing faster and hit longer shots. Take apart your swing, then your opponent BAL.ON rates your swing along three basic metrics: Setup, Backswing, and Impact. Mastering these swing key positions improves your ball-striking quality and consistency. The advanced metrics are Transition Timing, Vertical Timing, Max Vertical, and Rhythm. Understanding and perfecting the timing minutiae within your weight shift gives you the extra momentum for clubhead speed and ultimately shot length. It also helps achieve the effortless grace that advanced players look for in the golf swing. How BAL.ON delivers for you as a coach Live heatmap Have pressure distribution visualized throughout the swing. Center of pressure See the combined center of pressure, a key variable for shot quality, move during the swing. Pressure balance graph Mark the pressure ratios (left to right) for each swing key position. Graphic cues make it easy to spot the shifting and timing relations: extremely helpful for technique improvement. State-of-the-art data accuracy Tested against the best solutions out in the market, BAL.ON provides reliable and accurate data. Usability lets you focus on what matters With our automatic swing detection, there is no need to interact with the camera between shots. Like its users, BAL.ON is constantly improving If you feel like it, let us know what you’d like to see integrated: contact@bal-on.golf The gems of your training time: BAL.ON Premium Want to tap your total potential as a player? Train according to your very own goals and learn even more about drills and technique? With the Traceline Drill, BAL.ANCE Goals, and an extended Training Video Library, BAL.ON Premium affords you more individualization in practice and more information to boot. BAL.ON Premium is free for a three-month trial period and requires a subscription fee from the fourth month onward. BAL.ON Premium – Subscription details: • Title – BAL.ON Premium • Length of subscription – monthly • Price of subscription – $5.99/month • Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase • Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal • Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user’s 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 End User License Agreement (Apple): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula Terms of Use (BAL.ON): https://www.bal-on.golf/on/demandware.static/-/Library-Sites-bal-on-library/default/dw8248c538/Footer%20documents/Terms_of_Use_App.pdf Privacy Policy (BAL.ON): https://www.bal-on.golf/on/demandware.static/-/Library-Sites-bal-on-library/default/dw2e80a7cf/Footer%20documents/Privacy_Policy_App.pdf BAL.ON – Improve your Swing. Improve your Game.
Short Game Chef
Master your golf short game with expert-led video tutorials and drills. Learn techniques to improve skills, lower scores, and have more fun on the course. Join a community of dedicated golfers.
- Expert PGA Tour winner coaching
- Comprehensive video library
- Techniques for various shots
- Practical, hands-on drills
- Community of golf enthusiasts
- Lower your golf scores
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I’ve taken my experiences as a PGA Tour winner and top short game coach and created a simple and easy way for you to dramatically improve your game. We've created the most comprehensive library of videos, tutorials, and drills, you can learn techniques for various shots, improve your skills, and lower your scores. We really focus on practical, hands-on coaching and fostering a community of golf enthusiasts dedicated to playing better golf and having more fun. Our app offers auto-renewing subscriptions. You'll receive unlimited access to content on all your devices. Payment is charged to your account at confirmation of purchase. Pricing varies by location and is confirmed prior to purchase. Subscription automatically renews each month unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current billing period, or the trial period (when offered). Cancel anytime in Account Settings. Terms of Service: https://shortgamechef.com/pages/terms-of-service Privacy Policy: https://shortgamechef.com/pages/privacy-policy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Short Game Chef at 5.0 against BAL.ON's 3.9. Short Game Chef also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 60%). BAL.ON's advantage is monetization model (freemium vs subscription) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.0). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. BAL.ON sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $5.99 per month and Short Game Chef sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $99.00 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Short Game Chef holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7 and 15 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 60% of BAL.ON's written reviews are positive against 100% of Short Game Chef's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | BAL.ON | Short Game Chef |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.9 (7 ratings) | 5.0 (15 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 60.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 7 | 15 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium — better | Subscription |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 109 MB | 67 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Continental | Short Game Chef |
Customer experience
BAL.ON
Short Game Chef
In-app purchases
BAL.ON
- Monthly Subscription3 Months trial$5.991 Month
Short Game Chef
- App Subscription$99.001 Month
Questions
Is BAL.ON free?
Is Short Game Chef free?
Which has better reviews, BAL.ON or Short Game Chef?
Do BAL.ON or Short Game Chef have ads?
Which is updated more often, BAL.ON or Short Game Chef?
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