GHIN vs Arccos Golf
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
GHIN
Track your golf scores, analyze your game statistics, and utilize GPS course maps with advanced features. This official app helps golfers manage their handicaps and compete with friends.
- Score Posting
- Stat Tracking
- Course Maps & GPS
- Handicap Calculator
- Group Score Keeping
- Apple Watch Integration
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This is the official mobile app of the Golf Handicap Information Network (GHIN), a service offered by the USGA to golf associations worldwide. Key features include: • Score Posting (Total Score, Hole-by-Hole Score and Hole-by-Hole Score with Stats) • Stat Tracking (Number of Putts, Approach Shot Accuracy and Driving Accuracy) • Course Maps & GPS • Enhanced GPS Features (Putt Break Map, Approach Shot Heat Map, Shot Tracking) • Games & Group Score Keeping • Apple Watch integration • Golfer Lookup • Handicap Calculator Terms of Service - https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy - https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/Handicap-ghin/ghin-privacy-policy.html
Arccos Golf
This AI-powered golf app automatically tracks your shots and provides smart rangefinding. It analyzes your game to offer personalized strategies and detailed green maps, helping you improve your performance and lower your scores.
- AI-powered automatic shot tracking
- Smart laser rangefinder with weather data
- AI strategy for club and target recommendations
- LiDAR-mapped green maps
- Strokes Gained Analytics
- Real club distance tracking
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PLAY SMARTER GOLF Arccos is the Official Game Tracker of the PGA TOUR. AI-powered game tracking and Smart Laser Rangefinder trusted by pros including Matt Fitzpatrick, and golfers at every level. Now improved with greater depth, personalization, focus, and actionable recommendations. THE NEW ARCCOS APP — NOW ROLLING OUT ON iOS The biggest update we've ever made. Every tab rebuilt. New AI features throughout. The app now tells you exactly what to do — not just what happened. WHERE TO FOCUS — YOUR PERSONAL PRACTICE PLAN Your Player tab pinpoints exactly where your next stroke is hiding across all four facets — Driving, Approach, Short Game, and Putting — using Strokes Gained analysis. Lock in a focus area and get personalized drill recommendations built from your own data. A real plan, for your game. SHOT DISPERSION — SEE WHERE YOUR SHOTS ACTUALLY GO Visual dispersion charts for every club. See where your shots land relative to target — consistency, miss tendencies, weapons vs. liabilities. The clearest scope of your ball-striking you've ever had. AI ROUND SUMMARIES — YOUR ROUND, TOLD LIKE A STORY After every round: an AI-generated summary of what actually happened. Skill Score, Club MVP, PGA Tour Quality Shots, Round Arc, and a Practice Focus with specific drills to work on before your next tee time. COURSES — YOUR GOLF PASSPORT A global map of every course you've ever played. Tap any course for hole-by-hole Strokes Gained, AI Course Insights, and Hole Highlights showing exactly which holes have been costing you strokes. PRE-ROUND WARMUP — SHOW UP READY A personalized 15, 30, or 60-minute range routine, generated based on your recent data and current focus. Specific clubs, specific drills. Practice with purpose. ARCCOS AIR — FIRST YEAR FREE No sensors required. Slip the Air AI wearable into your pocket and play. AI trained on 1.5 billion shots automatically detects every shot with Tour-level accuracy. Or add Smart Sensors for definitive club-by-club analysis. Your choice, every round. Link Pro users upgrade automatically — no purchase required. SMART LASER RANGEFINDER — FIRST YEAR FREE Know it's 176 yards to carry the bunker. Slope-only rangefinders capture just 19% of distance adjustments. Smart Laser factors in slope, wind, temperature, humidity, and altitude to capture it all, often making a club’s difference. Auto pin-setting syncs the flag to your app automatically. AI STRATEGY & GREEN MAPS — ALL iOS SUBSCRIBERS Recommended club and optimal target every shot, based on your tendencies, course layout, hazards, and conditions. The same strategy Matt Fitzpatrick used to win his major. Green Maps: LiDAR-mapped to 1mm precision across 9,000+ courses in the US, 3,000+ worldwide. See slopes, breaks, and exact pin position. AUTOMATIC GAME TRACKING Every shot tracked across 18 holes on 40,000+ courses worldwide. Strokes Gained Analytics. Smart Club Distances — your real numbers, not your best guesses. RESULTS New Arccos members lower their handicaps by 25% on average in the first year. Hit approach shots 14.9 feet closer and sink more birdies. With lower scores, you’ll have more to celebrate and share at the 19th hole. - Official Game Tracker of the PGA TOUR - 1.5 billion shots, 4 trillion data points - Works with Arccos Air, Smart Sensors, Smart Laser, Link/Link Pro, Apple Watch - Fast Company World's Most Innovative Companies — #3 in Sports - Partners: PGA TOUR, PING, Cobra Golf, Club Champion, Golf Digest Stop guessing. Start knowing. Play better golf.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: GHIN at 4.8 against Arccos Golf's 4.6. GHIN also leads on chart position (#30 vs unranked) and device support (4 vs 2). Arccos Golf's advantage is review sentiment (40% vs 26%). 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. GHIN sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $49.99 per year and Arccos Golf sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $199.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
GHIN holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 21K and 33K respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 26% of GHIN's written reviews are positive against 40% of Arccos Golf's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
GHIN ships an update every 3 weeks, Arccos Golf every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | GHIN | Arccos Golf |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (21K ratings) — better | 4.6 (33K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 26.1% of reviews | 39.8% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 21K | 33K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #30 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 359 MB | 311 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | United States Golf Association | Arccos Golf LLC |
Customer experience
GHIN
Arccos Golf
User reviews
GHIN
From 21K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Reliable GPS and course data
- 👍 Handicap tracking and management
- 💡 Green contour and heat maps
- 🚀 Efficient score entry and posting
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent app crashes and disconnections
- 🔌 Poor Apple Watch integration and performance
- 🔍 Difficult to navigate and find desired features
- 🔋 High battery drain when using GPS
Arccos Golf
From 33K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Helpful data and analytics
- 🚀 Accurate club distance tracking
- 💡 Useful caddie feature
- 👍 Great customer support
- 👍 Insightful for improving game
Room to improve
- 🐛 Inconsistent shot detection
- 🔋 High battery drain
- 👎 Difficult user interface
- 🐛 Syncing issues with Apple Watch
- 👎 Expensive subscription
Bugs and requests
GHIN
Reported bugs
4 issues- Scorecard data not syncing properly between devices
- Inability to end rounds early and post partial scores
- GPS distances not updating correctly on Apple Watch
- Course data not loading consistently
Requested features
4 requests- Allow customization of tracked stats
- Implement landscape mode support
- Integrate with Apple Health/Activity
- Improve handicap calculation accuracy
Arccos Golf
Reported bugs
3 issues- App crashes and freezes during rounds
- Incorrect hole and shot tracking
- Unreliable sensor connectivity
Requested features
4 requests- Ability to view round stats on mobile app
- Better course mapping and layout visualization
- Improved handling of penalties and missed shots
- Integration with other golf apps and platforms
In-app purchases
GHIN
- Upgrade to GHIN Enhanced GPS$49.991 Year
Arccos Golf
- AI Strategy1 Year trial$199.991 Year
- Arccos 1-year Subscription14 Days trial$199.991 Year








