Comparison

Golf Australia vs Around the Sticks Lite

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Golf Australia

Explore Australian golf courses, player profiles, and equipment reviews. Improve your game with tips from leading professionals and access past and future issues through subscriptions.

Highlights
  • Australian course showcases
  • Player profiles
  • Equipment road tests
  • Instruction tips from PGA professionals
  • Access to back issues
  • Future issue subscriptions
Features
Read full description

Each month, Golf Australia showcases great Australian courses and golfing holidays, profiles players and conducts road tests of the latest equipment. Leading PGA professional share instruction tips to improve your game and keep your handicap tumbling. *Back issues and future issues are available for purchase within the App. Future issues are also available through the following auto-renewing subscription(s): • 1 Year Renewable Subscription at AU$69.99 The subscription will include the current issue if you do not already own it, and subsequently published future issues. Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. This subscription will automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period, your account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. The cost of the renewal will match the initial subscription price. You may turn off auto-renewing subscriptions by going to your user’s Account Settings after purchase. No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during your active subscription period. Please find our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy here: http://www.pixelmags.com/t+c/current/ Privacy Policy: http://www.nextmedia.com.au/next-media-privacy-statement.html Terms of Use: http://www.nextmedia.com.au/next-media-terms-and-conditions.html

About

Around the Sticks Lite

This app provides yacht racers with essential course information, including mark bearings, distances, and turning instructions. It's designed for autonomous operation during races, requiring minimal user input so you can focus on sailing. Never lose your way on the course again.

Highlights
  • Mark bearing, distance, and turn shape
  • Autonomous race operation
  • Offline functionality
  • Accidental activation lock
  • Proximity mode for mark turns
  • Race start timer with audio cues
  • Custom mark and course creation
Features
Read full description

Around the Sticks is a richly featured yacht racing course app, providing clear and concise information on mark bearing, distance, shape of turn, side to pass and steering angle relative to mark. Optimized to perform autonomously in race conditions, the app requires very little user inputs, leaving you free to concentrate on the racing. Never get lost out on course again! Key features include: -Designed specifically for use in race conditions, and operated through a waterproof casing. Phone will not go idle whilst racing, rather the screen will dim and can be awakened by tapping anywhere on the screen (user settable) to save battery. -No internet connection is required whilst racing. -Buttons on main screen are automatically locked to prevent accidental activation. -One touch race: Once race is started (either with race timer or manually), no further inputs are needed from the user (if all mark positions are known to the app) mark rounding is automatic and the target moves automatically to the next mark. Laid marks, (without set/known coordinates) can be incorporated into courses to maintain the sequential structure. In these cases, once rounded an easily activated manual advance option advances to the next mark. -The main screen includes a link to course description, progress through the course, clear and easy to read bearing to and distance to, name and picture of the next mark, the side it must be left to, plus the name of the following mark of the course. Speed Across Ground and VMG to the mark are also included on the main screen. -Once near (distance user settable) to the next mark, proximity mode is activated. The shape of the turn and the bearing to the following mark are pre-emptively displayed, allowing the crew to prepare for the turn -Race start timer with sync signals for 5, 4 and 1 minutes to start, a user-settable timer button and clear audio cues. This can be used to trigger the start of a course within the app, or as a stand-alone feature -Clear help captions help explain features when you're getting started. Tap on a feature to display a caption explaining its function. Once you're familiar with the app, captions can be disabled in user settings -Create and store your own marks and courses, either by entering co-ordinates or "pinging" current location. User courses can be compiled with a combination of existing and custom marks, in a few moments. Ideal for race days where you're handed a new course at the last minute. It's also easy to enter into the app the entire course list for your club at the start of the season, so any course you may require is instantly accessible. Up to 200 courses may be compiled and stored in this way, however the full version of the app is required to navigate within user courses. Up to 3 user marks can be created and stored (200 in the full version of the app) -Around the Sticks free comes pre-loaded with marks and courses from Melbourne, Australia, this database will be extended regularly to include more territories/clubs. The first five courses of each club list are fully functional, the remaining courses can be used for reference purposes, however navigating within them requires the full version of the app. -Warning: As with all navigation apps, continued use of GPS may drain the battery life faster than normal. It is recommended that the app's easy to use timed screen dimming feature is activated to minimize this.

Screenshots

Golf Australia2 screens
Around the Sticks Lite4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Around the Sticks Lite at 100% against Golf Australia's 0%. Around the Sticks Lite also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 12) and update cadence (monthly vs every 8 months). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Golf Australia sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $44.99 per year. Around the Sticks Lite asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Golf Australia ships an update every 8 months, Around the Sticks Lite monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and June 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 4 level
Golf Australia versus Around the Sticks Lite: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGolf AustraliaAround the Sticks Lite
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Update frequencyEvery 8 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size96 MB25 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developernextmedia Pty LtdTim Metherall

Customer experience

Golf Australia

Written reviews4 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Around the Sticks Lite

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

12 purchases

Golf Australia

Subscriptions2
  • 1 Year$44.991 Year
  • 6 months$49.996 Months
One-time10
  • March of Golf Australia$3.99
  • Golf Australia: July 2014$3.99
  • Apr-16$3.99
Show 7 more
  • Jun-16$3.99
  • 16-Aug$3.99
  • 16-Sep$3.99
  • 16-Dec$3.99
  • January 2022 - Issue #392$3.99
  • Feb 2024 - Issue 417$3.99
  • Issue 441$3.99
None

Around the Sticks Lite

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Golf Australia free?
Golf Australia is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Around the Sticks Lite free?
Around the Sticks Lite is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Golf Australia or Around the Sticks Lite have ads?
Neither Golf Australia nor Around the Sticks Lite shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Golf Australia or Around the Sticks Lite?
Golf Australia ships an update every 8 months, and Around the Sticks Lite monthly. Most recently, Golf Australia was updated on September 22, 2026 and Around the Sticks Lite on June 1, 2026.

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