Comparison

The Open vs GOLFTEC

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

Head to head
About

The Open

Experience live coverage of golf's original Championship, including feature groups, range sessions, and unique par-3 channel footage. Stay updated with real-time scores, tee times, news, and highlights. Access year-round content like films, documentaries, coaching videos, and podcasts.

Highlights
  • Live championship coverage
  • Feature group coverage
  • Live at the Range
  • Up-to-date scoring and tee times
  • Live blog
  • News, video highlights, and features
  • Films, documentaries, and podcasts
Features
Read full description

Download the enhanced Open App to enjoy unrivalled coverage from Royal Birkdale.
 
Whether you’ll be part of the captivated crowd or watching every shot from afar, we’ve got you covered. Here are some of the features that are just a tap away: • Free live streams, including Featured Groups • A new interactive Open fantasy game • Our most in-depth course guide to date • A leaderboard that you can add to your lock screen • See live ball positions and routes to the hole for every player • Daily weather updates • Stats Centre

About

GOLFTEC

Enhance your golf game with performance-tracking tools, including on-course GPS for precise yardage and detailed green views. Analyze your stats, record and review swing videos, and manage your game with skills challenges and bag mapping. Book lessons and access exclusive Pro Shop deals.

Highlights
  • On-course GPS with yardage
  • Detailed green elevation and slope views
  • Performance stat tracking
  • Swing recording and analysis
  • Review past lessons and drills
  • Skills challenges and bag mapping
  • Book lessons and fittings
Features
Read full description

The GOLFTEC App is equipped with performance-enhancing tools, leveraging its on-course GPS and game-tracking features to provide insightful analysis of your play. On-Course Performance Play Golf with On-Course GPS Our precise GPS tool calculates exact yardage distances to any point on the golf course. See the course in extreme detail with adjustable distances, Club selection recommendations, Coach strategy, infographic overlays and more Green Views Know the best place to land your approach shot or line up your putts with detailed heat map showing Elevation Change and Slope for every green. Stat Tracking and Performance Insights Improve your game with GOLFTEC's Performance insights. The platform helps you gather and analyze performance data from a variety of sources, such as on-course stats, launch monitor numbers, and swing motion measurements. Improvement Tools Record Your Swing Use your phone with the GOLFTEC App to record or upload your swings from the front or side anywhere you want. The app automatically trims, automatically centers, shows club path and body motion. Review Lessons & Drills Dive deep into your previous lessons with videos of your swings, coach analysis and drills from any of your previous lessons. You'll never miss the tips and tools you need to work on your game with the GOLFTEC App in your pocket! My Game Management with Skills Challenges, Bag Mapping & More See your club fittings, Skills Challenge results and make a digital catalog of your golf equipment where you can add your clubs and keep track of their distances. Just a few of the tools you can use to improve your game! Book & Change Lessons The app makes it easy to book your lessons, club fittings and practice sessions. With monthly views and easy-to-see availability, managing your schedule is easy. Access to the Pro Shop You'll have access to the GOLFTEC Pro Shop in the App where you can find curated golf products that help you play and enjoy the game even more. Current students and plus subscribers will also have special discounted pricing exclusive to GOLFTEC that can't be found anywhere else! Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

The Open4 screens
GOLFTEC4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: The Open at 4.6 against GOLFTEC's 4.0. The Open also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and update cadence (every 4 days vs monthly). GOLFTEC's advantage is review sentiment (53% vs 28%) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, ads and monetization model 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. GOLFTEC sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. The Open asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

The Open holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: The Open has 4.9K ratings behind it against 692, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 28% of The Open's written reviews are positive against 53% of GOLFTEC's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

The Open ships an update every 4 days, GOLFTEC monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
The Open versus GOLFTEC: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe OpenGOLFTEC
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (4.9K ratings) — better4.0 (692 ratings)
Positive reviews28.0% of reviews52.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings4.9K — better692
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS17.514.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size79 MB420 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperThe R&AGOLFTEC Enterprises LLC

Customer experience

The Open

All ratings4,904 ratings
Positive90.6%
Neutral2.3%
Negative7.1%
Written reviews246 reviews
Positive28.0%
Neutral10.2%
Negative61.8%

GOLFTEC

All ratings692 ratings
Positive71.8%
Neutral6.9%
Negative21.2%
Written reviews158 reviews
Positive52.5%
Neutral12.7%
Negative34.8%

User reviews

The Open

From 4.9K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Excellent coverage and commentary
  • 🚀 Fantastic app for following the Open
  • 💡 Great radio coverage
  • 👍 Brilliant app with lots of great features

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and freezes frequently
  • 🐛 Connection issues and video not working
  • 🐛 Difficult to navigate and poor layout
  • 🐛 Requires sign-up/login to access features
  • 🐛 Missing key features like shot tracking

GOLFTEC

From 692 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 📹 Helpful video analysis
  • 🛒 Good online shop
  • 🗓️ Convenient scheduling

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • 🔍 Difficult to navigate
  • 🔑 Login issues
  • 🔇 Video playback problems
  • 📆 Unreliable calendar/scheduling

Bugs and requests

The Open

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Leaderboard scores not updating properly
  • Favorites list keeps getting reset
  • Login/sign-up process not working
  • App crashing on launch or during use

Requested features

5 requests
  • Player bios and stats
  • Ability to sort leaderboard
  • Live shot tracking
  • Improved video streaming quality
  • Easier navigation and UI

GOLFTEC

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Keyboard getting stuck
  • Inability to scroll or close screens
  • Sync issues with Apple Watch
  • Constant sign-outs and login problems

Requested features

4 requests
  • Calendar integration with external apps
  • More detailed swing analysis tools
  • Improved video playback controls
  • Better user interface and navigation

In-app purchases

None

The Open

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

GOLFTEC

Subscriptions2
  • GOLFTEC Plus Monthly$7.991 Month
  • GOLFTEC Plus Yearly$49.991 Year

Questions

Is The Open free?
The Open is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is GOLFTEC free?
GOLFTEC is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, The Open or GOLFTEC?
The Open is rated higher. The Open averages 4.6 out of 5 from 4.9K ratings, while GOLFTEC averages 4.0 from 692 ratings.
Do The Open or GOLFTEC have ads?
Neither The Open nor GOLFTEC shows ads.
Which is updated more often, The Open or GOLFTEC?
The Open ships an update every 4 days, and GOLFTEC monthly. Most recently, The Open was updated on September 28, 2026 and GOLFTEC on September 23, 2026.

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