The Open vs SmoothSwing
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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
SmoothSwing
This app offers a real-time golf shot tracer that visually tracks your ball's flight path. It also provides advanced GPS features, including club distance assistance and slope-adjusted yardage, to help you play smarter on the course.
- Real-time shot tracer
- 360 Golf GPS
- Club Assistant
- PLAYS LIKE Distance (Slope Adjusted Distance)
- Elevation Change measurement
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SmoothSwing • The Only Golf Shot Tracer That Works Like Magic! • The Original 360 Golf GPS ™ ► GOLF SHOT TRACER • World's First Real-Time Golf Shot Tracer! • Must use white color golf balls. • Exposure to direct sunlight on a hot day for a long period of time can eventually cause device to become warm. UNSUPPORTED DEVICES *iPhone8, *iPhone 8 Plus, *iPhone X ► GOLF GPS • Club Assistant Set how far you hit each club in your bag. Every time you zoom in Club Assistant shows you where you should expect the ball to end up for each club (based on the PLAYS LIKE Distance). • PLAYS LIKE Distance PLAYS LIKE Distance provides a measurement which compensates for uphill and downhill shots. (PLAYS LIKE Distance is also known as Slope Adjusted Distance.) • ↑/↓ Elevation Change ↑/↓ Elevation Change provides a measurement of the vertical distance, up or down, from where you are standing to the target. Terms Of Service https://www.smoothswingapp.com/terms-of-service Privacy Policy https://www.smoothswingapp.com/privacy-policy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: The Open at none against SmoothSwing's 1. The Open also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs monthly). SmoothSwing's advantage is review sentiment (49% vs 28%) and rating (4.8 vs 4.6). On price, ratings volume, 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
Both are free to download. SmoothSwing sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. The Open asks for nothing beyond the download.
SmoothSwing holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4.9K and 11K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 28% of The Open's written reviews are positive against 49% of SmoothSwing's.
The Open ships an update every 4 days, SmoothSwing monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | The Open | SmoothSwing |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (4.9K ratings) | 4.8 (11K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 28.0% of reviews | 49.4% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 4.9K | 11K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days — better | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | #171 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.5 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 79 MB | 106 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | The R&A | Thomas Turnbull |
Customer experience
The Open
SmoothSwing
User reviews
The Open
From 4.9K App Store ratingsWhat 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
SmoothSwing
From 11K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Accurate shot tracer
- 👍 Easy to use
- 💡 One-time purchase for pro version
- 🚀 Impressive performance for a free app
Room to improve
- 🐛 Inconsistent ball tracking, especially for high-speed shots
- 🔋 Overheating issues in hot weather
- 🔒 Locked features behind paywall
- 🐛 Buggy and unreliable performance for some users
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
SmoothSwing
Reported bugs
4 issues- Shot tracer not working after purchasing pro version
- GPS and map features not functioning properly
- App crashing or freezing during use
- Inability to track certain ball colors
Requested features
4 requests- Ability to upload and trace pre-recorded videos
- Landscape mode support
- More customization options for the shot tracer
- Improved range finder with clearer visuals
In-app purchases
The Open
No in-app purchases
SmoothSwing
- SmoothSwing Pro$9.99
