Comparison

Hole19 vs ShotNotes

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

Head to head
About

Hole19

This golf app provides accurate GPS yardages, a digital scorecard, and AI-powered shot tracking for over 42,000 courses. Enhance your game with features like plays-like distances, club recommendations, and detailed statistics to help lower your score.

Highlights
  • Accurate GPS rangefinder
  • Digital scorecard and stats
  • AI-powered shot tracking
  • Plays Like Distances
  • Club recommendations
  • Apple Watch integration
  • Global handicap tracking
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

The #1 golf GPS app and rangefinder trusted by 5M+ golfers worldwide. Hole19 delivers pinpoint accurate yardages, AI-powered shot tracking, a digital scorecard, and a handicap tracker, all on your iPhone and Apple Watch. Whether you're chasing your first sub-90 or defending single digits, Hole19 has the tools to lower your score. Coverage of 42,000+ courses in 201 countries, a full-featured Apple Watch integration, and features built with 10+ years of real golfer feedback. Golfers who track their shots with Hole19 Premium save an average of 3 shots per round. Try Premium free for 14 days. FREE FEATURES: - Golf GPS Rangefinder: Pinpoint distances to the front, center, and back of the green plus every hazard and target across 42,000+ courses. - Digital Scorecard: Scores, putts, fairways hit, and GIR tracked on your phone or Apple Watch. - Course Preview: Explore every hole layout and hazard before you tee off. - Apple Watch GPS: Front, center, back distances on your wrist. Phone-free play. - LivePlay: Organize rounds, track live leaderboards, and share the round in real time. - Golf Social Network: Connect with golfers worldwide, share scores and course photos. - Siri Voice Commands (iOS): Start a round hands-free. - Monthly Challenges: Compete for prizes. PREMIUM FEATURES: - Plays Like Distances: Real yardages adjusted for elevation. - Shot Tracker: Track every shot and see exactly where it landed. - Club Recommendation: Personalized club suggestions based on your actual distances. - Augmented Reality (iOS): Distances and directions overlaid on your camera view. - Handicap Calculator: Global-standard handicap index with improvement tracking. - Club & Overall Stats: Driving accuracy, greens in regulation, short game, putting. - Apple Watch Scoring & Maps: Full score input and flyover maps on your wrist. - Game Modes: Stroke Play, Stableford and Side Games free; Match Play and team formats Premium. - Shot Dispersion Tool: See where your shots are likely to land and pick smarter aim points. - Auto-Change Hole: The app advances automatically as you move. - Distance Arcs: Free in Course Preview only; Premium in-round. - Notes & Highlights: Course strategy notes plus your career highlights. - Ad-free experience. INTELLIGENCE (Hole19's AI tier): - Otto AI: Your personal AI caddie. Unlimited AI round reports that tell you exactly where you're losing strokes and what to work on. - Auto Shot Detection: Track every shot with one tap after the round. - Strokes Gained Analysis: Pro-level stats that reveal which part of your game is costing you the most. - Handicap Benchmark: Compare your game to golfers at your exact handicap level. - CORE Golf included (iOS Only): 100+ drills and 15+ practice plans to structure your practice. Payment will be charged to your Apple Account upon confirmation of purchase. Your subscription will automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Subscriptions may be managed by you and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to your Account Settings. If you upgrade to Premium or Intelligence during your free trial any remaining time left on your trial will be forfeited. NOTES: - help@hole19golf.com - Technical support - mapping@hole19golf.com - Mapping requests - partners@hole19golf.com - Partnerships - Premium and Intelligence features are available via in-app purchase - The app is optimized for iOS 18.0+ on iPhone SE (2nd generation) and newer - Hole19 for Apple Watch requires watchOS 10 or later - Hole19 is not optimized for iPad - Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life - Family Sharing is not supported - Privacy Policy - https://www.hole19golf.com/terms/privacy-policy - Terms of Use - https://www.hole19golf.com/terms

About

ShotNotes

This app helps golfers improve their game by tracking every shot, identifying patterns, and providing insights beyond a traditional scorecard. It allows for detailed logging of club, distance, lie, and miss direction to reveal areas for improvement.

Highlights
  • Shot-by-shot tracking
  • Club and distance logging
  • Miss direction analysis
  • Lie type and outcome tracking
  • Personal notes per shot/hole
  • Pattern identification
Read full description

Trying to break 90? Turn your last round into a focused practice session. ADD A ROUND RECAP Record your course, 9 or 18 holes, and final score. Add penalty strokes, three-putt holes, or your biggest difficulty when you know them. No need to record every shot to get started. KNOW WHAT TO PRACTICE NEXT Get a focused target or putting drill based on your recap. See which observations informed the recommendation, record attempts and successes, and build a repeatable practice routine. Recommendations are practice suggestions, not swing diagnoses or promises of lower scores. SEE YOUR PROGRESS With Pro, compare scores, recorded penalty strokes, and three-putt holes across rounds of the same length. Review detailed shot outcomes by club and time period. Courses and playing conditions can differ, so comparisons describe your records rather than guaranteed improvement. ALWAYS FREE - Round recaps and your recap history - Your first full recap practice plan - Saved practice results - Basic course notes - One complete shot-by-shot tracked round - Access to your existing shot history SHOTNOTES PRO - Full practice plans for subsequent recaps - Round comparisons and detailed shot-pattern reports - Unlimited shot-by-shot tracked rounds No club sensors or mandatory account. Your rounds, notes, and practice results stay on your device unless you choose to share a summary. Optional weekly practice reminders help you return to your routine. SUBSCRIPTIONS Monthly and annual auto-renewing subscriptions are available. Current local prices and eligible introductory offers are shown in the app before purchase. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation or after an eligible free trial. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the current period ends. Manage or cancel in your Apple Account subscription settings. Privacy Policy: https://cywinskidigital.com/apps/shotnotes/privacy.html Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Support: https://cywinskidigital.com/apps/shotnotes/user-guide.html

Screenshots

Hole194 screens
ShotNotes3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: ShotNotes at none against Hole19's shown. ShotNotes also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 72%) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). Hole19's advantage is update cadence (every 6 days vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (23K vs 1). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support 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. Hole19 sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per 7 days and ShotNotes sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ShotNotes holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Hole19 has 23K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 72% of Hole19's written reviews are positive against 100% of ShotNotes's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hole19 ships an update every 6 days, ShotNotes every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Hole19 versus ShotNotes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHole19ShotNotes
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (23K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews72.4% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings23K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#61 — better—
DevicesiPhone, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size236 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStat Track Technologies Lda.DANIEL PIOTR CYWINSKI

Customer experience

Hole19

All ratings22,518 ratings
Positive95.5%
Neutral2.1%
Negative2.4%
Written reviews1,085 reviews
Positive72.4%
Neutral8.8%
Negative18.7%

ShotNotes

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Hole19

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Hole numbers not displaying correctly on some courses
  • Apple Watch app freezing or losing sync with phone
  • Inconsistent GPS distances compared to other devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to manually adjust pin locations
  • More customization options for scoring and statistics
  • Standalone Apple Watch app with full functionality
  • Support for 9-hole courses and shotgun starts

ShotNotes

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Hole19

Subscriptions10
  • Premium Pro Weekly7 Days trial$6.997 Days
  • Premium Pro Monthly7 Days trial$12.991 Month
  • Premium Pro Monthly - Legacy$20.001 Month
Show 7 more
  • Lite Basic - Legacy$29.991 Month
  • Lite for Wearables - Legacy$29.991 Month
  • Lite Birdie - Legacy$29.991 Month
  • Premium Pro 6 Months7 Days trial$49.996 Months
  • Premium Pro Yearly14 Days trial$69.991 Year
  • Premium Pro Yearly1 Month trial$69.991 Year
  • Intelligence 1 Year14 Days trial$99.991 Year
2 purchases

ShotNotes

Subscriptions2
  • ShotNotes Pro Monthly7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • ShotNotes Pro Annual7 Days trial$39.991 Year

Questions

Is Hole19 free?
Hole19 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ShotNotes free?
ShotNotes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Hole19 or ShotNotes?
ShotNotes is rated higher. Hole19 averages 4.7 out of 5 from 23K ratings, while ShotNotes averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Hole19 or ShotNotes have ads?
Hole19 shows ads; ShotNotes does not.
Which is updated more often, Hole19 or ShotNotes?
Hole19 ships an update every 6 days, and ShotNotes every 2 months. Most recently, Hole19 was updated on November 6, 2026 and ShotNotes on October 31, 2026.

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