Golf is a peculiar sport. Every golfer will tell you that you need three things to be successful: Time, Money, and Equipment. Well I am adding a fourth criterion for being a successful golfer, the iPhone app Golfscape or Golfshot! The apps are made by Shotzoom Software ! The two apps: Golfshot, which is $29.99 and Golfscape, which is $19.99 are a bit pricey, but whats worse a $30.00 hole in your wallet (no pun intended) or gun-smoking a perfect drive 20 yards over the green to double bogey because you misjudged the distance!

So whats the difference, well Golfshot and Golfscape both grab from an enormous database comprised of GPS data for holes on over 33,000 courses all over the world: Check out the list ! Both apps basically work in the same way, but just present the data differently (Golfscape uses AR, Golfshot uses regular maps). They use the GPS location of your iPhone to show you relevant distances to: greens, bunkers, doglegs, and layup points! Granted these are only estimations, but according to one user that has tried this app out the estimations are incredibly accurate and consistent!

At one point I held my phone up, pointed it at the green and waited a few moments for the app to zero in on my distance. Eventually it settled on 73 yards. I looked around on the course for a sprinkler head, which normally has the distance written on it, and there just so happened to be one right next to where I was standing. It had the number “73″ written on it.

Here is the full article: 

Both apps are great, but Golfscape takes it to another level using Augmented Reality! Below is a their Youtube Video. Personally, I would recommend Golfshot over Golfscape because AR is not perfect in any app yet (even though they do a great job in Golfscape), but the Golfscape AR interface is far more impressive and will definitely produce the “AWE” factor in the Clubhouse and guys lets be honest sometimes usability takes a backseat when showing off to the boys!

Will this help my golf game, probably not, but for people who actually can control and hit distances with certain clubs this could be a really nice addition! Plus you can keep score and store stats! AR is the future, especially with the gyroscope in the new iPhone 4! Check out the Yelp App and AroundME App for some other cool uses of AR!

* Remember: you need an iPhone 3GS to use any Augmented Reality (AR) app

Download Golfscape (AR) Here :

Download Golfshot Here:

What does the Nation of Hypeness think: Golfscape or Golfshot?