Patrick Brennan
8 minutes
TheGrint isn’t just an app to use for score tracking and on-course GPS distances. This series of articles will spotlight features of TheGrint that extend beyond course management and scoring, and help you achieve more in your golf journey.
While the GPS tool is critical for accurate on-course distance reading and shot planning, it’s almost equally valuable before and after the round.
After the round: the GPS flyover allows you to replay your round, analyzing your shots. When you hit it great, was it a good decision or just a good outcome? What about when you hit it poorly? Any patterns you can spot? How does it feel to relive that pured 6 iron from hole 8?
You shake hands and say ‘thanks for the game’. The six footer you missed on the 12th is still gnawing at you. Once you get in the clubhouse, it doesn’t seem quite as bad. You still broke 90. Better than some. After a beer – it has all but disappeared from the mind. Instead, you’re reflecting on the flushed 6 iron from 174, first cut of rough on the left side of the 15th to set up an easy two-putt par on the hardest hole on the course. Par there is bragging rights.
And one should celebrate their good shots, they keep you coming back. Dwelling on the past can be tiresome, especially in this crazy game that challenges our mental fortitude.
But as it turns out, dwelling with direction can genuinely improve our games. As world-renowned sports psychologist Dr. Bob Rotella tells us in the book ‘Your 15th Club’, the mental side of the game is the key to asserting confidence. Rotella explains that 82 time PGA Tour winner Sam Snead used to replay his round in his mind after a days play. He’d mentally erase a bad shot and replace it with the memory of a great one instead. This would form a positive mental state to set him up for the following day.
If your usually bang average playing partner started shooting 80 and beating you by four shots a round, you’d ask him what the secret was. If he told you he had a new online coach that helped him break down his course strategy and strengths and weaknesses you’d say sign me up.
These tools are at our disposal with the power of modern GPS tracking, harnessed by TheGrint. The following easy steps mean you can replay your Saturday round later in the evening when waiting for take-out, or while walking the dog on Sunday afternoon.
My chosen hole to analyse here is the 18th at Eagle Ranch Resort in Invermere, BC, Canada.
One of the most interesting holes I have played in Canada so far; a long par 5 with a chasm at 250 yards - meaning most good golfers wouldn’t be able to hit driver off the tee. A lone tree at 225 yards (from the blue/white tee area) is the target. A hybrid or long iron is the ideal club - and probably another one is needed to get up near the green. The interactive map doesn’t quite capture the beautiful view of the clubhouse and the Kootenay mountain range, but that’s what your scorephoto is for at the end!
The interactive nature brings the memories back to life, you can see the tree jutting out over the 4th green that means you need to hit the left side of the fairway off the tee.
You can re-live the deep bunkers on the 8th hole that forces one more club for the approach. The GPS tool is a shot saver in its own right, and can prepare you very well for your next battle with the course.
What the GPS flyover on TheGrint really enables is an ability to stop and reflect on your thought process over a shot.
As an average golfer with a desire to improve, you should really hone in on why you chose a certain club. You can remember the wind got up when you were torn between a 6 and a 7 iron. Instead of stepping off, you swung a bit harder, pulled it left, and the double bogey square is your scar to bear after the poor decision.
Putting stats can be analysed, your weakest club becomes apparent. Instead of hazy memories of a decent round, you can analyse each decision you made, and the level of detail is unlimited. But more specifically, your afternoon beach walk with TheGrint app to hand allows you to recall the exact scenario.
You had 158 yards to the pin on the 8th - slightly uphill off a flat lie, but it had been raining. You usually hit your 7 iron 160, but there is danger short. You opt for the 7 anyway, overdo it, and slice it right. The issue wasn’t necessarily your swing mechanics, but more the mental approach to a shot. With TheGrint GPS flyover, your post-round reflection becomes crystal clear.
The flyover feature also allows a sneaky advantage if it is your first time playing a course; allowing you to consider your next round before you set foot on the tee. Spot the trap on the 1st hole from the aerial view.
Opt for a different club off the 6th tee to avoid repeating past mistakes.
Is this a course with lots of trouble or is it wide open? Is it a bombers paradise or a precision and finesse track? Think how you can learn from your mistakes and misses from the last round!
The ability to continue the round after the 18th hole, and to use the GPS flyover to prepare for your next round is the way to improve your game off the course. It is also a sure-fire way of bringing the round to life, hyping you up for your next game, and ensuring your continued passion for golf.
