Hole19's Biggest Update Ever Is Here — and It's About to Change How You Play

You generate data every time you step on the course. Every drive, every approach, every three-putt you'd rather forget — it's all information. The problem? Until now, most of that data just sat there, looking pretty on a screen without actually telling you what to do next.

That changes today.

We've just rolled out the biggest update in Hole19's history, and at the centre of it is something we've been working towards for a long time: the Intelligence Plan.

What Is the Intelligence Plan?

Think of it as the difference between knowing your score and understanding your game. The Intelligence Plan is a new subscription tier designed to answer the one question every golfer eventually asks: where am I actually losing shots — and what do I do about it?

It builds on everything you already know from Hole19 Premium, then adds a layer of analytical depth that used to be reserved for tour-level players and expensive coaching setups.

Here's what's inside.

Auto Shot Detection — Shot Tracking That Doesn't Slow You Down

Play your round. Hole19 handles the tracking.

Shot tracking has always had the same problem: the golfers who'd benefit most from the data are the ones least likely to stop mid-fairway to log it. You're focused on your next shot, your playing partners are waiting, and the last thing you want is your phone in your hand between every swing.

Auto Shot Detection removes that trade-off entirely.

So how does it actually work?

While you play, Hole19 quietly tracks your movement using GPS, no input needed, no interruptions. When you finish a hole, you'll see your exact trail mapped out on the hole layout, with your likely shot locations already identified. One tap per shot to confirm. The whole hole takes seconds. Prefer to do it all at once? Reconstruct your entire round in 2–3 minutes after the 18th.

Apple Watch users can confirm shots from their wrist as they walk to the ball — by the time you arrive, it's already done.

Why should you actually care?

Most golfers have a rough idea of where their game breaks down. Auto Shot Detection turns that rough idea into something concrete — and that's where real improvement starts.

- Your real distances, not your best ones. Know what you actually average with each club across dozens of rounds, not just your career 7-iron

- Find where you're actually losing shots. Patterns emerge across rounds — maybe it's approaches from over 150 yards, or a specific hole that eats your score every time

- Make better decisions on the course. Confident club selection comes from knowing your numbers, not guessing them

- Track progress that's real. As your game improves, your stats reflect it — round by round, club by club

The golfers who've historically had access to this kind of data paid for a launch monitor or a dedicated coach. This gives you the same foundation, built automatically from your actual rounds on actual courses.

Strokes Gained Analysis — Know Exactly Where to Focus

Your scorecard tells you what you shot. Strokes Gained tells you why.

Strokes Gained measures every shot against a benchmark, not just how many you took, but whether each one was better or worse than expected. It's the clearest way to understand where you're genuinely gaining strokes and where you're giving them back. Available with Hole19 Intelligence.

Why it matters more than your scorecard

Your scorecard gives you the total. Strokes Gained tells you why.

It's easy to blame your driver when the real leak is your approach from 100–150 yards. Easy to think your putting is costing you when it's actually your short game around the green. Strokes Gained cuts through the guesswork and shows you exactly where to focus — so your practice time actually moves the needle.

How it works

Every shot you hit is assigned an expected number of strokes to hole out from that position, based on your distance to the hole, your lie, and a benchmark for your handicap level. Beat the expectation, you gain strokes. Fall short of it, you lose them.

Here's a real example. You're a 15-handicap, 200 yards out in the fairway. From there, the expected strokes to finish the hole is 3.16. You stripe it to 20 feet, a position where expected strokes drops to 1.87.

3.16 − 1.87 − 1 = +0.29 strokes gained.

Pull it left into the rough 30 yards out instead, and the expected strokes from there rises to 2.61.

3.16 − 2.61 − 1 = −0.45 strokes lost.

Same starting position. Very different outcomes — and now you can see exactly why.

The four categories

Hole19 breaks Strokes Gained across the four areas that define every round:

- Off the Tee — A long drive into the rough can still gain strokes. A short drive down the middle can lose them. This is about position, not just distance.

- Approach — Often the biggest separator between good and great golfers. How close are you actually getting it from the fairway, rough, and various lies?

- Around the Green — Chips, pitches, bunker shots, and anything within 30 yards. Losing strokes here usually points to distance control and lie management.

- Putting — Your performance once you're on the green. Consistent losses here often signal speed control or green reading, not just bad luck.

Unlimited Otto AI Round Reports — Your Personal Coach, Post-Round

Every round you play generates more data than you could ever analyze yourself: club selection, scoring patterns, shot placement, approach distances, putting performance. Otto AI takes all of it, connects the dots, and turns it into something you can actually use: a clear, personalized breakdown of your game delivered right after you finish.

With an Intelligence subscription, you get unlimited Otto reports. Every round becomes a coaching session.

What Otto actually does

Think of Otto as the knowledgeable caddie who watched every shot you hit, then sat down with you at the 19th hole to talk through the round honestly. Except this one never gets tired, never forgets a detail, and always backs it up with data.

After each round, Otto delivers a report that covers:

- Where you genuinely gained and lost strokes — not just the holes that felt bad, but the patterns the numbers reveal

- How you compare to golfers at your handicap — so you know whether a weakness is typical for your level or a specific opportunity to separate yourself

- The 2–3 things actually worth working on — not a list of everything, just the areas where focused practice will move your scores the most

- Specific, tactical practice recommendations — so your next range session has a purpose beyond hitting balls and hoping for the best

It gets sharper the more you play

One round gives Otto a snapshot. Ten rounds gives it patterns. The more you play and track, the more precise and reliable the recommendations become, and the more your feedback helps Otto refine its insights over time.

Over a season, you're not just getting individual round reports. You're building a complete coaching picture of your game: what's improving, what's stuck, and where the real breakthroughs are waiting.

A Completely Redesigned Performance Section

We didn't just add new features — we redesigned how you see your game. The new Performance Section brings together handicap trends, scoring evolution, game area breakdowns, strokes gained over time, and club stats with shot dispersion maps — all in one clear, visual hub.

It's not about drowning you in numbers. It's about giving you direction. One glance and you know where you stand, what's improving, and what needs work.

Handicap Benchmark Comparison — See Where You Really Stand

Ever convinced your putting is the problem, only to realise your approach play has been leaking shots all along? You're not alone. Most golfers have a gut feeling about where their game breaks down, and most of the time, that feeling is wrong.

Handicap Benchmark Comparison changes that. It takes your performance across every area of the game, driving, approach play, short game, putting, and measures it against golfers at the same handicap level. So instead of guessing where you need to improve, you can see exactly where you're falling behind your peers and where you're actually ahead of them.

Maybe your short game is already stronger than most 15-handicappers, but your driving accuracy is costing you two shots a round. That's the kind of insight that turns a vague "I need to get better" into a specific, focused plan. You stop wasting practice time on the parts of your game that are already pulling their weight, and start putting that effort where it'll genuinely shave strokes off your scorecard.

CORE Golf Subscription (iOS)

Intelligence Plan members also get a subscription to CORE Golf, our iOS practice app, and it's the piece that ties everything together.

Here's the idea: Hole19 tells you where you're losing shots. CORE Golf gives you the drills to fix it. Over 100 exercises designed by a PGA Tour coach cover every part of your game, from tee shots to four-foot putts. The app builds personalized practice plans based on your weaknesses, adapts the difficulty as you improve, and tracks every session so your progress is measurable, not just a feeling.

No more showing up to the range wondering what to work on. Your data picks the plan. You just execute.

New Game Modes for Everyone

This update isn't just about the Intelligence Plan. We've also added three new game modes available to all Hole19 users:

- Better Ball

- Alternate Shot

- Scramble

Whether it's a casual weekend fourball or a club competition, you can now track your rounds the way you actually play them. No more workarounds, no more compromise.

Premium Gets Better, Too

Already on Premium? You're getting upgrades as well. The Manual Shot Tracker has been refined to be more intuitive than ever, and the overall experience across Premium features has been polished. The Intelligence Plan builds on top of Premium — but everyone benefits from this update.

Why This Matters

We built Hole19 because we believe every golfer deserves access to the kind of insight that used to require expensive tech or a personal coach. This spring update is the biggest step we've taken towards that vision.

Auto Shot Detection changes how you experience a round. Strokes Gained and Otto's AI reports change how you understand it. And the new Performance Section ties it all together into something you can actually act on.

Whether you're trying to break 80, fighting to crack 90, or just want to enjoy your game with better information at your fingertips — this update was built for you.

The spring update is rolling out now on iOS and Android, phones and watches. If you're already a Hole19 user, head to your app store and grab the latest version.

Your game has more to tell you. Now you've got the tools to listen.