Awesome Golf is a simulator app compatible with a wide variety of launch monitors, and it features numerous different modes that allows users to practice, play, and enjoy arcade-style games from the comfort of their homes or at the range.
In order to use Awesome Golf, you will need to download the app from the Apple or Android app store, and once that is done, you simply need to pick your subscription package, connect to your launch monitor of choice and you are good to go.
You can use the app on your mobile phone or tablet or link it up to your PC and projector for a fully immersive simulator experience.
We tested the app out on our phone, hitting against the screen at Custom Golf Works in Woking, and in this review, we are going to walk you through all of the different game options the app offers.
It's also worth mentioning that at the time of writing this review, Awesome Golf is offering a £50 discount on the lifetime subscription.
Range Mode
Range Mode
First, we're going to talk about the range mode. Ideal for practising and honing your skills, it offers either a basic or detailed display, with the basic one offering a simple flight path for your ball, along with some simple metrics, to give you an idea of your strike.
An ideal choice for those starting out in the game who just want to practice, the basic mode offers a clean and crisp interface that's simple to navigate, thanks to the well-labelled buttons.
For those wanting to dig a little deeper into their numbers, the detailed display offers many data points that will allow you to better understand your shots. From carry distance to descent angle, thanks to the Flightscope Mevo+ that we were using as our launch monitor, we were able to quickly and easily analyse every shot we hit.
Another feature that we also enjoyed was the small club diagram near the bottom right corner of the screen, which indicates where the ball was struck on the face and what kind of shot you hit.
The visual feedback is a handy tool to help you better understand your swing and where you need to improve.
Another really cool feature is the ability to change the condition of the range. You can select the firmness of the ground type in order to give you a better idea of the rollout on soft or firm turf. This handy addition allows you to better understand your yardages when playing in winter and summer.
Approach shot mode also allows you to aim at a number of targets to improve your approach game, while the coaching function allows you to pick an area to improve upon and solely focus on that.
It's worth noting here that the accuracy of your data is reliant on your launch monitor. So, in order to fully test our Flightscope Mevo+, we compared it to data from a Foresight Sports GC Quad, and the accuracy was excellent. Coming in at a fraction of the price of a GC Quad, we were really impressed with the Mevo+ and it was only ever out on ball speed and total distance by one or two mph or yards.
The data is displayed in an easy-to-digest format, and thanks to the bright and crisp graphics, the whole screen is lovely to look at.
All in all, the range mode is really well thought out and provides extra levels of detail and crisper graphics than the software that comes as standard with most launch monitors.
Longest Drive
Challenges
If you fancy a break from grinding on the range, the challenge mode offers a fun alternative that allows you to take on four different challenges, including longest drive, closest to the pin, target golf and a skills challenge.
The longest drive and closest-to-pin games follow the same format you would expect from a TopGolf range, while target golf allows you to aim at targets and collect points the closer you get. All of these formats can be played against friends and family, and we found them to be really enjoyable and a great way to practice with an added element of competition.
The skills challenge was perhaps the most unique option in this game mode, and it allows you to pick a different level of difficulty, with the hardest requiring you to shape your shots through goalposts in order to reach your targets.
While very fun, the challenge is also an excellent tool to make you work on the harder shots you will be required to hit in real life, and teach you how to shape the ball on command. Both challenging and fun, the level of difficulty on hard mode proved to be an excellent test that kept us coming back for more.
Arcade games
Shootouts
Ideal for fun with the whole family, the four shootout games that come built into the app provided us with hours of fun.
The four games are Super Splash, Boat Blast, Wrecking Balls and Get In The Hole.
Each game will test a different aspect of your game, and the arcade style kept the games fresh and enjoyable throughout our testing.
Each game features crisp and clean graphics that are presented in a cartoonish style that, despite looking slightly childish, really worked well for the format.
Each game is easy to learn and will take minutes to pick up and understand. While all of the games were really fun, our favourite was Wrecking Balls. You have to hit your shots at buildings with the aim of destroying them; the harder you hit the ball, the more damage you do.
This gave us a perfect opportunity to practice our stingers, and watching them flush a block of apartments and watch it crumble to the ground was strangely addictive.
Get in the Hole was another game that really kept us hooked. You need to aim your ball at cities, and wherever it lands, it will open up a sinkhole that swallows everything above it.
We've played a similar mobile game that was equally as fun, so to see the same format married with golf was an excellent choice from the app designers.
Rounds
Virtual Golf
The virtual golf feature in Awesome Golf provides users with four fantasy nine-hole courses to choose from.
Each course offers different environmental factors, and they can all be played from a variety of tee options.
Ideal for multiple players, you can choose from a variety of different game options, including scramble, stroke play, skins and match play.
The graphics are again leaning towards the cartoonish side, which worked really well. The vibrant colours and crisp contrast between landscapes and textures looked great and made the whole experience very enjoyable.
Our only criticism of this particular mode would be the limited selection of courses. With only 36 holes to play, it would be great if there were future updates to the app, which offered an extended selection of courses to play.
All in all, the virtual golf mode is very well thought out and provides almost everything you could hope to have from an app-based golf game.
Competitions
Competitions
The fifth and final feature of the app is the competitions function. This feature allows you to compete against other Awesome Golf users around the world in a tournament format with live leaderboards.
Not only can you compete with other golfers, but you are also playing for physical prizes, including Amazon vouchers.
The games included are the ones previously mentioned in the Shootouts section, and each challenge has a time limit, so you will be required to enter your best score before the clock runs out.
For those who have a competitive streak, this feature will prove irresistible. While we didn't get the chance to take part in all of the challenges that were live at the time, we could have spent days playing these games to see our name at the top of the leaderboards.
Awesome Golf
Should you buy Awesome Golf?
If you really want to elevate your home simulator or make the most out of your portable launch monitor, then Awesome Golf is the way to do it.
Providing performance analysis, fun and competition, the app has all the bases covered, and thanks to the easy-to-use interface and bright, clean graphics, it provides a wholly enjoyable user experience.
While the app doesn't come cheap, it will add tremendous value to your launch monitor and help you get better at golf at the same time.
We were incredibly impressed by how much the Awesome Golf app has packed into it. While we would like to see some more courses added in the future, the overall product is top notch and we would highly recommend anyone contemplating purchasing it to try out the 14-day free trial to get to grips with what the app can offer.
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