Play Mode gives you GPS distances, your tips on demand, scoring, and shot tracking while you are on the course.
Start your round while you still have signal. PreSwing needs a connection to look up your course and open the round. After that, distances, audio, and scoring all work without one.
Starting a round
The button reads Preparing for a few seconds while PreSwing loads the course and copies your audio onto your phone and your Apple Watch.
Tees are split into Men and Women tabs. Which one opens first comes from your profile, but you can switch tabs and play whatever tees you actually play.
The hole screen
Across the top is the hole number and three distances: Front, To Hole, and Back. Those are the front edge of the green, the middle, and the back edge, measured from where you are standing.
Down the left side are four tiles: PAR, your yardage from the tee you chose, HDCP for the hole's handicap, and TRACK for shot tracking.
Across the bottom are arrows to change holes, the hole number, and two round buttons: Score on the left and Skills on the right.
Behind all of it is a satellite view of the hole, turned so you are at the bottom and the green is at the top.
Using the map
A white line runs from you, through a marker, to the hole, with the distance for each leg shown on it.
Drag the marker anywhere on the hole and both numbers update. That is how you find out what it takes to carry a bunker, or what you have left if you lay up short of it.
The three distances at the top always come from your GPS position, not from where you dragged the marker.
Playing your tips
The map stays visible above the panel, so you are never far from your yardage.
If you chose a pro voice for the round, you will see the 30 built-in Skills only. Skills you created yourself appear when you play with the PreSwing voice, your own voice, or your coach's.
Keeping score
Everything saves as you tap. The Fairway row disappears on a par 3.
For Fairway and GIR, tap the option you want. Tap it again to clear it if you pick the wrong one.
Your full scorecard is across the top of the panel. Swipe it sideways to see the rest of the round.
To score a different hole, tap any hole number on the card, or use the arrows at the bottom of the panel. Moving around inside the Score panel does not move the map behind it.
Hole notes
The Notes tab is where you write down what you learn about a hole.
You see your notes from every round you have played that hole, newest first. Today's note has a Current Round badge on it.
You get one note per hole per round. To add to today's note, swipe left on it and tap the pencil.
Write course knowledge here, not swing thoughts. Green runs away from you, land it short. Swing thoughts belong in Skills.
Tracking a shot
The shot is not saved until you pick a club.
If you forgot to start tracking, press and hold TRACK instead of tapping it. PreSwing offers to measure from the tee box, or from where your last tracked shot ended.
Tap STOP before you change holes. Changing holes does not stop tracking, so a shot still running when you walk to the next tee gets filed on the new hole with your walk included in the distance.
To see what you tracked, tap Score, then the Shots tab. Swipe left on a shot to change the club or delete it.
Moving between holes
Use the arrows at the bottom of the hole screen.
You can also say "Hey Siri, PreSwing, next hole", or use the arrows on your Apple Watch. Change holes anywhere and the other device follows within a second.
Finishing your round
Tapping next on your last hole takes you back to hole one, so you can keep going if you are playing more.
To close out a round:
That saves the round to your history. You can still edit scores and notes afterward from Round History.
The trash button on the same screen deletes the round instead.
Backing out of the hole screen does not end your round. It keeps running until you complete or delete it, and you will find it waiting the next time you tap PLAY.
Losing signal mid round
Nothing stops working. Your distances are calculated on your phone, your audio is already downloaded, and your scores save locally and upload when you reconnect.
The satellite map is replaced by a simple diagram of the hole until your connection comes back.
What is free
Playing a round is free: finding your course, setting it up, GPS distances, the map, hole notes, and keeping score.
Shot tracking and the AI hole recap need a subscription.
Questions
Do I need a signal to play?
You need one to look up the course and start the round. After that, distances, audio playback, and scoring all work without a signal. Scores and notes save on your phone and upload the next time you are online. The only thing that needs a live connection during a round is the AI hole recap.
My course is not in the list.
Type its name into Search Course at the top and tap the search key. Nearby courses only appear if location is on, but search works either way. If your course genuinely is not there, report it in Settings under Course Data Correction and we will pass it to our mapping provider. New courses usually take about three business days.
Why do I have to pick tees every round?
PreSwing does not remember your last choice yet. It is two taps, and it means the yardages on the hole screen match the tees you are actually playing.
Can I change my voice partway through a round?
No. Your voice is loaded onto your phone and your Watch when the round starts, which is what makes it play instantly on the course without a signal. To use a different voice, finish the round and start a new one.
My distances have stopped changing.
Your GPS signal has dropped, usually under heavy tree cover or against a hillside. The last numbers stay on screen rather than going blank, and they pick up again on their own. If you have walked fifty yards and nothing has moved, that is what is happening.
The distances look wrong.
Check the hole number at the bottom of the screen. If you skipped ahead without changing holes, PreSwing is still measuring to the previous green. If you are not on the course at all, the numbers show tee-to-green yardage for the hole rather than a live reading.
I closed the app and my round is gone.
It is not. Tap PLAY and you will land back on the round settings screen with a Resume Round button. Rounds survive closing the app, your phone dying, and anything else. They stay open until you complete or delete them.
I finished my round but it is not in Round History.
The round has to be completed. Tap PLAY, then Complete Round. Tapping next on the eighteenth hole loops you back to hole one rather than finishing.
Why did the Score panel open on a different hole?
It jumps to the first hole in your round that has nothing entered, on the assumption that is the one you meant to fill in. Use the arrows or tap a hole number on the card to move to the hole you want.
Can I score on my Apple Watch?
Not currently. Scoring, notes, and shot tracking are on the phone. The Watch shows distances, changes holes, and plays your Skills audio.
My par and handicap show zero.
That course is missing its scorecard data. Report it in Settings under Course Data Correction. Everything else on the hole still works.
