APPROACH · DRILL GUIDE
Free Play
Pick a club and hit as many balls as you like, each one flying onto the fairway. Switch club whenever you want; every club keeps its balls.
Free in your browser. Also on iPhone and iPad.
WHY IT WORKS
The problem, and the fix
A bucket at the range usually goes by without a number: you hit, you watch, and by the last ball you can’t say how far any club really flew.
Without your carries written down, the range feels productive but tells you nothing you can take to the course.
The goal: Hit whatever you like with no limit and no wizard, and come away with every club’s average carry and spread, beside the tour’s.
Every carry lands on a fairway drawn for that club and the graphs build as you go, so even a relaxed bucket ends with numbers. There’s nothing to pass or fail.
How it works
Five steps from opening the drill to a carry for every club.
- 1Tap Start session and pick a club. The whole bag is there, lob wedge to driver, and ＋ Add for one that isn’t, like a 2 iron or a 56°.
- 2Hit a ball, set its carry from your launch monitor or rangefinder on the slider (or type it) and tap Log carry. The slider starts at an estimate for the club, so most balls are a small nudge.
- 3The ball flies onto the fairway on that club’s flight and stays where it carried.
- 4Tap Switch club whenever you want. The fairway clears for the new club; go back to a club and its balls come back.
- 5Watch the graphs as you go: this club’s carries under its bell curve beside the tour’s, and every club’s spread side by side. Tap Finish when the bucket’s done.
SEE IT IN ACTION
On iPad, iPhone and the web
Free Play looks the same everywhere: in your browser on a phone, a tablet or a computer, and in the iPhone and iPad app. On a wide screen it uses two columns, so the buttons stay in reach.
Settings
Free Play keeps its settings short: there’s nothing to set before you hit.
No ball count and no wizard: hit as many balls with each club as you like, and switch club whenever you want.
Profile ▸ Compare with picks whose carries sit beside yours on the bell curve: the LPGA Tour’s or the PGA TOUR’s. Settings lists the source.
Deletes every Free Play session, the one in progress too. Your clubs and settings stay. You’ll be asked to confirm.
Progress and badges
Every ball is saved, so each club’s numbers get surer the more you hit.
Each club’s average carry, the range its true average is 95% likely to be in, its longest and its balls, with box plots of every club side by side.
Your latest balls, newest first, with the club, the carry and whether it counted. A chunk or a thin far from the rest is left out on its own.
First session, 100 balls, 500 balls, Through the bag (6 or more clubs in one session) and Steady carries (5 balls in a row with one club, all within 10 yards of each other).
Coaching tips
Don’t skip the bad ones. A chunk or a thin far from the rest is left out on its own, so your average stays honest.
The range of a club’s true average narrows with every ball. A handful per club is enough to trust the number.
With every club’s box side by side, two clubs that overlap or leave a big gap show up straight away.
SOUND AND HANDS-FREE
Keep your hands on the club
With Voice prompts on, the app says the club when it changes (“7 iron.”). Voice prompts are off to start: turn them on in Profile, or with the drill’s Voice button for one session. Turn on Hands-free and say each ball’s carry. Things you can say:
Works in browsers with speech recognition, such as Chrome and Safari, and in the iPhone app. You can always tap instead.
Questions
How is it different from Club Fitting?
Club Fitting takes you club by club until each carry is dialed in. Free Play has no steps and no limit: hit what you like, in any order, as long as you like.
My club isn’t in the list.
Tap ＋ Add on the club picker and type it, like 2 iron or 56°.
What does “next” do?
Said hands-free, it moves to the next club in your bag, and round again.
Can I use it on my Apple Watch?
Not on the watch: Free Play runs in your browser and in the iPhone and iPad app, with the same history when you sign in.
Ready for Free Play?
Open it in your browser, pick a club and hit your first ball. Practice as a guest, or sign in to sync with the iPhone app.
By David Golfs · Questions? david@davidgolfs.com