DRIVING · DRILL GUIDE
Hazard Hop
Every drive a new hole, with a lake, a pond, bunkers, tall trees or a dogleg’s corner to fly. Hit one drive, tap whether it made it over, and the next hole comes up.
Free in your browser. Also on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch.
WHY IT WORKS
The problem, and the fix
On the course the trouble is in front of you, and how far it takes to carry it changes every hole. On the range every drive is at open space, so you never learn which carries you can count on.
So you take on a carry you can’t make, or lay back from one you could, and give away shots either way.
The goal: Know your carry: fly the hazard, whatever it is and however far.
Every drive is a new hole and a new carry, never the same twice running, so you hit each one once, the way the course asks. There’s no window to land in: only over it or not.
How it works
Five steps from opening the drill to knowing your carries.
- 1In Settings, set your carry range round your own driver carry: 120 to 200 yards to start, an adult beginner’s range, in steps of 10.
- 2Each drive the app draws a new hole with a hazard to carry (a lake, a pond, cross bunkers, a band of tall trees or the corner of a dogleg) and the carry it takes. The dashed yellow line is the drive it takes; tall trees ask for a higher one.
- 3Hit one drive. A launch monitor or simulator tells you the carry; outdoors, pick marks at those distances.
- 4Tap Made it if it carried the hazard, or Missed if it came down short or in it. On a keyboard, 1 or 2.
- 5The next hole comes up straight away. Skip draws a new hole without logging anything, Undo takes back the last drive, and Finish ends the session.
SEE IT IN ACTION
On iPad, iPhone and the web
Hazard Hop 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.
THE ANSWER
One tap per drive
Made it, in green, is the one to hit. Missed means it came down short of the hazard, or in it. Each button shows its chance from your drives so far, so you know the odds before you swing.
Turn on Trouble past it in Settings and the pad becomes Short, Made it and Too long: carry the first hazard and stay short of the second.
Settings
Settings take effect from the next drive and follow you between your devices when you sign in.
Shortest and longest carry, 60 to 290 yards in steps of 10: 120 to 200 to start. Set it round your own driver carry.
Off to start. A second hazard (water, bunkers or trees) where the landing room ends, 10 to 80 yards past the first (40 to start): carry the first, stay short of the second.
Profile ▸ Units ▸ Distance shows every carry in meters, still in steps of 10.
Progress and badges
Every drive is saved, so you can see which carries you make and where they stop.
A row for each carry, longest on top, with every drive marked made it or missed and how many you made in each row. Your longest carry made sits under it.
A bar for each carry showing how often you made it, over your last 50 drives. Your numbers go by carry, never by hazard: which hazard it is doesn’t matter.
First session, 100 hazards, 500 hazards, 5 in a row, and Hazard hopper: carry 70% or more of the hazards in a session of at least 10 drives.
Coaching tips
Look at the carry, decide you’re taking it on, then commit. A half-hearted swing is how drives come up short.
Swing at your normal speed on every hole. If the longest carries come up short, that’s your real number: Made it by carry shows where it stops.
Take on the carries you make most of the time, and lay back from the rest. That’s the whole point of knowing them.
SOUND AND HANDS-FREE
Keep your hands on the club
With Voice prompts on, the app says each hole as it comes up (“Carry the lake. 125 yards.”). 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 it listens for your answer. 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
Does the hazard change the carry?
No. The carry comes from your range on its own, never the same twice running, and the hazard is the picture. Your numbers are by carry, never by hazard.
I don’t have a launch monitor. Can I still do it?
Yes. Outdoors, pick marks at those distances, like range flags or a rangefinder reading, and make the call yourself.
What does Trouble past it do?
It adds a second hazard where the landing room ends, so a drive has to carry the first and stay short of the second. The answers become Short, Made it and Too long.
Can I use it on my Apple Watch?
Yes: Made it or Didn’t make it, one tap each. It also runs on iPhone and iPad, with the same history when you sign in.
Ready for Hazard Hop?
Open it in your browser and take on your first hole. Practice as a guest, or sign in to sync with the iPhone app.
By David Golfs · Questions? david@davidgolfs.com