iGolf

SGN’s iGolf claims to be “like having a driving range wherever you go”. You choose from one of three different clubs, swing your iPhone as hard as you can without hurling it at innocent bystanders, and see how far your “drive” goes.

I have to admit that iGolf is a pretty cool implementation of the iPhone’s accelerometer and, even though I’m not a golfer, it’s kind of fun to practice my “swing” on this virtual driving range. There are a few problems though… for starters, there’s really no need for three clubs since you’re going for distance and not playing an actual course (which, btw, would be so sweet but sadly that’s not what iGolf is). Of the three clubs, only the wood is of any use since I believe the other two are an iron and a wedge, neither of which can come close to the wood’s whacking power.

The other problem with iGolf is that, if you do a true golf swing, your backswing will set off the accelerometer before you bring your iPhone back down to “hit the ball”. What this means is that, after you tap the “hit” button, you have to very carefully extend your arm and then make your swinging motion in one swoop, more like you’re holding a tennis racket. You could do it with two hands on the iPhone, but it’s almost easier to get a good swing with just one.

iGolf’s graphics are nice, the sound effects are good, and if you can make peace with the way swinging has to be performed it’s probably worth installing. A word of caution though: be careful of people who want to use your virtual driving range! If you let everyone in the office take a swing on iGolf, one of your jackass coworkers will eventually throw your phone across the conference room. It’s bound to happen so don’t be shocked when it does!