The most important features at a glance
NicerGolfJournal combines structured data entry with practical analysis for everyday golf on iPhone and Mac.
Features
NicerGolfJournal combines structured data entry with practical analysis for everyday golf. Since version 1.2, the new Analysis view brings overview, statistics and comparisons together in one place – from your very first entry to long-term analysis.
Analysis: everything in one place
The Analysis view brings overview, statistics categories, trends and group comparison together behind a fixed filter bar. The single/comparison switch lets you move between your own analysis and a direct comparison of a group. On iPhone, "Analysis" is the first tab.
Round insights: plain words, not just numbers
Once a round is complete, the app sums it up in plain sentences: "Holes with a greenside bunker cost you 1.5 strokes more than the rest" or "Best GIR rate of your recent rounds". It compares against your last ten rounds and names strengths as readily as weaknesses. Everything is calculated on your device; nothing is sent to a service.
Overview at a glance
The overview shows your key metrics – rounds, handicap index, avg. strokes per hole, avg. to par, GIR % and avg. putts – each with the change versus the previous period. Trend charts make visible how your game is developing.
Statistics categories
Behind the Scoring, Driving, Short game, Putting and Holes categories sit metrics such as score distribution, FIR %, scrambling %, fairway dispersion left and right, bunker cost, average putts on GIR holes and the one-putt rate, plus par-3/4/5 and Front 9 / Back 9 values as a deviation from par. The complete statistics can be exported as a PDF.
Course analysis
Analysis also shows your metrics per course and layout – sortable. This reveals which courses your game is strong on and where there is room for improvement.
Achievements: 36 badges
The Achievements category in Analysis tells your golf story in 36 badges, from your first recorded round through break marks and your first birdie to streaks spanning several months. Everything is calculated straight from your round history, and all existing rounds count retroactively. Earned badges show the date of the round that triggered them, open ones stay visible and state their condition.
Your golf year: the season review
Since version 1.5, Analysis sums up your golf year on a portrait card: rounds, courses and holes played, your best round, the course of your handicap index, putts, GIR and FIR compared with the previous year, and the year's achievements. You can share the card or save it as an image on the Mac, and hide your name and handicap index. The image is created only when you share it; until then nothing leaves your device.
Group comparison
In comparison mode the players of a group sit side by side, with the best value per metric highlighted. Ideal for small groups who regularly play together.
Comparison with your handicap class
Analysis can measure your metrics against the average of your handicap class instead of the previous period. Twelve cards gain a benchmark this way, from score to par through greens and putts to the score distribution. The benchmark values come from publicly published data by Shot Scope, Arccos and Break X Golf and ship with the app. No data leaves your device for the comparison.
Flexible filters
Every analysis can be filtered freely: by player or group, period, course, layout, round type and handicap range. The filter bar always stays within reach.
Handicap and score differential
NicerGolfJournal follows the principles of the World Handicap System: the app calculates your course handicap from slope, course rating and par, determines the score differential for each round, and derives a calculated handicap index from the best 8 of your last 20 rounds. Rounds that count towards your handicap are marked in the round list. This way you can always see whether your entered handicap index matches your current form. As of version 1.2.1 the app also shows the Adjusted Gross Score – the gross score adjusted for handicap purposes, with each hole capped at net double bogey (including picked-up holes).
Players and groups
Record as many players as you like with handicap index, home club and avatar. A player can now belong to several groups – each group becomes a comparison lens from which you jump straight into the comparison.
Structured course records
Golf courses can be managed with detailed course data, including tee sets, layouts and ratings. Even complex course structures can be represented clearly and cleanly.
Load courses online
In the course list, under Import you will find Search Online. The list shows the verified courses from nicergolfjournal.ch, those of your country first, filterable by country and searchable by name, club or town. One tap on Load is all it takes. If you already have the course, Compare adds only what is missing and leaves your values unchanged. No account needed.
Distances in metres or yards
The length unit can be switched between metres and yards in the settings. The change takes effect immediately across all views, from course management through to the scorecard. The stored course data itself stays unchanged.
Document 9- and 18-hole rounds
The app supports different round types and takes the underlying course and layout data into account. This makes it suitable for both classic 18-hole rounds and 9-hole rounds.
Nine-hole rounds on 18-hole courses
When you create a round on an 18-hole layout, you choose whether you play all 18 holes, just the front nine or just the back nine. With official nine-hole ratings on the tee, such a round counts fully towards your handicap. Without them, the app approximates the net values and clearly marks them with «≈». The approximation never feeds into your handicap.
Record golf-specific data
For every hole you record strokes, putts and penalties, plus GIR and fairway. Optionally you can add a greenside bunker contact and the direction of a missed fairway, left or right. Those two details are what fairway dispersion and bunker cost are built from. Extended scoring is on by default and can be switched off in Settings.
Clear navigation
On iPhone, five clear tabs guide you through the app: Analysis, Rounds, Courses, Players and Settings. Players and groups sit together in one tab.
iCloud sync
If you are signed in with the same Apple ID on iPhone and Mac, NicerGolfJournal automatically syncs your data via iCloud. Record a round on your iPhone and analyse it later on your Mac.
Back up and exchange data
NicerGolfJournal supports a complete backup of your data as a JSON file, including restore. Course data can be exported and imported individually or bundled as a ZIP archive, and forms the basis of the exchange platform on this website.
Five languages
NicerGolfJournal is available in English, German, French, Italian and Spanish. The app follows the language setting of your device.
Fast entry
Recording hole results is built for speed: on Mac you adjust strokes and putts quickly with the − and + buttons, on iPhone you set the values per hole via an input wheel – strokes are pre-set to net par, and the same wheel also lets you mark a hole as „not played“ or „picked up“. GIR is calculated automatically.
Light, dark or system default
A full dark mode with specially tuned colours. Since version 1.2.4 you decide in Settings whether the app stays light, stays dark, or keeps following the system as before. The setting applies on iPhone and Mac and takes effect immediately.
Stableford and stroke play
Record your rounds as either stroke play or Stableford. In the settings you choose which one new rounds start with, and you can still switch per round. The round overview leads with the metric that fits: points for Stableford, the stroke score for stroke play. Holes where you pick up are recorded as such.
Analysis that stays reliable
Every round freezes the course rating as it was when you recorded it. If a course is re-rated later, after a redesign for example, your earlier rounds stay untouched, so course handicap, score differential and statistics do not shift retroactively. If the same player is created on two devices by accident, the app detects this after the iCloud sync and merges the entries, rounds included.
No account, no subscription, no data collection
NicerGolfJournal is a one-time purchase. You need no account and no subscription for your golf data. Your data is not collected or shared — it stays on your devices and in your own iCloud.
Made for long-term use
The app is designed to record golf data not just in the short term, but to maintain it cleanly and keep it usefully accessible over the long run.
