Analysis: overview, statistics & handicap
Everything in one place: overview, categories, filters, trends, group comparison, handicap and PDF export.
The Analysis view
Analysis is your entry point for evaluating your game – on iPhone it is the first tab. It brings the overview, statistics categories, trends and the group comparison together in one place. A fixed filter bar controls which rounds feed in, and the single / comparison switch lets you move between your own analysis and the comparison of a group.
While no rounds have been recorded yet, Analysis points out that data is needed first.
Overview: the key figures
The overview shows your key figures at a glance, most of them as an average per hole so that 9- and 18-hole rounds stay comparable. Each figure carries the comparison value versus the previous period:
| KPI | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Rounds | Number of rounds in the selected filter |
| Played holes | Total of the recorded holes |
| Handicap index | Your entered value, plus the value calculated by the app |
| Avg. strokes / hole | Average gross strokes per hole |
| Avg. to par / hole | How many strokes over or under par on average |
| GIR % | Share of greens in regulation |
| Avg. putts / hole | Average putts per hole |
Further figures such as FIR, scrambling, three-putt rate and Stableford live in the categories (see below).
Filters & comparison to the previous period
The filter bar controls which rounds feed into the figures:
- Player or group – depending on single or comparison mode
- Time period – all, last 5 rounds, last 10 rounds, current year, previous year
- Course and layout
- Round length (9 or 18 holes) and round type (stroke play or Stableford)
- Handicap range
On iPhone the filters sit in a bottom sheet behind the "Filter" button; on Mac they stay in a dedicated column. Many KPIs show a comparison value: "last 5 rounds" against the 5 before, "current year" against the previous year. For "all" and "previous year" there is no comparison value.
Comparing against your handicap class
Instead of the previous period, many metrics can be measured against the average of your handicap class. The toggle sits right above the cards. The benchmark is built from recorded rounds of other players in your class, not from what your handicap promises. A handicap index reflects only the best 8 of your last 20 rounds, so it almost always sits below your true average. Comparing your average score with your handicap mixes up two different things.
Where do the values come from? From publicly published data by Shot Scope, Arccos and other sources that record millions of real rounds with tracking devices. The dataset ships inside the app. Nothing is downloaded, and no data leaves your device for the comparison.
How we process the data:
- Interpolation to the class centre: The sources publish values for single handicap points. For the class 10 to 15 the app computes the value at 12.5, so you are not measured against a clearly better player.
- A corridor instead of false precision: The sources measure differently. For greens in regulation the same class value ranges from 10 to 19 percent depending on the method. Where the measurements diverge, the card shows the corridor.
- No extrapolation: The sources end at handicap 25. Above that the value at 25 applies, and above an index of 30 the app deliberately shows no comparison.
- The class comes from your current index: Even filtered older rounds are measured against your class of today. A historical class assignment would be false precision, because the per-round frozen index was backfilled for existing rounds.
- Picked-up holes count as a net double bogey, just like in the handicap rules. Otherwise a round with picked-up holes would look too good.
Why some cards show no class comparison: Not every metric works as a class benchmark. The bogey share does not develop evenly across the classes: a scratch golfer has few bogeys because they make pars, and a beginner also has few because their holes end as double bogey or worse. Such cards keep the comparison with the previous period. In class mode they say so with the note "No class comparison".
Statistics categories
The category selector goes deeper than the overview. It breaks your game down by area:
- Scoring: score distribution (birdie or better, par, bogey, double bogey or worse) plus gross and net Stableford
- Driving: FIR % – share of fairways hit – plus fairway dispersion: how your missed fairways split between left and right
- Short game: scrambling % – par or better despite missing the green – plus bunker cost: how many strokes a hole with a greenside bunker costs you on average compared to the rest
- Putting: average putts, three-putt rate, average putts on GIR holes and the one-putt rate, split by whether the green was hit
- Holes: separate analysis by par 3, par 4 and par 5 as well as front 9 and back 9, each as a deviation from par
In addition, a course analysis shows figures per course and layout, sortable.
Why deviation from par? Absolute scores cannot be compared between a par 3 and a par 5. 3.8 on a par 3 becomes +0.8, 5.9 on a par 5 becomes +0.9 – only then can you see where you actually lose shots.
Why putts on GIR holes? Miss a lot of greens, chip close, and you often need a single putt. Your putting average drops even though you played worse. This stat only compares holes that start from the same situation. Fairway dispersion and bunker cost require the extended capture (see Recording rounds); without recorded values the cards show a note instead of a number.
Trend charts
Right inside Analysis, trend charts show your development over time – as a calm line with a clearly visible trend line:
- Strokes per hole
- Net Stableford per hole
- Putts per hole
- GIR %
Handicap & score differential
NicerGolfJournal follows the principles of the World Handicap System. From each handicap-relevant round the app calculates:
- Course handicap – from handicap index, slope, course rating and par
- Score differential – the comparable value of a single round
- Calculated handicap index – from the best 8 of your last 20 rounds (once enough rounds exist; from 3 rounds onward there is a first approximation)
- Adjusted Gross Score – the gross score adjusted for handicap purposes: each hole is capped at net double bogey, and picked-up holes also count as net double bogey
This shows you whether your entered handicap index matches your current form.
The app shows the Adjusted Gross Score in a round's totals view and in the player-round summary, next to the actual gross score. This makes it clear why the score differential departs from the gross on outlier or picked-up holes.
Group comparison
In comparison mode you choose a group as a comparison lens: the players of that group sit side by side, with the best value per figure highlighted. The trend charts show the players together, too. Ideal for playing groups who measure their performance regularly.
Export as PDF
The complete analysis can be exported as a PDF – as a file on the Mac and via the share sheet on the iPhone. This lets you save or pass on your analyses.