Use this app to improve your on-course management

The trick to going low is to improve your course management skills and work the ball into advantageous positions so that your next shot is easier than the last. The GolfLogix app, with its 3D mapping data on 35,000-plus courses, helps you do just that — in seconds flat. During play it can assist in shot selection, help you gauge precise distances to hazards and pins, track your scores and stats, show the correct line for every putt and even suggest clubs based on past performance. It’s like having a seasoned looper in your pocket (and one who isn’t looking for a tip!).

For some players, however, this glut of tech — to say nothing of having to carry your phone in your pocket during play — is a burden. No problem. GolfLogix has recently introduced Green Books — smart-looking custom-printed hole guides based on the ultra-precise data collected for its app. Call it “tradition meets tech.” For $40, you can order Green Books from a catalog of more than 14,000 courses. (Courses, tournament coordinators and caddie services can inquire about the wholesale program — with examples — at golflogix.com.) Old-school? Sure. But with it your green-reading skills become state-of-the-art.

1. Heat Map

GolfLogix Green Books are the only guides that overlay standard break indicators wit colorcoded patches to clearly illustrate severity of slope, even for novice green readers. Cool sections indicate flat-ish areas on the green — great places to land an approach. Orange and red? Avoid at all costs!

2. Clean View

Here you’ll find the standard slope and direction often printed in a professionally drafted green book, but in a clutter-free view for when you’re fine-tuning your line from any point on the green. Obviously, arrows indicate break direction. If you had the app in hand, it’d give you the perfect line. The Green Book version, however, is rules-compliant for competitive play.

3. Hole Layout

In addition to ultraprecise green data (laser-scanned to 3mm accuracy), Green Books provide a tee-to-green overhead for every hole on the course, with landing arcs spaced at 50 yards to help plan the perfect tee shot and approach.

(GolfLogix and GOLF.com are operated by the same holding company, 8AM Golf.)