glof Application Manual

1. Overview & Architecture

glof is an offline, local-first golf statistics tracker designed for Android. It enables golfers to record detailed hole-by-hole performance metrics during or after a round, analyze patterns over time, and export reports for golf coaches.

The application is intended to be used in conjunction with a rangefinder or GPS device (such as a Garmin golf watch). While your GPS device provides yardages to the pin or hazards, glof provides the structured tracking system to log drive distances, fairway accuracy, approach shot dispersion, and putting efficiency.

Core Principles

• Local-First Storage: All round data, course parameters, and player statistics are stored strictly in an on-device SQLite database via Android Room.
• No Internet Requirement: The application functions completely offline. You do not need cellular data or Wi-Fi while on the golf course.
• No Accounts or Cloud Lock-In: There is no sign-in or account creation. Your golf data remains entirely on your phone, with standard CSV export options available whenever you want to back up or inspect files.

2. Managing Courses

Before recording a round, you must have at least one course profile saved in the application. Course profiles define the course name, location, number of holes, and the par value for each hole.

Adding a New Course

1. Tap the Courses tab in the bottom navigation bar.
2. Tap the Add Course button (+ icon) in the top bar.
3. Enter the Course Name (e.g., St Andrews Links - Old Course).
4. Enter the Location (e.g., St Andrews, Scotland).
5. Select the Holes Count: choose either 18 Holes or 9 Holes.
6. Set the par for each hole (Par 3, Par 4, or Par 5) by tapping the number selector for each hole row.
7. Tap Save Course to store the profile.

Editing or Deleting a Course

To modify an existing course (for example, if a hole par has changed following course renovations):

• Tap the Edit (pencil) icon next to the course in the Courses list.
• Adjust the course name, location, or hole pars, then tap Update Course. Any existing rounds associated with that course will have their score-to-par relationships updated accordingly.
• To permanently delete a course, tap the Delete (trash) icon. You will be prompted to confirm deletion.

Starting a Round

To begin tracking a round on a course, tap the green Start Round button on that course card in the Courses screen. The app will immediately open the Round Tracker for Hole 1.

3. Recording a Round (Hole by Hole)

The Round Tracker is organized into individual hole screens. You move through your round hole by hole as you play, or log the data after finishing the round.

Screen Layout & Navigation

• Header: Displays the course name, current hole number (e.g., Hole 4 of 18), and the par for that hole.
• Hole Navigation Bar: Located near the top or bottom of the screen:
  • Previous Hole (<): Returns to the preceding hole.
  • Next Hole (>): Advances to the subsequent hole.
  • Running Score to Par: Positioned directly between the Previous and Next buttons. This displays your cumulative score relative to par for the round through the current hole (e.g., E for even par, +1, +4, or -2), along with the total strokes played so far.

Data Fields per Hole

1. Gross Score

The total number of strokes taken on the hole (including putts and penalties). Use the - and + stepper buttons to set the score. By default, the score initializes to the hole's par value.

2. Putts

The total number of putts taken once your ball was on the putting green surface. Use the - and + buttons to log putts (default is 2).

3. First Putt Distance

Optional field to record the distance of your first putt attempt in metres. This helps evaluate your proximity to the hole on approach shots and your long-putting performance.

4. Fairway Accuracy (Par 4 & Par 5 Holes Only)

Select one of the three options:

• Hit: The tee shot finished on the cut fairway.
• Left: The tee shot missed the fairway to the left.
• Right: The tee shot missed the fairway to the right.

5. Green in Regulation & 3x3 Approach Dispersion

The green tracking module uses a 3x3 directional grid to capture exactly where your approach shot finished relative to the green:

• Center (HIT): Select this if your approach shot hit the green in regulation (par minus 2 strokes: on the green in 1 shot on a Par 3, 2 shots on a Par 4, or 3 shots on a Par 5).
• Surrounding 8 Cells: If you missed the green, tap the directional cell that describes where your ball finished: Short, Long, Left, Right, or one of the four diagonal corners (Left Short, Right Short, Left Long, Right Long).

6. Drive Club & Drive Distance

• Drive Club: Select the club used off the tee (Driver, 3 Wood, Hybrid, 4 Iron, etc.). For Par 3 holes, this defaults to "None".
• Drive Distance: Enter the total distance in metres of your tee shot (e.g., 235).

7. Approach Distance

Enter the distance in metres from where your approach shot was struck to the green/pin (e.g., 145). On a Par 3 hole, this represents your tee-shot distance to the pin.

8. Hole Notes

A free-form text box for logging specific hole details (e.g., "Crosswind left to right, hit into greenside bunker"). The speech recognition button is located inside the top-right corner of this notes box.

Finishing the Round

When you reach the final hole (Hole 9 or Hole 18), a green Finish Round button appears. Tapping this finalizes your scorecard, compiles cumulative statistics, saves the completed round into your SQLite database, and directs you to the Round History screen.

4. Voice Input (Speech-to-Text)

To allow fast, hands-free data entry while walking between shots or standing on the green, glof includes a specialized speech recognition parser tuned specifically for golf terminology.

How to Use Voice Logging

1. Ensure you are on the hole you want to record.
2. Tap the Microphone icon located in the top right corner of the Notes box.
3. Speak your hole summary in natural, everyday language.
4. The speech tuner extracts the numbers, clubs, fairways, green misses, and scores, filling in the corresponding screen fields automatically.

Supported Voice Syntax & Examples

5. Auto-Save & Active Rounds

Golf rounds span several hours, during which your phone screen will frequently sleep, or you may switch to a course GPS or camera app. glof handles this seamlessly:

Automatic Local State Preservation

• Every adjustment you make (changing a score, toggling a fairway, adjusting distance) is committed immediately to the on-device database in an InProgressRound table.
• If you close glof, restart your phone, or receive an incoming call, your round remains safe.
• When you reopen the glof app, it detects your active in-progress round and immediately displays your current hole without losing any previously logged holes.

Discarding an Active Round

If you started a test round or walked off the course early and do not wish to save the round:

1. Open the options menu on the Round Tracker screen.
2. Tap Discard Round.
3. Confirm the dialog. The active draft will be removed from the database, returning you to the main Dashboard.

6. Round History & Scorecard Editing

The History tab contains an archive of all completed rounds recorded in glof.

Browsing Past Rounds

Rounds are listed chronologically, showing the course name, date played, gross score, total par, and your score to par (e.g., +7 (79)).

Viewing Full Scorecards

Tap any round in the list to open its detailed scorecard view. This displays:

• Front 9 (Out), Back 9 (In), and Total calculations.
• Hole-by-hole breakdown of Par, Gross Score, Putts, Fairway, Green Miss, Drive Club, Drive Distance, and Approach Distance.
• Hole notes and overall round notes.

Editing a Completed Round

If you notice an error after finishing a round (such as logging 3 putts instead of 2 on Hole 14):

1. Open the round in the History screen.
2. Tap the Edit Round button.
3. Navigate to the hole that requires correction and update the value.
4. Tap Save Changes. All dashboard statistics and historical averages will recalculate automatically.

Deleting a Round

To delete an unwanted or duplicated round, tap the Delete icon in the round detail header and confirm.

7. Statistics Dashboard & 3x3 Heatmap

The Dashboard tab aggregates your historical round data to provide actionable feedback on your game.

Summary Metric Cards

• Scoring Average: Mean gross strokes per 18 holes across the selected round range.
• Greens in Regulation (GIR %): Percentage of holes where the green was reached in regulation.
• Fairways in Regulation (FIR %): Percentage of Par 4 and Par 5 tee shots that finished on the fairway.
• Putts per Round & per Hole: Putting averages and 3-putt frequencies.
• Average Driver Distance: Mean carry/roll distance in metres across all recorded Driver tee shots.

Filtering Statistics

Use the top filter bar to focus your analysis:

• Course Selector: View stats across All Courses or isolate a specific home course.
• Round Filter: Choose between All Rounds, Last 5 Rounds, Last 10 Rounds, or a custom date range to measure recent form.

Reading the 3x3 Approach Dispersion Heatmap

The 3x3 heatmap visually groups all approach shots into percentages based on where your ball finished:

• Green Center: The percentage of shots that successfully hit the green in regulation.
• Surrounding Quadrants: The percentage of missed approaches in each direction (Short, Long, Left, Right, and corners).

How to Interpret Dispersion Patterns:

Scoring by Par

The dashboard breaks down your scoring performance by hole type:

• Par 3s: Average score, par-or-better rate, and green-hit percentage off the tee.
• Par 4s: Relationship between fairway accuracy and green regulation.
• Par 5s: Scoring average, birdie conversion rate, and third-shot approach proximity.

8. Period & Lesson Comparison

One of glof's primary tools is the Period Comparison feature, located directly inside the Dashboard. This allows you to evaluate whether golf lessons, equipment changes, or practice blocks are producing measurable differences on the course.

Setting Up a Comparison

1. Scroll down to the Period & Lesson Comparison card on the Dashboard.
2. Set Period 1 (Baseline): Choose the date range representing your pre-lesson or baseline rounds.
3. Set Period 2 (Recent / Post-Lesson): Choose the date range representing your subsequent rounds.
4. Optional Shortcut: Tap Split Rounds in Half to automatically compare your older half of recorded rounds against your newer half.

Interpreting the Comparison Table

The screen displays a side-by-side comparison with green/red delta badges showing the exact difference:

• Score to Par: e.g., +8.2 → +4.5 (-3.7 Strokes improvement).
• GIR %: e.g., 33.3% → 58.3% (+25.0% increase in greens hit).
• FIR %: Fairway accuracy shift.
• Driver Carry: Distance gain or loss in metres.
• Putts per Round: Difference in total putts.

9. Coach PDF Reports

glof includes an integrated PDF generation engine designed to create clean, professional handover sheets that you can hand or email to your golf instructor.

Available Report Types

1. Complete Statistical Report (Single Period)

Includes full player metrics, scoring distribution charts, par 3/4/5 breakdowns, the complete 3x3 approach dispersion diagram, and fairway accuracy stats.

How to Export: On the Dashboard, tap the Export Coach PDF Report button. The Android document picker will prompt you to select a save location (Downloads folder, Google Drive, etc.).

2. Lesson Impact Comparison Report (Two Periods)

Generates a structured two-page PDF document displaying the side-by-side baseline vs post-lesson comparison, including before-and-after 3x3 approach dispersion grids and statistical deltas.

How to Export: In the Period Comparison section of the Dashboard, select your two date periods and tap Export Comparison PDF.

10. CSV Import & Export

glof uses standard CSV (Comma-Separated Values) files so that your golf statistics remain portable, easy to back up, and readable in spreadsheet applications like Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, or Apple Numbers.

Exporting to CSV

1. Open the History tab in the bottom navigation bar.
2. Tap the Export CSV button in the top action bar.
3. Choose a filename (defaults to rounds.csv) and a save destination using the Android document picker.
4. The resulting file contains every hole from every recorded round, including CourseName, Date, HoleNumber, Par, Score, Putts, FirstPuttLength, Fairway, DriveClub, GreenMiss, DriveLength, ApproachLength, HoleNotes, and RoundNotes.

Importing from CSV

If you are migrating to a new phone or restoring data from a backup:

1. Transfer your rounds.csv file to your Android phone (via Google Drive, USB, or email download).
2. In the History tab, tap Import CSV.
3. Select the rounds.csv file using the Android file selector. glof will read the records and recreate the courses and rounds in your local database.

11. Garmin FIT Import Experimental

If you record your golf rounds on a Garmin golf watch (such as an Approach S60, S62, S70, or compatible Garmin sport watch), you can import the raw .fit scorecard files directly into glof:

1. Download the .fit activity file from Garmin Connect (or transfer it from your watch via USB).
2. In glof, open the History tab.
3. Tap Import Garmin FIT.
4. Select the .fit file using the Android file selector.

What glof Extracts Automatically

• Course Name: Read directly from the Garmin course header. If the course is not yet saved in glof, a new course profile is created automatically.
• Round Date & Start Time: Extracted from Garmin epoch timestamps.
• Hole Pars (Holes 1–18): Extracted from Garmin hole definition messages.
• Gross & Net Scores: Extracted for all 18 holes.
• AutoShot Distances: If your watch recorded swing impacts via Garmin AutoShot, glof calculates ground distance between GPS coordinates using the Haversine formula, setting your Drive Distance (on Par 4 and 5 holes) and your Approach Shot Distance.

12. FAQs & Troubleshooting

Microphone & Voice Input Permission

Issue: Tapping the microphone button does not listen or shows a permission error.
Solution: Android requires explicit user permission to access the device microphone for speech recognition:

1. Open your phone's Settings app.
2. Go to Apps → glof → Permissions.
3. Tap Microphone and select "Allow only while using the app".
4. Return to glof and try the speech button again.

Distance Units

Question: What units are distances stored in?
Answer: All distances (drive distance, approach distance, first putt distance) are stored and displayed in metres. If your GPS device or watch displays yards, simply convert or input the approximate metres (100 yards ≈ 91 metres).

Backing Up Your Data

Because glof does not upload data to third-party servers, your statistics live on your phone. To ensure you never lose your records:

• Every few weeks or after important rounds, use Export CSV in the History screen.
• Save the resulting CSV file to Google Drive, Dropbox, or email it to yourself.

Screen Timeout on the Course

glof is designed to work with your normal Android screen timeout settings. There is no need to keep the screen permanently on between shots; simply wake your phone when you reach your ball, log the stat via voice or touch, and lock the screen.