Hole19 Winter Update: Premium, Made Better

This winter update introduces groundbreaking features that transform how you track, analyze, and share your game. It's the first phase of an exciting roadmap, with an even larger spring launch arriving March 2026, just as the season kicks into high gear.

We've been hard at work listening to your feedback and building the tools you've been asking for. Whether you're looking for smarter AI-powered insights, better course management tools, or new ways to compete with your friends, this update delivers on all fronts.

These aren't just incremental improvements. Each feature represents a meaningful step forward in how Hole19 helps you play smarter golf. From personalized AI coaching to visualization tools that reveal your true shot patterns, from precise hazard distances to flexible team formats, this update is packed with tools designed to lower your scores and increase your enjoyment on the course.

Smarter Otto AI: Your AI Coach Just Leveled Up

Otto, your personal AI caddie, has received significant upgrades that take your on-course intelligence to the next level. We've expanded Otto's availability worldwide and across all devices, meaning no matter where you play or what device you use, your AI coach is ready to help you make better decisions.

The improvements go far beyond accessibility. Otto now delivers more personalized insights based on your unique playing patterns and tendencies. You'll now receive recommendations tailored specifically to your game, factoring in your historical performance, your strengths, and the areas where you need the most improvement.

Think of Otto as the knowledgeable playing partner who's studied your entire game history and knows exactly what advice will help you most in any situation. Whether you're standing on the tee box deciding between driver and 3-wood, or facing a tricky approach shot with hazards lurking, Otto provides context-aware guidance that considers your actual capabilities, not some generic tour pro playbook that doesn't match your reality.

What Makes Otto Smarter?

The upgrades to Otto are substantial and affect every aspect of how the AI coach interacts with your game. Here's what's new:

- Worldwide availability: Access Otto's insights no matter which course or device you're playing around the globe.

- Personalized insights: Recommendations based on your actual game data and playing history. Otto learns from your rounds and adjusts its advice accordingly.

- Significant upgrades: Under-the-hood improvements that make Otto's suggestions more relevant and actionable than ever before. The AI has become smarter about understanding context and delivering advice at the right moments.

The best golfers in the world have entire teams helping them make smart decisions on the course. With Smarter Otto AI, you've got that same caliber of strategic thinking right in your pocket. It's like having a knowledgeable caddie who never takes a day off and has perfect recall of every round you've ever played.

Shot Dispersion Tool: Know Your Shot Before You Hit It

Here's a truth every golfer eventually learns: you don't play your best shots, you play your average shots. The new Shot Dispersion Tool helps you embrace this reality and use it to your advantage. It's a frequently requested feature, and we've implemented it in a way that immediately adds value to your course management.

This feature visualizes where your shots actually land based on your handicap. Instead of guessing your carry distance or optimistically assuming every shot will be perfect, you can now see a realistic picture of your shot patterns before you swing. This transforms your course management from wishful thinking into strategic decision-making grounded in reality.

How It Works

The Shot Dispersion Tool displays an overlay on your course map showing where your shots typically land with your selected club. The dispersion pattern adjusts based on your club type and your personal handicap, giving you a realistic view of your probable outcomes rather than your hopeful outcomes.

The visualization uses intelligent defaults that require zero configuration from you. Right out of the box, the dispersion patterns are calculated based on your handicap and the club you're using. Different club categories, driver, long irons, short irons, wedges, each have characteristic dispersion patterns that the tool understands and displays accordingly.

For example, if you're a 15-handicap facing a 140-yard approach with water on the left, the tool might show that aiming directly at the flag risks clipping the hazard on a typical left miss. But shifting your aim 10 yards right keeps all your likely outcomes safely on the green. That single adjustment could be the difference between a birdie putt and fishing your ball out of the water.

Why It Matters

Most golfers overestimate their accuracy. We aim at flags, assume we'll hit it perfect, and then wonder why we keep finding hazards on what we thought were "good" shots. The reality is that even solid strikes have variance, and understanding that variance is the key to smarter course management.

The Shot Dispersion Tool changes your approach by:

- Showing your realistic shot patterns before you commit to a target, not after you've already found the bunker.

- Helping you choose safer aim points that account for typical misses instead of pretending misses don't happen.

- Enabling smarter club selection based on landing zones, not just perfect carries that rarely materialize.

- Reducing guesswork and building real confidence in your decisions because they're based on data, not hope.

Stop guessing your carry distance. Start playing to your real tendencies and watch your course management transform. The big numbers on your scorecard often come from mismanaging risk, not from poor swings. The Shot Dispersion Tool helps you manage that risk intelligently.

Distances to Hazards: Course Management Made Simple

Good course management isn't just about knowing the distance to the flag, it's about knowing where the trouble is and how to avoid it. The new Distances to Hazards feature puts that critical information right at your fingertips, making strategic decisions easier than ever.

Get precise yardages to every bunker, water hazard, and trouble spot on 22,000+ courses worldwide. No more squinting at the course map trying to estimate whether that bunker is 120 or 140 yards out. No more finding out the hard way that the water was 10 yards closer than you thought. The information you need to navigate the course safely is now clearly displayed.

What You'll See

The feature leverages Hole19's advanced polygon mapping technology to display accurate distances to hazards intelligently. You'll see the information that matters most for your current position without cluttering your screen with unnecessary data. The system knows what's relevant and presents it cleanly.

- Bunker distances: Know exactly how far to carry to clear that greenside trap or how much room you have before reaching the fairway bunker off the tee

- Water hazard yardages: See precisely where trouble starts so you can club down with confidence or take dead aim knowing you have the carry

- Trouble spot distances: Identify the perfect layup zone or know when you can safely attack, taking the guesswork out of strategic decisions

The Value of Precision

Think about how many shots you've lost because you didn't have accurate hazard information. The approach that came up short in the greenside bunker. The tee shot that found the water because you didn't realize how far it was. The layup that ended up in trouble because you were working from rough estimates.

With 22,000+ courses covered, you'll have this intelligent hazard information wherever your golf takes you. Know exactly what you're up against, and make the smart play every time. It's the kind of information that used to require a caddie or a course book, now it's always in your pocket.

Better Ball: New Game Modes for Team Play

Golf is better with friends, and now Hole19 makes team formats easier to track than ever. Introducing Better Ball as both a primary game mode and a side game, giving you flexibility in how you want to compete with your playing partners.

What Is Better Ball?

In Better Ball format, each player plays their own ball throughout the round. Your team's score on each hole is simply the lowest score from the group. If you score a 5 and your partner scores a 4, your team records a 4 for that hole. It's a format that takes the pressure off individual holes while still rewarding strong play, and it makes for incredibly fun team competition.

The format is also known as "Four-Ball" in some circles, and it's one of the most popular team formats in golf. It's used in Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup, and countless friendly matches around the world. Now Hole19 makes it easy to track and manage.

Better Ball as a Primary Game Mode

Premium users can now create LivePlay rounds with Better Ball as the main format. Set up two-player teams, choose between Stableford or Stroke Play scoring, configure handicap allowances for fair competition, and let Hole19 handle all the calculations automatically.

The leaderboard shows team scores with a clear view of how each team is performing. Expanding any team row reveals the individual performances that contributed to those results, with visual highlighting showing which player contributed the best score on each hole. It's easy to see at a glance who's carrying the team and who's getting carried.

- Create team rounds with up to 2 players per team across multiple groups

- Choose Stableford or Stroke Play scoring to match your preferred format

- Configure handicap allowances to keep competition fair regardless of skill levels

- Track team scores and individual contributions on the integrated leaderboard

- Enjoy full LivePlay syncing and real-time updates as scores are entered

Better Ball as a Side Game

Want to add some extra competition to your regular round without changing the main format? You can also run Better Ball as a side game alongside your standard General Play scoring. Set up teams, pick your scoring format, and the side game runs in parallel with your main round.

How It Works in Practice

Setting up a Better Ball game is straightforward and takes just a few taps. From Round Setup, select Better Ball as your format. Configure your teams, the system is flexible and supports various configurations including 2v2, 1v2, 2v1, and more. Pick your scoring mode. Start playing. The app handles everything else.

Hole19 calculates team scores automatically based on the best individual score on each hole. Results sync in real-time across all devices in the round. The leaderboard visually highlights the contributing scores, making it easy to follow the competition as it unfolds. When your partner drains a birdie to save the hole, everyone sees it immediately.

The format adds a fun competitive layer that changes how you and your partners approach each hole. When you know your partner is safely on the green, you might take a more aggressive line. When you've already contributed a solid score, your partner can swing freely knowing the team is covered. It creates a dynamic that's different from individual play, and genuinely more fun.

What's Next?

This winter release is just the beginning. We're laying the groundwork for an even larger spring launch in March 2026, timed perfectly for the start of peak golf season. The features you're seeing today are the first phase of an ambitious roadmap designed to make Hole19 your indispensable on-course companion.

Premium, Made Better isn't just a tagline. It's our commitment to continuously improving the tools that help you play smarter golf. From AI-powered insights to strategic dispersion visualization, from intelligent hazard distances to flexible team formats, every feature is designed with one goal: helping you get better results on the course while having more fun along the way.

Each of these features addresses real requests from our community. You asked for smarter AI coaching, Otto now delivers personalized insights based on your game. You wanted to understand your shot patterns better, the Shot Dispersion Tool shows exactly where your shots land. You needed precise hazard information, Distances to Hazards gives you yardages to every trouble spot. You wanted better team format support, Better Ball makes it effortless.

Update your app today to experience everything new in the Winter Update. Try out the new features during your next round and see how they change your approach to the game. And keep an eye out, there's plenty more coming your way in the spring.