Hey all ... checking back in with more on my experience with the Straka App.
I have tried to use it for a few rounds for green reading. I love the concept, and I really want this feature to work well -- but I feel like it needs a bit more work. The main issue I have is that it operates too slowly - when I would want it to be click open, and BAM! you are at the right page, the right green, it has your approximate location, and all you need to do is set the pin.
I found that it was all happening a little to slow to be used for actual play. I would pull out my phone (at alone raised eyebrows from playing partners) open the app (it seems to need to reload after the phone is asleep), pull up the right green, then try to figure out where you are on the green, then calculate your read. I think in concept this features is amazing, but the combination of load time, and how much you have to interact with the app, makes difficult to use in actual play (especially if time par is 3:30 like I try to maintain).
If the app loaded faster, knew which green you are on (like the Arcos app) and could even give you an approximate location based on GPS, that would be amazing.
Now if there is user error - then I take full blame. But I am using the app with an iPhone 16 pro, and I am relatively tech savy.
For now -- I am going to stick with the book, which I seem to be able to better manage when I am playing.
When it comes to using the app for yardages - it's great. The course maps are simple and elegant, and you can easily and intuitively determine landing zones, lay ups, and distances to hazards, greens and places. That said, I use a range finder for most of my yardages, and I don't think I would use the app (personally) for the yardages unless I forgot my range finder.
Here is a par five on my course were you need to know where to land the ball (the wide point) and how far you will have left. I hit it about 275ish most days - so this gave me a great target.
After the drive, I can see where a layup will be. The left side of the fairway is less ideal because you have to hit over heavy vegetation to get to the green directly. So you can get the idea of how the yardage book works (and it does work well).