GolfNow: Golf Tee Times

Review by eFreeware

GolfNow is a free Android app from the GolfNow Mobile Development Team, published under the Sports category. It is built around booking tee times, and the catalog it draws on is large: the developer puts availability at more than 9,000 golf courses worldwide. If you play regularly and book rounds yourself, that breadth is the main reason to consider it.

The app has been on Google Play since May 2012 and has passed a million installs, with a 4.2 average across 41,892 ratings. The most recent update, in October 2026, was a maintenance release covering general improvements and bug fixes. It carries no ads and no in-app purchases.

Booking a round without phoning the pro shop

The core job is straightforward: find a course, pick a time and pay. Booking works around the clock. You can save your card details so that a repeat booking takes little more than a few taps.

Finding the right slot is handled two ways. You can search by area, or let the device's GPS locate courses near wherever you happen to be, which suits players who travel and want a round near their hotel rather than near home. Filters narrow the results by whatever matters to you that week, and a map view shows where each course sits and provides directions.

Course pages carry detail and reviews written by other golfers, which is the part I would lean on most when choosing between two courses I have never played. Tee times are marked as Hot Deals where the price is discounted, and the developer attaches weather protection to those bookings, which softens the risk of committing to a round days ahead. The app also runs a rewards scheme that adds points automatically each time you book through it.

The round itself: GPS, rangefinder and scoring

Beyond booking, GolfNow bundles tools for the round. A golf GPS and rangefinder are included at no cost. Scorekeeping is built in as well, and the app offers post-game analysis once the card is complete.

That combination is what makes the app more than a booking window. A player who already carries a dedicated rangefinder may not need the distance tools, but for anyone who has been keeping score on a paper card and guessing at yardages, having both in the same app as the booking is convenient. The developer treats these as included features rather than add-ons.

Rewards, GolfPass and what the extras mean

Two programs sit alongside the booking engine. GolfNow Rewards accrues points on every round booked through the app, and the developer describes the aim as earning free golf faster. Separately, GolfPass is a membership that brings offers, benefits and savings, including waived convenience fees on bookings.

I would treat these as incentives rather than requirements. The app is free to download and use, carries no ads, and does not sell in-app purchases. What they do is reward frequency: the more rounds you book through GolfNow, the more the points and the fee waiver are worth to you. Occasional players will get less from them than someone booking weekly.

What you need before the first booking

The practical requirements are modest. Saving the card is what makes later bookings quick.

Who gets the most from GolfNow

This app suits the golfer who books their own tee times and plays a variety of courses rather than the same one every week. The value scales with how often you play: rewards points, Hot Deal pricing and a waived convenience fee all compound over a season, and searching 9,000-plus courses only matters if you are willing to try somewhere new.

It also fits players who want one app for the whole outing. Booking, course research, distances, scoring and a look back at the round all live in the same place, which is tidier than juggling a booking site, a rangefinder and a scorecard app. Someone who plays a single home course and books by phone out of habit will find less here, not because anything is missing but because the app's strengths are in choice and repetition.

Travelers are another natural fit. Searching by area or by current location means you can line up a round in an unfamiliar city before you arrive, read what local golfers say about the course and get directions to the first tee.

A free booking app worth keeping for the season

GolfNow is a well-established, free app that does one job thoroughly and adds a useful set of round-day tools on top. Booking at any hour, filtering a large course catalog, reading golfer reviews and getting directions cover the logistics; the GPS, rangefinder and scorekeeping cover the play. The absence of ads and in-app purchases keeps the experience uncluttered.

The caveats are structural rather than technical. The catalog is only as good as the courses that participate in your region, and the rewards and GolfPass benefits reward frequency. None of that undermines the core offer.

If you book your own rounds and play often enough for points and discounted tee times to add up, this is an easy install. If you play the same course every week and let the pro shop handle the booking, the app's advantages will pass you by.

What's new in version 6.9.3

General improvements and bug fixes.