SimplyStroke exists because of a specific, stupid moment that every golfer has had: you reach the green, stand over the ball, and realize you have no idea whether this putt is for four or for five. So you reconstruct the hole backwards, arrive at a number that feels about right, and write it down.
Every golf app we tried wanted to solve a bigger problem than that one. They offered yardages, strokes gained, green slope maps, swing analysis, side games, social feeds, and a subscription. None of them offered the thing we actually needed, which was for the number to still be there when we got to the green.
So it does one job
One giant button. One tap per swing. An undo, because fingers slip. A finished scorecard with the math already done. No account before your first round, no ads, no signal required for solo play, and no monthly fee required to keep score.
That's not minimalism as an aesthetic. It's minimalism as a function: the moment an app asks for a second tap, or a decision, or your attention, it starts losing to the thing it was supposed to replace, which is a pencil.
Free where it matters
SimplyStroke's core scoring is free: no ads, no sensor bundle and no subscription required to count the round in front of you.
Optional Pro starts after the count is safe. It pays for complete history, course playbooks, crews, trips, private journals, and the tools that turn old cards into something useful. The stroke button stays the same for everyone.
What SimplyStroke leaves out
- Your round data isn't sold.
- No ad between you and your score.
- We don't add a feature just because a competitor has it. The whole product is the things we left out.
- Core scorekeeping is free. Counting your round costs nothing.
On the ADHD thing
Losing count isn't a discipline problem. Golf quietly asks you to hold a running number in working memory for ten-plus minutes per hole while planning shots, walking, talking and hunting for a ball in the fescue. That's a known and studied cognitive load, and it's measurably harder if you have ADHD.
But SimplyStroke does not treat anything. It is not a medical product and it never will be. It removes one arbitrary memory task from a game that never needed it. That's a small claim, it's a true one, and we'd rather make a small true claim than a big one you can't check.
Questions, bug reports, or a story about the worst count you ever lost: support@simplystroke.app. Every email gets read.
Who writes this stuff
Everything on this site is written by people who build the app. Mike Anderson is the editor: he covers golf scoring, the Rules of Golf, and the intersection of ADHD and sport, and he fact-checks every clinical claim against the research it cites. The rest of the team stays behind the scenes because the app should be the interesting part, not us.
What that means in practice: when we make a claim about how ADHD and working memory interact, we cite the research. When we compare ourselves to another app, we link to their pricing page so you can check us. When we don't know something, we say so. Putting a name on the work is not a licence to be sloppy; it raises the bar, because the writing has to earn trust on every page.
Spot something wrong anywhere on this site? Tell us and we'll fix it.