Golf Ball Tracer — the free golf shot tracerTrace any shot in three taps.
Golf Ball Tracer is the free golf shot tracer app built by Randolph Schilke. Impact, apex, landing — the simplest way to add cinematic shot traces to your golf videos. 14 styles, 4 target markers, HDR-aware export. Completely free.
No ads. No subscriptions. No in-app purchases. Ever.
Forever
100% Free
Trace styles
14 to pick
What's in the app
Everything you need to trace, customize, and share — with nothing held behind a paywall.
Three-Tap Tracing
Tap the ball at impact, apex, and landing — the app fits a smooth, natural arc through your three points. No drawing, no AI failures.
14 Trace Styles
Ribbon, Classic, Pink Neon, Cyan Neon, Flame, Galaxy, Lightning, Rainbow, Comet, Money Rain, Ghost, Pixel, Sketch, Fire & Ice. Tune color, glow, width, and reveal.
4 Target Markers
Mark the landing zone with a chevron, pin flag, photo circle, or pulsing arrows. Each is customizable in size, color, and label.
Pixel-Perfect Aim
A joystick-style crosshair reticle lets you place the ball precisely — your finger never covers the moment you're trying to mark.
Frame-by-Frame Precision
Scrub the timeline at native FPS and snap each puck to the exact frame. Retime any of the three points with a drag.
Works Offline
Every step — recording, scrubbing, tracing, exporting — happens entirely on-device. Your videos never touch the cloud.
HDR-Aware Export
Detects HDR footage and preserves your phone's color and dynamic range where supported, with automatic orientation correction baked in.
Native MP4 Export
Outputs a clean standalone MP4 with the trace and target baked in. Share to camera roll, Instagram, iMessage, anywhere.
100% Free Forever
No ads. No subscriptions. No in-app purchases. No watermarks. Every feature is free for every user on every device.
How it works
Three taps, one export. No drawing, no waiting on AI, no confusion.
Record or Import
Capture a new swing inside the app, or pull in any video from your camera roll. The native camera is built for fast capture.
Tap Impact, Apex, Landing
Scrub the timeline to each moment and tap the ball. Use the aim reticle when your finger covers the ball — it's a built-in crosshair joystick.
Pick a Style and Target
Choose from 14 trace styles and 4 target markers. Tune color, glow, stroke width, and end taper to match the mood of the shot.
Export and Share
Render a clean MP4 with the trace and target baked in. Save to camera roll or share straight to Instagram, iMessage, or anywhere else.
14 ways to trace a shot
Every style is free, every style is tunable — color, glow, stroke width, end taper, and how much of the arc reveals.
Ribbon
Clean tapered line in any color you pick.
Classic
Tapered red trace — the signature look.
Flame
Orange-to-red gradient with a hot glow.
Lightning
Jagged yellow bolt with electric energy.
Pink Neon
Saturated magenta glow with pulsing landing chevrons.
Cyan Neon
Electric cyan glow — broadcast hype energy.
Galaxy
Purple-pink gradient with sparkle dots.
Rainbow
Full-spectrum gradient sweep.
Money Rain
Cash green with falling dollar signs.
Comet
Bright head with a long fading tail.
Ghost
Translucent white for a subtle trail.
Pixel
Stepped 8-bit retro arcade vibes.
Sketch
Hand-drawn wavy stroke for a casual feel.
Fire & Ice
Orange-to-blue split that fades mid-flight.
Specialty styles (Flame, Galaxy, Comet, Ghost, Money Rain) ship with signature colors. Pick a new color and they smoothly switch to an accent-derived look.
See it in action
Real screenshots from the app — record, trace, customize, export.
Home
Import a video or record a new swing.
Tap impact, apex, landing
Scrub the timeline and tap the ball — drag to refine.
Trace styles
14 styles with color, hue, glow and stroke controls.
Pink Neon
Saturated neon trace with pulse-arrow landing markers.
Galaxy + targets
Galaxy trace finished with a photo-circle landing marker.
Built for iPad too
The same three-tap workflow, with more room to work on the bigger screen.
Built by a weekend golfer
Randolph Schilke
Creator & Developer of Golf Ball Tracer
This whole thing started with my daughter. She picked up golf, and I found myself filming every range session and round, wanting to capture her shots the way you see them on TV. The existing tracer apps either charged a monthly subscription, needed perfect lighting for their AI to find the ball, or stamped a watermark on the export.
So I built the app I actually wanted for us — a simple three-tap tracer that works on any clip, looks great, and costs nothing. No ads, no subscriptions, no watermarks. I made it for every person and every family who just wants to celebrate a good shot together. Completely free, for everyone.
These are my daughter's real shots, traced right in the app:
Free. Forever. Everything.
No subscriptions. No in-app purchases. No tier locked behind a paywall. Every feature is included for every user.
Golf Ball Tracer
Every feature, every style, every target.
- All 14 trace styles
- All 4 target markers
- Unlimited shots
- Full-resolution video export
- HDR-aware export
- Frame-by-frame editing
- Aim reticle precision tool
- Offline processing
- No watermarks
- No ads
- No payment info ever required
Why is it free?
All video processing happens on your phone, so there's no cloud server to pay for. It's a passion project from an indie developer who got tired of paying for shot tracers that stopped working when the lighting wasn't perfect.
What golfers are saying
Early-user reactions from the range, the course, and the sim.
“Three taps and I have a clean trace on my drives. Used to fight with paid tracer apps that needed perfect lighting — this just works on every clip.”
Derek M.
Weekend golfer
“I record every range session with my players and trace their best swings. The Flame and Neon styles get the kids hyped to see their own ball flight.”
Coach Allen
High school golf coach
“The aim reticle is a small thing but it's the reason I keep using it. Nothing else lets me precisely tap the ball when my finger is in the way.”
Marcus T.
Range rat
“Posting my range sessions on Instagram with the Comet trace style. Friends keep asking what app it is and won't believe it's actually free.”
Priya S.
Content creator
“Way simpler than the AI tracer apps I'd tried before. Tap impact, apex, landing. Done. No misdetections, no waiting, no subscription.”
Jordan B.
Indoor sim user
“My junior golfer loves picking a different trace style every session. Pin flag on landing zone is a cute touch — feels like a TV broadcast.”
Sam K.
Junior golf dad
Ready to trace your best shot?
Fourteen trace styles. Four target markers. HDR-aware export. No ads, no subscriptions, no in-app purchases. Coming soon to iOS and Android.
Free on iOS and Android. Launching soon — check back for the download links.