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Where you hit from, before you walk anywhere. The app marks your spot as the start of the line, so aiming from further up the fairway moves the whole search.

Where you saw the ball land, if you can. If not, the last thing it flew past: a tree, a bunker, a gap in the gorse. Hold the phone upright so the camera looks straight ahead.

On the map, tap Move zone, pan until the cross sits on the spot you recognise, and tap Place zone here. The line and the zone are redrawn from where you hit.

The satellite map needs a connection to load, and keeps what it has already shown. GPS works without signal, so the line, the distance count-down and the timer carry on regardless.

The Rules of Golf give you three minutes to search for a ball (Rule 18.2). The timer starts on its own when you walk into the zone, or you can tap it.

You get ten searches to start, which last until you use them. After that you get two every day, reset at midnight, for good: the free version never expires. A search is used when you tap Show on map. Going back to re-aim or change the distance doesn’t use another.

No. It’s a single payment of £4.99 through the App Store, and it’s yours for good on every iPhone signed in to the same Apple Account.

Yes, if you use Apple’s Family Sharing. Up to five other people in your family group get Unlimited at no extra cost, on their own iPhones, each with their own clubs and searches. Family Sharing is set up in your iPhone’s Settings.

If Unlimited doesn’t show up for someone in your family, they can tap the gear on the Aim screen, then Restore purchase.

Tap the gear on the Aim screen, then Restore purchase. Make sure you’re signed in to the App Store with the Apple Account you bought it with.

Apple handles payments, so refunds are requested from Apple at reportaproblem.apple.com.

As accurate as your line and your guess at the distance. A good compass reading is usually within a few degrees, which puts a 150-yard shot within about ten yards either side of the line. The zone is drawn wider when the compass is less sure.

Something magnetic is nearby. Step away from your bag and the buggy, and keep MagSafe wallets and magnetic ball markers away from the phone. Turn and tilt the phone for a few seconds. If it still can’t settle, lock anyway: the zone is drawn wider to cover the doubt.

The app only offers to record a distance when GPS is accurate to about 15 metres and you’re well away from where you hit. You choose whether to save it, so skip any that look wrong.

Any iPhone running iOS 17 or later.

Not yet. Ball Bearing is iPhone only for now, and Android is planned.

Planned for a later version: distance and direction to the zone on your wrist.

The Rules of Golf allow devices that give distance or direction (Rule 4.3a), and finding your ball isn’t advice on how to play a stroke. A competition’s Local Rules can restrict devices, so check them first.