The Arccos Caddie Link lives! Personal stat tracking has proven that amateur golfers can improve their game and lower their scores when they base their decisions on accurate data. Arccos has been an industry leader, perhaps the industry leader, for years and its system excels at leveraging data using an AI-powered “Caddie” and presenting everything in a user-friendly way to help you make the right choices on the course. But one of the biggest drawbacks to the entire Arccos system has been its limited, imperfect shot detection options – either keeping your phone in your front pocket while you play or using a specific third-party smartwatch. Both options had drawbacks and turned some golfers away.
Arccos has been teasing a solution to this problem since at least January 2019, but now that the Caddie Link is shipping, golfers everywhere might finally have an elegant solution to the shot detection issues. The new Arccos Caddie Link is a small, GPS-enabled receiver that frees golfers from the previous limitations. Whether you are sick of the hot, bulky phone in your front pocket, need to totally disconnect from your phone on course, can’t stand the distracting buzz and terrible battery life of your smartwatch, or hate that you can’t track stats and listen to music on a Bluetooth speaker simultaneously, the Caddie Link is designed to set you free without giving up Arccos stat tracking.
The Caddie Link is designed to clip on your belt, pocket, skirt, or anywhere you can fit the matchbook-sized device without obstruction near your front pocket. After a shot is detected, the GPS and club information are relayed to the Caddie app through a Bluetooth connection. The device itself is structurally sound, sturdy, and weather resistant. The clip is made of a strong plastic that hinges enough to fit over some of the thickest belts that I owned but is otherwise strong enough that I have very little fear that it will break through ordinary wear and tear.
Over the last few weeks I took a deep dive into the capabilities and performance of the Caddie Link to put it through its paces. First things first – the Arccos Caddie Link works as advertised and does an excellent job of detecting shots on the course and providing real-time GPS information to the Caddie app. The real-time integration of the Caddie Link GPS data into the Caddie app works just like it did when the app was using a phone’s GPS. And if you also wear a smartwatch for quick glance yardages, your distance to the front, middle, and back of the green (and wind information outside of tournament mode) appear quickly with flawless integration.
The Caddie Link does the basics perfectly. I have more than three years of experience with the Arccos system and I found the Caddie Link to be as good at detecting shots as using my phone in my front pocket. The common detection issue where too many or too few putts were detected continued, but it was no worse (and no better) than using phone detection. Correcting the number of putts can be fixed in the app to ensure your data is accurate and that Arccos didn’t convert that birdie into a par.
While shot detection accuracy is essentially unchanged, the Caddie Link really shines over phone or smartwatch detection in two major areas: battery life and data accuracy. A phone or smartwatch would last one round, sometimes less, but the Caddie Link is designed to last up to 10 hours before needing a charge. And the 10 hour figure stood up to testing – it lasted two rounds (a Thursday and Sunday) on a single charge and the battery still had juice to spare. The other major upgrade is that with the Caddie Link, you can tag the location of the pin with a click of its button, meaning your approach and putting stats will be more accurate. Gone are the days of the post-round memory test of where the pin was on a green because with the Caddie Link, a single click captures the GPS location of the pin when you are standing next to it. Because Arccos’s AI-Caddie is only as good as the underlying data, this could prove to be a massive improvement and maybe my favorite feature.
Another change that is certain to be a crowd favorite is that the Caddie Link frees up your phone to pair with a Bluetooth speaker and kick out the jams without interruption. Arccos users no longer have to choose between music or stat tracking.
One downside to the Caddie Link is that it is still prone to user error. Because the Caddie Link is listening for a signal from the club sensors, the placement of the device matters. If it is placed a little too far away from your front pocket area or covered by thick clothing, it may be a little too far away for reliable detection and you may not notice until you open the Caddie App. Thankfully, Arccos has a guide and a video on how to properly place the device to help and it only took a few holes to learn some best practices. Also, the Caddie Link is only compatible with the current generation Arccos Smart Sensors, not first generation sensors.
All told, I think the Caddie Link offers a lot of value-add for such a small device. Despite the very lengthy delays that soured some of the early enthusiasm, there is a lot of be excited about here and it certainly is not a beta or incomplete product. I openly admit the Caddie Link is not a must have device if you enjoy carrying your phone, but it is a great addition to the Arccos system with the freedom and better data accuracy it can provide. I know I am happy to get rid of the hot phone in my pocket that would “thigh-dial” my co-workers when I forgot to lock it, and instead enjoy some Friday afternoon music on the course. Whether you are in it for the better data accuracy, the freedom from the phone, or just want to rage against the machine in the fairway, I think the Caddie Link is a quality offering and well worth a look.
You can learn more about the Caddie Link on the Arccos website here.
The Details
Available: New orders being accepted now – non-preorders likely to ship around October 2020
Price: $99.00 for new orders
based on the feedback the fact that this is over $99 is outrageous
I’m exactly the same, I had high hopes and was certain I was going to get one. But the amount of glitches and issues I’ve heard about, the only way I’ll give it a try is if the price at least halves. I’ve scoured the bay and other places but there seems to be none anywhere. Love the idea of not having my phone with me at all, but it’s just the way it will have to stay for now I think.
I’d say $99 is the sweet spot for this device, 100%
The biggest issues I’ve had are on colder days because of extra clothes. I’m learning it’s a warm weather device.
A warm weather device……looks out of window at Aberdeen in December…..puts away credit card
But is there snow?
Also in the words of forrest gump
"you never know whatcha gonna git"
There’s no snow yet….we’ve had a wee bit earlier in the year but nothing for a couple of weeks. Mind you, there is a better than evens chance of snow (or sna as they call it here….) anywhere from September to May so it’s in the post somewhere
How cold is it then? no snow means GOLF
Oh it’s toasty warm today, is about 40 degrees at the moment so absolutely fine to golf. I went to the range this afternoon and just had the 1/4 zip on with no issues. I’ve played in a dusting of snow a couple of times and is OK, but the problem is all the teeing areas are like glass and you’re more worried about swinging off your feet than anything else!
The fee always gives me mixed feelings. I can say the arccos system helped me improve several strokes and I have paid way more money to improve less.
I had that happen once. No rhyme or reason and it worked fine the next time out. Strange
I’m asking about the phone because currently I use a clic gear cart and have a magnet attached like in a car to hold my phone while using the golfshot GPS. I also have an apple watch so that might help with distances but unsure the distance to record a shot.
If you don’t have the Link then the phone must be in your pocket to register the shot, I walk most rounds and left my phone in the push cart a few times and it did not register, even though the cart was close to me.
I was going to say, you’re not selling it to him with that comment LOL!
Dang it, too late! I just ordered from Budget Golf.
Push the button on it when you are next to the pin.
They sure shipped fast! Ordered it Friday afternoon and arrived on my doorstep Sunday! Now if only the snow would leave…..
What is the strength of the clip? Will it stay on the brim of your hat? Like a marker clip?
I tried that, but it’s a bit too "intrusive" to sit on the brim. But that’s an idea to see if it may sit on the side. Thanks!
I guess I should have stated that in the post. I always wear it off to the side, if I wear one, just to keep it out of my peripheral vision.
I tend to clip it to the bottom of my pocket, on the outside with the microphone pointed down to the ball. Even with jackets on, it hasn’t missed more than a shot a round at most. It’s been incredibly reliable for me
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I don’t think it holds well enough to my pocket so i made this leather piece that will connect to the belt and hold it at the level of my lead pocket. I’m not sure if this will be obtrusive but i want to give it a shot when i play tomorrow as it will be in the 30s when we tee off.
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I’ve been clipping mine to my left pocket, seems to work really good so far. Misses some shots and putts but I’m don’t know how they could make a system that is 100%
I can see that it has some mixed reviews, but what I find really comical is how concerned people are with the price. While not everybody, most of us will walk into a golf store, pickup a brand new driver and hand over a credit card for a $500+ club, or $150 for a wedge, $200 for a bag, $50 for a dozen balls (you get the idea) and almost think nothing of it. Yet here we have a product that gets used on every single shot, and the main complaint is the cost at $130. Being Canadian it’s going to require removing $200 from my wallet by the time I cover the taxes and shipping, but if I’m going to make the investment into the system I’m going all in. At work I never put my phone in my pocket, so I’m not going to start just for golf. But hey, to each their own.
Hopefully I am on the good experience side of the product; I can’t imagine they’ve become as popular as they have selling an inferior product. Awesome review @Molten !
Just to clarify, that’s pairing a full set that has built in grips? I’m on gen 3’s built in grips and am on the hunt for the gen 2 sensors that have no subscriptions. I need to regrip my irons, so looking for the gen 2’s makes a lot of sense long term. The gen 2’s are available every so often on eBay for $350 ish. So it would pay itself off after 3 seasons
I’d imagine you can, but just need to start a new profile. There’s no gen 2’s on eBay, but I’ll be keeping an eye out
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I don’t know if you technically need one for every club but you pretty much need one for every club.
FWIW I really like the Link but don’t think it’s a necessity to use the Arccos system
I was clipping mine to my pocket, but it would miss 90% of putts. One day I forgot to knock it off after charging, so it was dead (annoying) so I used my phone…my phone was much more accurate. I believe it’s due to my outwear sometimes covering the Link? I was curious today of maybe finding a way to clip it to my glove. It wouldn’t put me off, and the link would be so close to the sensor how could it not work? Surprised Arcoss didn’t think of this themselves and try to make a glove friendly version!? [emoji4]
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Get a patent on that ASAP!
I just tried it on the glove in my kitchen, and you honestly cannot feel it. I’m doing 18 later and shall report my findings. [emoji106]
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With the issues on Link – am i better off getting an older Android OS watch?
I was having the same problem (see earlier post). At one point, I lost the link but luckily it was found and returned to the Pro Shop. Also wearing a windbreaker tended to block the signal. I finally clipped it to the left side of my hat (not the bill) and it’s been picking up every shot since.