There are a number of devices out there and recently I have been experimenting with quite a few of them (reviews coming). Arccos, Shot Scope and others are designed to give you the data you want, without really interrupting your round of golf.
Post round, there can be a lot or a little to dive into, completely based on what you are looking for. From what clubs you are efficient with, to where you are losing strokes and need more practice.
My question is, do you want to know? Are you ready for data that is designed to help you get better and choose clubs appropriately?
My Garmin does the same thing, but does not seem to be as bad as the Arccos. For instance we can both stand on the tee box and distance to pin is different between the devices sometimes as much as 5 or more yards, but when I range test against the Garmin it seems most of the time it is more accurate than the Arccos.
The thing is once you learn how to work with the technology and gain the understanding of how best to use it, I think it can be very valuable for helping you grow your game. I know mine has helped me.
You make some really good points. I agree that the data isn’t the end all be all for club selection. What I want is another tool to help me with my game. I’ve never really tracked my clubs closely enough for actual yardage. I think i known what they go, but dont know how many times a said club is long or short, by how much, or if I never hit a good shot with this or that club.
Just want to see if tech can help me improve as I try to get a score under 80 this year. I’m only 5 shots from that, so I’ll take any help I can get.
I thought I did.
It has been eye opening, not from a distance stand point, but from what clubs are efficient and what I’m not using as much and can change to fit a different need.
I believe there are a LOOOOOOOOT of golfers who will glean that exact info and put it to good use, and I have believed that ARCCOS and the likes are good for a lot of people, I’m sadly one who already works those things out in my mind. Of course, I play way more than most and the coaching aspect makes me think differently like that from the start.
I do want to see what Shot Scope has up their sleeves sensor wise in particular, because size was an issue for me there with ARCCOS as well, especially if you don’t order the built in ones 1/4” shorter haha
This is where I like the data. On course I don’t use the app much other than F/M/B yardage or yardage to a hazard or something and I NEVER use the app to tell me what club to pick. However I do like looking at the data after a round or even later that week/month. I think it can help you build your bag in a way that is more efficient for you as well. That to me is where the data shines.
this is pretty much me too. i don’t need the data. i know i suck at chipping. i know i suck out of bunkers. i know i miss left more than right, short more than long.
the data is good for me in two areas. one, actual distances instead of guessing. and two, it’s fun to analyze the round hole by hole when it’s over.
other than that, it’s often a case of “tell me something i didn’t know”
I also recently jumped on board with Arccos, and while I’ve only got a single round in with it, the information is eye opening. I’m intrigued by what the data will continue to evolve into (first round was a wet mess) and see trends. In general, it’s already confirmed some aspects and brought to light a few more.
I’m curious how so? Do you have an android or iphone?
I had a very interesting thing last year while using Arccos and have since switched to Shot Scope.
I asked myself to write down in order the clubs I use most often and the clubs I don’t use. After 8 rounds I charted it based on the app info vs what I wrote down and I was way off. There were two clubs specifically that I thought were some of my most used (AW and 3 hybrid).
Since that time it allowed me to change both of those parts of the bag.
Maybe one day when the tech is a little more seamless or I have more time on my hands.
Of course I can just look at my scores post round and see how bad I suck, lol.
This was me for a long time. Each time I tried it with tapping, etc I was not into it.
The last round with Shot scope, you literally do nothing other than after each hole, press a single button on how many putts until hole out. That’s it. You don’t have a phone in the pocket, don’t tap or touch the phone or clubs, just play. It kind of blew me away with how non-invasive it was.
I need to dig into Shot Scope bc if it is that non-invasive i can see a lot more golfers taking a look.
Android. The base functioning works well enough. I don’t like the phone in my pocket. I don’t like the sensors on the clubs. It’s hard to remember to check the strokes after every hole. Getting better at adding/adjusting strokes but still not intuitive. Not able to hit practice shots/putts without screwing things up. Some people do great with it but it just takes me out of some of the enjoyment. ????
When I play fun rounds with my partners and family I am not going in trying to analyze the holes on optimal scoring. I am generally just having fun. So, driver is coming out in virtually every hole. I am going to go for it on most occasions, because that one hole I hit a hero shot makes for great talk after the round.
When I play seriously, the data can really show up in helping to maximize my score and show me where to improve. That’s what I have been taking to the range lately.
For a data head like myself, I love looking and analyzing everything to get better. Love watching in between rounds as you do improve. But, I also understand too much reliance on data can take the fun out of playing. Sometimes you just wanna grip it and rip it.
Currently I have a very good understanding on my distances for all clubs so for me it’s more about strokes gained type of analysis and what holes I am fudging things on. I manually gather my hole by hole score and some basic stats such as GIR, 3-putts, penalties, 2-chips, 130y and in scoring. I’ve fiddled with the Golfmetrics strokes gained app but would much prefer a version where you post-round can plot your strokes graphically (I believe DECADE full version does this, just costs a fair bit…).
I prefer to do my stats post round, it gives a good opportunity to reflect on the shots and decision making. Hence a SG app with graphic input would be nice (I’m sure there is one out there, just haven’t researched this too much yet).
I am not super familiar with Arccos, but I know on Garmin you can go into the app online and remove/add shots distances, tell it what clubs for what shots, and so on. I find that Garmin might show several shots off a tee box and you are looking at it asking yourself, how in the world did it come up with all these 3 shots? I am guessing hard practice swings causes that due to the way Garmin gets the data.
Also you find some driver yardages to be off quite a bit, usually shorter and not longer like Arccos (or at least my buddies Arccos). I shot a couple drives on one round and even ranged the drives with my range finder so I knew exactly what they were in distance (plus I know the course well), but Garmin was off.
The thing is you have to correct what you know is off in the app and learn how to use the tech to provide the best value for you.
I can understand that. However unfortunately the android version is not as good as the iphone. The sensors built into the clubs are so much better in my opinion but some guys don’t like those either. I rarely have a missed shot and the only thing I have to adjust is putts. It likes to assume 2 putts on every hole
Sensors are built into the butt end of the grip. How much smaller would you like it? Plus whenever the Arccos link comes out you won’t even have to have your phone in your pocket anymore
Agreed here.
Or with Shotscope, they are the thickness of a nickel. I didn’t even notice them and you don’t need the phone in your pocket.
The bold is me to a T. It does all of the work and in my first round with it, I had zero errors or omissions. The key for me is seeing trends and how to be the most efficient with my clubs.
Haven’t seen Shotscope sensors in person but what we saw back in January was impressive
I have countless score cards that I threw away that had basic stats on it. Fairways hit, GiR, putts, etc. I looked at it after the round. Maybe threw it in the bag with the plan of adding it to a spreadsheet that never materialized and eventually ended up at the bottom of my trash can. I already know I don’t have enough focus to follow through on keeping track of it myself, lol.
The gamegolf was helpful with that but it has since been useless, so I guess I’ll just have to do it manually for now
Haha thats me I tried it once on a scorecard and I quit halfway through the round. I don’t care enough during a round to keep track of that stuff, I like that this does it for me. I’m still in the camp that hates I can’t play music while using it though that annoys the **** out of me.
Since I have to tell my watch what club I hit, if it is more of a chip out/recovery, or a total duff, I just dont tell it what club was used. It still tracks the shot, but it doesnt associate it with a specific club, which avoids skewing the data. Also good when I chip with an iron around the green.
Never even thought of that. The phone aspect is what has kept me from Arccos. I hate having my phone in my pocket. For someone who likes to use their phone for other stuff like playing music, that would be an even bigger pain.
But yeah, I already know I won’t do a great job. I am eyeing down the Shot Scope V3 pretty heavily once it comes out. If the watch is small enough, and an afterthought. All I have to do is play and let the system do its job.
I’m not advocating it works for everyone but in some cases I think the data is useful. IF you have read the SpeedZone driver thread at all you will see I have posted some screen shots where I have tracked data from 2 different shafts in my driver. The data shows a difference not only in yardage but accuracy as well which I think is pretty useful to me. I might even throw a 3rd on in the mix for fun soon.
i just dont know where to start, sometimes stuff like this needs to be laid out in front of me for me to understand what the hell im doing.
are all courses on an app?
these sensors are on the butt end of your club?
idk.. i just need to go somewhere and talk to someone about it.
i want to be able to track hole by hole, shot by shot, distances, ect.