In what is arguably the worst kept secret in golf, the V3 edition of Shot Scope is being launched and the company listened to every aspect of consumer feedback to bring a fantastic device to market.
Rewinding a bit before diving into the technology and our early feedback, Shot Scop3 V2 was extremely well liked, although some users found it to be a bit bulky on the wrist. Those that used the previous version generally liked the data, accuracy and overall user interface quite a bit.
Hitting golf stores now, the V3 takes that GPS and Performance Tracking watch, and like the movie Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, makes it tiny in comparison. To use a comparison, this is right around the same size and shape of an Apple Watch, and weighs next to nothing. In fact, during my first round, I actually forgot I was wearing it and this is coming from a golfer that never wears a watch during play.
So what is new? A lot. A whole lot actually. The V3 added dual GPS Accuracy, which is designed to give it industry leading accuracy on the course. But what about the changes you can see? The V2 had kind of a bland screen, so it has been upgraded with full color, which is fantastic when needing a quick glance to get hazard info. The unit is actually preloaded now with 35,000 courses, rather than needing to sync the device. Want style? The V3 drops in multiple watch band colors to coordinate if you would like. Finally, battery life, actually more on that shortly.
The story behind V3 is what Shot Scope calls AI Swing and Performance Tracking Technology. That is a mouthful, but what it means is that the more you play using the device, the more data it collects and will be able to offer some incredible statistics aimed at making you better. This is all done in the background, so it is nothing you have to fidget with during the round. In fact, the only thing you need to do is tell the device how many putts you had after completing each hole by a simple click of one of the four buttons (if you five putt, you have bigger issues), and then move on to the next hole. No phone in the pocket, no screens to mess with, nothing at all, just play your game and Shot Scope works in the background.
We get asked a lot about battery life and the V2 definitely had no issues getting in a full round of golf. The V3 offers 10+ hours, and in our testing it might be even more. Testing it on the course I was on the green on the 14th hole of the 3rd round over the course of 4 days before it went caput.
When you get the device, there are a couple of things you need to do to get going right away. Obviously the simple part is charging it up with the supplied cord and then making sure you download the mobile app that matches your cell phone. Quick note, we have only tried the iOS app, but it worked extremely well. Like a traditional watch (and yes, this can be worn as one with what they call Everyday Watch Mode), you wear it on your left wrist for RH golfers or right wrist for LH golfers, then screw in the club tags in the grip end of your clubs. This step sounds tedious, but it is super easy. When you get to the course click play and choose the mode you would like (GPS, GPS and Data or Data). The first time we used it the load time took several minutes at the course, so give yourself a few while at the range or putting green. Then you are ready to play.
On the course, all you have to do is use Pin Collect, which is their quick version mentioned earlier about pressing the button associated with how many putts you had on a given hole. The rest is done for you, unless you are like me and hit a couple of hazards. I was genuinely surprised to see how well the watch handled the penalties. You click the button in the top left for menu and then press which penalty you had. That is it.
There are competitions with other Shot Scope users that can be had during the round, but since we were using the device before it was released, we have not tried it out as of yet.
For the golfer that is unsure if they want the statistics or data, let me share with you a quick story because like you, I never wanted to know. Didn’t care and assumed I knew. I was tasked with jotting down the clubs that I use the most and least in my bag and then play 5 rounds of golf wearing the V3. Turns out, I was way off base and Shot Scope not only told me about what clubs were used, but also how well I used them (not anything like I had thought).
After using this for a number of rounds, I am not sure I want to go without it. Not only did we find the GPS extremely accurate and match up to the GPS on the golf carts we used, but the post round data through the free mobile app is extremely enjoyable and done so without a monthly subscription fee, unlike a few other data tracking devices that charge a fee.
Shot Scope is also launching a standard GPS Watch to go along with the V3 and they call it the G3. It does everything the V3 does, minus the data tracking. Still loaded with 35,000 courses, still has Dual GPS and a color screen. Still no subscription.
The Details
In Stores: Now
Cost: V3 Launch Price $179 and MAP is $219
Cost: G3 Launch Price $159 and MAP is $179
After waiting for over a week without a response to my email from their support team, I finally had enough. I have returned my V3 and asked for a refund. The concept of this technology is solid, but I have just not been able to extract the value from this I expected to. Others have had great success but in the end it all comes down to my experience and I just cannot pay $250 for a product that is underwhelming in it’s delivery. Good luck to all who have theirs and it works for them. I have no ill-will towards the Shot Scope team. know they are trying their best. It just wasn’t to be for this user.
Have they ever offered to replace yours? I know you have been having issues since you first got it. It’s too bad. I don’t blame you for moving on.
They offered me a refund. I was a huge fan of the V2, so really wanted to persevere with this. But it’s clear from my experience, and from others elsewhere online this product should never have been released. The fact some have no issues at all, and some, like me who have had a barely working product suggests QC has been non existent!
This happened again yesterday. I think this is the 4th round in a row. It is always three shots and always on the last hole.
Not sure if I should return and but again when the product and it’s analytics are fully baked.
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Yes, that happened to me last week. I simply deleted it, but I thought it was strange.
Glad to see it wasn’t me being inept and screwing something up. What gets me is how it started out of the blue, it must me a software bug that gets triggered under certain circumstances otherwise everyone would be having this issue. ?
Had it happen to me yesterday on my 9th hole, the 18th in the course. Saw it happen. Went to mark my putts and it asked me to “Play”. Something is obviously going on.
Just received a message from tech support,
Jamie (Shot Scope Support)
Sep 9, 2020, 15:54 GMT+1
Hi Tim,
Thanks for getting in touch with this issue. We made a small change to the system and it seems to have introduced this issue. We are working hard but it will be fixed before the weekend.
Kind regards,
Jamie
Just finished my 20th round with the Shot Scope V3…
Interesting gaps in the scoring irons
2.7 strokes is a good improvement
the putting from 20-25 ft vs 5-7 is a great unlock
View attachment 8963085
I think that once the usage on some of the scoring irons goes up, the gaps might get closer…
How many additional rounds you thinking? Another 10 or double the number to 50?
definitey great data though
I’m not sure, maybe 20 more… 40 rounds seems like a good sample size regardless of usage.
So your 71 was really a 63?
So the question your asking yourself is" Why do I carry a 4 iron? " ??
I’ll sell you mine for $100.
Just kidding. I would reach out to the company. I am sure they are available for order. I ordered additional putter tags.
The 4 iron is losing the bag battle v the 4 hybrid, no doubt. Small sample size with less than 1% usage in 20 rounds.
I think the 4 iron gets pulled out, however you should have seen the 4 hybrid numbers before I changed the shaft in it.
Would you those that have the V3 system and got it to work, pay an annual fee to have your year reviewed, stats analysed and feedback on what to work on during the off-season?
Maybe like:
1. Work on your shots 150 and in to up your GIR percentages
3. Work on you 50 wedge shot to improve your up and down chances.
2. Work on putts 12 to 18 feet to better your 1 putt/2 putt chances.
I know nothing other that I have 4 years of stats and I still wonder where I should spend my time working on my game.
View attachment 8964810
I bet there are instructors, local or otherwise, that would be able to analyze that data and make a recommendation. I know it’s not as simple as a one stop shop to gather, analyze, and get recommendations. But, 4 years of data is a lot and I think a qualified instructor could really work with that.
Love that type of information….
Game Golf does/did a lot of things for years that the others are just implementing (hello, Strokes Gained). It’s been the most reliable at actually recording the shots of the three systems I’ve tried, too.
It never missed a shot in all the time I used it. It did require editing as any use of the putter was deemed to be "on the green" and, of course, they had no pin location function. There was nothing else to really complain about other than their server being down quite frequently this year. That is really the reason I switched to V3.
Arccos is currently doing this and I really like the approach to their statistics. However I’m much prefer wearing a GPS watch on my risk with small tags on my clubs rather than the setup that Arcos currently has. Also I do not like paying an annual subscription model.
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Anyone else have that issue?
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Yes, same issue and it was just the last round.
Just a couple of Phantom clubs however I was playing 9 holes.
This will be great if it happens
In order to get the best experience from your V3 please update your V3 firmware from 2.2.62 to the latest firmware 2.2.76. The latest firmware includes the following improvements; measure last shot and improved time to get a GPS fix.
Improved time to get a GPS fix
In this firmware, we have improved the time V3 takes to get a GPS fix at the start of the round.
New Feature – Measure Last Shot
This is a new feature which measures the distance of the last shot automatically in GPS+Track mode, and also measures the last shot manually in GPS mode.
How to access:
Yup, mine as well. I restarted it once by holding power button for 20 seconds and it is doing the same thing again.
Same here on an attempted restart. This is a disappointing ‘update’.
I sent support a link to this forum as well.
"I’m really sorry but there was an error with the firmware file that was uploaded to the app. This has been corrected now but we need to first revert the firmware on your watch to the original firmware so we can then get you to go back and update the watch to the correct recently released firmware. Below are the steps we need you take:
Step 1 – Revert the firmware on the watch.
– Make sure the watch is turned off
– With the screen off, hold down the bottom left and right buttons
– Whilst still holding down those buttons, press the top left button once and then release. A V3 logo should appear on the screen. If this does not appear then start from the beginning.
– Continue to hold down these two bottom buttons for 40 seconds. This should reset the firmware
– After this is done, connect the watch to the mobile app and update the firmware/go through on boarding. It is very important to do this straight after the reset so this can fix the issue.
Its not the easiest process by design so you may need a few attempts at this but it does work. Thanks for your patience.
Step 2 – Connect the watch to the app and update the firmware"
This fixed my issue btw but I did have to "forget the device" in my bluetooth settings and re-add it and them once logged into the Shot Scope app, had to add the device as a new device. Once done, it automatically prompted me to update the firmware. No stats or rounds etc get lost during this process.
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I don’t know if it found the GPS Satellites any faster however I will tell you that for what ever reason, the sync to the app after my round was complete seemed quite quick.
My last 9 hole round had at least four missed shots and a couple of incorrect clubs registered. I was pretty excited about this but I am very close to junking it.
I have been using it for a couple months now and have no real issues to comment on. When I come off the course prior to editing my score is always within a stroke or two of actual and this is probably my fault as sometimes I take some practice shots if the course is not backed up and I am playing alone.
I use the "L1" gps setting because "L1+ L5" never never seems to be able to find the course. I shut off the watch, switch back to "L1" and the course is usually found within a minute or so.
Mine has never registered the wrong club unless I hit a 2nd/test shot from the same spot with another club.
The one quirky thing is when you get close to the green and walk across it to chip on, it goes into green mode. But having said that it always picks up the club I chip with. I just make sure to give it a practice swing, then chip the ball. I just wish that you could toggle on and off the green mode to ensure its picking up the right club.
As for the data, I know they plan to rollout more functionality but right now I still prefer GameGolf’s data page better. I like being able to select individual rounds to compare clubs, scores and such. (They plan to add this functionality later).
Also, I wish they would give you your average score per round for 9 holes and 18 holes, instead of giving you your average to par. Some courses I play are par 70, others 72, etc.
All and all thought I like it and also not having to wear a belt receiver and or keep a phone in your pocket. I always swore off wearing a watch to play but I don’t even notice having it on and also like the GPS feature. Nice not to have to shoot every pin.
I’ve looked at the yardage of the last shot once or twice but really don’t need that info during the course of my round so it’s kind of a meaningless feature for me. More time needs to be put into the dashboard to provide additional info such as Shots Gained, shot and score history for each hole including graphically, selecting which rounds to look at instead of Last, last 15 and all……..