Bohnson

First off, thanks MGS for the opportunities you provide the golfing community with independent and unbiased testing. Excited to test out the ShotScope V5. I play out of Southwest Ohio and have been golfing for 25 years. I have been playing tournament golf for the last 9 years. I picked up the game after Happy Gilmore and Tiger Woods influenced a hockey playing northern Minnesotan to grip it and rip it. Tournament golf has got me hooked on the game, improving, running tournaments, and all around being a golf junky. I have a few certifications such as SuperSpeed, WHS, and Impact Zone. I took a yearlong Keiser University Associates program in Golf Management during the COVID times. I love the process of preparing, practicing, learning, and testing my game/equipment. I have done some testing for MGS in the past (links to previous testing at the bottom), so it is always a treat to get selected for another test. WITB: Still working with the Taylormade M1 in driver / 3W, Srixon combo set, and a WhiteHot RX putter. I game the Garmin S70 smart watch so it will be an interesting test to compare these two giants in golf tracking. Previously I used a Garmin Fenix, the S62, and prior to that I used Game Golf. I believe if you are not tracking your stats, you are probably missing some easy areas to improve your game. I want to test this product by comparing it to my gamer, the Garmin S70. I will plan on playing a few holes most nights and a couple of rounds weekly. It will be interesting because the S70 has the extra smart watch features and the V5 is purely a golf watch. I will play some rounds with both watches on. I will offer some pros and cons to each product. The product will stay in the bag if I see a benefit to using the product instead of the Garmin S70. I expect that it will be challenging to move off of the Garmin S70 because it measures wind, slope, etc. I know the V5 is great for tracking club performance and showing clean statistics. The Garmin S70 does some of this if you have the club tracers. What I can tell you is that the ShotScope is a lower cost option for golfers not looking for all of the extras that the Garmin provides. Really this is going to come down to a cost benefit analysis. The Garmin app is not great so I pair the Garmin tracking with DECADE to really analyze my data. The shot tracking tags for the ShotScope are smaller than the Garmin so that seems like a big win off of the bat. I think this will come down to what is the biggest bang for your buck. The Garmin is expensive and provides extras. The ShotScope seems like it will provide some great data and save time! I love the testing process and have tested, OnCore VEROX2, TopFlite Gamer, Callaway Chrome Tour White Box, and the sub70-849-pro-driver! First Impressions (9 out of 10) First impressions were good. The watch is nice. The boxing was on the nicer side. They sent a nice congratulations note! I love that they took the time to do that! The tags are very organized. The instruction manual and quick start are perfect for any user. They can open the box, charge the watch, download the app, set up an account, and be ready to go in a fairly expedient fashion. It is a good weight and the tags are on the smaller side so I really like that. The charger, watch, and tags are great so no complaints on my end. The Shotscope V5 is an update to their best-selling V3. The OEM states the new V5 GPS watch features the latest advancements in golf technology, whilst maintaining the easy-to-use functionality that our users have come to expect. The V5 comes with Full hole maps, F/M/B distances, automatic shot tracking for every shot you hit on the course, multiple watch faces and 36,000 golf courses plus much more! The V5 band feels a little less durable feeling than the Garmin S70, but Garmin has been in the business for a long time. Screen is not as clear as the Garmin either, but the Garmin is much much more expensive. My initial impressions are that Shotscope, dollar for dollar, is going to be a stalwart. They offer a free app. The price of the watch is great for a pure golf watch. Pretty impressed with what they are offering the golf community. For the price of the V5 my impressions are 10/10. Unboxing Aesthetics (9 out of 10) The aesthetics of the watch are good. They are not as high end as the Garmin S70, but we are comparing apples to oranges. The S70 from Garmin is a smart watch with a touch screen and it is triple the price of the Shotscope. I like the smaller size of the V5 compared to the Garmin. I also really like the lighter weight and size of the V5. The fit is fine, but I have to warn any potentials buyers that the strap buckles on the opposite side. Shotscope I believe did this because the sensor is on the traditional side a watch would clip. It takes a little getting used to. The shape is good and it came in a standard black. Love the weight and size of the tags compared to previous tags from other OEMs that stick out too much. Charger has a unique port. Would be nice if every OEM had the same charging port. LOL I tend to lose chargers so buying extra is always a pain. I do not believe you can customize the watch, but I would not be interested in doing that. I think the watch is built to last as the hardened Mineral Glass face and silicone with UV dust resistant coating band are meant to be outside in the heat of a round. No storage case comes with the watch, but I do not think that is necessary. 9/10 because the strap is a little different. The Numbers (18 out of 20) The yardages are similar in accuracy to the Garmin. I think they are pretty solid for front, middle, back yardages. I use my range finder to get the pin and the watch to know front edge or back edge depending on the distance to the pin. For instance, I would want to know the yardage to the back edge if the pin is in the back so that I do not go long and have the dreaded downhill chip to a back pin. Most greens slope back to front. I did not have any issue with the numbers as they are plus or minus a yard or two compared to the Garmin. In my book that is close enough! The Shotscope V5 does not have a slope, wind, weather calculation like the Garmin S70 does so I was not able to obtain a calculation for “plays like” distances. The intermediate targets were good, but you have to press a few buttons to get to the distance instead of just touching a touch screen or your GPS on your cellular device. So, this does take a little bit of a learning curve knowing what buttons to press and how to toggle to what hazard, pin location, or target you want. No troubles once you figure out how to use the features! The setup was good besides having to take the time to screw in the club tags. The instructions were clear and easy to understand. The watch charge quickly and the battery lasts a couple of rounds depending on how slow you are or the groups in front of you. The more you use the features, it will drain the battery a little more. As I mention above, the charging cable is proprietary, I have not seen an adapter like it before. No need to ask for help or search online for an answer during setup. The only thing of note was the putter tags. My gamer putter grip is a SuperStroke, so I had to get a box of putter tags. The putter tag pack has a tag desienged for SuperStroke grips. For those of you who frequently switch out putters, this is a great thing. Extra tas so you can get some data on strokes gained for separate putters to see which putter you play best with. Customer service hooked me up with the extra putter tag packs so that was great. They sent me extra as well. Not sure if that’s indicative to my putting stats where they are like, “this guy needs ot try some other putters!” Kidding, but that was a great interaction and you can tell customer service goes the extra mile to make sure their users are happy. The most useful metrics presented are on the app. I cannot say enough about the app and visuals that Shotscope provides. Provides for FREE! The free app with the watch purchase is by far the best thing since sliced bread. So many data points to help your game and see how you are performing round to round and month to month. You can see how you rack and stack compared to other players or even pros. The visuals and interface are exceptional. I wish Garmin had something remotely close to this. You can track performance by club, tee shots, approaches, short game, putting, and scoring. You can also view rounds, and compete for medals, and track the leaderboard. These features are really impressive and well thought out. On-Course (17 out of 20) I did have to think about and remember setting the pin and making sure the watch grabbed the club I was using. When I play quickly the watch sometimes missed an approach shot or did not tag the club I was using. The watch display shows the club you are using so you can put the sensor close to the watch screen to make sure it grabs the club. You also have to set the pin after you tap in and record the number of putts. This is easy to forget, but you can edit it after the round. I recommend using a desktop to edit your round afterwards and not the app. It seems to be faster. You will want to make sure to do this after the round to make sure everything is accurate otherwise you might have some outliers. Not hard to do after you get the hang of it. The pin setting feature did interfere with your normal golfing routine because I am not used to touching my watch to set the pin location right after I putt and it is a little awkward for your playing partners. The watch is intuitive using it on the course especially if all you care about is front middle back. If you want yardages or to change the pin position you do have to toggle around on the watch. I did not like using it to toggle around or set the pin position. I mostly used it for front middle back. Compared to the Garmin S70 the app and stats for the shotscope are hands down better. The S70 has so many more smartwatch features that the shotscope does not offer. The S70 is a touch screen so that is easier to use for me and much faster. Yardages are both good for both watches. I used the GameGolf tags in the past and I loved them since they were small. I love the shotscope because they are small as well. The Garmin tags (I have not used them) or Arcos (I have not used them), are bigger so I think the smaller ones are a win for shotscope. I am playing about the same with both watches, however the Garmin wind, weather, and slope function makes my yardages more accurate. The strokes gained feature for Shotscope makes it really easy to know what you need to work on so that is an A+! The Good, the bad, the in between (17 out of 20) Highlighting my favorite parts about this device is easy. Great bang for the buck. A high-end app, customer service, small club tags, strokes gained, good website, great articles and tools to improve all for a one-time cost is really hard to beat. The fit of the tags on the clubs are good and none of them broke so that is a bonus. I like that you can set multiple tags and active/inactive clubs if you are switching or trying something new/old out. The issues I have are the pin setting is not all that accurate and you have to put in more time after the round to edit everything. The technology is not perfect and misses some shots sometimes. Seems to mostly miss my approach shots. Maybe 5-10 shots missed a round. It will not miss them if you, the golfer, are cognizant enough to check the watch and make sure it is tagged. There is an icon on the watch that shows the club. If it still says D (driver) after your approach shot, it did not grab it. All good though because you can edit all of this after the round. Sometimes mistakes clubs as well. I have had issues with active and inactive clubs. So, there might be a little glitch in the system. It is good, but does take some time. I also had some quirks with rounds that were one offs. Nothing that I could not edit on the desktop after the round. But, a little frustrating to have to edit shots and rounds. The fit is solid, but the band is not quite on the Garmin level. The S70 is much much more expensive though. I love the medals; I think that is really cool and fun to track how you are doing and highlight your good play. It is encouraging golfers to have fun and enjoy the good shots instead of focusing on the bad ones (easy to do). I think the V5 is a real winner for the golfer who wants a budget friendly option and not have to pay for a subscription or smart watch. I think the charge on the watch is adequate enough. I am one who just throws it back on the charger after the round. If you are not one to do that, it might be an issue. Play it or Trade it? (18 out of 20) All things are equal, and I did not want the Smart Watch features of the S70, I would game this watch in a heartbeat. I am trading it because the Garmin S70 has the Smartwatch features I use. The watch was super convenient for tracking and fun to see medals and strokes gained. Oh, by the way, the pros are really good. Really good at everything so it was humbling to see how I rack and stack. I did not use the watch in my stroke play city championships because of the distraction of setting the pin and having to click the watch. However, I think people could use it without any qualms. The device helped me play my best because it showed me some great statistics. As stated above, the asking price is fair for the product. It is in my opinion really hard to beat. The type of golfer do I think this product would fit the best is the golfer looking to improve by tracking stats and not break the bank. If you like to wear a traditional watch and not have a smart watch, this is the pure golf watch you need. The price is unbeatable for all of the data, game improvement articles, medals, and fun that goes with the game we love. Conclusion In conclusion, this golf watch is a great bang for your buck. No subscription, easy setup, small (not bulky like other OEMs) club tags at the end of the clubs and all of the data an amateur golfer could ask for. If you are not tech savvy, there is a little learning curve. But once you are used to the watch you cannot ask for more. Love the app and website. You can track stats, prepare for a round, etc. Great product overall and you can find more information on their website clicking here. They have laser range finders as well as GPS watches. I really loved the strategy for a new course and seeing the data in beautiful visuals like I highlighted above and below. Stats guys love these and the make percentages are good to know. Would be cool if they did monthly competitions amongst the users. I do love the shotscope blog as I am a golf junky, so any research or ways to improve are key to playing good golf. The golf blog is nice! Final Score (88 out of 100)

Date 04/22/2024 Course Name NCR North Gross Score 71 Course Handicap -1 Gross Strokes over/under par 1 Net Score to Par 2 Net Score 72 Net Birdies or better 0 Longest Drive 0 72.5/122 Great to be up and running again! No long drive this season?

Congrats Testers! @TylorJudd needs more distance...

I have the Garmin s70 and I use DECADE for the nitty gritty. Garmin helps me track my distances that I plug in to decade.

@golfinnut I am guessing the left dash will feel firmer and launch higher than the CT! Interested in your spin numbers.

A friend has a ghost bag. Looks great!! Congrats testers!

For sure, then we can know which to use when we play Augusta

Let's see if a Chrome Tour ball gets it done this week at the Masters. Rahm, Xander, Burns, Phil? Always fun to see this golf course.

Dynamic Gold is my go to iron shaft. X100 in the irons and S400 in the wedges.

Anyone else thinking a "Willett" might win it this year?

Were there any injuries while using the product? I was trying it indoors and ended up getting a back issue. I did not have this problem with superspeed.

Bushnell launch pro - basic subscription. Excellent for practice at the range outdoors! Good to know carry yardages and spin.

1st Tie Breaker What is the Cut Number. Such as -4 and better makes the cut +1 2nd Tie Breaker -Who will be the low amateur Hagestad

Congrats testers! I have heard good things about em. I walk a lot and they seem to be on the heavier side of shoes.

Congrats testers! Interested in the motorcaddy. Would love to play 36 in a day walking but pushing the cart up the hills is a grind!

@Josh Parker went with the ZX7 Mk II and Z forged combo set in the 9 and PW!

Srixon irons! Taylormade wedges!

Just got a vessel on FB marketplace for the individual slots. I push my clubs most of the time so I think the cart bag will be nice with the clic gear! Have always been a stand bag guy though.

Out with the old in with the new!! Srixon mkii and zforged 2 combo set with DG x100 your issue shafts. out with the z forged combo set. still rocking the tmade M1 driver and 3W

Congrats testers!!

Time, just need more time lol. I also think we alL waste time scrolling on our phones. Need to make it a priority and limit distractions!

Sounds good @brogies I’ll let everyone know when I find out when we have our guest days published! Better to play for a discount

Good luck and good round @GolfSpy_BEN! Go Ohio!

@Randall Robbins I have a ball that has 40+ hole in it. I have noticed a little decline in performance, but nothing significant. Wind seems to hit it more, but no wind conditions the balls are still performing. I will post some pictures.

I can't make it to Mansfeld, but I'd love to host some spies at my course Country Club of The North near Dayton Ohio sometime!