Final Reviews: Shot Scope ProLX +

I would like to thank My Golf Spy and Shot Scope for the opportunity to be a tester for the Shot Scope Pro LX+. THis is my second testing opportunity for the Forum. Last year I tested the Evnroll ER11v putter.  I was interested in this test as I had a free trial of the Arccos Caddie last year for being a Ping club owner. I also have a Mileseey range finder. I am really hoping to find something that just works and offers good value for money. I have been an off and on golfer since my mid-20s, after getting out of the Army in the late 80s. I was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area and grew up across the street from a golf course, but I never played the game as a kid. I once came home from school to find a broken bedroom window and a golf ball on my bed. That golf course was Sharp Park Golf Course in Pacifica, CA. It was designed by Alister MacKenzie. The first course I ever played a full 18 holes on though was Harding Park. That was well before it was managed by the Arnold Palmer Company and before it became a TPC site and host to the PGA Championship.

My professional life started in the US Army where I was trained to maintain and repair medical equipment. I got out of the army and joined a medical imaging equipment manufacturer where I worked for 31 years. That company had moved me all over the U.S. My first move took me from California to Connecticut for several years. It was in CT that I recorded my one and only eagle. It was in league play, and it was a pitch in on a par 5 on the 9^th hole at Grassy Hills Country Club in Orange, CT. Work then moved back across country to the Seattle area. There were several courses I enjoyed playing in Washington. Walter Hall in Everett, WA was my home course. In 2018, my wife and I moved cross country again to be closer to family. This time to Central New York, just outside of Syracuse. In 2019 my job changed and joined the ranks of semi-retirement which now allows me more regular golf, weather permitting as I am fair weather golfer.

My current home course is Radisson Greens in Baldwinsville, NY. It is an 18-hole par 72 course at 6360 yards from the white tees. The course was designed by Robert Trent Jones, Sr. I have a Monday through Thursday membership there and I get out a couple of times a week. The course is very challenging, but I love the layout. It is tree lined and tight in spots.

I play golf because I enjoy being out walking the course and if good scores come then it is a bonus. I also am an equipment junkie. I remember reading Golf Equipment Magazine (one of those paper things that was out before the internet). If I had the means, I would probably be a putter collector. I just love the aesthetics of good golf equipment I am a fan of BB and F Co. ferrules and installed some on my wedges. I also have a small collection of third party designed headcovers, mostly Rose & Fire with a couple of Scotty Cameron’s thrown in for good measure.

On the equipment front, my first set of clubs was a Wilson box set with wooden woods. From there my bag make up has changed but my woods have seen the most changes. I have rotated through a lot of TaylorMade Divers and fairway woods, but I eventually switched to Ping. My Ping G400 Max was the first time I was fitted for a club, and I have yet to find a reason to change it. My iron history is small starting with Dunlop DDH II, TaylorMade Super Steel. My irons are Ping G25 4- UW (I won these through work). I did have some PXG 0211 irons but found that the Ping G25s were better in the wet conditions of the start of the season and have not switched back. Earlier this year I had a Ping G410 Crossover 4 in my bag and during a round I noticed the head was twisting on the shaft so off it went to Ping for repair. It has since been returned but I am hitting the G25 4 iron much too well to remove it from my bag.  The PXG clubs entered my bag mostly because of price. The For Heroes Program PXG offers was just too good of a deal to pass up. The PXG 0341 3 wood is the best performing 3 wood I have ever had in the bag. My wedges have either been Cleveland or Callaway. Now I have two Callaway wedges in there. A Mack Daddy CB 54° and a Callaway MD3 58°. My putter history was primarily Anser style putters. They include two TaylorMade putters the last being the Rossa Daytona 1. I gamed Odyssey Metal X Milled #2 but I did not like the feel of it. It was a My Golf Spy review and Most Wanted win that led me to trying Evnroll putters for the first time. I ended up with a mallet putter for the first time when I purchased the ER7. I was initial attract to the idea of a higher MOI putter but really like the feel and consistency of the roll the ER7 gave me. I tested the Evnroll ER11v putter last year for the forum and that putter has found permanent hope in my bag. Evnroll ER11v Official Review

I am also a member of the “Pushcart Mafia” with a Clicgear 3.5+ pushcart. This probably the single best golf accessory item I have ever owned.

 

 

What’s in my bag? 

Bag: TaylorMade Supreme Hybrid Stand Bag

Driver: Ping G400 Max 10.5° set to 9.9°

Shaft: Ping Alta CB Regular Flex

Grip: Golf Pride CPX

3 Wood: PXG Gen 1 0341 15° set to 16°

Shaft: Project X Even Flow Blue 5.5

Grip: Golf Pride MCC Plus 4 Teams

Hybrid: Ping G30 19°

Shaft: Ping TFC 419H Regular Flex

Grip: Golf Pride MCC Plus 4 Teams

Irons: Ping G25 4- UW

Shafts: Ping CFS Regular Flex

Grip: Ping 5L

Wedges: Callaway Mack Daddy CB 54°/14°

Shaft: KBS 105 Hi Rev 2.0 Wedge Flex

Grip: Callaway Golf Pride SG-1

Callaway MD3 58°/9° W Grind 

Shaft: w/True Temper Dynamic Gold

Grip: Golf Pride Tour Velvet 360

Putter:  Evnroll ER11v 34”

Grip: Evnroll non-taper 1.2

Pushcart:

Clicgear 3.5+

Rangefinder:

Mileseey PF210

Bushnell NEO Ion GPS watch

Ball:

Snell MTB or Maxfli Tour

 

Final Review August 22, 2022

First Impressions (5 out of 5 Stars)

Firstly, thanks to My Golf Spy for this opportunity to test the Shot Scope Pro LX+. This product caught my attention because of functionality and the price. I was very interested in the value for money offered by this product. My points of reference for what the Pro LX+ have to offer are my Mileseey PF210 laser rangefinder, my Bushnell Neo iON GPS watch and a 45-day free trial of the Arccos Caddie that I had last year. These items in a nutshell cover the range of what the Pro LX+ brings to the course.

The Pro LX+ (for $349.99) is made up from 2 products offered by Shot Scope. The Shot Scope Pro LX Rangefinder (for $249.99) and the H4 Handheld GPS with shot tracking (for 149.99). You get a $50 savings purchasing the Pro LX+. For me though the most compelling part of this package was the shot tracking that can be achieved without an annual subscription. The current Arccos subscription price is $155.88. Arccos breaks it down as $12.99 a month billed annually.

The Pro LX+ can be part of a round of golf in several configurations. You can combine the Pro LX rangefinder and the H4 GPS. They can function separately of course. The Pro LX rangefinder has slope and non-slope measurements, two readout colors, red or black, can display yards or meters and two modes, golf mode and continuous scan mode. It vibrates when the target is locked on. The GPS offers 3 modes, GPS, GPS + Track and Track. The magnet on the device allows it to be mounted in the holder or on any ferrous metal piece such as cart. I didn’t find it practical to use it other than on in the holder on my belt for shot tracking. I only used the H4 once without shot tracking.

To start you charge the H4 with the included proprietary cable, connect it to the phone app, perform a firmware update, install the tags on your clubs, (they just simply screw into the grip) and build you bag to identify each club by brand and model. Each tag is marked for each club with two additional tags, X1 and X2.

 

 

Then to use just hit the power on button and then press it again to acquire the measurement. The H4 comes to life when you press the upper left button once powered up select the mode you want. For me it was usually GPS + Tracking. Then the device hunts for the GPS and the courses nearby. Simply select the course and you are ready to go. When I the tee box tag your club and enjoy your round. When the round is finished you simply exit your round. In order get your shot metrics just turn on the device and connect the device to your smartphone app. Select sync and the H4 will upload the round for you. Once uploaded to the app you can then edit and sign your round, Editing is straight forward. Select the hole and review your shots. You do this for each hole. You can also insert changes such as penalty strokes. For me, this is usually the 3^rd hole of my home course. It’s a long narrow par 5 with thick trees down the left and water all along the right. The water fronts the green as well. Once you complete editing you “sign” your round. The metrics then get uploaded to your Shot Scope account where you can then view them either on the smartphone app or online.

Aesthetics (5 out of 5 Stars)  

The overall design of the product is nice. The laser rangefinder looks nice and fits very comfortably in my hand. The color screen of the H4 is easy to read and navigate through. I do like it much better than my Neo iON GPS golf watch. The belt clip for the H4 works better than expected. I was concerned that the device would fall out of the holder. This happened to me twice. Once on a green when bending down to pick up my ball and once when riding. I did become extra cautious though when riding and kept it in my pocket for the remainder of the round. I did feel it would be bad form to lose it during the review process. The case for the rangefinder has a nice look to it as well. Not like the Mileseey which reminds me of a Bushnell knock off. The smartphone app works well.

The Numbers 5 out of 5 stars)

The numbers were very consistent when compared to my current devices. The H4 for was seemed to always be within 3 yards of my Bushnell GPS watch. And there was some discrepancy between the Pro LX rangefinder and Mileseey PF210 usually within 3 yards. But the Shot Scope consistently found the target more quickly. To be fair though the Mileseey PF210 was only $81 on an Amazon “Black Friday” purchase.

 The setup of the device is easy and straight forward. The packaging includes a user guide with Q code that you point you’re your phone’s camera at and it will link you to the set-up procedures which includes a quick set up guide, app download and video tutorials. Do all this setup a Shot Scope account and you are ready to begin. The H4 charged in just under an hour. I did get about four 9 hole rounds out of a charge which was similar to my Bushnell Neo iON. I tend to be a battery watcher and probably could have gotten more out of it possibly. I did like that the device’s battery level indicator would change colors as the battery level depleted. Just another indicator which was nice. The Pro LX rangefinder has a simple set up as well. Pop in the included battery, select the mode and the display color.

 

On-Course (4 out of 5 stars)

The laser rangefinder is simple to use and locks onto the target more quickly than the Mileseey. I am a glasses wearer, and I had an issue with seeing a white halo around the field of view through the rangefinder while it doesn’t hinder performance it is noticeable. I also do not have the steadiest of hands and the device would take a few attempts to lock onto the flag. I have this issue with the Mileseey as well.

 The H4’s tracking is reliant on the operator to remember to tag the clubs. I was guilty of being too chatty sometimes on the course and would forget to tag the club I was using. But with the H4 on my belt it became routine to tag the club. It also was nice that the magnetic device on the GPS made it easier to mark the flag. I only had the H4 pop out of its holder twice during the review period. I am primarily a walker but did ride once and the H4 did mount to the post on the cart nicely but if you are shot tracking, I don’t find that to be practical. I also never mounted the H4 to the Pro LX range finder which looks like a nice feature but once again if you are shot tracking not practical. I don’t use the laser rangefinder on every shot. Mostly I use it on par 3 holes and when I am within 120 yards of the green. Anything more then I use the GPS

 The H4 is very straight forward to use but it did have issues around the greens. It would very often think I was putting when I was off the green chipping and getting to think otherwise is an issue. On my most recent round it had this problem on 4 consecutive holes. On the 5th consecutive hole, it never thought I was on the green even after tagging my putter. All in all, I did like using the H4 for tracking. I would rate this over the Arccos for two reasons, shot tagging and annual subscription. The Arccos required you to carry your phone for shot detection and would often miss shots and then I had to ‘earn” my ability to use it with my Apple watch. They did come out with a purchasable Link but that is $150. Any shots missed by the H4 would be purely my fault. Shot Scope is adding metrics. During this test I received an email that they added “Shots Plotted”. With H4 just purchase the device and without any annual subscription or additional hardware you can track your shots and get your performance metrics.

The Good, the bad, the in between (3 out of 5 stars)

 The good is very good. You get a lot for $349. A good laser rangefinder, a very good GPS and shot tracking with metrics without an annual subscription. For me the bad is the white halo in rangefinders viewer and the fact that my shakiness sometimes causes issues with acquiring the flag but for the price of the rangefinder, stabilization would certainly up the price. The other bad and probably the biggest bad is the H4’s getting confused around the greens at times. Some rounds that’s often others not so much. The in between is another me problem if I’m being honest, “remember to tag your clubs!” I also really enjoy the medal feature of the smartphone app. 

 

Play it or Trade it? (5 out of 5 stars)

The Pro LX+ will remain in my bag as I find it better than the products I had prior to this test. The laser rangefinder fits more comfortably in my hand, the GPS tracker display is superior to the Bushnell Neo iOn and the shot tracking does not require a subscription. Any missed shots are due to the operator and not the vagaries of the device as with the Arccos.

 Conclusion

I would have zero hesitation recommending the Shot Scope Pro LX+ to anyone interested in knowing their yardage and wanting on course metrics. It is easy to use and does not detract from your enjoyment of the game. The Pro LX+ package gives metrics to improve your game. For me it really comes down to “Value for Money”.

Final Score (27 out of 30 stars)

 

Follow up 8/30/2022

I played a couple of rounds since posting my review and had experienced for the first time the H4 not recognizing that I was on the green. Usually it finds the green before I need it. It seemed to have an easier time finding the green if I walked to the middle of the green and stood there for a bit. Will keep watching this.

 

 

Introduction:

Wanted to say upfront thanks to the mod team for selecting me to test this product and to Shot Scope for providing the units for us to test.    I’m Chris and live in Newport News, VA; which is about 20 minutes from MGS headquarters.   I have been playing golf on and off since I was a teenager (I am now 56) and prior to actually getting out on a course I remember getting my hands on some clubs as a preteen with my neighborhood friends and hitting balls in a cemetery near the house where I grew up.  I started playing on a regular basis in about 2000 when a friend invited me to play in his weekly group.   The group has shrunk in size since then but I still play with a few from that group and play in my company’s golf league.   My game has gone up and down through the years with my handicap getting as low as a 4 and is now probably about a 9 (guesstimate).   I am generally a huge golf junkie and love learning about products and all things golf which is why I volunteered my time to be one of HQ’s most wanted testers.  Being a most wanted tester lets me hit all the various clubs on the market but also lets me get access to see and touch lots of unique products in the golf world.   

The Shot Scope PRO LX+ is an interesting product as it is really three products that have been packaged together:

• PRO LX rangefinder - Will be comparing this to my 16-year-old Nikon Rangefinder
• H4 GPS – Will be comparing this to my Bushnell Neo Ghost GPS.   The Bushell is my current distance measuring device of choice and I use it 90% of the time when playing.
• H4 shot tracking and online dashboard – I don’t currently have a system like Arccos but have tried some of the phone/computer-based systems like myRoundPro, 18Birdies, DECADE foundations, the Grint, and some excel based trackers. 

 The shot tracking aspect of the package is probably what interests me most since this is will be my first experience with automated stat capture.  My prior experiences have been cumbersome paper based or requiring me to pull my phone out of my pocket for every show so I am very excited to see how easily the tagging feature is and how it does at capturing all my shots and see if my personal assessment of my game lines up with what Shot Scope indicates.  This feature alone will probably be the key contributor in whether the product stays in the bag.

 Some of the things I will work through are the various claims that Shot Scope makes like startup/course identification time, does slope calculation really provide meaningful information, rangefinder optics and accuracy, the various stats that it captures, and most importantly the battery life of the H4 unit since it becomes more difficult to track stats if the device can’t power on.  

That’s a quick intro about me and what I am hoping to learn, but these reviews are done for you the MGS readers.   Leave comments about what interests you with this product and if possible, I’ll give it a try and get you the information you need to make your purchase decision.  

 

 Unboxing/Setup:

 https://forum.mygolfspy.com/tests/43-shot-scope-prolx/?do=findComment&comment=9591

 

Final Review:

First Impressions (5 out of 5 Stars)

As I unboxed the various components, I was impressed with how it was organized and put together.  The product appeared to be of high quality, has multiple color options, and based on claims attempts to provide data that should help a golfer improve.   Reading through the website features like target lock vibrations, no phone required on the course, 15-hour battery life, strokes gained metrics, slope calculation, and no subscription fees made it seem like the perfect product. 

 There was some initial setup required like charging the battery on the H4 (GPS), installing the battery in the rangefinder, installing the tracking tags, creating shot scope accounts, and linking your phone to the H4.  It took a couple of tries to get the device to connect to my phone but this seems to be a common problem based on other reviews I have read about the product. 

 On course impressions were generally favorable. Turing on, finding the course (when it worked), and club tagging were all straightforward processes.   Remembering to tag the clubs was a personal issue and not related to the product capabilities in any way. 

 

 

Aesthetics (4.5 out of 5 Stars)

• H4 – The size of the GPS and tracking unit was compact and easily fit in your pocket or on your belt
• Rangefinder – a little bigger that most current models but shaped in a way that made it easy to hold.
• Both products appear to be durable to bumps and drops but because they are electronic devices, I do treat them carefully and try to avoid dropping them.  The only durability issue I have seen reported is potential scratching of the H4 screen when tagging clubs.
• I am going to deduct 0.5 starts for the storage case.  While the case is of good quality, it is a little tight to fit the rangefinder, the H4 unit, and the belt clip.   If you didn’t use the belt clip it fits perfectly. 

 

 

 

 

The Numbers (5 out of 5 stars) 

• Both the products (H4 and Rangefinder) provide accurate yardages and are consistent with my other distance measuring devices.   The slope feature isn’t as awe inspiring as I had hoped but the calculation seems in line with how far I hit my club.
•  The tagged data is fairly accurate but does requires some post round editing to get accurate shot locations.  Putting and pin capture needs adjustment on most holes.
•  The instructions for using the device can be a bit difficult. To get the best results I strongly recommend reading the user guide and the FAQ on the site as there are subtle things that you should do to get accurate data.   For example, if you don’t reach the green on a par 5 in two shots it should be marked as a positional shot.  If you don’t, the proximity to the hole numbers for approach shots will be inflated.
•  Charging is quick, but battery life for the H4 is significantly less that 15 hours in Track+GPS mode.   If you were playing back-to-back rounds, you would probably get both rounds in, but if they were a day apart.  It would be a push to get both rounds on a single charge.
•  Customer support appears to be top notch. I leveraged them for my first round to get a course mapped that wasn’t included in their course database.    I also leveraged their online support group on Facebook to troubleshoot issues and lean more about the product. 

 

On-Course (1 out of 5 stars)

I’ll cover the "on course" views in 3 sections (H4, Rangefinder, Apps/dashboard)

Rangefinder (3 out of 5):

• The rangefinder is very easy to use, buttons are well placed and the unit doesn’t require you to navigate lots of menus to change functionality.  
• I confused target-lock with pin-lock.  The unit vibrates when you shoot anything not just the flag.  When shooting distances, I typically looked at the back distance on the H4 and made sure the rangefinder distance was less than that number. 
• When using the rangefinder unless you pushed our eye against the viewfinder a white halo effect occurred that obscured the view of the displayed information.  The unit was basically unusable with sunglasses on and the focus ring was easily turned causing the image frequent adjustment to get a focused display.  

H4 (1 out of 5)

• This is the most desired component of the product; especially the shot tracking.
• Provides GPS distances to the green and various hazards on the hole
• Easy to read and accurate.
• Biggest issue is that while the magnet is strong, it can be dislodged from the belt clip.
• Biggest adjustment is remembering to tag the club.   This is the biggest different from their watch product
  • The watch is designed to automatically capture the club based on proximity when making a swing
  • The H4 is designed to manually tag which is more reliable assuming you can remember to tag the club.
• While I loved the device, I had to significantly mark it down due to the device not being able to find a course that was supposed to be on the device. Based on the support site this is a common problem and often results in device replacement.   I don’t expect to get to a course and have the GPS say no course found when the app indicates that the course is loaded on the device.  This issue was documented several times in the Shot Scope facebook group with no real solution; often devices were replaced.  In some cases it fixed the issues and in others it didn’t.

Apps/Dashboard (3 out of 5)

• This is where you can do shot analysis and evaluate your performance. 
• App and Dashboard provide basically the same information, but navigation or functionality may be better in one over the other.
• There is lots of information and you need to read the documentation to understand the right way to tag and identify shots and be able to understand what the information is telling you.  It is not a simple log in and the software tells you what you need to improve.
• Tagging locations aren’t 100% reliable and you need to remember your shots to when you review and sign off on your rounds.  Round editing should ideally be done on a laptop/desktop computer and not a phone or tablet.
• Occasional connection issues between the phone and app.  
• Shot Scope is continually adding new functionality!
• Provides data in a "raw" data format as well as via strokes gained for tee shots, approaches, short game, putting, and overall; both against adjustable handicap benchmarks.

 

The Good, the bad, the in-between (2 out of 5 stars)

The product does what it advertises and someone willing to dig in and crunch some numbers can find out details on where they need to improve.   Overall, the product is good, customer support is great, but there are a few things that can really frustrate the user which the biggest being phone/H4 connectivity when trying to sync information and the inability to find the course.   The later is the most frustrating because you don’t find out until you are at the course and ready to play.    If you want to track shots, attaching the H4 to the rangefinder makes it cumbersome to tag your clubs; attaching the H4 to your belt or putting it in your pocket are better options.   

One of my favorite capabilities is the ability to capture each shot on the hole.  I enjoy seeing people post these on the forum and am glad I can now do the same.

Play it or Trade it? (3 out of 5 stars)

 I am going to continue to use the product despite its issues based on my desire to dig into my performance numbers.  The big question will be how long to I want to track these numbers and will I get tired of the shot tracking aspect.  Even though there are courses that aren't found; which is a huge reliability issue, I am going to persevere and see if I can work around or solve the problem.  Keep an eye on the review comments and the ShotScope user community on the forum.  

 Conclusion

Depending on what capabilities the golfer is looking will depend on whether I would recommend this product.  The LX+ is a packaged product that contains a rangefinder, GPS unit, and shot tracking capability.

If you are simply looking for a rangefinder, I would consider this an average product in the market place and would look elsewhere.  

If you are looking for a device that provides front, middle, and back green distance, hazard distances, and layup distances the H4 could be a solid product since the information is accurate and it responds quickly.   The hesitation to recommend even for only GPS capability is that the device  occasionally cannot locate the course making it unusable for the round.  While trying to collect some data for my review I had to go to three different courses to get a course that the unit could identify.

If you are interested in shot tracking; the captured data, analytics, and lack of subscription cost make this the perfect product.  While you have to manually tag the clubs with each shot, you won’t miss shots unless you forget to tag them.  It is also important to note that GPS locations aren’t perfect and you will need to edit your shots post round.    Make sure you read the instructions, read the website, and are prepared to have to dig into data if you want to make full use of the shot tracking feature.   Again, the big problem is that if you can’t locate the course, you can’t tag the shots. 

This screen below is why I am hesitant to recommend this product:

Final Score (20.5 out of 30 stars)

 

One Year Update

It has been about a year since I started testing the Shotscope ProLX+ devices.     I have continued to use the devices but I would say that my quest to dive into the data has waned.   

RangeFinder:  Still considered it an average to slight above average rangefinder.  Use of a GPS device to get F/M/B distances is beneficial to help validate that flag readings are really the flag and not something in the background.  Favorite aspect is the slope feature.   

H4:  I still consider it pretty reliable for capturing shots; most "problems" center around the putting green such as  capturing the flag or putt locations.   Occasionally, courses aren't picked up even though the device shows that the course is loaded and doesn't need an update.  This happened during the MGS Pinehurst trip;  Pine Needles wasn't recognized.   I have also stopped using the H4 for anything other than GPS during my competitive league matches;  not that it is difficult but I find it distracting to use around the green to capture the pin location.    The main intent of the H4 is to capture data about your game to identify areas to work on to improve.  While it does show how I compare against various handicap levels to help manage expectations  at my level of play I find that the data doesn't reveal anything that I can't identify through normal game evaluation.   

Summary:  I think the product is good for the right person and would still rate it highly.   I thought I was a data geek and wanted to know more detailed stats but after using the device I can only say the data is interesting but not game changing for me.  Going forward I will still use the rangefinder and h4 unit for distances but probably won't do stat tracking anymore.  

Introduction:

 

My thanks to MGS and ShotScope for providing this testing opportunity. This is my first time testing a product for MGS and I'm excited to be included. My name is Bob and I'm from York, PA which is about 30 minutes south of Harrisburg and an hour north of Baltimore, MD. I've been golfing off and on since my early 20's (I'm 52 now) – and to show my age, my first set of clubs were Spaldings (yes, for those too young to remember they used to make more than just basketballs and volleyballs – lol). I spent most of the past 30 years as a few times a month golfer until 2019 when I joined a golf league with some friends from work and started playing weekly plus hitting the range about once a week as well.  I'm still a high handicapper but working on it - basically I'm your local golf league hacker who looks like a scratch golfer on one hole and like it's my first time picking up a club on the next one – consistency has been my biggest hang up. 

I really wanted to test the ShotScope ProLX+ as I love using data to see where I need to improve and I believe the shot tracking capability offers this plus more. I currently do some basic tracking by hand and with the Grint app which shows my short game and driving accuracy as 2 main culprits. I'm curious to see if the H4 shot tracking offers any other insights.

 

I really see this as 3 tests in one.

1. Rangefinder: I don't currently use one as I love my GPS but I have used my friend's unit on occasion and do see some advantages especially on par 3's and for slope. Currently when I need to check layup distances I use the GolfGPS Rangefinder app but it is cumbersome to pull my phone out each time. I see the H4 has layup distance calculations so I'm very interested to see how that works.

2. GPS: I've used a Bushnell Neo Ghost nearly every round since it first came out. When not using it (if I forgot to charge it), I use the iGolf app on my phone. I've always liked the simplicity of using a GPS to get front/middle/back distances but I do see the advantages of a range finder. My biggest issue with the Bushnell is the time it takes to start up, get a signal and find the course. Occasionally I have forgotten to turn it on before teeing off. When that happens it usually is not ready to use before hitting my next shot leaving me guessing on distance. I'll be putting the H4 head to head against the Bushnell for these tests. If the H4 starts up faster that will be a big selling point for me.

3. Shot Tracking: I have never used Arccos but I am really interested in the stats the shot tracking capability will provide. As I mentioned, I use Grint for some general stat tracking (Putts, Fairways hit, GIR, etc) so I love having data from my rounds and this will provide much more than I can currently track by hand. With changing my swing I have also been trying to track yardages to see if there is any change in club distances – this function will help a lot with that. My only concern is if I can adjust to tagging my club before every shot. We will find out soon!

 

That's the basics about me. My goal is to provide the MGS community with a fair and honest evaluation so those considering purchasing this item can make an educated decision.

 

Final Review (August 22, 2022)

First Impressions (4 out of 5 Stars)

Looking for a new rangefinder? Compact & accurate GPS? Want shot tracking and a full suite of performance statistics without paying a subscription? Shotscope Pro LX+ does all three which is why I was excited to try it out during practice and on the course.

First impressions the product is well packaged and comes with everything needed to get started including the battery (CR123) for the rangefinder.

 

One hang up for me right out of the box is the proprietary charging cable for the H4 which is why I gave 4 stars.  This requires you to remember to take the cable with you if travelling or buy an extra cable from Shot Scope ($20 on their website) which I find unnecessary when most electronic devices have gone to USB type C or USB Micro for charging.  Not sure if it would have increased the size of the H4 for a different port but it would have been worth it to eliminate the special charging cable. 

 

Aesthetics (5 out of 5 Stars)

The Pro LX rangefinder weighs in at a little over 7 ounces so it's very lightweight, easy to carry and hold steady.  My favorite feature is the ergonomic cutout on the bottom for your thumb which allows you to comfortably grip it.  The size is ideal for the average hand size and the buttons are perfectly positioned on top to allow for easy function selection.

 

 

It has all the key features you could want in a range finder:

• Rapid target detection
• Target lock vibration
• X7 magnification with adjustable eyepiece
• Adaptive slope (with ability to turn off for tournament use)
• Red or Black optics option
• Water resistant
• 900 yard range (with option to display meters)

 

The H4 attaches securely to the ProLX in the designated cut out giving another option for carrying it if not worn on your belt.  I didn't find this practical if using the shot tracking feature and needing to tag each club but it is a nice available option not found on other GPS devices. 

 

 

Numbers (4 out of 5 Stars)

Both the ProLX and the H4 really stood out for measured accuracy.  The ProLX when measured at a local driving range with known target yardages was within a yard on all measurements.  It is nearly instantaneous to acquire the target and give a yardage reading.  The H4 starts up fast (about a minute on average) and was within 2 yards on all middle of the green measurements compared to my Bushnell Neo Ghost.  I checked the few front/back discrepancies that were greater than 2 yards with the rangefinder and found the H4 was usually more accurate than the Bushnell. 

 

  

 

My one negative here is the battery life which is much lower than the 15 hours advertised.  In actual use the battery life was closer to 10 hours which is 33% less than stated by the manufacturer.  I found you can get 2 full rounds before needing a recharge so it still performs adequately but not as advertised so hence the 4 out of 5 rating.

 

On Course (5 out of 5 Stars)

The ProLX and H4 both perform as expected on course.  The Shot Tracking also works great and is easy to edit shots if needed.  Although the mobile phone app works for editing shots, it is much easier to do on a tablet or PC due to the screen size. 

 

There is a full suite of stats tracked in the app - more than most people would ever use but that is the great thing about it - whatever stats are important to you will probably be available.   The app tracks your stats for every club so you can measure your progress.   

 

 

I did struggle with remembering to tag every shot and usually had a shot on every other hole that I needed to edit/add in particular chips/putts where it was not part of my preshot routine.  I found the shot tagging to be a distraction during league play and actually stopped tracking my shots during those rounds and just use it during casual rounds.  It's still beneficial to get my average yardages but without tracking all shots I'm not truly tracking my progress.  I'm sure if I kept working it into my preshot routine it would become easier but for now it's too much of a distraction and I actually shoot worse during league play if I have to keep reminding myself to tag the shot.  I didn't drop any stars for this issue as it's my own fault for missing shots but I mention it as I'm sure others may have the same experience.  

 

The Good, The Bad, The In Between (3 out of 5 Stars)

There is one "bad" for the H4 that cannot be overlooked and was experienced by several testers including me.  While the metal belt clip is strong to hold it on your belt, the magnet in the H4 is not strong enough to securely hold it in the holster clip and it will fall out if bumped during a shot or if not properly seated in the holster.  I had it happen at least 5 times during the testing period.  Twice I couldn't find it right away and had to back track to my last shot to look for it.  That's an issue for pace of play not to mention the huge risk of losing it.   I was actually lucky to find it each time as the device is very small and the black case is not easy to find in the grass.  If you lose the H4 you also can no longer track shots so 2/3 of what you paid for is gone. 

This is a design flaw that should be easy for ShotScope to fix.  Hopefully future versions will have a redesigned clip to hold it more securely.  I would actually buy a replacement clip if they did as I no longer carry it on my belt and keep it in my pocket for fear of losing it during a round.   Since this issue is changing how I use the device and risks the H4 being lost I had to drop 2 stars. 

 

 Play It or Trade It (4 out of 5 Stars)

The ProLX rangefinder is in my bag to stay.  I love how lightweight and easy it is to use.  In less than 10 seconds I can pull it out of my bag, acquire the target and have a distance.  I highly recommend it as a solo purchase or with the full set.  I like the H4 and will continue to use it as it starts up faster than my Bushnell Neo Ghost but the clip issue mentioned above makes me unlikely to carry it on my belt and honestly I'm sure I would lose it if I did.  Shot Tracking is a great feature but I don't use it during league rounds so I'm not getting the full functionality out of the full set that's why I could only give 4 out of 5 stars. 

   

Final (25 out of 30 Stars)

 

 

 

 

Shot Scope Pro LX+-Official MGS Forum Review by Golf2Much

Introduction

As the Southernmost MyGolfSpy member, I’m honored to test and review the Shot Scope LS+ laser rangefinder with GPS distances and performance tracking.

I started playing golf as a senior in high school to get out of classes so I could practice with my friends.  I’ve been hooked ever since.

I was born, raised and after completed a 27-year career in Rochester, New York before moving full time to Key West, Florida.  My home course is a classic Rees Jones designed Key West Golf Club where I play three times a week.

As a 66-year-old, I still love playing, but find myself dealing with some of the physical limitations of my age.  Over the last fifteen years I’ve recovered from a naturally fused spine, multiple surgeries, a broken neck and a new artificial left knee.  Surprisingly, during that time my annual average score has stayed roughly the same (plus/minus a shot).  My game has evolved (or regressed) to become the golfer I used to hate when I was young.  I’m short off the tee, short with a fairway wood on par fours, chip up and one putt for par.

Even with my aliments, I’m sporting an index between 9 and 10.  I currently track my limited “statistics” with the GHIN system recording greens in regulation (GIR), fairways hit (FIR) and putts per hole.  From the recent MyGolfSpy study “How Your Handicap Affects Your Score”, my rudimentary statistics suggest my game is atypical when compared with most golfers that share my index.  I hit only 16% of the GIR but over 70% of the FIR.

For the last two years my golf accessories include a Garmin S42 GPS watch and a Mileseey PF210 Pro laser rangefinder.  I generally use my GPS watch for distances over 110 yards.  I rely on my rangefinder within 110 yards and for accurate distances to hazards and layup areas.  The Garmin watch does offer some basic shot tracking capabilities.  However, I spend too much time and effort adding shots and correcting information at the end of the round which puts all the remaining data in question.

Last Summer I attended a three-day golf school.  The instructor and I quickly concluded that due to my physical constraints, only incremental improvements were likely possible.  To find those areas, I felt it necessary to capture a greater insight in my game.  I looked at Arccos and other tracking competitors.  My concern was adding one more golf accessory to my already crowded arsenal.  When I read about the Shot Scope LX+ with its integrated functions, shot tracking capabilities and app with 100+ statistics, it looked like a potential winner.

My intent is to face off the LX+ rangefinder and GPS functions against my existing pair for accuracy, speed and ease of use.  I’m also interested in seeing if the jack of all trades and master of none saying comes into play here.  Finally, I’ll assess the ease and reliability of collecting swing data and how it translates to valuable information of my (and hopefully your) game.

On a side note, I apologize to everyone for being a little tardy with my introduction and starting my review.  I had a long-planned vacation with friends and just got back late yesterday.   Some may feel that’s no excuse.  However, most golfers would understand given the picture below.

 

I'll do my best to catch up and provide some insight into the Shot Scope LX+.  Cheers!

Unboxing/Set Up

Here's the link:  Unboxing!

Final Review (August 19, 2022)

Thank you, MGS, for the honor and privilege to be selected to review the Shot Scope LX+.

First Impressions (5 out of 5 Stars)

The Shot Scope PRO LX+ is advertised as an integrated laser range finder (PRO LX), GPS (H4) and shot tracking and analysis system. 

 The PRO LX ergonomic shape fit well in my hand.  The rangefinder’s accuracy, range, adaptive slope technology, vibration lock and rapid target acquisition features were consistent with other rangefinders in its class.  The duel red and black optics for various weather conditions was a welcomed addition.  One might have expected magnetic cart mounting capability.

The H4’s had decent sized screen.  The preloaded 36,000+ courses included my home course.  The PRO LX and belt clip magnets appeared to firmly hold the H4 in place.  The ability to place the H4 on the rangefinder, player’s belt or bag gives users flexibility to best suit their situation.

 

Aesthetics (4 out of 5 Stars)

The PRO LX is larger than my current rangefinder but weighs only 0.4 oz. (10 grams) more.  The H4 mounting feature created a cradle that comfortably fit between your thumb and index finger. The function buttons are well positioned and naturally align your fingers.  The LX’s midsection has ribbed elastomer to help grip the device.  I found it little slippery and not as tactile as other rangefinders.  The slope switch is easily accessed on the side and a small green area is displayed when it’s in use.

 

The H4 GPS unit has a screen size similar to my current Garmin S40 watch.  It was easy-to read front, middle and back distances as well as layup information and weighs only 1.2 oz (33 grams).

I liked the feel of the integrated PRO LX+ over the PRO LX alone.  The attached H4 helped improve the unit’s overall balance and seemed more stable when acquiring a target and pressing the firing button.

The included water-resistant case is color coordinated and comfortably stored both items. 

Overall, PRO LX+ seemed well made.  My only reservation is Shot Scope’s warranty period.  Their one-year warranty period is at shorter end of their competitors’ 1-5 years range.

 I deducted one star as the ribbed elastomer midsection is less tactile than other rangefinders and the shorter duration warranty period.

 

The Numbers (5 out of 5 Stars)

The hour to initially charge the H4 unit gave me time to download the Shot Scope apps, install the tags and be ready to complete the set up.  The H4 device and app set up instructions were simple and easy to follow.  

Before hitting the course, I compared the PRO LX+ against my current trusted devices at short and longer distances. Both GPS devices and rangefinders delivered comparable distances.

Rangefinder	Shorter Distance (Yards)		Longer Distance (Yards)
Mileseey PF210 Pro	106	107	244	244
Shot Scope PRO LX	105	106	244	244

To evaluate battery life, I played two rounds back-to-back multiple times without recharging between rounds.  The H4’s remaining charge after the second rounds averaged 14%.  So, the stated “15+ hours, 2+ rounds” battery life was closer to “2+” rounds.  

It’s too soon to validate the PRO LX’s stated battery life of 5800 measurements which is slightly longer than other rangefinder’s claims.

 

On-Course (4 out of 5 Stars)

Acquiring the satellites and loading my course with the H4 took just over a minute longer than my Garmin S40 but had no real impact being ready for the first tee.  

My first few rounds I was overly cognizant of tagging each club which disrupted my normal pre-shot routine.  My stressing over a missed tag was relieved with the ease I could make changes in post round editing.  After a couple of rounds, tagging became a natural part of my routine.  

Since my putter’s Super Stroke CounterCore grip doesn’t accept a tag, I must manually mark each putt and hole location.  This proved to be a little inconvenient and required a quick discussion with my playing partners before a round.
  
I mentioned a halo affect around the PRO LX’s LCD perimeter when viewed through my prescription glasses.  It appears I live with the restricted field of vision or remove my glasses and move it closer to my eye to get a clearer view of the LCD optics.  My previous rangefinder did not exhibit this phenomenon.

After a round the H4 straightforwardly synchs shot data to your phone via Bluetooth.  Round details will also show up on the web-based PC app which I found easier for editing shots and signing off the round.  Having shots superimposed on the aerial view of each hole helped the editing process.

The Shot Scope 100+ performance metrics were extensive and proved enlightening.  I could drill down into each element of my game and compare strokes gained/lost relative to similar handicap golfers which exposed my unique strengths and weaknesses.  

 

 

My initial review of the Shot Scope statistics and analysis can be found here:  Golf2Much Shot Statistics.

I found the shot tracking and resulting analysis capability the biggest benefit of the PRO LX+ system.  With the just released shot plotting and course analysis features, Shot Scope appears committed to expanding the offered performance statistics.

I deducted one star for my PRO LX halo optics issue.

 

The Good, The Bad And The In Between (4 out of 5 Stars)

The good is the H4 with its effective shot capture capability and access to Shot Scope’s game performance statistics platform with no annual fee.

The bad is the PRO LX’s halo effect narrowing the field of vision. When coupled with the 7X magnification, it became tougher to quickly pick up the flag stick. 

The in between mentions include having to manually input all of my putts due to the CounterCore grip and the security of the H4 in the belt clip.  In 12 rounds, I’ve inadvertently knocked the H4 unit out of the belt clip four times.

 

Play It Or Trade It?  (4 out of 5 Stars)

With a retail price of $349.99 and no annual fees, the Pro PRO LX+ is a bargain for those who need accurate distances and want a better understanding of their game’s characteristics. 

The yardages on both Pro LX and H4 were consistent with my existing devices.

 The H4’s shot tracking and Shot Scope’s game analysis features have already led me to replace my Garmin watch. Adding just Garmin CT10 tags to enable my watch’s shot tracking would be twice the cost of the H4 with included tags. 

For me, the jury is still out on the PRO LX rangefinder.  I need a few more rounds to see if removing my glasses to take readings offsets the slightly faster response times, red and black optics and other PRO LX’s benefits.

 

Conclusions:

The Shot Scope PRO LX+ is multifunctional product that can honestly say its overall performance is greater than the sum of its parts.  At an attractive price, golfers get a full featured laser rangefinder, a fully functional GPS unit and no annual fee shot capture and analysis capability.  I found the shot capture easy to set up` and edit while the resulting stroke analysis proved to literally be a game changer for me.  The PRO LX+ is a solid addition for anyone who regularly plays golf. 

Final Score:  26 out of 30 Stars

3 minutes ago, MattWillGolf said:

I received an email today from Shot Scope on a new feature in their metrics. It’s “Shots plotted”. Will have to check it out.

 

Seems like a cool feature; basically shotlink for the average golfer.   Since I only have a few rounds in on any given course the data isnt very detailed, but if you play a course regularly, It should provide a great visual on you shot dispersion and how you can effectively play a course.  

56 minutes ago, MattWillGolf said:

I received an email today from Shot Scope on a new feature in their metrics. It’s “Shots plotted”. Will have to check it out.

I just checked mine out and I love this data. One hole at my home course that the data really shined is a par 5 with a forced carry. I usually go for it unless the wind is in my face or the driver is just not cooperating that day. 

On 46 attempts at this hole I went for it 31 times. Using driver I had 6 birdies, 11 pars, 11 bogies, and 3 doubles. When I layed up I had 1 birdie, 13 pars, and 1 bogey. I think I really need to rethink my strategy on this hole!

Played today and the H4 was driving me crazy. On 4 consecutive holes it was thinking I was on the green when I wasn’t and I can’t find a way to correct it while in the round. Then on the 5th I was on the green and it never registered I was on the green.

14 minutes ago, MattWillGolf said:

Played today and the H4 was driving me crazy. On 4 consecutive holes it was thinking I was on the green when I wasn’t and I can’t find a way to correct it while in the round. Then on the 5th I was on the green and it never registered I was on the green.

What I have found is that as you approach the green it will switch into pin collect  mode.  There is a way to switch out if this mode via the buttons; haven’t done it enough so I can remember the process.   You can also navigate through the the menus to get back to pin collect mode.   I usually don’t switch out of pin collect mode as I approach the green I just tag my club and play on and it captures the location correctly or I tweak in the post round editing.  

I’ve found if you step back off the green several paces a “+” will show up on the upper left of the H4 screen.  That will take you out of the green mode so you can register a chip.  

1 hour ago, Golf2Much said:

I’ve found if you step back off the green several paces a “+” will show up on the upper left of the H4 screen.  That will take you out of the green mode so you can register a chip.  

The only thing that switching out of pin collect mode will do is show distance.   When you tag the club, it registers where you are standing which would be off the green.  

Final Review coming soon.

 

Final Review posted.    I really want to like this product and I do like this product but the issues I experienced resulted in my not being able to recommend the product.   

Let me know if you have any questions or want to see something specific.   

 

 

Reached out to Shot Scope customer support regarding my continued issues with no course found within 1km.  Support responded asking me what courses I will be playing over the next few weeks so they can update and then have me hard reset the device.  
 

While fixing the courses I am going to be playing soon is nice, it doesn’t fix the long term problem of showing up at a course and not having it recognized.  i responded to their email  indicating the courses I will be playing over the next few weeks were previously recognized by the H4 and what should I do when I am playing a course and it isn’t recognized.  

 

I don’t believe that contacting customer support prior to playing every new course is a good solution.   This does not appear to be a problem limited to the H4 as there are numerous comments on the shotscope Facebook page with other people experiencing the problem on their watches.   

Got another response from customer support (they do respond in a timely manner) and was told to sign out if the app, hard reset the h4, unsubscribe from the courses and the courses i identified would show up as needing an update and I could transfer them to the device.   I followed the request and have sync’d the courses.  Will they show up when I try to start a round?  I have no doubts that they will.   
 

Apparently even though the H4 says the course is “on device” it really isn’t so it needs to be downloaded which is why customer support is needed.  This solution is frustrating because if you show up and the course isn’t available the H4 becomes useless.   It would be nice if I had the ability to sync any course I wanted even if it was already on the device.  
 

still a huge issue and prevents me from recommending the H4.  I’ll still use the H4 since I have it and want to get the tracking metrics,  but I will also keep my Bushnell GPS charged and in the bag for when I play a course that the H4 can’t locate.  

 

One of the downsides of living in Key West is that we have one golf course on the next key (Stock Island).  The next closest is 50+ miles away and after that the closest is over 120 miles away.   As a result, I basically play a majority of my rounds at Key West Golf Club.   So, it's tough for me to duplicate @cnosil H4 issue with not finding certain courses.  Maybe my next trip up the Keys to America I can see if I have the same problem.

However, I do find the H4's limited course search radius a little disappointing.  I live roughly 4 miles from the Key West Golf Club in Old Town Key West.  I set both my Garmin S40 GPS watch and Shot Scope H4 units to search for satellites and available courses.   The Garmin responded with the Key West Golf Club and the Florida Keys Country Club roughly 51 miles away.  The H4 responded with "No Courses Within 1KM" or just over 0.6 miles. 

I'm not exactly sure why Shot Scope limits the search area.  Maybe to filter out nearby noise in a congested area with many courses?  Whatever the reason, I think it would be nice to have the search radius somewhere between 0.6 and 51 miles.  A greater search radius may give H4 owners the opportunity to ensure a course is available before showing up and finding out it isn't.  Just a thought.

For those who may not be familiar with golf game statistics, analysis and ultimately what to do with them, I found these Shot Scope ebooks that may be of help.  Here's the link:  Golf E-Books | Free Golf Books To Help Lower Your Score (shotscope.com).  They are short, pdf-based books I found interesting and helped me better understand how I could use the analysis to help my game.  Best of all they are free.

There are five in all.  There's an overall golf guide, the top 10 strategic mistakes that golfers make, how to use data to improve your game, how to use strokes gained and a data-driven look on how to play St. Andrews.  I found the two on using data to improve and strokes gained very interesting.  They helped me better sort through, understand and apply the set of data offered by Shot Scope.  

If you have questions on how take advantage of the shot tracking output, these may help.

I played twice this weekend:  my normal Saturday men's league and in my Lower Keys Golf Association scramble event today.  Given the format, I thought I'd give the Shot Scope Pro LX+ a rest and go back to my Garmin S42 GPS watch and Mileseey PF210 Pro rangefinder.  Here's a few observations after playing both sets of devices on back-to-back days:

• I actually missed the 7X zoom on the Shot Scope Pro LX rangefinder.  I didn't think I would.  The Mileseey only has 6X optics.  Pro LX Images were larger and flags were easier to pick up.  Images also seemed to be a little crisper.  
• It was nice not having the halo effect around the edge of the viewfinder optics.  I could wear my prescription glasses and have a full view through the eyepiece. 
• Having used both rangefinders this weekend, the slightly larger size and ergonomic shape of the Pro LX seemed to be a little more stable in my hands than the Mileseey.  
• I didn't seem to use the GPS distance feature on the Garmin watch as much as I usually do with the H4.  This was mostly due to the fact we had a big hitter on our team and we typically were interested in yardages better obtained with the rangefinder.  Also, I didn't have to remove the H4 to tag every wood and iron shot.
• It was a little nice not having to check my left belt on a regular basis to ensure the H4 stayed in place.  Not that checking it was a hassle by any stretch of the imagination.  Just one less thing to worry about.  
• It was nice not having to manually mark my putts, but I understand it's a small price to pay to collect data and gaining a greater insight into my game. 

In the end, I'll be using the Shot Scope LX+ for my Tuesday round.  Yes, the Pro LX+ has the limited displayed optics and I have to manually input my putts.  But what I can see through the viewfinder along with the stability of the LX rangefinder and the shot capture and analysis function of the H4 were more than enough to win me back.  

If I would find a workaround other than removing my glasses every time I need to get a distance, I'd retire the Garmin S42 and Mileseey rangefiner.

To improve battery life - I've played two 9 hole rounds the past week using only the GPS feature on the H4 with the tracking feature turned off (selected GPS only when starting up) and found the battery life to be much better than when having tracking turned on.   I still had 70% battery life remaining (about 4 1/2 hours of use) compared to 50% when using the shot tracking.  That would put it much closer to the 15 hours that ShotScope advertises.   I'm going to keep testing this but if you're playing a round and low on battery switching to GPS only may help conserve battery power.   

Been a while, but we are reaching the end of 2022 and I have finally reached 15 rounds that I could capture on the H4.  As noted in the review some rounds were missed due to the “no course within 1k” issue and I forgot to charge the unit a couple of times.  Interesting to note that you cannot create a full round via the shotscope dashboard; it must be started on the H4.   All that said, I felt like I should do a few posts addressing the various stats that are presented via the dashboard and see if I can identify any areas for improvement.   To shorten the content I will make a separate post about each dashboard area.  The dashboard areas are Clubs, Tee Shots, Approaches,  Short Game, putting, and Scoring. 
 

General Dashboard and Data Filters

From the main dashboard performance screen you can pick the performance area you want to investigate  

you can filter the data in a number of ways:

 

and you can select the performance benchmark you want your data compared against.   I play to around a 5 so I my comparisons will be against scratch to see where I can improve.  

Club Data

the question here is whether 15 rounds is adequate to get helpful information.  Below is what I am seeing for my P-avg which I believe is where we need to focus since it tries to filter out the outliers like punch shots, poorly hit, or those that hit the cart path and go a mile. .  I can also view longest with each club or actual average for all shots.  The problem with this is what we see is total distance and not carry; which it what we ideally want to know.   

in looking a the data, I do see some potential problem areas and one specifically confirms what I sense on the course.  The SW/PW gap is too big and I do struggle with what club to hit 105-110.  As a result of what o am seeing here, I will try to get a gapping session setup so I can check and tweak some of the distances.   I also changed the settings on my 3w back to 15* from 16.5* to see if I could get a little more distance.

 

Tee Shots

How well we hit the ball off the tee has a big influence on our scoring; are you keeping the ball in play, getting penalized, or are you a fairway machine.   As we start getting into shot analysis, ShotScope gives us raw data and strokes gained information.  As I have started doing some analysis of my game I am finding strokes gained gives some basic information, but you really need the detailed stats to help make decisions.

I’ve set the system up to compare against a scratch player since that’s where I’d like to get and will hopefully help reveal where I need to work.   looking at the overall data, my shots seem pretty evenly distributed and not gathering on one side of the course or the other.  My 63% fairways hit is better than most scratch players but I am a little shorter off the tee than scratch golfers.  

Next let’s dig into how my scoring is impacted based on where my ball ends up. What stands out is that I am terrible out of fairway bunkers and they cost me over 1 stroke every time I hit one off the tee.  I hit the bunker 7% of the time so maybe not a priority area to focus on initially for score improvement.  Maybe it results in a bogey, but bogeys aren’t the score killers.

 

How do I do off the tee when I hit different clubs?   Based on the data, it looks like driver is the go to club unless potential penalties come into play.   Looking at the limited data, I am not really any better off the tee regarding FIR until I get to 6 iron.   

 

looking at strokes gained data, tee shots don’t really see, to be a problem area with a strokes gained of 0.0 against scratch golfers.  Guess we need to look elsewhere to see how to get from a 5ish to scratch.

Approach Shots

Looking at approach shots, here is an area that starts to show some areas for improvement.  My GIR is below the benchmark and I seem to miss high percentage of shots short; nothing we haven’t heard when looking at any analysis of players games.  I have started to address this by consciously taking one more club into the green; especially for front pins.  For middle and back pins, I’ll probably be more middle and back 1/3 of the green distances.  
 

as you can see in the screenshot, the data goes deeper into hole how often I hit the green  by club, distance, and lie and then proximity to the hole based on those same categories.   My overall proximity shows as 30 ft greater than a scratch.  While interesting, I think this comes from an error in how I enter the data.  After using the device for a while I learned that  second shots on par 5s should be considered positional.  This is an odd thought, but the system doesn’t know if you were trying to reach the green or not so a shot to 100 yards gives you an approach proximity number of 300 feet.   But if you are going for the green in 2 you should probably not mark the shot in this manner.  

 

as one would expect, the closer to the green the higher percentage a club will have hitting the green.  The 9 iron does seem a bit suspect though   These screens do scroll so you can see all the clubs. 

 

 

Another interesting breakdown that shows how well I do from distance and lie.  Don’t see anything terribly alarming on this screen that indicates a major problem area.   

Next we get into how close am I hitting the ball on my approaches and it looks like we might be seeing something.     Definitely terrible out of fairway bunkers but I am also seeing that from 150-200 my rough performance seems to be suspect especially compared to other lies.   That 224ft is based on 10 shots  so it isn’t just one bad shot. 

 

In the proximity by club, I may want to see what is goin on with the 5 iron.  Am I hitting it poorly or underestimating how far I hit the club? 

 

 

The next chart shows how many shots it takes me to finish the hole when pulling a specific club,   I would think this number should be close to 3 but not really sure what to determine what to improve other than get the ball into the hole sooner.    

 

 

Short Game

since my short game has been historically poor I am thinking this might reveal some useful information  this data is similar in nature to the approach game except the distance is greenside to 50 yards.   Initial red flags for me are that I average 9 feet farther from the hole,  covert the up and down 20% less, and save from the sand 21% less than a scratch golfer.   Definitely room for improvement!  

 

 

 

The next screens are about proximity, percentage to convert, and how many shots it typically takes.  What immediacy jumps out is that I should not use my 7 iron for shot game shots  looking at the data I as expected convert best with a putter.  Makes sense as the old advice is to get the ball on the ground and rolling like a putt, or a poor putt is usually better than a GC chip.   At a quick glance, everything seems basically even, but at second glance  my PW seems to get me closer, covert a little more and be under 3 in average shots to finish the hole.   

 

Putting. 

Now we get to delve into putting; an area I love to learn about and unfortunately the area of my bag that is most likely going to get swapped out for no other reason than because I wanted too. 

Let’s start with the miss percentage being 54% short. I don’t interpret that as terribly bad by itself as it shows my shot pattern is centered over the hole   The information missing is the actual proximity to the hole.  Is my shot pattern left or right and how far long and short are my shots?  
 

next we get into performance metrics and we start to see some areas for improvement:

Avegrage holes per 3 putt-  looks like I typically average about 2 a round  versus 1 every 26 holes for a scratch golfer.   

average putts per round - looks like I am taking about 3.5 more putts per round.

a erage putts per GIR - I am going to guess the poor mark is due to the number of 3 putts I take

1, 2, 3 putts: obviously I need to avoid 3 putts and hopefully up the 1 putts.  

 

 

next we start to do the breakdown of putts by distance    This is probably the most relevant data as we start to see what distances we make putts from.  While not terrible, it looks like I could stand to improve my make percentage from 9-12 feet.   

Scoring

Scoring is the final set of data that we can review to assess performance.  Here i can see how performance in relation to,par,  how I perform on the front versus back, and how I perform on the various par holes.  It is interesting to note that I typically score 2 strokes better on the back 9.  Wonder why…..more warmed up or care less about score after the bad front

if you’re a strokes gained junkie, you can see the stroke gained numbers for the various aspects of your game, front versus back, and par 3, 4, and 5s. 

As one of the official reviewers, I've had the chance of putting the Shot Scope Pro LX+ in play for roughly six months.  I still used both the H4 GPS and shot tracking module and the Pro LX rangefinder every round.  Here are some of my six months observations:

On the H4:

• I've gotten comfortable wearing the H4 clipped on the left side of my belt buckle (I'm right-handed).  
• I've done better at not accidentally knocking it out of its holder while playing.  In fact, today was the first time in two or three months that I noticed it not there when I approached the 17th tee box.  When I backtracked, I found it lying in the grass behind the 16th green.
• I find I miss about 4-8 shots a round.  They are mostly when I end up in a trap or in trouble and become focused on the shot rather than tagging my club.  This is easily fixed when you go into the Shot Scope dashboard app.  I recommend using your PC app to edit your rounds.  It's a lot easier to see and use.
• The overall battery life seems to be as advertised.  I typically have 60% or more left after a round.  I do recharge the H4 after every round as part of my post round editing process.  
• The H4 face has held up for over 70 rounds or so without any scratches.  All the tags are operational.   I've transferred my driver tag between two drivers and multiple shafts without any problems.

On Shot Scope Dashboard:

• @cnosildid a great job above highlighting all the features, outputs and insights available from downloading and analyzing the data.  
• This was important to me as my golf game is what some say is "non-traditional."  While I already knew that I'm distance-challenged, it wasn't until I got the shots gained/lost data to see where was actually doing significantly better than my handicap peers and specifically where I needed to work on.  For me, under what I could control category, it was putts from 9-18 ft. Based on MyGolfSpy reviews and feedback, I upgraded to a L.A.B Directed Force 2.1 putter and got immediate positive results.  Thanks to L.A.B Golf's Phillip Lazich for his online fitting assistance.  It went in play on December 31st and since then I've won bathe first two weekly MGS Virtual Golf Tournaments of the new year!
• I really like the ability of comparing your shots gained against various handicaps.  By toggling to lower handicaps, I can see what else I need to improve to make that next handicap plateau.  

On Pro LX Rangefinder

• I still get the halo effect I mentioned in my review.  I recently had an exchange with Shot Scope customer service, and they basically confirmed what I had thought.  The larger distance from Shot Scope's eye piece to the optics yields creates that effect.  Therefore, there's nothing that they can do about it.
• I've learned to live with it.  I find it uncomfortable and a nuisance to keep taking my glasses on and off just to take readings.   I've told myself to go back to my old rangefinder that does not have the halo issue, but I really like the Pro LX's 7X optics and clarity.
• So far, I really have not had the need to use the red optics option.  
• The Pro LX has also held up well for the 70 plus rounds.  No cosmetic damage and I'm still on the factory supplied battery.

After six months, both devices are still in play, and I have no plans on replacing them.   

ShotScope continually updates their apps and I noticed on the dashboard that they have added putter comparisons.  This has been  available for non putter clubs and  I have read that this was available for putters previously but disappeared.   The information is located under putter  performance and you can now select the various putters you have used a compare stats.   Unfortunately,  maximum date coverage is limited to a year and it only seems to be available via the web version and not the app.  

My putting has been going downhill recently and the stats show that my personal assessment is correct.  The Seemore has been the putter in my bag and performance has definitely dropped since switching out the LAB.   
 

over the last couple of years I have kind of neglected my putting and focused on full swing and short game.  Based on the stats of both putters,  time to start working on this area as well.   

Its been almost a year with the Pro LX+. The laser rangefinder continues to perform as expected. But the H4 part of this package still has some issues. The device does not always pickup the position of the green accurately. About 25% of the time, it thinks I'm on the green when I am not and there is no easy way to get the device to go back to a position that isn't on the green, and sometimes I need to walk to the center of the green and wait for a few minutes until it recognizes that I am on the green. I have emailed Shot Scope on this issue.

Been about a year since I was selected to test the ShotScope ProLX+ device.  Since this type of device is more of a long term use item I wanted to add an update about the device.  

One Year Update

It has been about a year since I started testing the Shotscope ProLX+ devices.     I have continued to use the devices but I would say that my quest to dive into the data has waned.   

RangeFinder:  Still considered it an average to slight above average rangefinder.  Use of a GPS device to get F/M/B distances is beneficial to help validate that flag readings are really the flag and not something in the background.  Favorite aspect is the slope feature.   

H4:  I still consider it pretty reliable for capturing shots; most "problems" center around the putting green such as  capturing the flag or putt locations.   Occasionally, courses aren't picked up even though the device shows that the course is loaded and doesn't need an update.  This happened during the MGS Pinehurst trip;  Pine Needles wasn't recognized.   I have also stopped using the H4 for anything other than GPS during my competitive league matches;  not that it is difficult but I find it distracting to use around the green to capture the pin location.    The main intent of the H4 is to capture data about your game to identify areas to work on to improve.  While it does show how I compare against various handicap levels to help manage expectations  at my level of play I find that the data doesn't reveal anything that I can't identify through normal game evaluation.   

Summary:  I think the product is good for the right person and would still rate it highly.   I thought I was a data geek and wanted to know more detailed stats but after using the device I can only say the data is interesting but not game changing for me.  Going forward I will still use the rangefinder and h4 unit for distances but probably won't do stat tracking anymore.  

17 minutes ago, cnosil said:

There aren't a lot of limitations to how MGS members deliver reviews and people have done videos as part of their reviews.   Issues are technical ability to do quality videos, size of the videos, and the need to host those videos on an external platform.  

Gotcha, thanks! I guess the ones I personally happened to look at didn't have the videos, but I certainly didn't look at every review, just the ones that were something I was looking for.  And yes, the technical ability for quality can certainly be a limitation, and I guess if you don't already have a tripod, lav mic, editing suite, etc, it could be difficult or expensive to produce.  I love the in-depth written reviews though, lots of time and talent goes into them for sure!

Please sign me up to be a tester.  I golf 4Xweek

 

Sign-up sheet cut me off . . . Currently use a Leupold Range Finder (with slope capability), and bot Arccos and GHIN phone app GPS.

  Thanks!

  Wayne 

 

My current GPS is a Bushnell Neo+.  Current rangefinder is Bushnell Yardage Pro.  Both devices still work but over 15 years old, rangefinder only works on pins that have refectors and buttons on the Neo+ have fallen off, I use a tee peg to activate .  Would love to try something new.

I have a bushnell and use the V3 watch.  I love the ideal of having everything all in one spot. I'd love the opportunity to test this out!

I had a Busnell rangefinder for 15 years that finally bit the dust so bought a less expensive range finder from Costco would like to compare old vs new vs less expensive.

I'm an engineer, live in the data - always checking my own stats.  When I play, the goal is ... no doubles (or higher), no 3-putts, at least one birdie each 9.

Sadly, I don't hit that goal as often as I'd like, but it's all about the challenge of it.  As for my stats, I am interested in not only how far my shots go with each club, but also what's my miss tendency.  And, I like the app feature of the shot scope, as a guy who doesn't go for it in 2 (on the Par 5's) much anymore, I'm all about where's a good spot to layup and leave me a solid number into the pin.

Thanks for the opportunity!

-- Peejer

I have the V2 so I'm intrigued to see how much of an improvement there has been on the products. I've never used a range finder so would love to test one out

Put me in coach!  I would love to try this out. 

My old Bushnell is about 10 years old. I would like to see what I've been missing although it still gives me accurate yardage. I'm sure all the new

features would be very helpful and a welcome suprise.

Love my V3, but I am leaning towards not wearing a watch any longer. Would love to see how this implements the tracking aspect.

I would enjoy the opportunity to test this product.  I currently use GolfBuddy and would feel honored if chosen to test this new product. 

As a new Shot Scope V3 user, I’d be interested in trying the Pro LX for actual pin distance.

This may be the first truly innovative rangefinder I've seen since the first one came out.  The functionality of this device surpasses anything else I've seen.  I currently have a Callaway that seems dependable, but is sometimes difficult to lock in and doesn't have near the features that this has.

The laser range finder and the gps combo is an exciting development, especially for those courses that still don't differentiate between frong, centre and back pins with different coloured flags.

I am curious about the ease of use. Will this impact the length of my round and how easy is data input and retrieval? Very interested in the results. 

I started using the V3 this year and absolutely love it !

Almost bought the H4, but glad I went with the watch instead.  Curious about the rangefinder, but not going to sign up, and let someone else have a crack at it.

Everything about SS is fantastic.  Device, customer service, no subscription !

If you have any interest in tracking, sign up and good luck.

I have used several range finders, but none had the digital readout...would love to see how it compares to my current GPS and rangefinder.

I would love to test out the digital pro LX readout against my Laser Link GPS.

Would love to test one of these! Been using a Garmin s62 for 6 months or so and I’m not convinced. Thinking about buying a SSv3 but am was put off by some reviews suggesting that some shots get missed. Would be great to get my hands on one and try in the flesh.

Count me in!

Would love to help test. Have used a lot of devices and curious to see how this one stacks up!

This would be incredible! As a caddy at a club, this would be HUGE to help with my job! Good luck to everyone who entered!

Never had one and would love to try this one. 

waiting in anticipation for this. Nice sign up list all. Good luck to all. Should be a fun test with all the data it generates. Data explosion 

Currently use a Tec Tec Tec range finder. This shot scope looks really nice and would be great to test for sure.