Is All This Golf Tech Good For US?

[JAGolfore 2,746]

This is why I still enjoy some tournament golf. Some events take away even the laser (USGA). And I think that is great. Actually having to get yardage's and such is the way tournament golf should be.

 

As for your everyday round I think it slows down play especially if your having issues. I do know some of the stats would be great to have. For me this year I'm going no gps and just laser for most rounds.

 

 

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[MDGolfHacker 7,688]

This is why I still enjoy some tournament golf. Some events take away even the laser (USGA). And I think that is great. Actually having to get yardage's and such is the way tournament golf should be.

 

As for your everyday round I think it slows down play especially if your having issues. I do know some of the stats would be great to have. For me this year I'm going no gps and just laser for most rounds.

 

 

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Hmm... Bring back caddies st every course ... Problem solved.. And they can keep your stats for you! 😁

 

MDGolfHacker

[Headhammer 3,156]

I go to the golf course to get away from everything, which includes un-plugging from the wired world. That being said, I think range finders and tech that helps you understand your distance with each club (trackman) are huge helps. But tracking every shot and the new green mapping tech that allows golfers to pull up the breaks & grain of putting greens on their phones is going to slow the game down even more.

[Brian A 1,399]

Never really thought about it, I know I got to try the sky caddie watch. thinking about it now, I was awfully concerned with the technology working vs just playing golf.

[GolfSpy MPR 12,183]

Great topic.

 

I love golf. I love stats. I love gadgets. And I'm a bit OCD about things.

 

This means that I have a massive weakness for these golf tech products. And it also means that they have a massive potential for disrupting my rounds. By "disruption," I don't merely mean that they disconnect me from the serenity of being at the golf course (though they can do that). But they also have a tendency to take me away from focusing on, you know, actually playing golf well. Also (and more importantly), they can become a distraction from the conversation with the guys I'm playing with, which for me (especially as a pastor) is a chief reason I golf.

 

I've used Game Golf for the last couple of years, upgrading to Game Golf Live this past season. I think that upgrade was a mistake. The difference between GG and GGL is that the latter pairs with your phone, so that you can see your shots on the course in real time. The former is a standalone device, and you don't see any information until you bring it to your computer and upload your rounds.

 

This year, my intention is to continue using my GGL, but not to use it with my phone at all. The problem that I had with GGL (or with just using the tags with my phone by NFC) is that I constantly have to make sure that every shot is tagged perfectly (that's the OCD idea). I'm always checking to make sure that that putt from off the green wasn't tagged as an actual putt (don't want to mess with my putting stats). This kind of thing, messing with my phone during the round to make sure the data is all accurate, and getting frustrated when it isn't right, is what I want to get away from this year.

 

Tagging shots on the belt device is pretty smooth for me; I can do that without thinking. So this year, I bought a laser range finder, which I'm going to use instead of my phone for distances. I'll keep my score manually (shots and putts). After the round, I'll plug the GGL into my computer, let it upload, and with a scorecard in front of me, it's pretty easy for me to manually correct any errors in the data at that point.

 

I want the data. Once you get it, and you start seeing the ways in which the data shows you specifically where you need to improve, it's hard to give that up. But I want to get the data while keeping my head in the round, keeping myself actively engaged with the people I'm with.

[MaxEntropy 8,182]

I'm a data-driven dork, too. I love to play different courses, so a GPS app on my phone is almost a necessity. I played around with a shot-tracking app last year and hated it. There was too much stuff to try to remember to do pre and post shot for a shot to register. To me, looking at my screen to figure out distance to pin, hazards, etc. is barely different from stepping off from a yardage marker. Maybe with time and use I could get used to the extra routine, but I don't need an app to tell me my ball striking sucks.

[deejaid 3,945]

Lots of great replies. It will be interesting to see how the Cobra Connect Challenge testers feel by seasons end.

 

 

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[MDGolfHacker 7,688]

You know, I don't need Arccos to tell me I suck, but it's nice to see the numbers back it up, LOL  But seriously, I'll be crunching numbers and working on the stuff that really can lower my score.  

 

MDGolfHacker

[00sportsman 2,388]

You know, I don't need Arccos to tell me I suck, but it's nice to see the numbers back it up, LOL  But seriously, I'll be crunching numbers and working on the stuff that really can lower my score.  

 

MDGolfHacker

I'm thinking along these lines.  I would have been interested in the Cobra Connect challenge to see how some updated equipment would help my game, and have numbers to back it up, but I can just picture myself with that data.  "Man, I hit my 56* 115?  I'm going to see if I can hit it 125!"  Not sure that would help my game much, and I know I don't have the discipline to not think that way.

[GolfSpy MPR 12,183]

You know, I don't need Arccos to tell me I suck, but it's nice to see the numbers back it up, LOL  But seriously, I'll be crunching numbers and working on the stuff that really can lower my score.  

 

MDGolfHacker

 

That's exactly it, and it's why I want to figure out the best way to get the data without letting the process mess with my round.

 

For instance, I have in front of me right now a comparison of my last two calendar years of golf. In terms of strokes lost against a scratch golfer per round, Game Golf tells me that in 2016, I was losing:

 

5.3 per round off the tee (mostly because I'm painfully short)

8.0 per round in approach shots

7.8 per round in short game (that's embarrassing)

1.8 per round in putting (better than the normal 15 handicap)

 

Last year, my driving and putting were roughly the same, but my approach game improved by 1.5 strokes per round, and my short game by just over 2 strokes. That was enough to get my GG handicap from 18 to 15.

 

Like MDGolfHacker, I don't know GG to know I'm not good at this game. But knowing (rather than assuming) where I'm losing shots is invaluable to me.

[seancca 6]

I use arccos and I find that it does not take me out of the game. I had switched from gen 1 to 360 over the winter and finally got to use it and so I was checking the phone a bit more than I would in the round to make sure it was tracking right but that was it. I do check shots when say I duff a chip and am only like 10 yards or more away and it will sometimes not register and I will edit really quick if there was time. I will check after putts too in case I have a light tap in. 

 

I think it has the potential to speed the game up and slow it down for some people. I know it can actually speed things up for me because I use my Apple Watch with it and I will get a club suggestion based on smart distance data and that has been very helpful in me better understanding what club to hit at certain distances. 

 

I will say Arccos appealed the most to me because it was less I had to do to track shots. Really just have the phone on my person and hit a shot. Not much more than that. 

[ChrisS 54]

I have a Leupold GX-2i3. I don't want it for shooting everything in sight every time I swing a club. It is nice when you have an odd location shot, playing somewhere with lousy distance markings, greens circled with sand, or a moat full of swamp monsters and lost balls.

[Close2thepin 7]

I actually won a game golf a few years ago and still use it today. The variation I have doesn't do live updates as I go, but allows me to review the shots and distances afterwards. It is very helpful in that regard. I don't keep my phone with me when I golf because I enjoy the peace and quiet when I'm on the course.

 

 

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[revkev 25,157]

Can I add here that deejad is always a must read poster. I don't always agree with him and yet because his posts are articulate and a bit on the edge he forces me to think through the topic at hand.

 

Thanks!

 

 

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[JAGolfore 2,746]

Hmm... Bring back caddies st every course ... Problem solved.. And they can keep your stats for you! [emoji16]

 

MDGolfHacker

How cool would this be.

 

 

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[deejaid 3,945]

Can I add here that deejad is always a must read poster. I don't always agree with him and yet because his posts are articulate and a bit on the edge he forces me to think through the topic at hand.

 

Thanks!

 

 

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Thanks Rev! I appreciate the compliment! To me the conversations about our experiences and feelings toward the equipment and the game in general are more interesting than just the numbers or data.

 

 

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[JTexGolfer 1,041]

I have enjoyed my ShotScope V2 for the most part. I bought it to try and chart my game to see what needed improvement most and it has been spot on in that category. There is definitely no hiding from the raw numbers. But I wouldn't be crushed if things like this weren't allowed and it was all pencil and paper again.

[Charli 915]

I enjoy it all because I'm not in the tech world at all. So all this stuff is interesting to me. It breaks me away from the manual labor

[HardcoreLooper 5,533]

How cool would this be.

Back in the day (before The First Tee), caddying is how regular kids (like me) got into golf. There's an app trying to bring it back:

 

https://caddienow.com/for-golfers/

[Reesedw 2,715]

Since I am involved with the Cobra connect challenge, I decided to wait to chime in until I had a chance to try out the arccos system.. I found it no more intrusive then a Golf GPS. after the first couple of holes you don't even notice the phone in your pocket, as far as the data most of us keep track to at least some extent that information anyhow.. Do i think it is hurting US? For some maybe, those who want to turn off the outside world and just play golf maybe more then other but over all no I think it is fine. 

 

AS long as we use it in perspective, it is not going to make me Rickie, Jordan, DJ, or Tiger. Will it help me get more out of my practice and help me make better choices to play better yes. 

 

But it is not for everyone, and each one of needs to decide how it ill best suit them..