Arccos Caddie Questions

[JDGAFFLIN]

(**Photo added for thread ambiance.)

Greetings all.  A little background: I'm a 48 year old purchasing agent in the Metro Detroit area that got into golf (somewhat) seriously in October of last year.  This year I decided I wanted to establish a handicap and chart my progress. At the end of the season here in Michigan my WHS index landed at 17.6.

While I want to get better, I also want golf to remain "fun", and not be too consumed with getting better that I forget why I started playing in the first place. 

Queue a month ago: I participated in a focus group with a few guys from Arccos via video chat. They were curious as to why I created an account (at the time I was gaming a Cobra F8 driver and 3 wood) but never went through with the purchase of the whole system.  

We went through the whole system, the app, and the available accessories. Long story short, they sent out a 14 club senor kit with a year free subscription. This is where you guys come in with your thoughts and opinions. 

I played 53 rounds this year, not including scrambles.  That's probably what I'll average a year. Is that frequent enough that it will pay dividends?

I'm a feel player thus far.  I have a decent understanding of my distances and club gapping. I also have a decent feel for how I'll hit the ball based on how I'm feeling. Is the Arccos data strictly based on an average of your shots? Does it factor in shots that can be outliers? 

On the improvement front, how has the Arrcos system actually effected your golf game whether it's positive or negative? 

Given my situation, a 17.6 handicap that wants to get better but not at the expense of losing the fun factor is it worth it to try out?  Is it a system I'm going to be constantly fiddling with on course so much so that it becomes a distraction?  

I want to incorporate some level of statistical data tracking into my game. I just don't want the tracking to become more important than the actual game. 

Thanks all! 

[Vegan_Golfer_PNW]

Totally. I maybe play half your rounds and see shortcomings in my game that I need to work on. 

[JDGAFFLIN]

17 minutes ago, rbsiedsc said:

Totally. I maybe play half your rounds and see shortcomings in my game that I need to work on. 

Thanks.  That's one of my bigger concerns.  I'm not playing to enter tournaments and what not, but I do want to improve. 

[ChitownM2]

That will definitely be enough data to identify what to work on. I played less than half your number of rounds and they're is plenty of info for what I need to work on.

Plus at this point it's a no risk proposition since they sent the kit and have you a year to try it, why not?

[HardcoreLooper]

On 12/8/2020 at 11:11 PM, JDGAFFLIN said:

I played 53 rounds this year, not including scrambles.  That's probably what I'll average a year. Is that frequent enough that it will pay dividends?

It's plenty of rounds.  That's about how many I play; maybe a little more than me (I play 9 quite a bit), and I get a ton of value out of it.

 

On 12/8/2020 at 11:11 PM, JDGAFFLIN said:

I have a decent understanding of my distances and club gapping.

You'll have a much better understanding after you get a few rounds in.  Don't get too hung up on the data until you get a few rounds under your belt.  I'd be surprised if you aren't carrying two clubs that go the same distance.  I was, and nearly everyone I know with Arccos was as well.

 

On 12/8/2020 at 11:11 PM, JDGAFFLIN said:

Is the Arccos data strictly based on an average of your shots? Does it factor in shots that can be outliers? 

No, and no.  It filters out outliers.  The more shots you have with each club, the more accurate it will be.  Again, don't get too hung up on the data until you have several shots with each club.

 

On 12/8/2020 at 11:11 PM, JDGAFFLIN said:

On the improvement front, how has the Arrcos system actually effected your golf game whether it's positive or negative? 

I've improved, but I've made several changes in addition to using Arccos (two new sets of irons and some swing changes).  It definitely helps you pinpoint what to work on.

 

On 12/8/2020 at 11:11 PM, JDGAFFLIN said:

Given my situation, a 17.6 handicap that wants to get better but not at the expense of losing the fun factor is it worth it to try out?  Is it a system I'm going to be constantly fiddling with on course so much so that it becomes a distraction?

This is tough to answer for other people.  There will be some amount of work going into this in order to get some benefit.  If you're the type that can recite your round shot-for-shot, you can use the editor after your round to fix things like missed shots (there will be some) and making adjustments to hole locations.  If not, then you can either make notes of your shots during the round, or you can make updates as you play.  I've gotten to the point that I'll make updates after each hole if I'm playing by myself.  But when I play with other people, I don't touch my phone.  I'll look at the round in the dashboard, and if I can remember the adjustments I need to make, I'll make them.  Otherwise, I'll delete the round.  But I also have a few hundred rounds in the system.

The quality of your phone will make a big difference in shot detection and GPS accuracy.  My regular phone is a Motorola G7.  It's a very good phone, but with lousy GPS.  It's basically unusable for Arccos.  The GPS can be off by as much as 30 yards (Arccos tech support confirmed this for me).  So I use an old iPhone, which does a much better job, but it means I need to remember one more thing to bring to the golf course.  Other Android phones work fine; it's just a crap shoot.

When they gave you the kit, did they give you a Link device?  I just got mine, and I've only used it twice.  I want to play a few more rounds with it and then I'll post my thoughts on it.  I don't want to say too much right now, because I need to give it some more time.

 

[JDGAFFLIN]

5 hours ago, HardcoreLooper said:

It's plenty of rounds.  That's about how many I play; maybe a little more than me (I play 9 quite a bit), and I get a ton of value out of it.

 

You'll have a much better understanding after you get a few rounds in.  Don't get too hung up on the data until you get a few rounds under your belt.  I'd be surprised if you aren't carrying two clubs that go the same distance.  I was, and nearly everyone I know with Arccos was as well.

 

No, and no.  It filters out outliers.  The more shots you have with each club, the more accurate it will be.  Again, don't get too hung up on the data until you have several shots with each club.

 

I've improved, but I've made several changes in addition to using Arccos (two new sets of irons and some swing changes).  It definitely helps you pinpoint what to work on.

 

This is tough to answer for other people.  There will be some amount of work going into this in order to get some benefit.  If you're the type that can recite your round shot-for-shot, you can use the editor after your round to fix things like missed shots (there will be some) and making adjustments to hole locations.  If not, then you can either make notes of your shots during the round, or you can make updates as you play.  I've gotten to the point that I'll make updates after each hole if I'm playing by myself.  But when I play with other people, I don't touch my phone.  I'll look at the round in the dashboard, and if I can remember the adjustments I need to make, I'll make them.  Otherwise, I'll delete the round.  But I also have a few hundred rounds in the system.

The quality of your phone will make a big difference in shot detection and GPS accuracy.  My regular phone is a Motorola G7.  It's a very good phone, but with lousy GPS.  It's basically unusable for Arccos.  The GPS can be off by as much as 30 yards (Arccos tech support confirmed this for me).  So I use an old iPhone, which does a much better job, but it means I need to remember one more thing to bring to the golf course.  Other Android phones work fine; it's just a crap shoot.

When they gave you the kit, did they give you a Link device?  I just got mine, and I've only used it twice.  I want to play a few more rounds with it and then I'll post my thoughts on it.  I don't want to say too much right now, because I need to give it some more time.

 

That's for the detailed reply.  I appreciate it. 

They did not include the Link.  Given I'm not keen on having much beyond a pitch mark repair tool and a ball mark in my front pockets while I'm playing I'm going to take a long look at it. 

 

Thanks again.  

[JDGAFFLIN]

16 hours ago, ChitownM2 said:

That will definitely be enough data to identify what to work on. I played less than half your number of rounds and they're is plenty of info for what I need to work on.

Plus at this point it's a no risk proposition since they sent the kit and have you a year to try it, why not?

Indeed.  I'll probably wait until spring to start using them.  Given it's winter here in Michigan I won't be golfing much until then.  

 

Thanks for the reply!

[Alf. S]

I used Across 360 for about 18 months. I was one of the original reviewers on MyGolfSpy. I really bought into them and would review and edit my data at the end of each round. I was just starting out using a new set of irons Srixon Z565 and I wanted to know the distances I was hitting, I knew they were longer than my old AP1s but not how much. I really loved the analytics and shot gained methodology which you get but after the 1st year I stopped using it. After I gather enough data maybe about 20 rounds my focus came on to approach shots and the only way to get accurate data is to record pin positions and putts. I found that I was spending too much time editing the putts and pin positions and forgetting the basics of the game. i.e instead of thinking about my next tee shot I would be updating the app and end up rushing the next shot. When I do look back it has helped me sort my bag out. The data showed me that I was hitting my 3i and 4i as long as the 5i, so I now use a 3h and 4h instead. I had a 2h that I alternated with my 3w again the data helped me decided that the 3w should be the club I use since I gained very little between 3h and 2h.

Handicap history, started using them August 2018 7.3 rose up to 8.6 in Sept 2019, sensors removed, slow progression down to 5.4

I tried the Caddie function and didn't like it. For me the wind adjustments were not accurate but this could have been due to my home course being 600 feet up and the proximity to the weather station. I also flight the ball quite high. Down wind it would over club and up wind under club. 

On you question of rounds 10 is enough to get some good baseline data