2021 Official Member Review: BagBoy Tracker

[GolfSpy MPR]

While some of us are merely making tracks in the snow [sniffle], a few forum members will be measuring their steps at the golf course! Testing the Bag Boy Tracker for the MGS Forum will be:

• @dbdors | Review
• @TBS | Review
• @c_zoid | Review

[dbdors]

The Review 1/26/21

BagBoy Tracker – Official MGS Forum Review by Darrell

Intro

Basic amateur golfer, I practice once a week, play 9 or 18 once a month, if I can.  I sometimes play more in the summer.  Live and mainly play in the Houston area, but love to play other cities and states (working on playing one course in every state).  So I play a lot of new course and one-off times.

Been playing for 20 years, but only seriously for about 14 years.  I’m about a 12 hcp and need all the help I can get on course.

The Personal Questions

- I play in the SE Houston, Tx area (but all over if I can)

- Been playing seriously for about 14 years

- Basic mid-handicap

The Golf Questions

- About a 12 hcp typically 83-86.

- Strengths are short iron consistency 7 and down, weaknesses, long club consistency your game?

- You can see WITB in my sig., but I was full bag fit (-hybrids) by fitter in Spring Tx two years ago, hoping to go back this year for hybrids.

- And I am tech savvy, use lots of devices and work with software every day and in IT in the past.  And being an engineer makes me want to look at the numbers!!  Numbers junkie!

- I track my golf fitness with the Apple Watch work-out app set to golf.

First Impressions

In short, simple and easy to use, does what is says it does, tracks distance and maps your route.  Really not much to this.  It seems to capture the distance simply and accurately.

What's in the box? It comes in a nice box, that includes the Tracker, two rubber cushioning spacers (one flat and one curved) and two sizes of rubber bands for attachment to the cart wheel.  Designed to fit any cart with spoked wheel, not just the the BagBoy.

                    

Installation was simple, choose a rubber pad and rubber band, stretch it around the spokes of the wheel and clip on to the lips on the edges of the tracker.  The initial connection to the phone via BlueTooth seemed to take a minute or two.  Slower that I thought, and was concerned that it wouldn’t connect.  But it connects and quickly there after.  The tracker is small and very light.

 

My first holes were some practice holes at a local range/course.

I know from my Google earth measurements that it is approximately .75 miles for 1 loop (a par 5, par 3 and par 4).  I typically walk 6 holes, (2 loops or 1.5 miles).

 

One capture for 2 loops measured 1.35 miles.  Keep in mind that I also do not go back to the first tee box after the last hole.   Which explains the .15-mile difference.  I also run my Apple Watch workout app when I play, the watch captures calories but not distance.  And I also messed up a bit on the screen captures in that they were 2 minutes apart, thus the calories are a bit different.  But either way they match the watch (also the watch is capturing all my physical activity.  For example swings, or when I walked away from the cart to find or hit a ball.  The Tracker would not as the cart was left in place.

         

One thing you might wonder is if some of the data comes from the phone (like calories).  But it seems clear that the app is calculating it’s on calories.  One set of practice holes I managed to somehow delete my height and weight on the app settings, and it did not capture any calories.  Distance was captured, but no calories.

This past Sunday I was able to walk 9 holes.  I have no way to track distance on this course, but 3.26 miles seems reasonable (this course has a quirky layout and you actually have to back track a couple time moving from green to tee on some hole transitions.  Plus I almost got lost trying to find the 6 hole tee box).  Calories are different, because I did walk to the range and hit a small bucket of ball first and again, there were times where I might move to a ball while leaving my cart in place (hunting balls, hitting, putting on green).  The Apple Watch will capture calories for all movements since it is with me all the time.

             

Finally, I use Arccos w/Arccos Link, since both apps must run at the same time, I was curious if they would play well together.  I have enough problems with Arccos tracking shots that I didn't want to make it worse.  So far, no issues or incompatibility.  Only minor bug is that the BagBoy app was always on top if I open my phone to look at Arccos.  I figured out later that this depends on which app you close last.  The last app on top at close is there at open.  But that is not common, I really want my phone to stay in the push cart (out of site and out of mind, just keep track of my shots and distance/route.  The only device I want to see is my SkyCaddie GPS.

Grading

Looks & Feel (10 points)

Not much to report here.  Its small and silent.  You do not know it’s there in use.

Setup (15 points)

Set up instructions are clear.  At first it seems to take longer than expected to connect to the phone, but it connected.  And after that subsequent connections are quick.  I would suggest that you create a login account.  You have to enter your height and weight and you can select a wheel diameter (for BagBoy carts) or manually enter the diameter.  They also suggest that you place the device on a rear wheel (I assume that most times the rear wheel is always on the ground where as a front wheel might be lifted up).  The device has auto on and auto off.  All you have to do is spin the wheel a bit, just a push of the cart, and the tracker turns on and then auto connects when the app is running.

Accuracy (15 points)

Not much to say here either, it is accurate.  Map routing is based on phone data so that is not a function of the device anyway.  In my comparison of a known distance the Tracker showed it was accurate.  And the route I took with my practice rounds I map on Google Earth and it matches.

On-Course (30 points)

Again, nothing to do but use it.  You will not know it’s there.  I put my phone in a pouch in Quad XL and it stays there.  Only time I take it out is to review a hole on Arccos.  What was that commercial, “set it and forget it”?

Miscellaneous (10 points)

I really like how it connects after the initial connection is make.  They tell you to turn the wheel a bit.  And the tracker will start flashing the blue light to indicate that it is on (no power switch, it is auto on and auto off).  Open the app and it connects in a few seconds.

Do create an a login account.  I think it is required to save your settings (weight, height and wheel size, accidently learned that).  As I understand, BagBoy has a rewards program to reward for your distances tracked and it stores the data in the cloud.  One downside is the detailed data like route diagram, calories, and distances do not show on other devices logged into your account (in my case, my iPad).  You only get a milestone progress for total miles.

The app is easy to use and basic, there isn’t a lot of data anyway.

Play it or Trade it? (20 points)

Play it.  I was planning to buy this when it hit the market.  It’s $40 and I love knowing how far I walk with I walk.  And enjoy seeing it on the map.

I used to own a Garmin G8 and it would track fitness data (route on map and distance).  I miss that.  But neither Arccos nor the SkyCaddie SX400 that I use capture any fitness data.

So all you numbers junkies with carts (and I raise my hand first), go get one.  You’ll enjoy it.

Conclusion

Get one, It’s cheap, accurate, simple to use and unintrusive.

Final Score: 100 points

[TBS]

The Review - 3.23.21 (LOL) - 5.6.21

BagBoy Tracker – Official MGS Forum Review by TBS

Intro

My name is Trevor Sutton and I have been fortunate enough with good weather this winter to be able to test out the BagBoy Tracker. My group has committed to walking this year to increase our fitness, save some money, and better conversation. I work in Student Housing at University of Alabama in Birmingham, so I have seen just about every good, bad, dumb, stupid, REALLY bad, funny, and smart decision 18-22s make. Let’s just say 7 am golf is a good escape from the craziness of campus.  I’m rushing to get as much golf as possible in over the next 6 months as my wife and I are expecting our first child. 

My golf has been steadily improving when I got serious about it in the Fall of 2019. I had always played but had never gotten lessons and had never been fit for my clubs. Both have been accomplished. I’m knocking on the door of a sub 10 handicap as well as breakin 80. It is going to happen this year! The main courses that I play are definitely not considered walking friendly with either lots of undulation or holes that are not very close but that does not discourage us. I’m rushing to get as much golf as possible in over the next 6 months as my wife and I are expecting our first child. 

The Personal Questions

I currently play out of Birmingham, Alabama. We are very fortunate that the winter months are mainly windy, wet, and somewhat cold.(Anything less than 40 degrees is cold.)  Before moving to Birmingham, I have lived in Dallas and Columbia, SC. All three of these cities have had good to great public golf, so I have been very fortunate. I started golfing in middle school but nothing serious. A golf camp here and there but I picked it up more seriously in college. I became a lot more serious the Fall of 2019 and have been playing regularly since. I play weekly with about a lesson every couple of months and regular range sessions in between. 

The Golf Questions

I’m currently a 10.6 but will be sub 10 by end of the summer or at least that’s my goal. I’ll also have broken 80 a couple times by then, too. Current strengths are my irons. I recently got fit for Ping i210s and they are sweet. My weaknesses right now are my woods. I have finally been able to limit the 2 way miss but trying to find the consistent fade is my next goal. I don’t hit my 3 wood off the deck only off the tee, which I know I need to get better at. Honestly I don't get to practice off of grass much, so that makes it more difficult. My hybrid has gotten a lot better..

Here is my current setup. I’m pretty happy with it. The only area that I want to fine tune is my woods. I was fit mid way through some lessons, so in the over the next couple of years, I may upgrade. The Driver and 3 wood were bought used because it was my first major golf upgrade. I was fit for all of my clubs- woods at Club Champion, Irons and wedges were fit by my local pro.

Driver - M6 12 deg, Oban Kyoshi Purple 

3 wood - TS2 16.5 deg, Oban Kyoshi Purple

Hybrid - G410, 20 deg, Aldila NV 2kxv 

Irons - i210, 4-U, KBS tour 120g +½”

Wedges - Cleveland RTX zipcore 54 deg; Ping Glide 3.0 58 deg

Putter - Taylormade TP Black Copper Juno

I consider myself to be fairly tech savvy. As I said when I put in for the test, I used to do a lot of endurance events so fitness watches and devices were important for my training. Although I am pretty tech savvy, I really only want to spend the time to learn how something works once or twice. I don’t care to do trouble shooting, or have multiple issues while using the device. 

I currently use an Apple Watch series 4 for fitness tracking, steps, and all other smart watch features. I have previously used various Garmin products, Fenix 3 and Forerunner.

First Impressions

Overall, its a very basic product, but there is not much info on how the sensors work. The box makes the same claims on all 3 sides - Measures how far you walk. THat’s it. From my experience cycling and triathlons, I know that this sensor is essentially an accelerometer. that Measures how many rotations the wheel gets. I only got this information from DC Rainmaker, one of the most comprehensive reviewers of fitness tech there is. Here he is outlining how an identical sensor works for cycing - https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2014/05/garmins-spd-cad-magnetless-sensors.html. As you look more closely at the box, you notice that in addition, the device will “track your time and calories burned from the convenience of your mobile phone”. It will also allow you to review your history of lifetime and individual rounds.  NOTE - it's impossible to accurately measure calories burned without measuring heart rate. This app is estimating based off of a basic formula that uses your height and weight.

This is where my eyebrows started to raise and I felt that the marketing was not as clear as it could have been. There are 2 devices that the Bag Boy tracker is advertising - the accelerometer and the app. The accelerometer will not work without the app. This needs to be noted if you are interested in this device. The 2 of these work together so that you can add it to your push cart, connect to the app, and when you start your round, it will track.

(Everybody loves a good unboxing picture sequence. Nothing special, just a simple setup and unboxing.)

Grading 

NOTE - because the device works directly with the app, I will be creating my score based on the average of rating both out of 10 for some of the sections.

Looks & Feel (9 out of 10 points) 

Device - It’s basic black with a simple design. No issues, also not much to judge. The light is clear to see when it is flashing, but is not like a christmas light when unlit. Durable, I have played in wet and dry conditions and this thing has no issues. Through thick brush when looking for a lost ball, it never came loose or had any issues. Only issue is that the batter came with a 50% charge. 9/10

The app - Looks like an app that I had on my original iphone from 2010. It’s basic with 1 main function to start your round and start tracking. This is not a bad thing, I have so much going on in my head that I don’t need a difficult app to work with while I’m playing 9/10. The reason I took 1 point off was because the instructions could be clearer when setting up. More on that during setup. 9/10

Setup (10 out of 15 points)

Device - Instructions were good. It clearly outlined how to attach the device to your pushcart. I mean, this should not be rocket surgery but at the same time, instructions should be able to be followed by a 5th grader. With that in mind, they could have been a little more specific with additional pictures but hey, you’re using a fancy rubber band to attach a piece of plastic to your pushcart wheel. There is no charging needed, but the battery that mine came with only had 50% charge. Kind of annoying but I get it, during shipment, these packages are tossed around and movement activates the battery. THese batteries aren’t hard to find or expensive but you don't have C4 batteries sitting around the house. So if it dies you either go to the store or order one. Kind of annoying. 12/15 due to battery

App - Not many instructions on how to optimize this. Look, I’m pretty tech savvy, but when it comes to an app and privacy settings continue to get changed during updates, it’s important to provide clear and updated instructions on how to optimize the settings of your phone. The issue that I had was the app. It took me a couple of rounds to realize you have to allow location services “All the time” not just when you are using your app. The first round, I walked, I had the wrong setting and it only tracked when I had the app open, not just running in the background. 8/15 due to app setup

(Here is what you get when you first log into the app. So even when you select turn on location services, the new update does not give you allow all the time, only these two options. So you have to manually change that setting.)

Accuracy (14 out of 15 points)

Yes the tracking is accurate because it uses the same satellites that your phone uses. It’s not using GLONASS which many high end fitness watches uses, which is superior to gps, but it is accurate. It held its own against my iphone tracking, apple watch tracking, and garmin tracking which uses GLONASS.

My biggest issue is that if you already use an apple watch or iphone to track your steps/mileage, why spend the money to get this, it’s just using the exact same data that your phone already collects and storing it in a different app. Which brings me to a point that I will discuss further in teh Play it or Trade it section. How much data is the thing on the wheel really providing to the app? Can’t the app just use GPS? It honestly seems unnecessary.

 

14/15 - there were small discrepancies, .05 - .1 mi difference between Bag Boy GPS and GLONASS of Garmin

 

On-Course (8 out of 30 points)

This is where this product went from somewhat useful to honestly, annoying. Personally, my phone(s) are constantly on less than 80%. I’m on them a lot. With COVID, I do a lot of work on my phone when playing golf. Additionally, I use 18 birdies to track my round, though I do turn off the GPSfeature because I use a rangefinder and know my course pretty well. So, balancing all these things not only ran my battery down but I also had to keep remembering to open back up the bag boy app after I input my score into 18Birdies. 

I do have 2 phones, one for work and one for personal use. So after a few rounds where my phone died or I messed up the tracking by not opening the Bag Boy app, I used 1 phone for 18 birdies and the other for Bag BOy. This worked, but it was annoying. It was not as easy as set it and forget it, which is what I want for an activity tracker. Also, post round, the metrics aren't that great. I would have rather seen elevation gain rather than calories burned.

I did not care to keep using it after I did my few rounds of tests. Like I said, I want to hit start, let it run in the background, and hit stop after I fist bump on the 18 green. Also, when I run or workout, my goal is different each run. It might be to keep my heart rate low, or run a specific distance in a certain time, or run a new route. Golf goals are fairly constant - have fun, shoot low. Once you walk a course a few times, you know roughly how much you walk. So why do you need to keep tracking? 

 

(Here are 2 examples of how the settings can mess up your data. First you get the screen of starting a new round. The first image shows where it picked up my location when I put in my scores after each hole. See the straight lines.)

 

Miscellaneous (8 out of 10 points)

It’s fine, nothing too miscellaneous about this. The device is fine, but I firmly believe that it's not necessary. I would much rather see someone tracking heart rate on the golf course than distance. I think whoop does this well. Much more expensive with a monthly charge though. I believe heart rate is a more accurate measure of exercise because distance and gps does not count the hills I walk. But if you don't track on your phone or watch already, I guess this is for you. 8/10 because it's fine but leaves something to be desired.

 

Play it or Trade it? (5 out of 20 points)

Trade it. It does not help me on the course. It does not give me data or metrics that I don’t already have access to. I would only use this product during casual games not in a big money game or tournament. I think this is geared toward the casual golfer who is trying to justify to their spouse, partner, doctor, accountant that golf is important because it helps them walk and here is how much I have walked because of golf! So, yeah, I think people will buy it but it's a niche. It’s also reasonably priced so if you don't want to buy a garmin, I guess this is a good choice? I honestly would just pop open Strava and hit start. 

 

Conclusion

TL;DR - If you don’t know how to use an activity tracking app on your phone, need to justify to a significant other that walking 9/18 holes is exercise, or walk a different course weekly, this product is for you! JK, but not really, this product works and does exactly what is advertised; it tracks how far you walk. Pay attention to your app location settings, and be sure to keep your phone charged, other than that this app works. It’s not necessary and it won’t help you play better golf but its a reasonably priced distance tracker.

Final Score: 54/100

 

POST REVIEW UPDATES

1 Month Later

I left the tracker on my push cart because I have forgotten about it but once I felt that I had enough tested rounds, I stopped using it.

2 Months Later

Haven’t used it and forgotten about it

3 Months Later

Finally took the accelerometer off the bag. 

4 Months Later

@GolfSpy MPR is disappointed in me for not posting. Maybe he thinks that I forgot or took the goods and ran. Nope. I was deep into writing this… Okay well, my dog ate my review… I don’t have a dog… Crap, well work has been busy and my wife is pregnant. Okay that last excuse is legit. 

 

Thanks for letting me test! I promise to be more timely in the future!

 

Edited May 7, 2021 by TBS
Posting review

[c_zoid]

[placeholder]

[TBS]

Hello everyone! Who cares about new drivers, launch monitors, or shafts when there is the BAGBOY TRACKER! Well, skip over those articles about the new ProV1, pour another drink, and get ready for the greatest review of all time. 

First, introductions-

I live in Birmingham, Alabama and have committed to walking as much as I can in 2021. I try to play weekly and thankfully it has not been too wet or cold. The cold is never too bad of an issue here, but the winters can be wet. My course does not drain the best so walking is better than Cart Path Only anyways. 

I committed to walking to improve my health and gain fitness, but also it makes golf a little cheaper, and I find it more enjoyable. I used to be into endurance sports, like cycling, running, and triathlon where gps tracking was really important for training. For golf, honestly, I really don't care how far I walk, but I know others might, which is why I'll give you an honest review. Once I get a few rounds in using the tracker, I start hooking up a few of my other gps devices to see how it compares to accuracy. 

 

Besides comparing accuracy and overall ease of use, is anyone looking for anything special in this review? I'll do my best to offer my opinions.

 

[SydneySowers]

On 1/14/2021 at 11:41 AM, dbdors said:

The Review 1/26/21

BagBoy Tracker – Official MGS Forum Review by Darrell

Intro

 

Basic amateur golfer, I practice once a week, play 9 or 18 once a month, if I can.  I sometimes play more in the summer.  Live and mainly play in the Houston area, but love to play other cities and states (working on playing one course in every state).  So I play a lot of new course and one-off times.

Been playing for 20 years, but only seriously for about 14 years.  I’m about a 12 hcp and need all the help I can get on course.

The Personal Questions

- I play in the SE Houston, Tx area (but all over if I can)

- Been playing seriously for about 14 years

- Basic mid-handicap

The Golf Questions

- About a 12 hcp typically 83-86.

- Strengths are short iron consistency 7 and down, weaknesses, long club consistency your game?

- You can see WITB in my sig., but I was full bag fit (-hybrids) by fitter in Spring Tx two years ago, hoping to go back this year for hybrids.

- And I am tech savvy, use lots of devices and work with software every day and in IT in the past.  And being an engineer makes me want to look at the numbers!!  Numbers junkie!

- I track my golf fitness with the Apple Watch work-out app set to golf.

First Impressions

In short, simple and easy to use, does what is says it does, tracks distance and maps your route.  Really not much to this.  It seems to capture the distance simply and accurately.

What's in the box? It comes in a nice box, that includes the Tracker, two rubber cushioning spacers (one flat and one curved) and two sizes of rubber bands for attachment to the cart wheel.  Designed to fit any cart with spoked wheel, not just the the BagBoy.

                    

Installation was simple, choose a rubber pad and rubber band, stretch it around the spokes of the wheel and clip on to the lips on the edges of the tracker.  The initial connection to the phone via BlueTooth seemed to take a minute or two.  Slower that I thought, and was concerned that it wouldn’t connect.  But it connects and quickly there after.  The tracker is small and very light.

 

My first holes were some practice holes at a local range/course.

I know from my Google earth measurements that it is approximately .75 miles for 1 loop (a par 5, par 3 and par 4).  I typically walk 6 holes, (2 loops or 1.5 miles).

 

One capture for 2 loops measured 1.35 miles.  Keep in mind that I also do not go back to the first tee box after the last hole.   Which explains the .15-mile difference.  I also run my Apple Watch workout app when I play, the watch captures calories but not distance.  And I also messed up a bit on the screen captures in that they were 2 minutes apart, thus the calories are a bit different.  But either way they match the watch (also the watch is capturing all my physical activity.  For example swings, or when I walked away from the cart to find or hit a ball.  The Tracker would not as the cart was left in place.

         

One thing you might wonder is if some of the data comes from the phone (like calories).  But it seems clear that the app is calculating it’s on calories.  One set of practice holes I managed to somehow delete my height and weight on the app settings, and it did not capture any calories.  Distance was captured, but no calories.

This past Sunday I was able to walk 9 holes.  I have no way to track distance on this course, but 3.26 miles seems reasonable (this course has a quirky layout and you actually have to back track a couple time moving from green to tee on some hole transitions.  Plus I almost got lost trying to find the 6 hole tee box).  Calories are different, because I did walk to the range and hit a small bucket of ball first and again, there were times where I might move to a ball while leaving my cart in place (hunting balls, hitting, putting on green).  The Apple Watch will capture calories for all movements since it is with me all the time.

             

Finally, I use Arccos w/Arccos Link, since both apps must run at the same time, I was curious if they would play well together.  I have enough problems with Arccos tracking shots that I didn't want to make it worse.  So far, no issues or incompatibility.  Only minor bug is that the BagBoy app was always on top if I open my phone to look at Arccos.  I figured out later that this depends on which app you close last.  The last app on top at close is there at open.  But that is not common, I really want my phone to stay in the push cart (out of site and out of mind, just keep track of my shots and distance/route.  The only device I want to see is my SkyCaddie GPS.

Grading

Looks & Feel (10 points)

Not much to report here.  Its small and silent.  You do not know it’s there in use.

Setup (15 points)

Set up instructions are clear.  At first it seems to take longer than expected to connect to the phone, but it connected.  And after that subsequent connections are quick.  I would suggest that you create a login account.  You have to enter your height and weight and you can select a wheel diameter (for BagBoy carts) or manually enter the diameter.  They also suggest that you place the device on a rear wheel (I assume that most times the rear wheel is always on the ground where as a front wheel might be lifted up).  The device has auto on and auto off.  All you have to do is spin the wheel a bit, just a push of the cart, and the tracker turns on and then auto connects when the app is running.

Accuracy (15 points)

Not much to say here either, it is accurate.  Map routing is based on phone data so that is not a function of the device anyway.  In my comparison of a known distance the Tracker showed it was accurate.  And the route I took with my practice rounds I map on Google Earth and it matches.

On-Course (30 points)

Again, nothing to do but use it.  You will not know it’s there.  I put my phone in a pouch in Quad XL and it stays there.  Only time I take it out is to review a hole on Arccos.  What was that commercial, “set it and forget it”?

Miscellaneous (10 points)

I really like how it connects after the initial connection is make.  They tell you to turn the wheel a bit.  And the tracker will start flashing the blue light to indicate that it is on (no power switch, it is auto on and auto off).  Open the app and it connects in a few seconds.

Do create an a login account.  I think it is required to save your settings (weight, height and wheel size, accidently learned that).  As I understand, BagBoy has a rewards program to reward for your distances tracked and it stores the data in the cloud.  One downside is the detailed data like route diagram, calories, and distances do not show on other devices logged into your account (in my case, my iPad).  You only get a milestone progress for total miles.

The app is easy to use and basic, there isn’t a lot of data anyway.

Play it or Trade it? (20 points)

Play it.  I was planning to buy this when it hit the market.  It’s $40 and I love knowing how far I walk with I walk.  And enjoy seeing it on the map.

I used to own a Garmin G8 and it would track fitness data (route on map and distance).  I miss that.  But neither Arccos nor the SkyCaddie SX400 that I use capture any fitness data.

So all you numbers junkies with carts (and I raise my hand first), go get one.  You’ll enjoy it.

Conclusion

Get one, It’s cheap, accurate, simple to use and unintrusive.

Final Score: 100 points

Did you happen to have any trouble with it disconnecting during your round? Also, do you feel the app is missing anything? 

[SydneySowers]

On 1/24/2021 at 7:08 PM, TBS said:

Hello everyone! Who cares about new drivers, launch monitors, or shafts when there is the BAGBOY TRACKER! Well, skip over those articles about the new ProV1, pour another drink, and get ready for the greatest review of all time. 

First, introductions-

I live in Birmingham, Alabama and have committed to walking as much as I can in 2021. I try to play weekly and thankfully it has not been too wet or cold. The cold is never too bad of an issue here, but the winters can be wet. My course does not drain the best so walking is better than Cart Path Only anyways. 

I committed to walking to improve my health and gain fitness, but also it makes golf a little cheaper, and I find it more enjoyable. I used to be into endurance sports, like cycling, running, and triathlon where gps tracking was really important for training. For golf, honestly, I really don't care how far I walk, but I know others might, which is why I'll give you an honest review. Once I get a few rounds in using the tracker, I start hooking up a few of my other gps devices to see how it compares to accuracy. 

 

Besides comparing accuracy and overall ease of use, is anyone looking for anything special in this review? I'll do my best to offer my opinions.

 

Can you review accuracy and just overall ease of using the product? I am wondering if it takes a while to get the hang of or if it is pretty self explanatory. Also, do you think something is missing on the app? 

[dbdors]

40 minutes ago, SydneySowers said:

Did you happen to have any trouble with it disconnecting during your round? Also, do you feel the app is missing anything? 

As far as I know, no disconnects.  And I’m not looking at the app much during the round.  The only time I look at my phone is to check if Arccos captures putts.  I keep my phone in the cart, so it’s always there.  It’s pretty basic Bluetooth connection.

[dbdors]

27 minutes ago, SydneySowers said:

Can you review accuracy and just overall ease of using the product? I am wondering if it takes a while to get the hang of or if it is pretty self explanatory. Also, do you think something is missing on the app? 

I find it to be accurate.  Nothing to get the hang of really, push the cart a bit to start the tracker, turn on the app, press “start round” and you’re good.  Nothing to do but stop the app when the round is done.  “Set it and forget it”.

[TBS]

On 2/18/2021 at 2:51 PM, SydneySowers said:

Can you review accuracy and just overall ease of using the product? I am wondering if it takes a while to get the hang of or if it is pretty self explanatory. Also, do you think something is missing on the app? 

Sorry that it took so long for the review. Life got a little crazy...  But overall, it's pretty straightforward but make sure your location settings are turned to always on for the app. Maybe if it integrated into tracking your score and some basic stats, the app would be more useful.

 

Overall, I think using an activity tracking app like Strava would serve you better if you want to record your golf "workouts" (walks). 

[Mtbryant01]

On 1/14/2021 at 10:41 AM, TBS said:

The Review - 3.23.21 (LOL) - 5.6.21

BagBoy Tracker – Official MGS Forum Review by TBS

Intro

My name is Trevor Sutton and I have been fortunate enough with good weather this winter to be able to test out the BagBoy Tracker. My group has committed to walking this year to increase our fitness, save some money, and better conversation. I work in Student Housing at University of Alabama in Birmingham, so I have seen just about every good, bad, dumb, stupid, REALLY bad, funny, and smart decision 18-22s make. Let’s just say 7 am golf is a good escape from the craziness of campus.  I’m rushing to get as much golf as possible in over the next 6 months as my wife and I are expecting our first child. 

My golf has been steadily improving when I got serious about it in the Fall of 2019. I had always played but had never gotten lessons and had never been fit for my clubs. Both have been accomplished. I’m knocking on the door of a sub 10 handicap as well as breakin 80. It is going to happen this year! The main courses that I play are definitely not considered walking friendly with either lots of undulation or holes that are not very close but that does not discourage us. I’m rushing to get as much golf as possible in over the next 6 months as my wife and I are expecting our first child. 

The Personal Questions

I currently play out of Birmingham, Alabama. We are very fortunate that the winter months are mainly windy, wet, and somewhat cold.(Anything less than 40 degrees is cold.)  Before moving to Birmingham, I have lived in Dallas and Columbia, SC. All three of these cities have had good to great public golf, so I have been very fortunate. I started golfing in middle school but nothing serious. A golf camp here and there but I picked it up more seriously in college. I became a lot more serious the Fall of 2019 and have been playing regularly since. I play weekly with about a lesson every couple of months and regular range sessions in between. 

The Golf Questions

I’m currently a 10.6 but will be sub 10 by end of the summer or at least that’s my goal. I’ll also have broken 80 a couple times by then, too. Current strengths are my irons. I recently got fit for Ping i210s and they are sweet. My weaknesses right now are my woods. I have finally been able to limit the 2 way miss but trying to find the consistent fade is my next goal. I don’t hit my 3 wood off the deck only off the tee, which I know I need to get better at. Honestly I don't get to practice off of grass much, so that makes it more difficult. My hybrid has gotten a lot better..

Here is my current setup. I’m pretty happy with it. The only area that I want to fine tune is my woods. I was fit mid way through some lessons, so in the over the next couple of years, I may upgrade. The Driver and 3 wood were bought used because it was my first major golf upgrade. I was fit for all of my clubs- woods at Club Champion, Irons and wedges were fit by my local pro.

Driver - M6 12 deg, Oban Kyoshi Purple 

3 wood - TS2 16.5 deg, Oban Kyoshi Purple

Hybrid - G410, 20 deg, Aldila NV 2kxv 

Irons - i210, 4-U, KBS tour 120g +½”

Wedges - Cleveland RTX zipcore 54 deg; Ping Glide 3.0 58 deg

Putter - Taylormade TP Black Copper Juno

I consider myself to be fairly tech savvy. As I said when I put in for the test, I used to do a lot of endurance events so fitness watches and devices were important for my training. Although I am pretty tech savvy, I really only want to spend the time to learn how something works once or twice. I don’t care to do trouble shooting, or have multiple issues while using the device. 

I currently use an Apple Watch series 4 for fitness tracking, steps, and all other smart watch features. I have previously used various Garmin products, Fenix 3 and Forerunner.

First Impressions

Overall, its a very basic product, but there is not much info on how the sensors work. The box makes the same claims on all 3 sides - Measures how far you walk. THat’s it. From my experience cycling and triathlons, I know that this sensor is essentially an accelerometer. that Measures how many rotations the wheel gets. I only got this information from DC Rainmaker, one of the most comprehensive reviewers of fitness tech there is. Here he is outlining how an identical sensor works for cycing - https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2014/05/garmins-spd-cad-magnetless-sensors.html. As you look more closely at the box, you notice that in addition, the device will “track your time and calories burned from the convenience of your mobile phone”. It will also allow you to review your history of lifetime and individual rounds.  NOTE - it's impossible to accurately measure calories burned without measuring heart rate. This app is estimating based off of a basic formula that uses your height and weight.

This is where my eyebrows started to raise and I felt that the marketing was not as clear as it could have been. There are 2 devices that the Bag Boy tracker is advertising - the accelerometer and the app. The accelerometer will not work without the app. This needs to be noted if you are interested in this device. The 2 of these work together so that you can add it to your push cart, connect to the app, and when you start your round, it will track.

(Everybody loves a good unboxing picture sequence. Nothing special, just a simple setup and unboxing.)

Grading 

NOTE - because the device works directly with the app, I will be creating my score based on the average of rating both out of 10 for some of the sections.

Looks & Feel (9 out of 10 points) 

Device - It’s basic black with a simple design. No issues, also not much to judge. The light is clear to see when it is flashing, but is not like a christmas light when unlit. Durable, I have played in wet and dry conditions and this thing has no issues. Through thick brush when looking for a lost ball, it never came loose or had any issues. Only issue is that the batter came with a 50% charge. 9/10

The app - Looks like an app that I had on my original iphone from 2010. It’s basic with 1 main function to start your round and start tracking. This is not a bad thing, I have so much going on in my head that I don’t need a difficult app to work with while I’m playing 9/10. The reason I took 1 point off was because the instructions could be clearer when setting up. More on that during setup. 9/10

Setup (10 out of 15 points)

Device - Instructions were good. It clearly outlined how to attach the device to your pushcart. I mean, this should not be rocket surgery but at the same time, instructions should be able to be followed by a 5th grader. With that in mind, they could have been a little more specific with additional pictures but hey, you’re using a fancy rubber band to attach a piece of plastic to your pushcart wheel. There is no charging needed, but the battery that mine came with only had 50% charge. Kind of annoying but I get it, during shipment, these packages are tossed around and movement activates the battery. THese batteries aren’t hard to find or expensive but you don't have C4 batteries sitting around the house. So if it dies you either go to the store or order one. Kind of annoying. 12/15 due to battery

App - Not many instructions on how to optimize this. Look, I’m pretty tech savvy, but when it comes to an app and privacy settings continue to get changed during updates, it’s important to provide clear and updated instructions on how to optimize the settings of your phone. The issue that I had was the app. It took me a couple of rounds to realize you have to allow location services “All the time” not just when you are using your app. The first round, I walked, I had the wrong setting and it only tracked when I had the app open, not just running in the background. 8/15 due to app setup

(Here is what you get when you first log into the app. So even when you select turn on location services, the new update does not give you allow all the time, only these two options. So you have to manually change that setting.)

Accuracy (14 out of 15 points)

Yes the tracking is accurate because it uses the same satellites that your phone uses. It’s not using GLONASS which many high end fitness watches uses, which is superior to gps, but it is accurate. It held its own against my iphone tracking, apple watch tracking, and garmin tracking which uses GLONASS.

My biggest issue is that if you already use an apple watch or iphone to track your steps/mileage, why spend the money to get this, it’s just using the exact same data that your phone already collects and storing it in a different app. Which brings me to a point that I will discuss further in teh Play it or Trade it section. How much data is the thing on the wheel really providing to the app? Can’t the app just use GPS? It honestly seems unnecessary.

 

14/15 - there were small discrepancies, .05 - .1 mi difference between Bag Boy GPS and GLONASS of Garmin

 

On-Course (8 out of 30 points)

This is where this product went from somewhat useful to honestly, annoying. Personally, my phone(s) are constantly on less than 80%. I’m on them a lot. With COVID, I do a lot of work on my phone when playing golf. Additionally, I use 18 birdies to track my round, though I do turn off the GPSfeature because I use a rangefinder and know my course pretty well. So, balancing all these things not only ran my battery down but I also had to keep remembering to open back up the bag boy app after I input my score into 18Birdies. 

I do have 2 phones, one for work and one for personal use. So after a few rounds where my phone died or I messed up the tracking by not opening the Bag Boy app, I used 1 phone for 18 birdies and the other for Bag BOy. This worked, but it was annoying. It was not as easy as set it and forget it, which is what I want for an activity tracker. Also, post round, the metrics aren't that great. I would have rather seen elevation gain rather than calories burned.

I did not care to keep using it after I did my few rounds of tests. Like I said, I want to hit start, let it run in the background, and hit stop after I fist bump on the 18 green. Also, when I run or workout, my goal is different each run. It might be to keep my heart rate low, or run a specific distance in a certain time, or run a new route. Golf goals are fairly constant - have fun, shoot low. Once you walk a course a few times, you know roughly how much you walk. So why do you need to keep tracking? 

 

(Here are 2 examples of how the settings can mess up your data. First you get the screen of starting a new round. The first image shows where it picked up my location when I put in my scores after each hole. See the straight lines.)

 

Miscellaneous (8 out of 10 points)

It’s fine, nothing too miscellaneous about this. The device is fine, but I firmly believe that it's not necessary. I would much rather see someone tracking heart rate on the golf course than distance. I think whoop does this well. Much more expensive with a monthly charge though. I believe heart rate is a more accurate measure of exercise because distance and gps does not count the hills I walk. But if you don't track on your phone or watch already, I guess this is for you. 8/10 because it's fine but leaves something to be desired.

 

Play it or Trade it? (5 out of 20 points)

Trade it. It does not help me on the course. It does not give me data or metrics that I don’t already have access to. I would only use this product during casual games not in a big money game or tournament. I think this is geared toward the casual golfer who is trying to justify to their spouse, partner, doctor, accountant that golf is important because it helps them walk and here is how much I have walked because of golf! So, yeah, I think people will buy it but it's a niche. It’s also reasonably priced so if you don't want to buy a garmin, I guess this is a good choice? I honestly would just pop open Strava and hit start. 

 

Conclusion

TL;DR - If you don’t know how to use an activity tracking app on your phone, need to justify to a significant other that walking 9/18 holes is exercise, or walk a different course weekly, this product is for you! JK, but not really, this product works and does exactly what is advertised; it tracks how far you walk. Pay attention to your app location settings, and be sure to keep your phone charged, other than that this app works. It’s not necessary and it won’t help you play better golf but its a reasonably priced distance tracker.

Final Score: 54/100

 

POST REVIEW UPDATES

1 Month Later

I left the tracker on my push cart because I have forgotten about it but once I felt that I had enough tested rounds, I stopped using it.

2 Months Later

Haven’t used it and forgotten about it

3 Months Later

Finally took the accelerometer off the bag. 

4 Months Later

@GolfSpy MPR is disappointed in me for not posting. Maybe he thinks that I forgot or took the goods and ran. Nope. I was deep into writing this… Okay well, my dog ate my review… I don’t have a dog… Crap, well work has been busy and my wife is pregnant. Okay that last excuse is legit. 

 

Thanks for letting me test! I promise to be more timely in the future!

 

Did an update ever get sent out, that you know of, where you don’t have to keep the app open for it to work? I know like people use other apps to keep track of their rounds and might be annoying having to bounce back and forth.

[TBS]

22 hours ago, Mtbryant01 said:

Did an update ever get sent out, that you know of, where you don’t have to keep the app open for it to work? I know like people use other apps to keep track of their rounds and might be annoying having to bounce back and forth.

Not that I am aware of. Although the app has its issues, I'm still not sure that the device that's on your push cart actually provides any additional data that a free gps app would not provide.

[dbdors]

Well the app has been updated (supposedly, but any time I try to update the old version is still on my phone and iPad.

Are any of you still using yours?  Mine wont connect and I assume its due to the app.  Every time I open the app it says and update is available, 1.7 vs 1.0.12.   And you can choose update now, but never updates.  I have deleted and reinstalled the app several times.  Same result, wants to update, never does, and the tracker wont connect.  I placed a call to Dynamic Brands.  The lady on the phone tried all the same things I did with the same result, App wont update.  They will get with the tech team and let me know.  Been pretty quite on this thread.  Curious if any of you have the same issue and if you are still using yours.

[TBS]

I stopped using it. I think Dynamic Brands makes very quality products but keeping up with an app like this takes some commitment of human and capital resources, so a company dealing with 90% of bags and carts, adding this tech item plus an app seems a little off of their typical products. So a failure to keep up with OS requirements does not surprise me. 

Like I said in my review, I think the intention of this product is good, but requiring the use of a separate app misses the mark, for me.

[dbdors]

On 9/18/2021 at 3:03 PM, TBS said:

I stopped using it. I think Dynamic Brands makes very quality products but keeping up with an app like this takes some commitment of human and capital resources, so a company dealing with 90% of bags and carts, adding this tech item plus an app seems a little off of their typical products. So a failure to keep up with OS requirements does not surprise me. 

Like I said in my review, I think the intention of this product is good, but requiring the use of a separate app misses the mark, for me.

I'm sorry to say that I think you are 100% correct?  I really like my BagBoy Quad XL.  But they don't seem to want to support the Tracker.