DECADE v Golfmetrics v Arrcos v other tools

I have been using Arcoss for 8 years at least. The statistics it provides will definitely help your game if you take advantage of it. Always take a spare scorecard just for myself when I play. I make notes on it and don’t worry about editing my phone during the round. That can all be done afterwards. The phone does give you some great options during the round though. Not just the GPS and factoring in the wind, but actually knows how far you hit each club and will make a suggestion for you and it’s right most of the time for me! I have well over 200 rounds on mine and the statistics it has provided me and to watch my game progress has been fantastic. Like any piece of technology, you will have an issue from time to time but it’s not big and usually you can fix it especially once you learn how to work it. I absolutely love the system and can’t imagine playing without it. That is my personal experience.

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Welcome! I’ve not tried Arccos—despite having a club with the sensor on it—but it sounds like it works great for you.

I’ll have to do a deeper dive into which one works better for me. Certainly the strokes gained data is extremely useful.

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I’ve honed in on the ShotScope V2 watch. It seems to do what I want, without the price tag of the latest and greatest. If you or anyone else has thoughts on that, please respond ie, if there have been issues or non-performance, difficult to use etc.

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Not sure exactly “what you want”…but if it is just a quick gps to use while golfing (not shot tracking or strokes gained)…I recently won a Garmin s10 at a tournament (I think they retail for like $150). It’s very comfortable and great for a quick glance to check front/middle/back and see hazards. It does have a way to track shot distance if you want too, but I’ve not used it.

Love it…no fuss, no muss. No downloading courses,etc. I don’t wear a watch normally, but this looks nice enough that I might.

Only 1 complaint. I play at the crack of dawn and it doesn’t have a backlight…which is difficult for the first hole sometimes :slight_smile: .

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Not sure what they’re selling for currently, but the V3 is a big improvement and worth the extra $ imho … especially considering it’s a one time purchase, and not a continuing annual subscription.

You also get free course updates, watch firmware updates and very responsive customer support.

As others have mentioned it’s requires very little interaction during play - only the “Pin Collect”, a 1 button function - to mark the location of the pin plus your total # of putts.

Very accurate gps distances to greens and hazards.

You also get lots of stats and analyses … including Strokes Gained for different facets of your game - and you can switch comparisons to different handicap levels … in both the smartphone app and the web-based “Dashboard”.

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I’m on season 3 of my ShotScope V3 and I find the battery doesn’t last 36 holes any more. Not usually a problem as I rarely play that much at one time, but it happens.

I’ve been so happy with this product that if it dies tomorrow I’ll buy another one. It’s just over $200 and to me that’s well worth it even if I only got two seasons out of it.

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I’ve logged over 200 rounds in Arccos the past 2 years and I love it. I’ve seen all the complaints and I don’t have them. I’ve had maybe 1-2 rounds that were a hassle. It’s usually because the course is in a place without great cell service. I played a new course yesterday where I couldn’t use it (no satellite images available yet) and boy did I miss it.

One surprising benefit nobody ever talks about, is that I’ve I’m looking for a ball, I can look at my arccos, and see how far I am from my last shot to have a better idea where my ball might be. You guys that hit fairways all the time probably don’t know what I’m talking about. :wink:

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That is a huge benefit for me also. Just knowing about how far from the last shot I am is has made a huge difference in my ability to find balls that would otherwise go lost. I’ve forgotten my phone in the car a couple of times since picking up Arccos and I feel totally naked on those rounds.

Just need to decide if I stick with Arccos again next year or make the jump to Shotscope for a couple of bucks more but no recurring charges. I’m also getting nervous that my sensors are now going on 3 years old and might start dying. I don’t play a ton of rounds each year, but I still have no idea how long to expect them to last other than understanding they say to expect at least 2 years out of them. Do the Shotscope tags also have limited life to them and anyone have an idea how long they usually last?

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Shotscope tags don’t have a battery in them. They can last as long as they are in good condition. After a bit less than 2 years mines are ok. They are slowly getting thinner as they grind in the bottom of the bag. But the tags numbers are still visible so I probably have a good number of years until they spoil.

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A reminder: you must take at least one practice swing prior to your shot to trigger the watch to record the shot location. Stats provided are great: FIR, GIR, etc.

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Glad it worked out for you Todd!

Anyone tried upgame golf?

Ive been using an app called golfpad, which is pretty inexpensive and has alot of the same features of the big dogs including shot tracking via phone, smartwatch or tags for each club for auto tracking. My only hangup with it is that, although it has strokes gained data it does not allow you to compare yourself to players of different skill levels like some of the others.

Seems like the big 3 have better user interfaces and game improvement features to be able to break down statistics into granular usable data.

Well, after I got my R10 I went all in on Garmin and bought an Epix2 for my smart golf watch. Now I’m on the fence between manual club entry, the 3 sensor set for short game clubs, and a full set like I had with arccos. I’ve read varying accounts of Garmin not providing full stats unless you have the CT10s, but I’m still not sure if that’s just because many people won’t manually enter the club data or if the function only really turns on if you buy a sensor for that club/range of clubs. Anyone have any insight? I currently use 4 wedges, so a 3 sensor setup for short game insight might not cover me anyway if they are required

TIA!

Another long-time Arccos user here. I’ve never had anyone even notice much less complain about “fooling around” with my phone. I use the gps frequently, same as laser. Gets me info I need quick to get on with it. I play fairly fast and I’m never agonizing over shots.
I agree with @Dive449, I spot-check esp if there’s a backup on the next tee but otherwise autopilot.
I must say, I have a different view than most when it comes to carrying the phone. I’ve heard many say that carrying their phone is a non-starter. Not me. I use a holster that clips to my belt in the small of my back, a la Captain Kirk.


Works great, not in the way and still tracks shots fine. I can still whip it out readily for gps. What I dislike is having a big ol’ clunking watch on when I’m getting my glove on and trying to swing. To each their own.
I did get a Link when it first came out. I use it to tag hole location on the green (single button press), simpler than futzing with the phone. I still carry my phone though.
I do an After Action Report post-round and there’s the odd dropped shot I have to add but the point is After not During.

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I’ve used a bunch of different sensors over the years…currently using Arccos for the last 4 or 5 years. It’s been great. Very few needs for corrections, but there are some. Someone mentioned having to carry your phone in your pocket (it needs to hear the sound of the club hitting the ball to register). That can also be done via an Apple Watch, or you can get their additional sensor/belt clip. I use the apple phone and it works great. You do have to manually enter penalty shots and once in a while it misses a shot here and there…but, I always review my round after I play so find it pretty fresh in my mind when I have to correct something. That said, the data and post-round analysis is absolutely awesome! Breaks your game down into driving, approach irons, short game (inside 50 yards), and putting, suggesting where you need to improve and how to do it…it keeps getting better and better. My only two gripes: If you chip from off the green with a putter (on the fringe using a putter is still considered a chip), it’ll just read it as a putt since you’re using your putter and no way to change it to a chip without entering one of your wedges…second, the screw in sensors…takes focus to not include that section has an extension of the club and try to grip it…minor and you get used to it, but others with sensors have similar issues…

I agree with you. I played with it for 2 seasons now and it works great. I love the data and now with new the new apple watch update, it looks to me even better.

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Honestly a system like DECADE can help pretty much any level of golfer, and as as percentage of improvement may be able to help higher caps more than those single digits.

I’m a long time shotscope user too and I love it.

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I have just recently started using the X5 ShotScope and I really like it. It took a while to get it working properly as I needed mulitple firmware updates, as I assume is normal with any new launch. Now that it is working I am excited to see what it looks like when I have enough data in there to start picking out patterns.

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