Arccos: Amateur Golf's Technical Revolution
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In this post we look at the amazing technology brought to us by Arccos Golf, and what it offers the amateur golfer to help improve their game.
Background
I looked at Arccos initially while searching for a new set of clubs. I also looked into the Arccos platform because I wanted to see precisely how far I was actually hitting a real ball, on real courses, in real conditions. My interest in this perked by the introduction of radar-based ball tracking at most of the driving ranges I frequented, and a desire to compare the "optimised" distances with factual data. My initial reaction to Arccos was that it was quite expensive and probably not worth the investment. How wrong I was.
Eventually I opted for Cobra King Tour MIM irons, simply because I liked the look of them and they were designated as being suitable for players with handicap of 0-9. (I didn't have a handicap at that time, but figured that once I could handle these clubs well, I should theoretically be able to reach a single figure handicap with them).
It turned out that these new irons came with the built-in Lamkin Crossline Connect grips with embedded Arccos sensors. And with those clubs/grips, Arccos were offering a free set of screw in sensors for the remaining clubs when subscribing to the platform. That effectively provided me with the chance to get onboard with Arccos for the £99.99 subscription fee at the time; I was going to buy new irons anyway and they were no more expensive than others on the market that did not come with the Arccos grips.
The combination of my phone, sensors in my irons and the screw-in sensors in all my other clubs (along with the subscription) would have been enough for me to begin utilising Arccos to improve my game, but during my research I stumbled upon a few posts from other Arccos users that the GPS accuracy when using your phone alone was not that great, and it required your phone to be in your pocket for the greatest accuracy. I wasn't happy with that since I generally opt for unbreakable rugged smartphones that are fairly big, and so I also invested in the Arccos Link, which is a belt clip sized GPS unit which sits in between your phone (via bluetooth) and your club sensors.
So, just to recap, my setup is this. Android Phone, Arccos grips on my irons (3i-PW), screw-sensors on my other clubs (Driver, 3 wood, 5 wood, SW, LW and putter) and the Arccos Link.
Setup and Configuration
It's a fairly straightforward process to get Arccos up and running. It probably takes between half an hour to an hour, and I would suggest that you do this before turning up to play a round of golf...
- Sign up to the Arccos platform.
- Now you have a username/password for Arccos, install the app onto your phone and log in.
- Pair the Arccos Link to your phone.
- Within the Arccos app, pair each of your clubs by simply scanning the sensor in the end of your club with the phone's camera.
- Identify and download the course which you are going to play.
- At this point Arccos is ready for you to hit the course and begin your Arccos journey.
Accurate Automatic Shot Tracking
Once you have fired up the Arccos app on your phone, switched on your Arccos Link (and the bluetooth link established), ensured that the app has correctly detected which course you are playing, you are ready to go.
Begin your round, fire the ball down the fairway, and Arccos does the rest. It automatically detects that you have hit the ball, where you have hit it from, and which club you used to hit it. Hit your next shot, and from that, Arccos can establish how far you hit your previous shot and where it ended up.
Get on to the green, and Arccos automatically realises that you are putting. Put the ball in the hole and move on to the next. Arccos automatically detects that you are moving from one hole to the next and advances the app to the next hole.
There are a couple of reasons why you would perhaps need to get involved with Arccos doing its' thing, such as penalties. Obviously, the trigger for Arccos to capture the result data of your previous shot is you hitting the next one, and if you fire in to the water or out of bounds for example, there is no possible way for Arccos to know that you have done that. You do have to manually tell it to add penalties where they are due. Sometimes it is easy to do this retrospectively when you're in the bar after your round, but I find that it is better to get in to the habit of telling Arccos during your round.
The shot tracking part of the Arccos platform is key to everything that it then provides going forward...
In Depth Performance Data
Once you have played a round with Arccos, this is where you begin to see the power of the tools that you have just invested in...
Round Review
Click on the round that you have just played and you will be able to see that Arccos has plotted your round on top of the satellite views of each hole on the course. You will see the path you took from tee to hole, which clubs you used, how far you hit each shot, how many putts and how many shots overall. Par, Birdie or Eagle in the bottom left corner is a lovely sight to see!
However, hit the "Stats" button for the round, and all of a sudden you are into a plethora of data and statistics that Arccos has quietly calculated in the background and displays them to you in a straightforward, meaningful way from which you can easily identify areas of your game that helped or hindered your round.
Immediately you are presented with 6 categories: Summary, Driving, Approach, Short Game, Putting and Personal Bests. Each of which provide a number of data items and statistics - shots gained or lost in specific disciplines, number and percentage of fairways hit or missed right or left, greens in regulation or missed right, left, short or long, accuracy percentages, number of putts by distance, the list goes on.
You can also set a target handicap for comparison, which automatically shows your stats against the average stats of golfers with the target handicap. And seeing a single stat where you have performed better than scratch is a massive confidence booster!
The Summary section will identify specific areas that excelled in your round, and for those that really let you down there are tips, advice and practice drills suggested to help you improve in those areas.
Overall Performance Review
As well as being able to view all your statistics for a single round, viewing your Player statistics will allow you to view your performances on the whole by taking into account all of your played rounds. Alternatively, you can view for example, your previous 5 rounds, which will give you some indication of how you have been performing "recently".
Accurate Distances for your Clubs
As well as the unfathomable amount of statistics and data that Arccos provides, it will also show you accurate smart distances for each one of your clubs based on all the shots you have hit with that club.
Again, you can see minimum, average and maximum distances for each club based on all the rounds you have ever played, or you can select any number of previous shots which will give an indication of how far you are hitting your clubs "recently".
Great for when the seasons begin to change and the colder or warmer conditions alter the distance the ball will carry and roll.
Arccos Smart Caddie
And the pièce de résistance to Arccos platform is the Caddie function.
Once you have collected enough data with the Arccos platform, it will actually calculate and provide you with an optimal strategy for playing a round of golf on any course.
Using all the information available, it will determine and plot a path around the course, which club to use and how far you should hit for each shot, with a view to achieving the lowest score possible, just like a real caddie.
Conclusion and Last Words
If you are a golfer that is committed to improving your game, Arccos is undeniably a bit of kit that you absolutely should integrate into your golfing equipment.
There are other shot tracking and analysis systems available, but none come close to the power and flexibility of the Arccos platform in terms of getting such an amount of data and insight into your game relatively easily, and at a price that is not as expensive as you might think. Especially if you are soon thinking of changing your grips - it is worth considering taking Arccos on now.
- Arccos Subscription (£119.99 per year - price correct at 25/02/2023 but 1st Year FREE with Smart Grips purchase)
- Arccos Link (usually £125, but discounted when bought with the Smart Grips bundle)
- Arccos Smart Grips (available in Tour Velvet £189 or MCC Plus4 £227.50 fitted, but discounted when bought with Arccos Link bundle)
- Arccos Putter Sensor compatible with SuperStroke grips (usually £15, free with Arccos Smart Grip set)
Allumy Golf Recommends:
- Arccos Link & Smart Grips Bundle: Arccos Link, 13 Grips + Putter Sensor Fitted (with Golf Pride Tour Velvet Grips £289 saving £25, or with MCC Plus4 Grips £325 saving £27.50) AND INCLUDES 1st YEAR SUBSCRIPTION FREE!
Contact Allumy Golf today for enquiries or further information on Arccos products.