I played my first round with Arccos. Here are 3 of my favorite picks

I finally went out for my first round with the new Arccos Air and Arccos Smart Laser game tracking unit, and the new hardware was amazing. There’s a ton I still need to learn about successfully using the hardware and application combination, and figuring out how to best use stats to improve my game, but so far things have been easy. My partner Maddi MacClurg also played 18 holes at The Boulders just outside Scottsdale, Ariz., with both the Arccos Air and the new Smart Laser. Here are 3 things that made me very happy.

1. Smart Laser

I’ve talked about this in other content, but the Smart Laser is pretty amazing. I have now played a few rounds with the technology, and every time I use the laser it still gives me a “cool factor” feeling. In conjunction with the app, Smart Laser helps you easily set a pin based on GPS data. If you stand at any point on the hole you are playing and shoot the pin, it starts dialing at that pin green.

You can then jump into the green view in the app, and it will show you where the pin is on the green and the slopes around that pin. This helps you make smart decisions about how you’re going to attack your shotgun, and I really appreciate that it’s all done seamlessly with no babysitting or buttons to push. It’s the same situation you’re used to. Grab the Smart Laser, shoot the pin. The app automatically updates and gives you guidance.

2. The speed of intelligence

This big obstacle for people on our Instagram and YouTube comments is the idea that you have to “babysit” intelligence. I can assure you, it is a quick learning process. I entered this round with zero Arccos data on the app; the tech had no way out. During our round, on the tee box of the windy front-nine par-3, I stood there for about two minutes deciding which club I wanted to hit. I went with an 8 iron, and by the time I got out of the box after my shot, the app had already decided that I hit an 8 iron. Even though I didn’t have historical data, Arccos pulls out hundreds of thousands of photos taken by other users who have the same inclinations and tracks distances as I do and uses that information to help me. How beautiful!

For me, the biggest thing here is figuring out what you want in an app. I personally don’t care about tracking my club distances, so going back after a round and having to change a few clubs isn’t a big deal to me. If you’re a die-hard fan of keeping track of each club’s performance, you may feel that you need to keep the app a little more organized. So far for me, however, I have never had any interruptions in my game, and I think that during the four rounds now in Arccos, I have had to tell which club I hit, because I don’t always use the “recommended” option.

3. I’m obsessed with math, in a good way

I’m not a math guy. I am the hero of the club. My golf comes in waves, and most of that comes from rarely having the same 14 clubs in the bag and testing as I do, which makes it difficult to find a groove. I’ve been lucky enough to get great lessons from top coaches, but that experience rarely lasts more than a few weeks. Not that I have all these Arccos stats, I’m just amazed at how helpful they are going forward.

I haven’t fully gotten into the data yet, and it’s actually something I hope to do while being supervised by a golf data expert or coach, because I can’t tell you that I really understand everything I’m looking at. The good part is that most of the figures are divided into pictures, and they are fractions. There’s not much to explain, and it leads to water in a sense. My problem is that I have a lot of work to do right now as a new user and being a “stroke newbie”. I love you, but I need to understand you more.

A good example is my driving stats. I feel like I don’t trust my teenage driver at all this year. I tried to combine a few settings but everything is in the way. Something doesn’t feel right. If you ask anyone I talk to about my game how it’s going this year, they’ll probably tell you all I do is cry about my driver. In fact, according to Arccos, that’s not something I need to worry about. Knowing that frees the mind in a way. Next time I go out, I’ll feel a little less pressure off the tee – and focus on my putting​​​​​​​​​​

If you’d like to get yourself some Arccos gear, be sure to use the code GOLFMAG15 from their website.

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