I’ve now been using Arccos for about four months, and it truly has changed the way that I look at my game. About a month ago, they launched an update to their app, and everything I thought I learned suddenly had a different perspective. Arccos has always explored the “what” in your game; some may even say it’s covered the “why.” But now it’s exploring the “how”.
Let’s dive into the new Arccos app update.
A completely fresh look at your game
The app has expanded. There’s now more information available, more swipes to be had, and more reason than ever to spend time in the app after your round. The new software update has also improved the accuracy of all of their algorithms, including the features integrated with Arccos Air and the Arccos Smart Laser.
The biggest change for me has been the amount of information Arccos gives you and how much easier it is to navigate the data now. Right on the home page, you’re given a snapshot of your scoring performance with a quick tap to see a list of your latest scores, a Strokes Gained breakdown for the time period you’ve selected, each with individual breakouts per category, along with a quick plot to see your performance trends. There’s also a “where to focus” section with the top three things you need to work on that also now include an AI recommendation for how to practice getting better (more on this later), as well as a quick snapshot of your career highlights on Arccos and a scoring breakdown for all the holes you’ve tracked.
And all that’s without even swiping into the next screen.
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If you dive into the new performance section, you can see a breakdown of your game in four different categories. My favorite things to look at now are the dispersion charts. I think there’s a lot to be learned by understanding how you miss, and this is something that’s directly impacted my ability to play better golf. I realized with the new app that I have a major tendency within 150 yards to miss short. I was second-guessing my distances quite a lot with my gap wedge and my pitching wedge, and after having talked to some friends that I play with a bunch, I came to the realization that the math I was doing in my head was a critical disservice to my game. Arccos helped me realize that mistake. You can see in the screenshot below the difference between my short game over the last 20 rounds and just the last five.
Arccos has now implemented the ‘How’
One of the problems I’ve always had with any stat-tracking software, including Arccos, is that I was never really great at implementing the stats. I knew that I played like junk one day; I didn’t need Arccos to remind me. I knew that I missed six five-foot putts for birdie; I didn’t need Arccos to remind me. I knew that I hit three balls out of bounds on a bad driving day; I didn’t need Arccos to remind me.
There were times when the app was sort of monotonous, just telling me things I already knew and that I was definitely not going to spend time working on because it wasn’t readily apparent to me. That’s now completely changed.
Similar to my above story about realizing bad dispersion patterns, the app now also gives suggestions for the things you’re struggling with. There are not only clear indications of where to focus your improvement, but also specific drills and training tips recommended by AI.
For example, I know I need to work on proximity on my short game in the rough. Arccos reminds me constantly, so now I can click on the ‘How should I practice this?’ option next to the focus area, and it will generate drills for me to work on. For each suggestion, I can open up more details to make sure I am training the suggestion properly. I can like or dislike the recommendation so the AI can learn more about my game, and I can also lock in and start tracking progress in this area of focus so Arccos can keep me honest as I intentionally train in this specific area. If Arccos in the past was the annoying sibling that reminds you you’re bad at things without offering direct assistance, Arccos now is the accountability partner that drags you out of bed for your 5 a.m. run.
They’ve begun unlocking the gear side, and that spells trouble for me
Let’s face it, this is the section of Arccos that I’ve been waiting for, and it’s better than I could have ever imagined. But it leaves us with a few desires as well.
They have completely reimagined the clubs section of the app, and it’s now a usable club comparison tool, with the ability to play on course with different clubs. This is a major factor in my ability to do my job correctly, with clarification and backup for the advice I give our readers and my audience on social media. They’ve made it easier than ever to add clubs with or without sensors as well as swapping clubs in and out of the bag. This has helped me a ton, not only for testing but for figuring out which tools in my golf bag need a permanent home and which can change based on needs or performance over time. I’ve recently been using it to decide which wedges I should put in the bag.
There’s also now a comparison tool, which, without being too dramatic, has completely changed my life and my job.
I now have hard data to back up the decisions I make for the clubs that end up in my bag. Take my driver search this year as a perfect example. I got fit into a GTS3 build that I’ve been over the moon about, but then Mitsubishi sent me a new shaft prototype for testing that I ended up throwing in a TaylorMade Qi4D head. With the Arccos app, I am able to compare the two different clubs. At this point, with the Qi4D in the bag for a much longer duration than the Titleist, the data has actually shaken out pretty evenly, but now I’m going to put the Titleist back in the bag to generate some more data and see what trends may come. The biggest difference in the data right now is that although the best ones with the GTS are better, the worst ones with the TaylorMade are better, so it’s really more of a feel decision instead of a performance one. Had you asked me to pick between them without this data … I would have had a very different opinion.
I’ve been very impressed with Arccos since I started using the hardware and software earlier this year, and I’m a big believer in the platform. I love where things are headed, and there’s a lot that I think we could do with Fully Equipped in partnership with the Arccos data. The new club stats buildout is fantastic, and there are ways I am going to experiment with the data to better inform my research and hopefully reach more intelligent, defensible findings when it comes to new equipment.
Bravo here, Arccos, bravo.
