Golfers who purchase TaylorMade irons and subscribe to Arccos Caddie for a year can get 14 free Arccos sensors starting November 1.
TaylorMade and Arccos Golf announced that they have entered a partnership that could help you understand your game better, shoot lower scores and save some money.
Starting on November 1, golfers who buy a new set (six clubs or more) of TaylorMade P-790, P-770, P-7MC, P-7MB, SIM or other qualifying irons will be able also to purchase a one-year subscription to Arccos Caddie for $99.99. That is the typical subscription price, but buying it with your TaylorMade irons will entitle you to a free set of 14 Arccos smart sensors. The sensors screw into each of your clubs, pair with your smartphone and help to power the Arccos Caddie features. Purchased alone on Arccos’ website, that pack of 14 sensors would cost you $179.99.
The Arccos 360 system uses screw-in tags that communicate with your smartphone using Bluetooth. (Arccos)
If you bought a new set of TaylorMade irons in September or October, fear not; the offer is being extended to you too.
Arccos uses the GPS in a golfer’s smartphone to track every shot hit during a round of golf on over 40,000 courses. It not only reveals to golfers how far they hit each of their clubs, but it also shows players where they tend to miss and provides detailed statistical breakdowns of a players game. The Arccos Caddie Strokes Gained Analytics feature allows players to compare various aspects of their game to players ranging from PGA Tour level to a 20-handicapper.
Based on your tendencies, weather, elevations changes on the hole and how other golfers with similar abilities have played the hole, Caddie makes real-time club recommendations.
The Arccos Caddie feature uses artificial intelligence to compare a player’s tendencies to a database of over 300 million shots, then considers things like elevation changes and wind direction to make club and strategy recommendations in real-time.
This small devise clips to your belt and tracks every shot you hit, letting Arccos reveals statistics that can help you lower your scores.
Gear: Arccos Caddie Link wearable Price: $99.99
Since the release of its first shot-tracking system in 2014, Arccos has aspired to collect data on every shot golfers hit and then use it to help them play better. Along the way, the screw-in sensors that attached to each club got smaller, and now you can buy grips with the sensors already built into them. Arccos-powered grips became available in Cobra clubs starting in 2017, and Ping made Arccos-enabled grips available starting in 2019.
The user interface and the smartphone app that collects the data have improved too, and the addition of the Arccos Caddie feature was also a massive step forward. Using artificial intelligence, Arccos Caddie 2.0 can make club recommendations based on your tendencies and how the hole lays out, just like seasoned human caddie would.
However, for some golfers, there was a catch: Arccos required golfers to keep their smartphone in their pocket as they played. Using your smartphone’s microphone and gyroscopes, along with its GPS, allowed Arccos to detect when you hit the ball and record the location of that shot. Unfortunately, while many golfers keep their phones handy in their carts or golf bags, many do not like carrying their phones in their pockets. But with the release of the new Arccos Caddie Link, the company is eliminating that problem.
Arccos Caddie Link was first announced in February 2019, and consumers have been able to pre-order it for several months. With it available starting today, those pre-orders will be fulfilled in the order in which they were received.
Arccos Caddie Link clips to your belt, waistband or a pocket. (Arccos)
The unit itself is a black device that is about the same size as a matchbook: 2.5 inches tall, 1.25 inches wide and 0.75 inches thick. It weighs 25 grams and clips onto a belt, a pocket or a waistband.
Before the start of a round, golfers press a button on the Arccos Caddie Link and start the app on their smartphone. Using Bluetooth, the two devices link. At that point, you can put your phone anywhere you like while you play. Arccos Caddie Link detects the clubs you use and your location for each shot. Pressing the button as you stand over the hole records the flag’s position on that hole for the system, allowing it to create more accurate approach and proximity statistics later.
Arccos said the Caddie Link device’s battery lasts for 10 hours. It recharges using a standard micro USB cable.
When your round is complete, Caddie Link sends all of the collected data to the app. The system can show golfers how far they typically hit each club in their bag, where they tend to miss with each club and how different aspects of their game compare to players at various levels. Arccos said that in 2019, the average Arccos Caddie user who played at least five rounds lowered his or her handicap by 4.2 shots.
New equipment and gear can be pricy, but Golfweek found great bargains on things that golfers will love.
With the stock market gyrating and economies around the world sputtering because of the coronavirus pandemic, it might not seem like the time to break out your wallet and buy golf gear. However, several companies are running sales and promotions that can save you big bucks. Here’s a list of some bargains we found.
Adidas CodeChaos golf shoes (Courtesy of Adidas)
Adidas Take 30 percent off everything on adidas.com when you use the promo code MARCH30. That includes the new CodeChoas golf shoes. They retail for $150 a pair ($130 for women’s shoes), but with that code you can get them for $105 with free shipping.
By allowing Club Champion fitters to see a player’s on-course Arccos data, the fitting process can improve.
Working with a well-qualified custom fitter is the best way to ensure that the golf equipment you buy is ideally suited to your swing and the needs of your game.
Golfweek has been hammering that point home for years, and more and more golfers are listening. While most players immediately see the rewards of custom-fit clubs when they play, there can be an adjustment period and questions for others. Will a slice-fighting driver work on the course? Is the lie of a new set of irons just right? Does a player’s sand wedge have enough bounce?
Arccos and Club Champion announced a unique partnership on Monday, and it could make questions like those a thing of the past.
Arccos, based in Stamford, Connecticut, makes tiny sensors that screw into the grip of your clubs. The company also offers grips that already hold the sensors. Once the sensors are linked to Arccos’s smartphone app, the system can use the GPS feature in your phone to track every shot you hit using every club in your bag. Overlaying that data on maps of the holes and courses you play, Arccos creates data-rich stats that can reveal things like your average distance with each club, where you tend to miss and which aspects of your game are strong and which need some work.
Based on your tendencies, weather, elevations changes on the hole and how other golfers with similar abilities have played the hole, Arccos Caddie 2.0 makes real-time club recommendations.
Club Champion, based in Chicago, is one of the biggest and most reputable club fitting companies in the United States. It has 74 stores around the country and is brand agnostic, carrying equipment from every major company and several smaller manufacturers too. Thanks to a unique hosel system, Club Champion fitters can attach any shaft to any club head, allowing golfers and fitters to try scores of combinations. Using TrackMan launch monitors, Club Champion fitters can show clients exactly how different combinations of components work with the player’s swing.
Now, thanks to the partnership, Club Champion will not only sell Arccos sensors and Arccos-enabled grips, but the company’s fitters will also be able to track and see how a client’s gear performs on the course.
Club Champion allows golfers and fitters to try any combination of head and shaft.
After golfers give permission for their Club Champion fitter to monitor their play, Arccos will provide data that lets fitters better understand the player’s game and track their performance after the fitting. The fitters have all trained and certified as experts in the Arccos Caddie platform and the Arccos Dashboard. The dashboard lets fitters see insights, visualizations and shot-by-shot history of a player’s round. They can also see club distance averages, gapping, clubs used, dispersion patterns, miss tendencies and more.
“Having access to our clients’ Arccos on-course shot data allows us to fully understand each player’s unique golf DNA,” said Nick Sherburne, the founder of Club Champion and one of the company’s master fitters. “The data is golden. It helps golfers and our fitters better track performance while gaining an unbiased understanding of where they excel and what they need to improve.”
While some golfers may see an element of Big Brother in this, golfers who get an Arccos system at Club Champion are not obligated to take part in the program. However, the benefits to the player could make it worthwhile.
After completing an indoor fitting, players can now allow their Club Champion fitters to see their on-course Arccos data.
For example, if a player who used to slice is now hooking the ball using his new driver, the fitter will be able to see the issue, reach out to the player and make suggestions that could solve the problem. Some players also hit shots differently in an indoor fitting studio than they do on the course. Allowing a Club Champion fitter to access Across data could reveal those differences too.
“With Arccos Caddie, every Club Champion fitter can get a contextualized picture of their clients’ games,” said Sal Syed, the CEO and co-founder of Arccos. “This can be a huge positive for the fitter-client relationship before, during and after each studio session.”
