Arccos Completely Messed up

[ghoonk]

Updated - played a round yesterday with Apple Watch III doing shot detection. All shots accounted for correctly, save for 1 extra wedge shot recorded from me dropping the wedge from off the green (in disgust, from a chunked chip). Pleasantly surprised, and hoping my luck holds out. Might not need the Link if the AW works as well as it did, and might consider another set of gen 2 sensors for my backup set

[Cruisin1966]

Been using my Apple Watch V for that past 20 rounds. Other than a few missed shots/putts here and there, I've been happy with the results. With one big caveat. If you want accurate yardages, the phone location dictates where the shot originates. So, if you leave the phone in your bag down the fairway because you've had to walk back to a tee or something, the shot origin is off. Hopefully the link will set the location. To alleviate these things, I've been keeping my phone in my back pocket.

[dbdors]

That’s what support at Arccos told me, keep the phone in my pocket or very near. I’m hopeful the link will work well. I like my A watch, but don’t want the phone in my pocket. This last round I was trying to check shots between holes and kept forgetting to put it back in the pocket. I just can’t remember stuff like that, I’m thinking about my next shot and club.

[ajlacombe]

Can someone tell me what the watch or phone is actually doing versus the Link? The Arccos information makes it sound like the App is using the microphone to "hear" the sensors. I am an engineer and am wondering WTF it is listening to? Are the sensors emitting a tone when they are awake (hence the need for the battery)?

The reason I am asking is that Arccos misses quite a few shots during a round for me. I am right handed and keep it in my left front pocket. No way I ever clip my phone on the outside of my pants. If you use the Link, is that just a microphone along with some electronics that are essentially running the app to then dump the data to Arccos post round?

If the Link picks up shots more reliably, I would possibly change to the Link - I trust that I could still use the phone app for shot advice in conjunction with the link? I have a million questions at this point too: like once you go into Arccos Caddie mode, where it shows you a recommended way to play a hole, how in the hell are you supposed to get back to the live screen? The app has many dead alleys that you go down and can not easily see how to back out.

[North Butte]

Yes, the Arccos sensors emit an brief, coded ultrasonic signal that's picked up by the phone's microphone. Hence the requirement to have your phone in your pocket on the leading side (left hip for righty swingers). Maybe of us have found it also works more reliably if you orient the phone in your pocket with the microphone opening facing up instead of down. It also will not reliably work in the pocket of rain pants.

Some people actually put the phone in a belt "holster" for best reliability.

As for the Link, I do not think that it is yet available although Arccos has been promised it Real Soon Now for several weeks.

[ajlacombe]

Thanks for the phone upside down in the pocket tip - I always have it in there mic down - not sure why I do that but I do. I will try that on the next round.

Can Link be used in conjunction with the phone, where the phone is still doing the distance stuff?

[North Butte]

Given that the Link (as far as I can tell) doesn't actually exist yet it's hard to know exactly how it will work or what option there are for using it along with the phone.

[hanfrac]

Interesting - so the theory is to put the phone in your pocket upside down so that the mic is pointing up toward the pocket opening? I will try that this weekend and see if I can reduce the missed shots.

[ajlacombe]

I have heard about TXG using Link data for club fitting - how are they getting someone's Arccos data? Is there a ay to export it, or are they doing a screen capture or giving them account access?

[North Butte]

Arccos will let anyone create a "Fitter" account and then other Arccos users can allow the "Fitter" to see their data. It was originally called "Coach" but they changed the name to "Fitter" somewhere along the line.

[ajlacombe]

I have to say - the percentage of shots that Arccos picks up is pitiful. I have an iPhone 11 Pro Max so the end of it is not far from the top of my pocket and it misses about 30-40% of my tee shots - it also misses a fair number of other shots. I am not sure what on earth the phone is listening for, but if it is a higher frequency sound, which I am guessing it is, then clothes or fabric is going to mess with that signal getting through. So much so that it is a real PITA to keep adding shots. It would seem that the sensor should be able to connect to the phone in a manner that is more reliable. I sure hope the Link helps with this.

I love the data I get but it is a real PITA overall. I have to try and set the pin while others are playing using my rangefinder, then get the club recommendation (which is pretty awesome - I am still learning how to use that and when to overrule the suggestion).

In general, how do people use Arccos and how reliable is the shot detection percentage?

[North Butte]

When I used it, keeping the phone in a hip pocket with the microphone faces up, I'd say it would almost never miss a tee shot or a normal full-swing iron shot from the fairway. It might miss one full-ish swing per round on average, if that, and those were usually punching out of trees or hacking out of rough. But I'd say a typical round it would miss 3-4 bunker/chip/pitch shots and probably false-positive detect at least 3-4 short game shots I did not actually take. Had to clean all that up at the end.

And I pretty much did all the putt tracking at home after the round. I never had much luck with detecting putts in the first place or putting them in the correct location.

I tried it two different times for about 20 rounds each time before giving up. I just can't deal with doo-dads on the end of the club, phone in pocket, etc. when I'm playing a real round with other people. It's OK on solo rounds too distracting when it's in addition to interacting with the other guys.

I only ever used the "Caddie" thing or referred to the phone to plan shots during a handful of solo/practice rounds. Again, during real golf that's just not part of the flow of the game for me. Peering at a phone screen seems to need a part of my brain that's normally turned off while I'm playing golf. And I don't really visualize shots in terms of laying everything out with numbers, adjusting for slope and wind and all that. I'm more of a ground-level-view holistic type visualizer. I literally can't look at an overhead view of the hole I'm playing, then instantly switch to seeing what I need to right there in front of me. Two different modes or something.

[ajlacombe]

Wow - thanks for the description. So your shot detection is way better than mine. I like the club suggestions, but trying to figure out how to do it all in a reasonable amount of time is touch. I try to set that pin with the RF while others are hitting, but looking for the club selection is an extra step. I do not use the suggested strategy thing much at all. Today it wanted me to go for a green on a par 4 that was certain death to try it :) The club selection is like a caddie for me.

I just wish the thing were a bit more automatic. I agree the putting stats are way off for me and it does not seem to automatically know if I putt one from off the green. Lots of improvements in the flow IMO, but this thing has been around long enough to where I would have thought that they would have cleaned everything up by now. It is super helpful, but it disrupts my flow during a round. When I go to set the pin from where I am standing on top of it, the GPS dot is not even close to where it should be.