If you’ve ever wondered why you pay a monthly fee to use Arccos, I think we’ve found your answer.
Arccos is announcing the biggest overhaul to its user experience in nearly six years. It sounds like it’s just an app update. However, after just one round, we can tell you that it’s pretty frickin’ impressive.
What’s this update all about?
There are two types of golfer out there. Those that are OK with paying the monthly fee to use the Arccos system and those who aren’t. There’s very little middle ground.
Monthly fees are double-edged. While paying another $16 or so per month to use something you’ve already paid $350 to buy can be painful, you do get the first year included in the purchase price.
After that, all we can say is what you get better be worth it.
This new Arccos app update is significant. It leverages Arccos’ growing AI foundation to not just tell you what happened when you last played but why it happened and what you can do to improve.
“This isn’t an incremental update,” says Arccos CEO and co-founder Sal Syed. “We’ve rethought every aspect of the analytics experience. By leveraging advanced AI, we are giving each Arccos member their own PGA Tour performance team. It’s like having a caddie, a coach, a sports psychologist and an analyst in our pocket.”
How does the updated Arccos app do that?
The previous version of the app tracked your shots, analyzed your scoring trends and broke it all down into Strokes Gained across Driving, Approach, Short Game and Putting categories. The update goes several steps beyond that by finding out where your next strokes saved might be hiding. Based in your actual performance, the app analyzes each round shot by shot, generates a short list of focus areas and creates a personalized practice plan for each of those areas.
Shockingly, and I’m not entirely sure how AI manages this, it jumps into your head and gives you some mental advice, as well.
You want crazy? Based on your history at a particular course, the Arccos app will even generate a course-specific pre-round warmup routine using your own data.
Is it “real?”
I’ve been using Arccos Air this season. Even though it doesn’t “know” what club you’re hitting without sensors, its AI-powered system is learning. I still have to correct it but after 10 rounds it’s getting better.
The app dives in and analyzes your scores by hole and breaks down your Strokes Gained by hole and by club. The most impressive feature is the AI generated Course Insights function. It drills your data down into three key insights and offers three key actions for each course you play.
It tells me that at Breakfast Hill, my putting is “elite,” which is saving my bacon. However, my approach play is not so hot on the front nine but much better on the back nine. It also points out something obvious: Holes 8 and 18 kick my ass. Then it offers three “actions” to help me improve. It suggests committing to club selection on approaches to 2, 3 and 8, take a mental reset break at the turn to prevent approach collapses on the back nine and work to improve late-round mental fatigue.
Hey, I haven’t hit the 18th fairway all freaking season.
At The Oaks, Arccos tells me I’m losing a full stroke per round on front-nine approach play as opposed to gaining 0.34 on the back. It’s also telling me my front-nine scrambling is bailing me out but is deserting me on the back.
Now, all of this general information is something one could, in theory, deduce on their own. But the difference is that it’s all data driven and not at all based on our subjective interpretations of our performance. That simple fact makes it harder to argue with.
The Arcoss app update: What do you have to do?
If you’re an IOS user, you won’t have to do a thing. The app will update on its own and you’ll be able to access the new interface. You Android users, well …
According to Arccos, the Android update is still in development and hasn’t been released.
All that aside, if you’ve ever wondered what you get for your monthly fee, you could say that this update is part of it. Is it worth it? That really depends on why you play golf and what your goals are. If you’re dedicated and want to find ways to improve, data is your friend.
Whereas Shot Scope is equally adept at collecting and presenting the data (with no monthly subscription fees), the updated Arccos app is taking data to a different level. It not only expands how the data is presented but it tells you what it all means and what areas are ripe for improvement. To top it off, it provides you with specific drills and practice plans to help you get there.
Again, depending on why you play golf, that might be worth 16 bucks a month.
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