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Shot Scope V3 Review: The Leader in Performance Tracking
It’s difficult for golfers to make improvements in their games if they don’t know where to look. Unfortunately, when most players finish their rounds, a lot of that critical information is discarded. You might remember a few of your great shots or your poor ones, but I find that golfers don’t have a real grasp on what is actually going on in terms of their overall trends.
That’s where stats can help. But traditional ones like putts per round and fairways hit can be misleading. If you want to really know what’s going on, you need to take a much deeper dive. Fortunately, over the past few years, there are several companies in the performance-tracking space that collect that information for you while you play and present that analysis in a neat online dashboard.
One of the leaders in this space has been Shot Scope. Several years ago, the Scottish-based brand solved a significant problem with their V2 GPS watch, which allowed automatic shot-tracking without the use of a cell phone or having to manually tag your shots before each swing. Their new release, the V3, just hit the market and it packs a significant upgrade. After using it several rounds, I now believe the company has removed pretty much any objection to using their system from a price perspective and functionality.
The Only Missing Piece of the Puzzle
Shot Scope V2 was a fantastic product. The system allowed golfers to track their game automatically, show yardages through a GPS watch, and gave access to a robust online portal, which showed a detailed analysis of where they needed to improve. The only complaint you would hear from golfers is that the watch was too big.
Back in January, I met with Gavin Dear, the company’s Chief Commerical Officer at the PGA Show. I knew what I wanted to hear from him – that Shot Scope had a new hardware upgrade, and the watch was now smaller. In my view, it was the system’s only real imperfection. Low and behold, he delivered on my request.
My next question was the price point. I assumed they would charge more of a premium for a newer release, perhaps in the $300 – $400 range. Gavin told me it would be around $200.
I responded, “I think you’re going to sell a lot of these.”
Taking Shot Scope V3 for a Test Spin
If you’re not familiar with Shot Scope, you can read my review of their V2 release for a bit more detail on what it has to offer. They managed to create a system that solved many of the problems its competitors faced. Arccos requires a cell phone to be in the golfer’s pocket to track their shots, while GAME GOLF requires users to manually tag shots before each swing. Shot Scope was the first solution that allowed golfers to play their rounds with just a GPS watch tracking their shots in the background (you have to screw in tags on top of each of your club grips).
While I didn’t have a massive problem with the V2 watch, it was a deal-breaker for certain golfers due to its size.
Shot Scope V3 debuts a noticeably smaller GPS watch. It now has color, a better battery life (up to 10 hours), and a more substantial GPS capability to improve shot-tracking accuracy. It’s almost exactly the same size as my Apple Watch.
Recently, I played five rounds with the V3 watch. Similar to V2, you still get yardages to the front, center, and back of the greens as well as hazards. It’s a sharper screen with colors now, but most importantly, it’s no longer a burden on your wrist.
All course downloads and round editing is handled through their mobile app, which is quite intuitive to use.
For the most part, almost every shot I hit on the course was tracked appropriately. You do have the option of manually tagging where the pin is while you play for enhanced putting accuracy. However, I found that even when I did that, you still should expect to spend about 5-10 minutes after your round in the app to make sure everything is accurate. Putting is really the only place where the watch might not detect precisely where you are on the course. Shot Scope did tell me they will potentially address that issue with a firmware upgrade that will boost the GPS signal.
Overall, there wasn’t much of a problem with V2 in terms of its functionality, but the newer version of Shot Scope solves the “watch size problem” and adds a boost to its GPS accuracy and battery life.
The online dashboard is still top-notch, and they’ve also added a lot of social elements where you can compete against other golfers. For less than $200, you’re getting a GPS watch and shot tracking system that doesn’t have any ongoing fees. In the current marketplace, I think that’s a great value proposition.
Where It Fits In
When this category first started 5+ years ago, I was very excited about its prospects. If you want to become a better golfer, I do believe keeping track of your stats can absolutely help. Traditional statistics like fairways hit can be misleading, though, and almost every company in this category does a great job taking a deeper dive into where your game needs help.
I did like what GAME GOLF had to offer despite its requirement to manually tag shots, but unfortunately, the company is no longer in business.
Arccos
Garmin has their CT-10 tracking system
With its current release, I think Shot Scope has nestled itself at a nice price point. Additionally, they have mostly solved the problem of tracking your shots during the round without being a nuisance.
You can purchase Shot Scope V3 with a special offer for our readers here.
Hi Jon, as always great review.
I have had every iteration of shotscope, as well as the first 2 game golfs. All with the intention of getting into my data more and truly understanding patterns and areas of focus. While I agree with 99% of what you’ve said, the biggest thing I think is missing with shotscope is any sort of strokes gained metrics. I’m finding it harder to look at the dashboard knowing that something they have all the data to be able to calculate is missing.
I find the TaylorMade MyRoundPro app probably has the best analytics for a free app/tracker, but is cumbersome in manually tagging on your phone. I would like to see some form of combination of the 2!
Just my thoughts on the category!
Have you used Arccos with the Apple watch app? Does that compare?
I heard on a You Tube channel that shots gained is being added as a software upgrade at some point.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QD6nWofyXe8&t=5s
That is good news about the strokes gained. I’ve always requested that when GameGolf first launched and was happy they instituted it later against different levels of handicaps. Arccos fails at this as it only compares strokes gained against a scratch golfer whereas I want to see how I stack up against a 5, 10, 15, etc.
Rob, they will be adding Strokes Gained, but they told me that they want to do it “right” – you can expect this feature sometime in 2021
Good review, still love the data breakdown Shotscope offers over Arccos with the exception of strokes gained. Switched from V2 to Arccos and if V3 came with in round editing, I may have switched back.
One thing you forgot to mention is the dual GPS Shotscope uses which Gavin has mentioned brings accuracy to 30cm range at its best. Huge advantage to a product which only post round editing is utilized.
I’ve been using the Arrcos app for years and use it with my Apple Watch(I don’t have to carry my iPhone). I’m a strong advocate for their product. The phone app is excellent, GPS tracking and overview of the courses which allows for shot planning/strategy ahead of the hole. They also show not only actual GPS distance, but take other variables into consideration such as altitude so for example you’ll see 152 yds but playing 168yds. This may only be with the optional caddie feature, which I have. Their analytics, including putting distances are really good, more so on full web app which shows shot dispersion. I would like to see you do a review for Arrcos(with the Apple Watch) and give a real comparison. I have the older sensors and at some point I’ll be making a change/upgrade. Thanks for the review, as always, but I don’t see anything that would drive me to make a change from Arrcos. The holy grail for me will be Arrcos integrated with an iPhone camera app with shot tracing so I can record shots on course and tie it to the data.
I’m not Jon but can give you my personal experience and thoughts. I used V2 prior to switching to Arccos after watch beta was released. I used the watch beta for about 5 rounds after I switched and effectively ditched the watch. Main reason is the inability to mark pins because I want to in round edit.
Apple Watch
Pro:
No phone in pocket
Caddie suggestion on screen
Distances to green
Strokes gained data in platform with new upcoming strokes gained data comparable to different levels of players ability
Will have phone/watch communication when finally launched for in round editing
Con:
No ability to mark pins (I asked and will be added once launched, via “pin collect” on screen or by phone/watch communication. Arrcos will work on watch again now that link is complete)
Battery drain, you mentioned you use watch GPS, that is 4-4.5 hrs of use
Beta hasn’t been great for me, even using watch for distances was many issues every time Apple released new versions. I think because they stopped working on it for link. This will probably improve.
Shotscope (experience with V2 and what I’ve read or heard about V3)
Pro:
No phone in pocket
Distances to hazards as well as front, middle, back green
Battery life, 10 HRS
Dual GPS for maximum 30cm accuracy
Smaller, lighter tags. 1G vs 7G
No subscription (if you have Arccos Gen 3 or grips)
Other than strokes gained, I like how Shotscope breaks down their club data further. Such as proximity to hole with 7 iron from rough, fairway, bunker. Gives a better picture imo.
Con:
No in round editing
No strokes gained data, but it is reported that this is coming
These are the things I can think off the top of my head. Sure there are more stuff, hope it helps.
If you already are happy with Arccos using the Apple Watch feature, I would see no reason to switch either. When I write these reviews, I try to take the perspective of someone who does not already have a performance-tracking product. Arccos is a great solution, but the cost to get the features that are comparable to Shot Scope are higher, so that’s a major consideration for someone who is looking to invest.
Hi! My brother, a professed technophile, used Arrcos, but abandoned it because of the need for an I-phone (now an Apple Watch which is expensive). Price point is a big issue for many of us, so I bought the V2 Shotscope over a year ago, and found it extremely useful and user-friendly. Though it was large on my wrist, the V3 solves that. I did not need to think about the device while playing unless I wanted to record locations of pins. Service support was the most impressive I have ever seen in a shot tracking system. I received answers quickly, and the company reps stayed with me to resolve any problems that arose. If you have the money, Arccos may be the way to go. But once the V3 is upgraded to include shots gained, I think it will be the superior product at a much more affordable price.
Ive used it for 3 rounds now. I agree with most of what you say but for me i wonder how useful it will ultimately be. Firstly it takes forever to acqire a GPS signal. Yesterday it finally picked up the course half way down the first. I would love it if it reminded me with a beep or a buzz if I forget to do the pin collect (as you leave the green). I am getting better but I forget to collect the pin about 6 times per round. If you do forget, I find it usually adds an extra putt to my total for that hole. I have changed my settings several times to meters, but all my distances stats still display in yards (GPS on course displays in meters). Twice while ive been in the middle of editing rounds it has disconnected and not saved the changes. Editing greens on the app (on a small screen) is a pain, especially as I cant zoom in as much as I would like to. Dragable tags for putts can be almost on top of each other and takes several goes to select the right tag with my fat finger. It would be great to be able to edit on a desktop using a mouse. I will try it next round in manual putting mode (even though dont know what that is yet). As far as the UI goes, It would be great to be able to edit or review holes during a round on your phone. I cant see an option to do this until you have finished and saved a completed round. Bring on Strokes Gained.
Great review as always. My nephew just purchased the Shotscope v3 and loves it. I use Arccos and love it. Would love to see you re-do an Arccos review if you can get your hands on their new caddie link. Mine will be shipping in September. Keep up the great work. You’re one of the best IMO.
thanks, Ray – I’m interested to try out Arccos now that they have the caddie link.
Will shot scope ever think of PC version to edit shots and review the round? Also I have Arccos and it is great but a little funky for picking up all shots. Also love the plays like feature of Arccos any chance Shot Scope will also incorporate this?