Author: kris

Arccos – the pioneer of big data and Artificial Intelligence for golf – today announced record-breaking numbers for use of its award-winning Arccos Caddie platform, with the company now having surpassed 35 billion on-course data points and 500 million shots recorded during 9 million rounds played by its global membership.

In 2021 alone, Arccos members recorded nearly 175 million shots during almost 3.5 million rounds played across 44,000 courses in 163 countries, helping to fuel the industry’s richest data set.

Perhaps most impressive was the remarkable improvement by golfers who harnessed the power of their personal performance data to play smarter and shoot lower scores – new Arccos Caddie members who played at least 10 rounds lowered their handicap index by an average of 5.78 strokes, and were five times more likely to record a hole-in-one than non-members.

Notably, new Arccos Caddie member improvement was seen across all skill levels, showcasing the power of on-course data to help any golfer make more informed decisions about equipment, strategy, practice, and instruction.

“Like the rest of the Arccos team, I am driven in large part by the tremendously loyal community of members that constantly share their stories of improvement and satisfaction at achieving their golfing milestones, be that breaking 100, becoming a single-digit handicap, shooting under par or recording their first hole-in-one,” said Sal Syed, Arccos’ CEO and Co-Founder. “They – along with our great partners like PING, TaylorMade, Cobra, Club Champion, and TXG – make all of our growth possible, and also help us stay laser-focused on delivering against our value proposition.”

Arccos’ exceptional 2021 also saw its members spend 478 million minutes (8 million hours) logged into the app and 332,000 days using Arccos’ personalized Strokes Gained Analytics to assess their rounds and chart their path to improvement.

Although California proved to be the most popular location for Arccos Caddie members – with Harding Park, Torrey Pines, Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill among the top 10 most-played courses – it was Dubai’s Jumeirah Golf Estates Fire Course that saw the most rounds recorded by users. The Els Club (Dubai), Canada’s Whistle Bear and Singapore’s Marina Bay were close behind.

Golf’s first Artificial Intelligence platform, Arccos Caddie automatically tracks your shots while delivering in-round insights and post-round Strokes Gained Analytics. The system includes the world’s first A.I.-powered rangefinder, smart club distances, and caddie advice for every golf hole on earth. The company’s recent releases are highlighted by a groundbreaking golf ball data capture system. This represents the initial step in Arccos’ process of analyzing how a player’s ball selection may impact every aspect of their game, from equipment choices to club selection to in-play strategy.

The Arccos Caddie system and Arccos Caddie Link are permitted under the Rules of Golf (USGA Decision Numbers 2018-0414 and 2020-0305).

In the Spring of 2021, a funny thing happened on the PGA TOUR. A new shaft started popping up in drivers on the range, with players like Adam Scott testing the multi-colored component from an obscure Korean manufacturer. Word on the street – and on the shaft itself – indicated that it was Korean Hidden Technology powering the booming drives it delivered.

Almost as quickly as it came, the AutoFlex shaft disappeared. For the average consumer, the $790 price tag was likely too high.

Fast-forward nine months and the AutoFlex is back and more golfers in the United States are getting to try out this new technology for the first time. Previously, it was only possible to order the shaft from the Dumina Company website and there was no place to get fitted. That’s all changed, especially on the West Coast.

Garth Mattson, of Vancouver, Washington’s Westside Golf Academy, is one of the few United States distributors for AutoFlex shafts. So far, responses from the golfers who have had a fitting at Westside have loved the performance and been buying them at an impressive rate.

“We’ve had a lot of clients come in for a fitting and the AutoFlex performs so much better than the stock shafts they have in their drivers,” said Mattson. “Many of them have come back to buy shafts for their fairway woods and hybrids.”

The AutoFlex shafts break from conventional wisdom by weighing 20 to 30 grams less than typical shafts, something the designers say takes some of the strain off a golfer’s body. That same lighter weight allows the shaft to respond to a variety of swing speeds and optimize the transfer of energy for longer, straighter shots.

You can schedule a fitting at www.westsidegolfacademy.com or call your local club-fitter to find out if they carry the AutoFlex.

Short Game Gains is a Golf Practice Aid company that specializes in tools to help you improve faster. The SGG products are tested and used by some of the best players and coaches in the world. Not only do their unique products help a player to improve their technique, but also make practice more effective and enjoyable.

Co-founders Fredrik Lindblom and Hannah Gregg both had successful college careers with aspirations to play the game professionally. They operate their business out of Phoenix, Arizona and spend time working on their games, and caddying for each other in competitive events and qualifiers.

Over the last year, professional golfers, social media influencers and power couple Hannah Gregg and Fredrik Lindblom have been working hard to grow a line of training aides to help the average amateur improve their golf game.

Their hard work is paying off.

The duo gathered data from players on the PGA Tour, Symetra, Korn Ferry and other mini tours to create a line of products called Short Game Gains. Their mission was to take the tools that they loved and saw frequently in the bags of other pros, and upgrade them- creating a super powered line of golf training tools that would actually make players better.

For any entrepreneur, it is important to take your idea and create something that solves a problem. According to Lindblom, this is why Short Game Gains has been so helpful to amateurs and pros alike. “You will notice that our product offerings are simple, easy to understand and efficient. That’s the point; we are trying to offer aids that improve skill and provide feedback without gimmicks or confusion,” he said.

At the heart of the brand, the products designed to help players with the three core skills of putting; speed, consistency of stroke, and start line (or read). Included in the Strokes Gained Bundle are the Accurate Aim Kit, the Putting Mirror, Ghost Holes, Start Line String, and Cup Reducers.

“Each one of these is designed to help golfer develop better fundamentals, whether it’s green reading, speed and start lines, or aim. These are the core elements of putting and we know that they help players reduce scores” said Lindblom.

There is very good science to back this up. Researchers have demonstrated that practice is about spacing and adding contextual feedback to deliberate practice to create better practice. According to Hannah, “Short Game skills are learned. These tools give you instant feedback on things like clubface at address, at impact, and after impact. We added features to like the Start Line Ruler because these tools are designed to teach you what your tendencies are instantly, and then to help you fix them.”

Anyone who follows Lindblom or Gregg on social media know that they’re REALLY working hard. Photos show them packing and shipping products on their own.

Anyone interested in learning more about individual products or ordering one, visit www.shortgamegains.com.