Golf performance-tracking platforms aren't perfect. That's the nature of trying to create a new product in a glacial sport while using technology that's rapidly evolving. So, each one has pluses and minuses.
When Arccos Golf hit the market, its big selling point was it didn't require the golfer to touch sensors screwed into the golf club butt to a unit worn on the golfer so the unit's on-board GPS could record your location to process shot-to-shot movement. All of that would be handled via a Bluetooth connection, run through a smartphone app. No tagging, no unit.
However, the downside was the original Arccos platform drained a phone's battery. If you did business on your phone during a round, or you played music to your Bluetooth speaker, or you were using an older phone that didn't keep much of a charge, Arccos posed a problem. A golfer could use their phone for Arccos and not much else, or they could use the phone for everything and perhaps not get through a full round of tracking.
So, things came full circle. Arccos needed a unit a golfer could use that could handle shot tracking through GPS while still maintaining the no-tag nature of the product.
Now, Arccos is launching that solution, dubbed Arccos Link. Arccos Link, which is completely optional to the modern platform, is a unit the golfer can wear on their belt or inside their pocket. The Link unit performs the functions a user's smartphone has been doing for years, meaning the golfer can track their game without having to sacrifice the freedom to use their phone as they'd like.
For Arccos partners in the OEM world, they're happy to give their players more incentive to give the platform a try through grips and equipment with the Arccos sensors embedded.
“For the player who wants to keep their phone in their cart, their bag or their locker while still automatically capturing all their on-course performance data, Arccos Link is the ideal solution,” said Jack Brown, Arccos Senior Vice President of Product and Software.
The unit can communicate shot-tracking data during or after the round, as the golfer wishes. The Arccos Link unit is about the size of small stack of business cards and has a battery life of 10 hours. It charges, like most things these days, via a mini-USB cable.
Arccos Link will go live in Spring 2019 for $80, but pre-orders are available now for $60.
