Equipment
Arccos Caddie: Golf’s first artificial intelligence platform
It’s a brave new golf world. Arccos is launching golf’s first artificial intelligence platform, Arccos Caddie.
Arccos, which you know from its shot-tracking app, has integrated the Microsoft Azure cloud platform into the about-to-launch Caddie. The utility uses advanced analytics to help golfers make better, data-driven decisions during their rounds.
We were keen to see the fruits of Arccos partnership with Microsoft (announced in January), and this is their first effort to move connected golf forward.
Drawing from Arccos data set of more than 61 million shots on over 40,000 courses, Caddie is able to recommend optimal course strategy on most golf holes worldwide. It factors in wind speed, direction, participation, temperature and more. And it doesn’t require a user to have played a course before to make recommendations.
“Every shot in golf involves a decision-making process, and the caddie’s role has historically been to help you make more intelligent choices. Today, however, less than 3 percent of players have access to a caddie,” said Sal Syed, CEO and Co-Founder of Arccos. “Everyone else is missing out on a crucial source of information that can help inform every shot. With Arccos Caddie, we’re democratizing the caddie experience through the power of A.I. and the Microsoft Azure cloud.”
At the end of the day, beyond the undeniable “cool” factor and trendiness of connected apps, Arccos aims to help golfers get better. Per CEO Syed, Arccos users improved their handicaps to the tune of an average of 2.77 strokes last year. Obviously, their expectation is that Caddie will foster even greater improvement.
Caddie will be will be available via subscription and officially launches May 22nd. Arccos is offering a free promotional window to try the Caddie system from May 22-31. Any user of the Arccos 360 app (with Gen 1 or Gen 2 hardware) who has played at least five rounds will have access to the Caddie platform during that period.
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- Kevin Tway what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. More photos from the event here.
Driver: Ping G430 LST (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X
3-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 TX
5-wood: TaylorMade Stealth 2 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 90 TX
Irons: Wilson Staff Utility (2), Titleist T100 (4-9)
Shafts: Mitsubishi MMT 100 TX (2), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-9)
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F @47, 52-12F @51, 56-14F), SM7 (60-10S)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (48-56), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 (60)
Putter: Scotty Cameron T-5 Proto
Grip: Scotty Cameron Black Baby T
Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Plus4
More photos of Kevin Tway’s WITB in the forums.
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Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.
The timing of Lowry’s putter changeup was curious: Was he just using a Spider putter because he was paired with McIlroy, who’s been using a Spider Tour X head throughout 2024? Was Lowry just being festive because it’s the Zurich Classic, and he wanted to match his teammate? Did McIlroy let Lowry try his putter, and he liked it so much he actually switched into it?
Well, as it turns out, McIlroy’s only influence was inspiring Lowry to make more putts.
When asked if McIlroy had an influence on the putter switch, Lowry had this to say: “No, it’s actually a different putter than what he uses. Maybe there was more pressure there because I needed to hole some more putts if we wanted to win,” he said with a laugh.
To Lowry’s point, McIlroy plays the Tour X model, whereas Lowry switched into the Tour Z model, which has a sleeker shape in comparison, and the two sole weights of the club are more towards the face.
Lowry’s Spider Tour Z has a white True Path Alignment channel on the crown of his putter, which is reminiscent of Lowry’s former 2-ball designs, thus helping to provide a comfort factor despite the departure from his norm. Instead of a double-bend hosel, which Lowry used in his 2-ball putters, his new Spider Tour Z is designed with a short slant neck.
“I’ve been struggling on the greens, and I just needed something with a fresh look,” Lowry told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship. “It has a different neck on it, as well, so it moves a bit differently, but it’s similar. It has a white line on the back of it [like my 2-ball], and it’s a mallet style. So it’s not too drastic of a change.
“I just picked it up on the putting green and I liked the look of it, so I was like, ‘Let’s give it a go.’”
Read the rest of the piece over at PGATour.com.
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Equipment
Webb Simpson equipment Q&A: Titleist’s new 2-wood, 680 blade irons, and switching to a broomstick Jailbird
With seven career wins on the PGA Tour, including a U.S. Open victory, Webb Simpson is a certified veteran on the course. But he’s also a certified veteran in the equipment world, too. He’s a gearhead who truly knows his stuff, and he’s even worked closely with Titleist on making his own custom 682.WS irons.
On Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship, I caught up with Simpson to hear about his experience with Titleist’s new prototype 2-wood, how Titleist’s 680 Forged irons from 2003 ended up back in his bag, and why he’s switching into an Odyssey Ai-One Jailbird Cruiser broomstick putter this week for the first time.
Click here to read our full story about Simpson’s putter switch on PGATOUR.com’s Equipment Report, or continue reading below for my full Q&A with Simpson at Quail Hollow Club on Wednesday.
See Webb Simpson’s full WITB from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here
GolfWRX: It seems like you’ve been a little all over the place with your irons in the past six months or so, and now going back to the 680’s. Is that just a comfort thing? What’s been going on with the irons?
Webb Simpson: Titleist has been so great at working with me, and R&D, on trying to get an iron that kind of modernizes the 680. And so the 682.WS took the T100 grooves, but kinda took the look and the bulk and the build of the 680’s into one club. They’re beautiful, and awesome looking. I just never hit them that well for a consistent period of time. It was probably me, but then I went to T100’s and loved them. I loved the spin, the trajectory, the yardage, but again, I never went on good runs. Going through the ground, I couldn’t feel the club as well as with the blade. So last week, I’m like, ‘Alright. I’m gonna go back more for…comfort, and see if I can get on a nice little run of ball striking.’
So that’s why I went back.
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OK, that makes sense. I know you had done some 2-wood testing recently. Is that in the bag right now?
It’s like day-by-day. I used it at Hilton Head every day. Valero, I used it one round. And this week, me and my caddie will do the book every morning, and if it’s a day where we think we need it, we’ll just put it in and take the 3-wood out. I love it because it’s a super simple swap. Like, it doesn’t really change much.
Yeah, can you tell me about that club? I mean, we don’t really know anything about it yet. You know? I haven’t hit it or anything, obviously.
It has grooves like a 3-wood. Spin is perfect. And it’s honestly, like, everything is in the middle of a 3-wood and driver number. Trajectory, spin, carry, all of it. So, a Hilton Head golf course is almost too easy to talk about because, you know, there, so many holes are driver 3-wood.
Valero, our thinking was we had two par-5’s into the wind, and we knew that it would take two great shots to get there in two. So instead of hitting driver-driver, we just put it in. And I used it on those holes.
Hilton was a little easier because it was off-the-tee kind of questions. But Colonial will be a golf course where, you know, there’s a lot of driver or 3-woods. It’s kind of like a backup putter or driver for me now. I’ll bring it to every tournament.
So it’s, like, in your locker right now, probably?
Well, it would be. It’s in my house [because Webb lives near by Quail Hollow Club, and is a member at the course.] It’s in the garage.
Oh, yeah, that’s right. Do you know what holes you might use it out here if it goes in play?
Potentially 15, depending on the wind. Second shot on 10. Could be 14 off the tee. The chances here are pretty low (that he’ll use the 2-wood). But, like, Greensboro would be an awesome club all day. I’m trying to think of any other golf courses.
There’s plenty that it’ll be a nice weapon to have.
It’s interesting, the wave of 2-woods and mini drivers. Like, it’s just really taken off on Tour, and all the companies have seemed to embrace it.
Yeah. The thing I had to learn, it took me, like, at least a week to learn about it is you gotta tee it up lower than you think. I kept teeing it up too high. You need it low, like barely higher than a 3-wood. And that was where I got optimal spin and carry. If you tee it up too high, you just don’t get as much spin and lose distance, I don’t know if that’s just a mini driver thing.
And you obviously have a Jailbird putter this week. What spurred that on?
Inconsistent putting. I’m stubborn in a lot of ways when it comes to my equipment, but I have to be open minded – I just hadn’t putted consistently well in a while. And I’m like, ‘Man, I feel my ball-striking coming along. Like I feel better; for real, better.’
If I can just get something in my hands that I’m consistent with. Being on Tour, you see it every year, guys get on little runs. I can put together four to five tournaments where I’m all the sudden back in the majors, or in the FedExCup Playoffs. You can turn things around quick out here. I’m like, ‘Man, whatever’s going to get me there, great.’
My caddie, David Cook, caddied for Akshay at the Houston Open and he putted beautifully. Then, I watched Akshay on TV at Valero, and he putted beautifully. And, I’m like, ‘I’m just going to try it.’
I’ve never tried it for more than a putt or two, and I just ordered what Akshay uses. It was pretty awkward at first, but the more I used it, the more I’m like, ‘Man, it’s pretty easy.’ And a buddy of mine who’s a rep out here, John Tyler Griffin, he helped me with some setup stuff. And he said at Hilton Head, he wasn’t putting well, then tried it, and now he makes everything. He was very confident. So I’m like, ‘Alright, I’ll try it.’”
And you’re going with it this week?
Hundred percent.
Alright, I love it. Thank you, I always love talking gear with you. Play well this week.
Thanks, man.
See Webb Simpson’s full WITB from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship here
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Kevin Tway WITB 2024 (May)
Kevin Tway what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. More photos from the event here. Driver:...
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Pavon’s WITB accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. More photos from the event here. Driver: Ping G430 Max (9...
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Akshay Bhatia what’s in the bag accurate as of the Wells Fargo Championship. Bhatia is deciding between drivers. More photos...
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Matt
Jun 23, 2017 at 6:59 pm
Sounds like an excellent product and a good self coaching function for anyone who needs to start thinking about course management to improve their game. Enough to convince me to buy Arccos 360.
Alex
Jun 2, 2017 at 6:58 am
Maybe I’m missing something, but when I tried using the Caddy, it wouldn’t give me any information on my shots after the tee shot. So I would hit a tee shot, but then when I would go to the ball for my 2nd shot, I didn’t have the Caddy option any more, just the standard Arccos yardages. The problem with this, obviously, is that if I don’t hit my tee shot to the exact distance and location that the Caddy wanted me to, then the club selection that it told me for my 2nd shot before I teed off is no longer valid. Seems strange to me.
Joe Perez
May 12, 2017 at 4:56 pm
Maybe I just don’t “get” it. If the suggestions are made using the data of 61 million shots, where does any recommendations based on MY ability factor in? Is using 61 million shots worth of data going to tell the caddie feature that *I* only hit my x-yards? Will it use the data from the cloud and then access *my* past rounds to see if the club it suggests is a club that I can hit that far?
peter tiearney
May 12, 2017 at 9:13 am
Will these “caddies” be allowed in competitions?
TR1PTIK
May 12, 2017 at 11:56 am
It will likely be up to the rules committee of the event you’re playing. Standard USGA rules would not allow it.
ooffa
May 12, 2017 at 7:54 am
it doesn’t.
Egor
May 11, 2017 at 2:56 pm
The negativity is strong here …
I’ve been using Arccos + Caddie for the last 4-5 rounds. It is useful to me because it has club suggestions based on my already tracked arccos rounds. There is room for improvement and it doesn’t currently recognize that I have a giant wall of trees on one hole, but it’s great tech.
As far as slowing down a round, nah. Not at all. 3 years golfing. Two things have sped up my round – laser range finder, and on-phone GPS.
Sure, I could walk off yardages, take into account my distance off fairway, do some math in my head, guess at the pin placement, look up the yardages from the tee to certain landing spots in yardage books that every course always has available and free (sarcasm) and hope that their tee positions are not too far off from the standard, but pulling out my phone for ~10 seconds on the tee and identifying actual yardage from my spot to my desired landing spot is much easier. Guessing at pin placement and walking off yardages potentially costs me more strokes. Is it 120yd to carry the front bunker or 125yd? Maybe it’s only 110yd, but I’d know for certain if I had my phone and a GPS app.
You can hate on-course phone GPS apps all you like, but if the player knows how to use the tool quickly, they are much more efficient, time saving, and stroke saving than walking off sprinkler heads that *ALWAYS* have accurate yardages on them.. 🙁
Get behind me when I’m walking off yardages for a round, and then get behind me with a GPS Phone App. You’ll change your opinion.
As far as RandA legal – doubt it. Caddie has current wind data pulled from weather reports which it factors in. It’s awesome, but I don’t use it if I’m posting for Hdcp or playing in a stipulated tournament round.
Arccos does have a “tournament legal” app for tracking shots.
SV
May 11, 2017 at 8:33 am
Wonderful!! Something else to slow a round down. GPS/rangefinders, sprinkler heads or other course markers give the yardage. Make a decision and hit the shot. A player should be able to make a decision without having to consult an electronic device.
TR1PTIK
May 11, 2017 at 12:59 pm
In theory, this would actually help with pace of play because if a golfer trusts the information provided by Arccos they would simply grab the recommended club and play on rather than grabbing a club, second guessing themselves, and going back to their bag for another. However, I do agree that a player should be making these decisions on their own. It’s part of the “art” of golf. I think it’s similar to the deal on green reading books that provide detailed topographical information. I don’t mind if a player does it on their own accord by rolling a few putts and visually inspecting the contours of the green to jot down in their notebook, but that’s it. Using technology to take all of the skill and instinct out of it is paramount to cheating in my mind. You can do data analysis and all that nonsense off the course, but when you’re on it just play golf.
MFJ
May 11, 2017 at 1:56 am
Is it ‘legal’? I don’t see any reference to being approved by the RandA/PGA. That would be an important factor for me.
MSchad
May 11, 2017 at 8:29 am
May be wrong, but I don’t think this is meant to be used “on course”. I believe using your data, it will analyze how you should play a hole/coarse to achieve the best score for your game a head of time. I’m looking forward to seeing if it recommends if I should use different club selections on particular holes on the courses I play.
TR1PTIKE
May 11, 2017 at 12:52 pm
Because Arccos requires a phone to be on your person (from what I’ve read, specifically in your front pocket) and it provides GPS distances to various points on the golf course, it is illegal to use in competition where full USGA/R&A rules apply. This is one place where Game Golf has a distinct advantage as you can use the device with or without your phone. I own GG Live and despite what some reviewers have said, you do not have to have your phone in order to use it. You can simply turn it on, clip it to your belt, and play as you would with the old device.
Scott
May 11, 2017 at 5:54 pm
This is incorrect, at least to a degree. You can use GPS devices on course so long as they don’t have weather and elevation (there may be a local rule requirement for competition). I’m guessing the Arccos caddie app won’t be legal because it takes those into account. Hopefully they will make an app that takes elevation and weather out of it.
TR1PTIK
May 12, 2017 at 10:07 am
See Rule 14-3
“Except as provided in the Rules, during a stipulated round the player must not use any artificial device or unusual equipment, or use any equipment in an abnormal manner: a. That might assist him in making a stroke or in his play; or b. For the purpose of gauging or measuring distance or conditions that might affect his play; or c. That might assist him in gripping the club”
As far as USGA rules go. You cannot use a GPS or Laser Rangefinder on the course during play.
Alex
Jun 2, 2017 at 6:50 am
Arccos has a “Restricted” version of their app available on the App Store that does not give yardage during the round so that you can use the GPS tracking for your round without getting any assistance from the app.