Here’s how Arccos sensors work: a small sensor on each club detects the moment you hit a ball, and your phone and GPS add where you were standing. [1] The app then logs the shot for you, so there’s no button to press between swings. [2] It also helps to read Arccos vs Golf GPS Watch.
That matters if you’re a weekend golfer who doesn’t want to type in scores or fiddle with a device mid-round. The sensors act as shot impact detectors, and the transceiver passes that information to your phone. [3]
Below, you’ll see what each piece does, how a single shot gets logged, and what to do when one slips through.
What does each piece do?
Think of the setup as four jobs split across four pieces. Each one does a single thing, and together they replace the notebook or the tap-to-log button.
The sensor on each club
The sensor is the part that notices you hit something. Arccos sensors are shot impact detectors, and once they are installed on your clubs, they detect impacts when you hit a golf ball. [1] In practice, that means your 7-iron and your driver each carry their own sensor, so the app knows which club made the swing.
The sensor senses when the club has impacted a ball. [3]
Your phone
The phone is the middleman. The transceiver transmits the impact information to your phone. [3] Keep the phone in your pocket or bag during the round so it can pick that up.
GPS
Impact alone doesn’t tell you where you were standing. Arccos uses GPS to track your shots automatically, which is how a swing gets placed on a specific spot of the course. [2] Related reading: What Does Arccos Track?
The app
The app is where it all comes together. It syncs with the sensor data and analyzes your performance in real time. [2] So a 150-yard approach shows up as a shot with a club attached, ready to be reviewed alongside the rest of your round.
How does a shot get logged, step by step?
A logged shot takes five steps, and you only do the first one.
Set up. The sensors are installed on your clubs, which turns each one into a shot impact detector. [1] Start your round in the app and keep your phone on you, in a pocket or your bag.
Hit the ball. When the club strikes the ball, the sensor detects that impact. [1][3] Say you pull your 7-iron on a par 3 and hit the green: that swing is the trigger.
The sensor passes the information on. The sensor senses the impact, and its transceiver then transmits that information to your phone. [3]
The app adds location. Arccos uses small sensors on each club to track your shots automatically via GPS. [2] The app pairs the impact with your GPS position, so it records where the shot happened and which club you used.
Review your stats. The app syncs and analyzes your performance in real time. [2] You can look at the numbers during the round or after you get home.
Notice what you never do: you don’t tap a screen after each swing. The sensor, your phone and GPS handle the logging while you focus on the next shot.
What if a shot is missed?
Sometimes a shot won’t show up, and the reason comes back to how tracking works: Arccos sensors are shot impact detectors that pick up impacts when you hit a golf ball. [1] If that impact isn’t detected, the app has nothing to log for that swing.
That gives you a few general suspects. A sensor that didn’t register the hit, or a hit that never reached your phone, can leave a gap in the round. A shot logged in the wrong place or with the wrong club is a related problem, since the app needs both the impact and your location to build the record.
Fix gaps after the round
Look over the round in the app once you finish play, while you still remember it. Scan the hole-by-hole shot list for anything that doesn’t match your memory, like a missing drive or a short-game shot you know you hit. Then add or correct those shots right there in the app instead of letting the gap skew your stats.
A quick example: if you hit a punch-out from the trees and it’s missing, you can add it afterward so your scoring and club data stay accurate.
Exact app steps
The menus for adding or editing shots change as the app updates. Arccos’s support page, “How does Arccos work?”, is the place to find the current steps.
Is automatic tracking worth understanding before you buy?
Yes, because the whole system comes down to one simple chain: a small sensor on each club detects the swing, your phone relays it, and GPS puts the shot on the course. [2] Once you see that, the app’s automatic logging stops feeling like magic and you know what to expect from it.
Before you buy, the next step is to weigh the money and the payoff. What you pay for hardware and any membership is covered in our Arccos cost article, and the stats you’ll actually use to lower your score have their own breakdown too.