Shot Scope's performance tracking system essentially provides the practicality of a GPS watch for on-course yardages, with the detailed analysis of shot tracking post-round to highlight areas requiring improvement.
Now in it's third generation, the Shot Scope V3 boasts a new, sleek looking watch design and promises an even more comprehensive platform from which to improve your golf, both during your round and afterwards.
I have been using the watch, along with the accompanying shot-tracing tags in my clubs, for the past few weeks to see whether it could shave some shots from my game.
What's It All About?
The basic idea of Shot Scope is that it tracks every shot you hit out on the course, thanks to the electronic tags placed into the grip of your golf clubs, so that you can analyse your performance after you play and work out which areas of your game need more practice. You can also view information on club yardages, performance on different holes, and hole strategy.
The new Shot Scope V3 contains a number of new features designed to provide even more accurate analysis whilst also making your life on the course even more simple.
The new V3 watch collects data on your performance through shot tracking thanks to Power-Sense AI, and the really clever bit is that I can now find the optimal settings for you.
So the more that you play and use the watch, the smarter the AI technology becomes in identifying your own swing settings in order to optimise performance tracking for you.
The latest Power-Sense AI technology allows Shot Scope to produce GPS yardages which are accurate to 30cm, which is far more reliable than most standard GPS watches that tend to be accurate between 3-5 metres.
There's a new daylight readable colour screen which is extremely clear to see, so that you can get quick and easy yardages out on the course. The V3 also comes with an everyday watch mode so that you can enjoy using it even when you're not at the golf course.
Shot Scope has 35,000 different golf courses worldwide preloaded, so that all you have to do is turn up at your chosen course, turn on your watch and enjoy your round.
You can choose and interchange between different strap colours for more personalisation, and the watch now has a battery life of over 10 hours depending on which game mode you choose, compared to around 6 hours for the previous V2 model.
The V3 comes with 4 different modes - everyday watch mode, GPS mode, GPS+Track mode and Track
Shot Scope V3 GPS Watch Review
I have been using the Shot Scope V3 during casual and competition rounds over the last few weeks in order to gain a pretty accurate picture of how my golf game looks. Of course the beauty of a device like this is that the more you play, the more stats are collected, and the truer the representation of your game is.
Looks
One of the most immediately noticeable changes from the V2 is the look of the watch, and the design of the V3 is a clear improvement. The old watch seemed a little bulky and I could imagine plenty of golfers finding it quite annoying to look down on.
The V3 however, is much more sleek and seems to have taken inspiration from the Apple Watch in creating something which looks clean and modern. It's the kind of watch that you'd be more than happy to wear out and about in public if you wanted to, rather than just sticking it on when you get to the golf course.
There's also a G3 version of the watch which is less expensive and serves as a GPS device only, without the tracking capability, so that you get all the on-course yardages without the harsh reality of your performance afterwards!
Setup Process
The setup process was really quite simple. You have to stick the watch on charge first - one good thing here is that charging it up seems to take no time at all. If you play 36 holes in a day and are worried about the watch not lasting, plugging it in for half an hour whilst you have your lunch between rounds should easily see you through.
The charging clip is really neat and easier than some GPS devices where you have to fiddle around underneath a flap to get the cable in.
After that simply fire up the watch, and download the accompanying Shot Scope App from your chosen App Store, and you will be guided through the process thanks to commands on both the App and watch.
You get 16 circular tags which are labelled with the corresponding club that they are to be screwed in to, so that the device knows which club you have hit when you hit it.
There are two extra tags for additional clubs or if you lose one - I was using a TaylorMade driving iron so I added that on afterwards which was no trouble at all.
On The Course
First off, I must say that I think the watch looks great. From a distance, people would probably think you're wearing an Apple Watch and I did not find it distracting at all during the round. It's lightweight, comfortable and feels great quality from the clear screen to the strap, which features a handy clip to hold it in place.
The charge does seem to go down quite quickly during GPS+ Track mode - you might just about squeeze two rounds in depending on how quick you play - but as I mentioned earlier it is quick and easy to recharge, and how often do you actually play more than one round in a day without a break in between?
Upon arrival at the course I turned the watch on and selected Play Golf, in the GPS+Track mode, and the watch was able to find my golf course from a database of 35,000 in a couple of minutes (this is quicker after first use).
Straight away it displayed the first hole information, with front, middle and back yardages which automatically adjust depending on your angle of approach.
You can switch between holes using the bottom left and right buttons and can also easily see any hazards or penalty areas by selecting the top right button - you get a small icon to indicate the type of hazard, such as a bunker or water hazard, with a yardage to reach and then to carry it.
It would be nice to sometimes have a little more detail, for example it doesn't tell you which bunker is which, but as this was my home course I was able to easily work it out.
When you reach the green you use Shot Scope's Pin Collect feature. You carry on as normal until you hole out, but upon reaching the green the watch will show the Pin Collect screen and you simply click to indicate how many putts you hit whilst standing right next to the flag.
This will then document the pin location as well as calculating your score for the hole. It's a little fiddly to begin with but after a few holes you'll get used to it and its really quite a simple little idea. Most of the time it is reasonably accurate but you can always go in and edit it after your round.
I found the GPS to be really simple and very responsive. You don't have to wait around when you reach your ball for the device to catch up, and the large, clear screen made it very easy to get quick numbers. I imagine that some more serious golfers will use this device in conjunction with a laser so it's a great way to get an overview of the hole/green before zapping a more specific number on the flag.
When you've finished playing, simply select end round (it'll tell you how long you've been too) and then you can sync the watch up to the app and it'll display your round summary with further details of every shot you hit.
You can also use this sync function to load course details onto the watch, and if you've subscribed to any courses it'll make sure that you get all the latest updates, if the course happens to undergo any changes for example.
If there are any inaccuracies in your round, you can go in to the editor and remove, add or adjust shots on the course in case your watch didn't quite pick them up. This can be done straight from the app on your phone, but it might be a little easier to do it on the desktop site where you'll have a bigger screen.
Shot Scope Mobile App
In order to analyse and track your performance/statistics, the app displays a large array of different statistics and figures which are calculated using strokes gained methods, and are pretty similar to those seen in our Shot Scope V2 review a couple of years ago.
Tee shot accuracy can be filtered between different clubs to see which is your most accurate option off the tee, along with details on your most common miss.
The Club Distances section shows averages and 'Performance Averages', which suggests how far each club will go when hit well and so discounts any bad shots or mishits.
You can also use the editor to add in 'positional shots' for times when you have to chip back into the fairway with a mid iron or if you use a 9 iron around the green, so that it doesn't skew your average.
You can earn medals for certain performances out on the course, such as a 300 yard drive, hitting 10 fairways in regulation or even playing at different courses worldwide. You can also view your position on national and global leaderboards
Head to 'My Bag' to add or change any clubs that you may have in there. If you like to tinker with your gear from week to week then this could be useful so you're not getting your 4 iron mixed up with your hybrid.
Finally, you can look at an overview of all of your most recent rounds, which gives a nice, simple view of your performance in that round compared to your usual statistics so that you can see which aspects of your game were working well (or not so well).
Shot Scope Desktop
The desktop Dashboard contains all of the same features as the app but also allows for a little more in-depth analysis too.
Insights such as tee shot accuracy and approach proximity are great ways to diagnose any issues you have in your game, or look at your most common misses out on the course so that you can factor in your decision making.
For example I, like plenty of other amateur golfers, had a tendency to miss short with most of my irons, and short-right was my most common miss in general. Sometimes this may be a conscious decision if there is trouble at the back of the green, but it also indicates that I should consider clubbing up a little more often if I want to be pin-high more often.
I also thought it was interesting to see the Short Game statistics which proved that using a variety of different clubs around the green may be a more succesful strategy than just whipping out your lob wedge every time you miss a green regardless of the lie or any obstacles in the way.
The putting section is where it is important that your Pin Collect tagging has been accurate, as otherwise you could get some slightly misleading stats on how many putts you've holed from certain distances or where your approach putts are finishing, for example.
Keeping track of your putts per round, and holes per 3-putt, is a great way to instantly improve your scores without having to spend hours working on your swing. For many amateurs, avoiding 3-putts is one of the most simple ways to save shots out on the course.
In terms of overall usability I was extremely impressed, and there were only a couple of small things that I thought of during testing which might improve the overall user experience.
It would be nice to have the option of a live 'shot tracker' feature where you can trace the distances of each previous shot - surely the watch knows when a shot has been hit so it can't be too difficult to measure between the two distances?
It would also be great if you could keep score on each hole - particularly for casual golf - to save having to mess around with a scorecard. Perhaps after the Pin Collect screen you could have an option to enter score or just skip to next hole?
Shot Scope V3 Verdict
This is an absolute no-brainer for me. I would happily pay the full RRP for the watch itself, as it does everything that you would really want or need from a GPS Watch, besides perhaps the live scoring function if I was to be very picky.
Add to that the fact that you get such comprehensive analysis of your golf game after every round, which if used correctly can undoubtedly help you improve your strategy on the course and learn more about your own game, and I think that you have one of the best bits of golf technology that money can buy.
Shot Scope says that it can help lower scores by as many as 2.7 shots, so is that true? Well I have only been using the device for around a month so more data is needed in order to get a true idea of my performance. But I can say that I have seen some immediate success with club selection thanks to Shot Scope's advice.
I've learnt that my scrambling is better when using a 52 degree wedge than when using a 56 or 60 - meaning that I'm only going to go for the higher lofted options if I really need to. I've also seen that 3 Wood is an accurate club off the tee for me, and that I need to improve my proximity to the hole from 130 yards and in to keep improving my scores.
Any golfer who is keen to improve their game, from beginner to professional, should seriously consider investing in a Shot Scope V3.
Pros
Fantastic analysis of your golf game
Instant improvement after using for only a short time
Very easy to set up and use
Quick and accurate GPS
Excellent value for money
Cons
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