Golf pad versus Shot Scope - my comparison

Posted over 4 years ago by Keith Becker

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Keith Becker

I recently had the chance to evaluate the Shot Scope system. I've used Gold Pad with Link for over a year, and then completed three rounds with a Shot Scope V2 watch and tags.Hopefully this information will be useful for anyone comparing the two, and for product management to consider future enhancements to Golf Pad.


Summarizing the key differences, Shot Scope has two features that Golf Pad doesn't offer:

1. Automatic detection of swings. I found their solution to work very well for full swings, but poorly for putting (I put left had low, so the watch failed to detect putts).

2. Putting distance to hole. This requires an additional step to manually "mark" the pin location via a button on the watch. While in theory this is great, i practice it wasn't as beneficial as I hoped because of the poor resolution of GPS data on the Shot Scope (see below for more details)


Golf Pad has several features that Shot Scope does not offer:

1. Real time scoring tracking. With a cell phone you can see your scores in real time and edit them on the fly. You can't do this with shot scope; it's all stored on the watch and then you download it after you round is over. I didn't realize how much I would miss this feature until I didn't have it. 

2. Club recommendations. Again, with no phone interface in real time, you can't get this from Shot Scope. It's strictly for tracking and analyzing after the round is over.


Additionally, there are some performance differences worth calling out:

1. GPS results on my Golf Pad link were extremely accurate for my home course. Shot Scope had multiple holes where it was consistently 20+ yards off. Additionally Shot Scope has one of the holes incorrectly listed as a Par 3, not a Par 4. I emailed their support address and 1 month later no corrections have been made. This may only be an issue for my course, as I didn't play on any others with it.

2. Shot Scope requires use of their watch, which is a bit bulkier than a typical smart watch. Battery life was good enough for one round, but it drained to about 40% and woudn't cover a second round without a recharge. I've been able to get two rounds out of a Golf Pad link without a recharge.

3. The dashboard data from both companies are equally good. You get more putter data from Shot Scope (but it's suspect due to poor GPS performance). Gold Pad gives the strokes gained / lost numbers, which I find very handy.


Overall, I'm back to using Golf Pad. The two big gaps for Golf Pad:

1: Add a way to tag the hole location and track putting distances.

2. This is a big one - find a way to auto-detect shots from a smart watch.


For me #1 would be enough. I don't mind manually scanning with the Link; it becomes second nature pretty quickly.


If you read this far, thanks for following along and I hope the info was helpful!

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Cindy Wren

Cindy Wren posted over 4 years ago Admin

Hi Leo - thanks for chiming in with your feedback. We are always looking for ways to improve our app based on user feedback. What specifically do you like best about the way bebrassie displays statistics? 

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Leo Ra posted over 4 years ago

Thanks for sharing. I have been using Golfpad now for about 2 full years and believe golfpad overall is superior to the other options that are available. I have been checking out an app called Bebrassie which does not require tags or a link type device (mine just stopped working and wouldn’t take a charge) and while I feel golfpad still holds it own the stats and how they are presented and a lot better than golfpad. Wanted to see if anyone else here has any experience with bebrassie and their thoughts? Thanks

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Cindy Wren

Cindy Wren posted over 4 years ago Admin

Hi David. Thanks for joining the conversation and for considering switching. :) Right now we don't have the option for selecting different handicap baselines, however that's a great suggestion. I'll be sure the team receives it for consideration in the future. If you'd like to try of the Premium app, please contact our team and we'll set you up with a trial code. Also, we offer a 30-day money back guarantee on TAGS. 

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David Hughes posted over 4 years ago

I am an existing ShotScope user &, because they do not currently offer shots gained as a statistic (which I believe is really valuable) I am considering switching to GolfPad & purchasing your tags.

However, it would be beneficial if one could select from a few standard handicap baselines (for example tour pro, scratch amateur & handicaps of 5, 10, 15 & 20), so that one has interim improvement targets. Does GolfPad have enough data to deliver this accurately, please ?

I support 100% Keith Becker's suggestion that automatic detection of the club being hit would be a very useful enhancement, but appreciate that this would need separate chips in each tag.

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Cindy Wren

Cindy Wren posted over 4 years ago Admin

Hi Keith. We read every word! Thanks for such a detailed comparision. Your feedback has been received and the team will carefully consider it for future enhancments. 


Regarding putting, please see the instructions below. 



Putting


Configure your putt tracking settings in Preferences > Shot Tracking. You can choose to track location for all putts, first putt only (helps with recording the accurate distance of approach shots), or don't track locations for putts at all (putts will be shown in the middle of the green in map view)


With "track first putt" option the location where the ball landed on the green and first putt starts is recorded. You do not need to be near the ball when adding subsequent putts. The intention here is that you can accurately measure the distance of approach shot, but do not need to bother marking subsequent putts at specific locations on the green. If you wants to measure putt distances, you should select  the "track all putts" option.


Here's a bit more information about this tracking shots with the app. 


To mark the hole position. please see this support article.

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