How Arccos' newest app update unveiled a glaring wedge mistake

The latest update to the Arccos Golf app has brought unexpected insights to author Jake Morrow regarding his short game and club selection. The new version has not only improved the interface but also helped uncover a critical error in his approach to using wedges, as well as prompting a re-evaluation of his driver strategy.

A New Perspective on Short Game

Jake Morrow, who has been diligently using Arccos to track his game throughout the year, notes that the app's most recent update has significantly impacted his understanding of his golf game. Enhanced club comparison features and deeper data analysis have enabled him to make crucial decisions about his bag setup and alter his on-course thought process. The app's new interface is described as intuitive, with easy navigation to deeper data levels, accelerating the learning curve.

His stats from the last five rounds show great improvement, but it was the granular data that helped pinpoint a problem. Morrow realized that many of his misses inside 120 yards were not only short but, more importantly, left. Upon closer observation on the course, he discovered that the cause of these left misses was an attempt to "smash" the ball with a club not designed for such force. For instance, at 105 yards, he traditionally tried to "power through" with a lob wedge rather than using a sand wedge for a more controlled pitch.

"When I try to swing hard, I also close the face, and that closure hits the ball left. Knowing that I was always short didn’t trigger a strong enough reaction to clubbing up, but knowing that trying to overpower a club was also the reason I was pulling left was a new realization for my brain," Morrow admits.

While the issue of missing left has been largely resolved, Morrow notes that he now often comes up short due to the characteristics of local greens, which slope from front to back. The desire to keep the ball short leads him to select the right club but then hit it too softly out of fear of overhitting. This creates a new cycle he is working to break.

Driver Problems: A Strategy Issue, Not a Driver Issue

The Arccos update also prompted Morrow to reconsider his driver play. Despite generally gaining strokes with the driver, he admits to having one or two very poor swings per round that result in penalties. Analyzing rounds where these errors were costly revealed that he often opted for the driver when it wasn't the most strategic choice.

"I don’t play on very long courses, and with the comfort I have in my driver, I get aggravated when that option is taken out of my hands. This leads to moments where I hit driver wanting to be aggressive and end up in trouble merely because I hit the shot I wanted but the hole runs out where I was aimed, or I end up blocked out by something I wasn’t able to fully cut," he explains.

The key realization was understanding that the Strokes Gained Off-The-Tee stat isn't always directly tied to the driver itself. For shorter hitters or players on longer courses, this might be true, but Morrow now only hits driver about seven or eight times per round. This awareness has helped him better choose when to use the driver, assess the risks, and plan his subsequent approach shot.

As an experiment, Morrow played one nine with his usual "always driver" strategy and another nine more deliberately, selecting clubs and shots better suited for each hole. The score difference was eight strokes in favor of the more strategic approach.

A New 'Supervisor' for Equipment Tinkering

Morrow's job at GOLF.com, involving testing numerous clubs and other equipment, often complicates his personal game. However, he has learned to separate these moments: during testing, he doesn't keep score but focuses on the feel of new gear. If he genuinely likes a product, it moves to the next stage of testing.

"I’ve always been pretty aggressive about how I test. The good part of having so much access to product is that I’m able to really dial in the source author’s bag. If I don’t like something I don’t have to make it work, I just move on to the next thing and try that," he says.

Lately, he has been actively testing wedges, cycling through options in his bag every nine holes until he found a suitable one. This often resulted in lost strokes but provided the "pressure-cooker" testing he desires.

Driver testing this year has been a different story – a "slow burn." The goal is to select a driver for the upcoming BryanGolf’s Player’s Cup in September. Morrow notes that he now struggles to choose between his two favorite models of the year. The new Arccos update, with its enhanced club comparison feature, has become his "supervisor" in this process.

"I need to play more rounds with the latest driver combination (a GTS3 with Mitsubishi’s new 1k Pro Orange RIP), but things are looking good, and it’s helping to give me confidence in certain areas of the bag, like my driver," he adds.

The new Arccos app offers various AI suggestions and an "Ai Verdict" when comparing clubs. The Qi4D remains a favorite, but there's still time to make a final decision, and the gap between the two top drivers is minimal, requiring further data capture.

Future Plans

Goals for the next month include continuing to work on distance control under 120 yards, improving his short game (especially short shots from the rough), and refining his decision-making off the tee to avoid penalties. Morrow also mentions Arccos Air, a compact AI wearable that automatically tracks every shot without needing club sensors or a phone, powered by AI trained on 1.5 billion real golf shots.

Overall, Morrow assesses his current golf game as being in a good spot, approaching his main target – the Player’s Cup tournament this fall. All efforts are focused on performing at his best. After the tournament, a new season of tinkering will begin, for which Arccos and Morrow already have plans.