Arccos Golf has released a next-generation artificial intelligence platform, Arccos Caddie 2.0, which now provides players with real-time strategies for every shot on any hole in the world. Powered by Microsoft Azure, Arccos Caddie has also been made a free feature for all users of the Arccos 360 system.
Recently honored among the “World’s Most Innovative Companies 2018” by Fast Company, ranking No. 3 in the sports category, Arccos offers a rich data set. This includes over 100 million shots hit during 1 million rounds played by the Arccos community, and 418 million GPS mapping data points on 40,000+ courses worldwide. Through a series of hackfests and other collaborations, these resources were harnessed by Arccos engineers and Microsoft’s world class A.I. scientists. The result is a significant expansion of Arccos Caddie’s capabilities.
“The entire sports landscape is being revolutionized by advanced analytics, and golf is the most ideal sport for the application of these concepts,” said Sal Syed, Arccos CEO and co-founder. “Working with Microsoft, we’re plugging into a very traditional framework–the caddie/player relationship–and taking it to the next level through the power of A.I. Considering only 3 percent of golfers today have access to advice from a human caddie, we’re also helping democratize the caddie experience by making it available to anyone.”
Arccos Caddie 2.0 uses a wide variety of inputs to provide a golfer with real-time insights into their optimal and alternative strategies, as well as outcome predictions, for every shot they play. Factors considered include but are not limited to:
- A user’s shot history
- The historical performance of other Arccos users
- Wind speed/direction and other weather conditions
- Elevation changes
- Hole geometry
- Hazard locations
“The PGA TOUR has done a great job of using advanced analytics to help its players practice and perform their best,” said Mike Downey, director, principal evangelist–sports, Microsoft. “At other levels of the game, capturing the necessary on-course data has been a real challenge. Arccos has cracked that code and built a robust data set which they’re deploying via the Microsoft Azure cloud to the benefit of golfers worldwide.”
Winner of the Golf Digest Editor’s Choice Award for “Best Game Analyzer” three years running, the Arccos platform helps golfers of all skill levels play smarter to shoot lower scores. In 2017, Arccos users improved their handicap by an average of 3.55 strokes–a rate that’s 46.7x faster than the average player with a USGA handicap.
“Arccos Caddie demonstrates A.I. complementing human capability,” added Steve Guggenheimer, corporate vice president–A.I. Business at Microsoft. “Through the power of Microsoft Azure, amateur golfers have information at their fingertips that was not easily available before. A.I. will have a huge effect on the golf industry, and it is an exciting time to be in this space as we help Arccos lead the charge.”
In addition to Microsoft, Arccos is an official partner with Cobra Puma Golf, which recently launched golf’s first smart set, Cobra Connect Powered by Arccos. As part of this ongoing collaboration, every club in the Cobra KING F8 line features an Arccos sensor embedded in the grip. This helps players improve faster by automatically tracking and receiving actionable insights for every aspect of their game.
