While golf brings us close to nature, it’s tough avoiding technology that’s infiltrating the game. I recently tried a new smart GPS performance tracking watch, the Shot Scope V2. Its manufacturer unapologetically doesn’t pro-load it with course maps: Officials claim golfers won’t have to endure slow updates for courses they’ll never play that way. As with other GPS watches, this one automatically recognizes the course and hole you’re standing on while updating distances to the front, center and back of greens and hazards, from your exact angle in real-time with your every stride. But where Shot Scope V2 stands out is by also tracking your performance via individual, pre-labeled club tags that you install on every club grip in your bag. Synchronization is done automatically behind the scenes, as is data collection with every shot. After your round, check out the sister smartphone app that reveals pertinent playing tendencies about your game, including more than 100 Tour-level statistics. Graphics are impressive, too. Imagine knowing, for example, that from within 50 yards, you always come up short left. Armed with that knowledge, you can make club or swing adjustments and perhaps lower your score. Now that’s useful, unobtrusive technology that doesn’t ruin the actual playing experience.
