Arccos Link Pro Review: This is the Device I’ve Been Waiting For

I remember the first time I saw the Arccos Link Pro, I was on the 11th hole at Oakmont.

Late last Spring I had the good fortune of playing Oakmont with a few of the guys from the Arccos team.

It was a shotgun event, so we’d started on 9.

It only took 3 holes before Dave turned to me and said, ‘Wanna see something cool?”

It was a prototype of the Link Pro. I’ve been eagerly awaiting the official announcement of its release ever since.

If you’ve read my Arccos Golf review, then you know how much of a fan I am of the system.

Over the last decade, I’ve played over 300 rounds using it. And the number would be higher if I didn’t have so many rounds where I was testing gear and not keeping score.

I’m a fanboy. Despite the fact it’s not perfect, I love the system and it’s one of my favorite products in golf.

My Perfect Arccos Golf Setup

Over the past year, I’d found a sweet spot with it too. The combination of Arccos and the Apple Watch Ultra is a match made in heaven.

I didn’t need to use my phone, I could get real-time GPS distances, and I could hit a button on my wrist to set the pin placement for the day for more accurate metrics.

But then something that I never expected to happen, happened:

Garmin.

After 4 years of wearing my Apple Watch every single day, I wore my first Garmin watch – the Approach S70.

Despite not being as good of a smartwatch, it’s a far better fitness watch than the Apple. And where I’m at now, I’m prioritizing health features and tracking over convenience.

This led me down the rabbit hole to finding the Epix Gen 2, which I love and is now my daily watch.

Unfortunately, my perfect Arccos setup became the casualty of this.

For a few months, I’d put the Apple Watch back on when I golfed, just to use Arccos.

But in the interest of more holistic fitness tracking, I’ve stopped doing that.

Long story long, I was having to go back to using Arccos with just my phone. It’s still a great system, but once I had the experience of using it without my phone, it was a little hard to go back.

What Is the Arccos Link Pro?

Well, now with the Arccos Link Pro – I can go back to that Arccos sweet spot.

The Link Pro is the follow up to their popular Arccos Link.

Essentially it allows you to track all of your Arccos stats without needing your phone on the course.

The Pro also now has a button on the side of it for setting the pin – something the original Link lacked, and kept you from truly getting the most accurate statistics when playing with just your phone.

Along with supposedly being far more accurate than the Link, one of the best improvements is that you no longer have to clip it to your belt. Put it in either of your pockets, play your round, and you’re good to go.

And if you still have your phone on you and want all of the benefits of the GPS rangefinder, AI Caddie, and all the other cool Arccos features? Great, you’ve still got them.

So, it all sounds good on paper, but how does it perform? Let’s find out.

First Impressions of the Arccos Link Pro

As is the case with all Arccos products, the packaging is done very well. There’s an Apple-esque nature do it.

The Link Pro charging case is the first thing you see opening it up, and it’s generally well done.

The case is super easy to use, and the visual indicator on the front for charging level is a nice feature.

Build quality on the case is fine, but doesn’t feel quite as refined as some other charging cases I’ve used – specifically the DJI Mic.

The Link itself is a huge step up from the previous generation Link. Just the fact you can put it in either pocket is a game-changer. But throw in the charging case, and the built-in button to set the pin location, and it’s night and day better.

The button itself is a little sticker than I might like, but there’s a good tactile feel so you know you’ve pushed it.

How Does the Link Pro Perform?

More so than a lot of tech products, performance of a device like this is critical. It’s basically either going to work, or it’s not.

There’s not a whole lot of grey area here, because even a few missed shots can make the editing after the fact a hassle.

Fortunately, I’ve found the Link Pro to work flawlessly.

It gives you the ability to (almost) forget about tech completely while you play golf.

One nice thing about the Arccos system is that if someone has already set the day’s pins on the course you’re playing, you’ll see that they’ve been set and you won’t have to do it yourself.

When setting them, due to GPS limitations I’ve sometimes found that the pin doesn’t register in the exact location, but it’s always close enough to be useful.

And being able to get a full walking path of where you’ve been on the green is very cool. Should you feel compelled to do any refining of your putt locations – it makes it very easy to do so.

But the system works well enough, that this won’t be necessary for most users.

Use Your Phone (or Not) It’s Up to You

One of the things I love most about the Link Pro is it gives you control of how much tech you want in your round. It syncs with your phone every time you get close to it.

So you can leave your phone in your bag and never check it, should you choose. Or if you like to have your phone in a cart and pull up GPS yardages or see how far your drive was? You can do that.

It’s not an “either/or” when it comes to using Link Pro or your phone.

Aside from setting the pin locations, the only other input you may want to do on the fly is add penalty strokes.

So even if you’re playing a “phone-free” round, I’d still consider adding penalty strokes right after they happen to make sure things are as accurate as possible after the round. You can always add after the fact, but you may find it tough to remember exactly what happened on each hole.

Arccos Uses AI to Give You a Safety Net

So I don’t know if AI is the correct term here, maybe machine learning – whatever it is, Arccos is smart.

During my first round with Arccos Link Pro, I made a big mistake. I used a driver I hadn’t used in a long time, and I didn’t check my diagnostics to make sure the battery was good.

It was dead.

However, despite having a dead battery, Arccos is smart enough to follow my movements and could tell when I hit a drive.

After 9 holes, it had correctly predicted every single drive I hit. The only difference is that it wouldn’t register until after I hit my second shot.

This worked way better than I expected, and I didn’t even realize the battery was dead until 7 holes in when I checked my phone and was wondering why my drive wasn’t immediately recognized.

So while this is a feature of the Arccos system as a whole, I was impressed that it still worked flawlessly with the Link Pro.

Do You Need the Link if You Use Apple Watch?

This is probably the biggest question I’ve received, and the answer is that it depends.

If you have an Apple Watch Series 7 or above, and especially if you have an Apple Watch Ultra – then you really don’t need the Link Pro.

I still think the absolute best way to experience Arccos is with an Apple Watch Ultra. Here you get all the benefits of the Link, but you also can keep score, set pins, and get GPS data right on your wrist.

And the stronger battery life of the Ultra, means it won’t kill your battery for the rest of the day.

Battery life is good enough on the latest models of Apple Watch to be able to get through full rounds with shot tracking as well, but you might be running a little low by the end of the round.

If you have an older model of Apple Watch, then I’d consider the Link Pro. The shot tracking features use a lot of extra battery, and you won’t have the best experience using just the Apple Watch.

If you use and love Arccos, and have been happy with your existing Apple Watch setup, there’s likely no reason to buy the Link Pro.

Why the Arccos Link Pro is My Personal Savior 

A lot of you might be saying “Cool. You’re a Garmin guy now, ditch Arccos and use the Garmin CT10 sensors. What’s the problem?”

The CT10 sensors are solid, and they mostly work pretty well.

But when it comes to stat tracking, accuracy, detailed metrics, reliability, and usability – Arccos blows it away.

Arccos is an entire company devoted to doing one thing: providing golfers the most detailed analytics about their game possible.

For Garmin, the stat tracking feels like a little more of an afterthought.

While I do miss having the added convenience of the rangefinder and scorecard on my wrist, I love the fact that the Link Pro is going to allow me to get all the data I want, without adding more tech to my golf game.

As someone who reviews golf tech products for a living, sometimes it can be overkill. So I’m looking forward having rounds in 2024 where I can focus more on the golf, rather than the tech.

The Biggest (Overlooked) Benefit to Using a Link Pro

For me, there’s one benefit that may be the best reason yet to use a Link Pro.

Music.

Now, I know some of you think music on a golf course is sacrilegious. That’s fine, you’re entitled to your opinions!

But for many rounds, I enjoy listening to tunes with friends. 

When you’re using Arccos on its own, you’re unable to also stream music to a Bluetooth speaker.

This is due to the system using your phone’s microphone as one of the primary ways it detects if a shot was hit.

However, using the Link Pro (or a smartwatch) allows you to listen to music and use Arccos.

It may seem like a minor issue, but I’ve had numerous times where I wanted to listen to music and use Arccos, but either didn’t have my Apple Watch or forgot to charge my original Link.

So for some people, this will be the biggest reason to buy the product.

Final Thoughts on the Arccos Link Pro

The Arccos Link Pro improves upon the original link in every way:

• Shot tracking is more reliable
• The charging case makes it far less likely you’ll forget to charge it.
• The button for setting the pin location significantly improves putting and approach data
• Being able to put it in either pocket and not clip it to a belt is a bigger deal than I expected it to be (I hated clipping that thing to my belt).

If you use Arccos and want the ultimate in flexibility as to how you use the system, I highly recommend the Link Pro.

If you’re already using Arccos on a smartwatch and you’re happy with the performance? Then you likely don’t need to pick this up.

And at $225 retail, it’s definitely more expensive than I’d have hoped it would be – so it won’t be for everyone.

The good news is you can use the Arccos code “BE15” to knock 15% off that, bringing the price down to $191 – still not exactly cheap, but certainly more palatable.

All that to say, I’ll be using the Link Pro every chance I get this year, and it’s just the latest iteration to what’s undeniably the best consumer stat tracking system in golf.

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The best game tracker in golf just got even better.

9.5 Fantastic

If you use the Arccos system and either don't want to rely on your phone, or want the ability to stream music while also using Arccos - this is a no brainer. If you already use Arccos with a smart watch and are happy with your setup, then the Link Pro may not be worth the expense.

The Good

1. New Pin-setting button is a welcome addition
2. Included charging case is game-changer
3. Shot tracking works flawlessly, even if you have a sensor missing.

The Bad

1. Case build quality but not as good as some other rechargeable units I've seen
2. More expensive than I was hoping it'd be
3. Current smart watch users may not find much added benefit

• Presentation 10
• Performance 10
• Price 8
• Personal Affinity 10