The Shotscope V3 Vs The V2 – Honest Summary And Review
The Shotscope V2 has been an incredibly popular device from Scottish Golf Firm, Shotscope over the past number over years and they have aimed to raise the bar even further with this latest gadget that offers some key advancements on it’s predecessor.
The Shotscope V3 is noticeably more compact than the V2 although it now has a larger screen area that has also added color to the mix. The V3 now comes in a range of colors to suit all tastes and the battery life has also been given a much needed improvement. Accuracy is crucial with any GPS device and The V3 takes it to the next level with pinpoint accuracy on over 35,000 courses worldwide. The V3 improves on an already quality golf gadget in the V2 and it is now also a watch for all time too, lasting 10 hours in GPS mode and 10 days in watch mode.
Shotscope had their work cut out for them in improving on the V2 and that is exactly what they have done. Let’s dive a bit deeper into the existing features that survived from the V2, the new and improved features and exactly what you are going to be able to track with the exciting new addition to the Golf watch and tracker markets.
For Those Who Don’t Know What The V2 And V3 Are About
Both The V2 and The V3 have two components. The Golf GPS that gives you distances to the front middle and the back of the green as well as the distance to any hazards and their carry distances.
The USP for the V2 and the V3 is that it comes with 16 tags that fit into the top of your club and tracks all your shot stats automatically for viewing through the free App on your phone and after your round on your desktop at home.
These tags are simple to use, each club is marked with the club that it corresponds to and you just pop them into your clubs, sync up the app and play your round as normal.
Tracking Stats like this is the very best way to improve quickly at golf and the V3 is one of the best devices around.
We reviewed the Garmin S62 earlier this year and we thought that it would be the best Golf Watch on the market for the next 10 years but we honestly believe that the V3 comes really close and for less than half the price.
New Slicker And More Compact Design
Although plenty of golfers loved the V2, it was easy to tell that the device was overly bulky and you might look a bit silly wearing the watch around in your leisure time.
All that’s changed with the V3 and they have actually made the screen larger and added color while they were at it. This new watch will probably look like a Garmin S20 or the latest apple watch from a distance so we wont complain.
The Old Dimensions On The V2 Were:
39mm Wide, 14 MM Deep, 59mm long With A Screen Size Of 32mm
The New Dimensions On The V3 Are:
34mm Wide , 10mm Deep, 39mm Long With A Screen Size Of 34mm
The Screen now has color and is easier to read in sunlight or poor weather conditions.
Different Colored Bands
The Bands on the watch also now come in different colors for a different look and feel.
The colors available are Black, Silver, Green, Red and Purple although we would only be going for the black or the silver.
The Speed And Accuracy
Most GPS watches get within 3-5 metres of accuracy and the very best watches can get within 1 metre.
A select few watches and devices can get under this 1 metre bracket and the Shotscope V3 is one of them.
The V3 boasts an impressive Dual GPS tracking system with in house mapping of the 35,000 courses on offer to give the V3 accuracy within 30cm of your target which is incredible, when you think how far these devices have come in the last 10 years.
Another key improvement has been in the speed. You don’t want to reach your ball and have to wait 10 seconds for the watch to give you a reading. The V3 is as close to real time as you can get and a good improvement on the V2 which tended to slack a bit.
Tournament Legal
Both V2 and the V3 share the fact that they are both legal for tournaments. This is both a positive and a negative for some people as this means you don’t get slope included with the watch.
Slope offers you an incline or decline adjusted distance to the green on the devices that offer it but you will need to make those calculations for yourself with the V3. This is going to be bad news for you if your primary course is one with a lot of hills.
Th Upside is that if you do play in tournaments, you will be able to play use the watch for all it’s functionality unimpeded and shoot a better round.
Battery Life And Watch Mode
As mentioned, the V2 was a bit overly bulky to be used as a watch that you would wear all the time but that is definitely an option with the V3.
The battery will last 10 days plus in watch mode so you would only need to charge it at night, once a week or so if you aren’t using it for golf.
The battery now last 10+ hours in GPS mode as well so you can get 2 full rounds in between charges which is good improvement as there is nothing worse than running out of juice mid round.
The charging is quite fast as well, you can get a full battery within 30/45 mins and be ready to hit the course in no time.
The PinCollect Feature
When you get to the green, there is another piece of magic awaiting you in the Pin Collect feature which has also been improved from the V3.
Basically when you get onto the green this feature will pop up and when you sink your putt, you just stand exactly at the pin and enter your amount of putts and the app will get the exact position of the pin on that day.
It is a little bit finnicky and will take a few holes to get use to but when you do it just becomes a regular part of the game.
The feature wasn’t the smoothest on the V2 and the rough edges have definitely been ironed out in the new model.
The App And The Stats
The free Flightscope App for your phone and your desktop is where The V2 and The V3 come into their own.
When we consider the Arccos Smart Sensors we are utterly reliant on our phone throughout the round and we need a strong battery.
With The V3 we just play our round with the watch as normal and we can check all the start in real time on the app when we want and have a full diagnoses on the desktop once we get home.
Our stats build up over time so we can get a complete picture of our game and we can also see how much are improving from round to round. Tracking these kind of stats is one the key ingredients to me breaking 80 as a golfer.
Each Club
As we have a tag for each club, our distances with each club build up over time and our accuracy with them.
After a round we can check our club distances compared to the averages and the more we play the more data we have to measure against.
Performance
We can see how many fairways and greens we hit in regulation but we can also see where we are ending up on our approach shots. If you’re anything like me you probably leave them short a lot and need to be more aggressive approaching the green.
The V3 coupled with the App will give you the concrete data to do just that.
You can also see things like how often you hit par when you hit the fairway in regulation and how often you birdied when you hit the green in regulation.
The V3 Will build up a mine of data for you to sift through over time and is an invaluable resource to anyone who wants to improve.
Pros:
- Easy To Set Up And Use
- Massive Accuracy
- Better Design
- Watch For All The Time
- Awesome App
Cons
- Can Miss Some Shots
- No Slope Feature
Check Out More Reviews Here:
The Watch On It’s Own – The G3 Review
If you don’t want to mess around with the tags but like the look, feel, features and performance of the watch, you can pick it up on it’s own and it is almost identical but there is some extra functionality in the V3 that makes it compatible with the Tags so for the extra $30 you are probably always better off to get the V3.
If you buy the G3, there is no way to upgrade to the V3 functionality without buying a new watch so make sure you keep this in mind if you do decide to buy either.
For us, we would always be going with the V3 to get the Tags and extra functionality.
The Flight Scope V3 Overall Summary
This is one of the hottest golf releases of the year by far and that is down to three key factors
Unrivalled Accuracy
Accuracy to with 30cm is market leading for any device available right now
Ease Of Use
You don’t have to keep pulling your phone out of your pocket every second like with the Arccos Smart Sensors or worry about your battery. You just insert your tags and play your round as normal with the watch to guide you.
Piles Of Data
All the data you need to improve your game on an excellent app available through your phone and on your desktop.
The V3 is one of the hottest golf gadgets of the year for us and with a price of $200, we can’t see anything beating this watch and tracking system in terms of value and performance for a long time to come.
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Hi, I am Matthew, a mid handicap golfer who likes to play as much as possible. I love trying out new gear and this blog is where you can find all the gear I have tested over the years!
