Comparison
PinFlag vs. Arccos
Arccos is best for individual golfers who want automatic, shot-by-shot tracking and will buy and use grip sensors; PinFlag is best for coaches, teams, and players who want strokes gained without any hardware.
PinFlag is best for
Coaches, academies, and teams developing many players — plus golfers who want strokes gained without buying or charging any hardware. No sensors; players log rounds from their phone.
Arccos is best for
Individual golfers who want fully automatic, shot-by-shot data and are happy to fit club sensors and carry their phone every round.
| PinFlag | Arccos | |
|---|---|---|
| Hardware required | None | Sensors fitted to each club grip |
| How shots are tracked | You log them on your phone (minutes per round) | Automatic, sensor + GPS based |
| Strokes gained analytics | Yes — full four-category breakdown | Yes |
| Built for coaches & teams | Yes — multi-player command center and reports | Primarily an individual-player product |
| Recruiting / progress reports | Yes — branded, shareable | Not a focus |
| Cost model | Free to start; paid Coach plan | Sensors (one-off) + app subscription |
What is the main difference between PinFlag and Arccos?
Arccos automates data capture with club sensors; PinFlag skips the hardware and is built around coaching a whole roster. Both compute strokes gained.
Arccos’s strength is automation: sensors in your grips record most shots without you thinking about it. The trade-off is hardware — sensors to fit, batteries to mind, and a phone to carry every round. PinFlag takes the opposite approach: nothing to buy or charge, with players logging rounds in a few minutes and the focus on what a coach needs to develop many players.
Which should a coach choose?
If you’re developing a team or academy, PinFlag is built for that job — one command center, every player’s strokes gained, and reports for parents and college coaches.
Arccos is designed around one golfer’s bag. PinFlag is designed around a coach managing a roster: triage who needs attention this week, prescribe practice, and prove improvement in strokes gained. For a self-tracking individual who wants automatic capture, Arccos may be the better fit — and that’s the honest answer.
Frequently asked questions
Does PinFlag need sensors like Arccos?
Do both PinFlag and Arccos calculate strokes gained?
Sources
Keep reading
Strokes Gained
Strokes Gained Explained: The Complete Guide
Strokes gained measures every shot against a benchmark of expected scores, revealing exactly where you gain or lose strokes versus a chosen standard — instead of guessing from fairways, greens, and putts.
Strokes Gained
Strokes Gained Putting, Explained
Strokes gained putting measures your putting against a benchmark by comparing the expected putts to hole out from each starting distance to the number of putts you actually take.