Smarter Golf, Thanks To Dad
John didn’t know much about Arccos when he unwrapped it one Christmas morning. It was a gift from his dad, a lifelong golfer who figured his son, a fellow golfer and data enthusiast, might appreciate it. He wasn’t wrong. But what neither of them could have predicted was just how much that small gift would reshape John’s game, and their connection to it.
At the time, John carried an 11 handicap. Maybe a little vanity baked in, he’ll admit that now. But he had a story about his game. He thought he was streaky off the tee and he thought his short game was the strongest part…
And then came the data.
“After 15, 20 rounds, it started telling me a different story,” John said. “I wasn’t as sharp around the green as I thought. And I wasn’t giving myself enough credit off the tee.”
Instead of resisting the truth, John leaned into it.
Each round became a chance to learn something. He started tracking 3-round and 5-round trends. Noticed he was losing strokes from 25–50 yards. Spent range time dialing in wedge feel. Took notes during rounds. Asked new questions.
Am I going for a tucked pin when I should be aiming centre? Is this a swing issue or just a decision-making one?
“It helped me realise the golfer I thought I was… wasn’t exactly the golfer I was. But that clarity? That’s where the improvement started.”
Two years later, on Father’s Day, John returned the favour. This time, he handed Arccos to his dad. “He was always curious,” John said. “He’d seen the way I was improving, how I was thinking through rounds differently.”
Now it was his turn.
John’s dad, playing out in Arizona, had a totally different profile. Less distance. More precision. A soft touch around the greens. Where John gained strokes with power, his dad gained them with finesse.
The ritual began.
After every round, they’d text each other screenshots; PGA TOUR Quality Approach Shots, Strokes Gained, tough breaks. A new layer of connection emerged, built around a shared obsession and a mutual curiosity for how the game really works.
“We have completely opposite games,” John said. “But that’s what made it so fun, comparing notes, helping each other out, seeing how we were both evolving.”
John doesn’t have hours to burn on the course. Between managing a hospital, getting married, and pursuing his MBA, he plays once a week, maybe twice. But the difference now is focus.
He knows what to work on. He tracks progress over time. And he’s more thoughtful during rounds less reactive, more strategic.
“It’s helped me play smarter, not just better. I think through shots now. I’m not always chasing the perfect swing, I’m choosing better targets.”
Over the past few years, John’s gone from an 11 to a 3. No coach at first. No new equipment. Just better decisions, built from better awareness.
Eventually, he started working with a teaching pro and used his Arccos data to guide the lessons.
“I showed him my trends, and we started working on the exact things I was struggling with. It wasn’t just ‘what feels off.’ It was ‘here’s where I’m losing strokes.’”
This isn't just a story about improvement. It’s about perspective. It’s about using tools to see your game clearly and having someone to share that journey with.
John and his dad don’t play the same courses, or even the same way. But they’ve found a way to play together. To compare rounds, motivate each other, and celebrate the small victories, like a par on a tough hole, or one fewer double bogey in a stretch of nine.
“At this point, we’re just trying to keep getting better and keep playing this game we both love.”
This Father’s Day, it’s not about a low score or a long drive. It’s about the moments that add up. One round. One lesson. One story at a time.
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