The Scoring Machine vs Arccos Golf
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
The Scoring Machine
This app helps organize and score golf games for individuals, groups, or entire events. It supports numerous game types, including medal, match play, best-balls, and scrambles, with automatic handling of handicaps, skins, and wagers.
- Organize and score golf games
- Supports dozens of play types
- Accurate individual and team scores
- Appropriate handicaps for all play
- Automatic skins and wagering
- Compatible with Mulligan's Eagle
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Organize and score for yourself, your foursome, your team, or a whole golf event. Keep accurate individual and team scores for dozens of kinds of play, including medal (stroke) play, match play, best-balls, foursomes, scrambles, Chapman, Stableford, Chicago and more. Use appropriate handicaps for every form of play. Handle skins and wagering automatically. You play golf and let The Scoring Machine do the work. Compatible with Mulligan's Eagle for the Mac.
Arccos Golf
This AI-powered golf app automatically tracks your shots and provides smart rangefinding. It analyzes your game to offer personalized strategies and detailed green maps, helping you improve your performance and lower your scores.
- AI-powered automatic shot tracking
- Smart laser rangefinder with weather data
- AI strategy for club and target recommendations
- LiDAR-mapped green maps
- Strokes Gained Analytics
- Real club distance tracking
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PLAY SMARTER GOLF Arccos is the Official Game Tracker of the PGA TOUR. AI-powered game tracking and Smart Laser Rangefinder trusted by pros including Matt Fitzpatrick, and golfers at every level. Now improved with greater depth, personalization, focus, and actionable recommendations. THE NEW ARCCOS APP — NOW ROLLING OUT ON iOS The biggest update we've ever made. Every tab rebuilt. New AI features throughout. The app now tells you exactly what to do — not just what happened. WHERE TO FOCUS — YOUR PERSONAL PRACTICE PLAN Your Player tab pinpoints exactly where your next stroke is hiding across all four facets — Driving, Approach, Short Game, and Putting — using Strokes Gained analysis. Lock in a focus area and get personalized drill recommendations built from your own data. A real plan, for your game. SHOT DISPERSION — SEE WHERE YOUR SHOTS ACTUALLY GO Visual dispersion charts for every club. See where your shots land relative to target — consistency, miss tendencies, weapons vs. liabilities. The clearest scope of your ball-striking you've ever had. AI ROUND SUMMARIES — YOUR ROUND, TOLD LIKE A STORY After every round: an AI-generated summary of what actually happened. Skill Score, Club MVP, PGA Tour Quality Shots, Round Arc, and a Practice Focus with specific drills to work on before your next tee time. COURSES — YOUR GOLF PASSPORT A global map of every course you've ever played. Tap any course for hole-by-hole Strokes Gained, AI Course Insights, and Hole Highlights showing exactly which holes have been costing you strokes. PRE-ROUND WARMUP — SHOW UP READY A personalized 15, 30, or 60-minute range routine, generated based on your recent data and current focus. Specific clubs, specific drills. Practice with purpose. ARCCOS AIR — FIRST YEAR FREE No sensors required. Slip the Air AI wearable into your pocket and play. AI trained on 1.5 billion shots automatically detects every shot with Tour-level accuracy. Or add Smart Sensors for definitive club-by-club analysis. Your choice, every round. Link Pro users upgrade automatically — no purchase required. SMART LASER RANGEFINDER — FIRST YEAR FREE Know it's 176 yards to carry the bunker. Slope-only rangefinders capture just 19% of distance adjustments. Smart Laser factors in slope, wind, temperature, humidity, and altitude to capture it all, often making a club’s difference. Auto pin-setting syncs the flag to your app automatically. AI STRATEGY & GREEN MAPS — ALL iOS SUBSCRIBERS Recommended club and optimal target every shot, based on your tendencies, course layout, hazards, and conditions. The same strategy Matt Fitzpatrick used to win his major. Green Maps: LiDAR-mapped to 1mm precision across 9,000+ courses in the US, 3,000+ worldwide. See slopes, breaks, and exact pin position. AUTOMATIC GAME TRACKING Every shot tracked across 18 holes on 40,000+ courses worldwide. Strokes Gained Analytics. Smart Club Distances — your real numbers, not your best guesses. RESULTS New Arccos members lower their handicaps by 25% on average in the first year. Hit approach shots 14.9 feet closer and sink more birdies. With lower scores, you’ll have more to celebrate and share at the 19th hole. - Official Game Tracker of the PGA TOUR - 1.5 billion shots, 4 trillion data points - Works with Arccos Air, Smart Sensors, Smart Laser, Link/Link Pro, Apple Watch - Fast Company World's Most Innovative Companies — #3 in Sports - Partners: PGA TOUR, PING, Cobra Golf, Club Champion, Golf Digest Stop guessing. Start knowing. Play better golf.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Arccos Golf at Free against The Scoring Machine's $4.99. Arccos Golf also leads on ratings volume (33K vs 130) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months). The Scoring Machine's advantage is review sentiment (76% vs 41%) and in-app purchases (none vs 2). On rating, ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Arccos Golf is free to download; The Scoring Machine costs $4.99 up front. Arccos Golf sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $199.99 per year. The Scoring Machine asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for The Scoring Machine against 4.6 for Arccos Golf. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Arccos Golf has 33K ratings behind it against 130, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 76% of The Scoring Machine's written reviews are positive against 41% of Arccos Golf's.
The Scoring Machine ships an update every 2 months, Arccos Golf every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | The Scoring Machine | Arccos Golf |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.6 (130 ratings) — better | 4.6 (33K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 75.9% of reviews — better | 40.8% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 130 | 33K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 12.4 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 44 MB | 378 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Mulligan Software | Arccos Golf LLC |
Customer experience
The Scoring Machine
Arccos Golf
Bugs and requests
The Scoring Machine
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Arccos Golf
Reported bugs
3 issues- App crashes and freezes during rounds
- Incorrect hole and shot tracking
- Unreliable sensor connectivity
Requested features
4 requests- Ability to view round stats on mobile app
- Better course mapping and layout visualization
- Improved handling of penalties and missed shots
- Integration with other golf apps and platforms
In-app purchases
The Scoring Machine
No in-app purchases
Arccos Golf
- AI Strategy1 Year trial$199.991 Year
- Arccos 1-year Subscription14 Days trial$199.991 Year
Questions
Is The Scoring Machine free?
Is Arccos Golf free?
Which has better reviews, The Scoring Machine or Arccos Golf?
Do The Scoring Machine or Arccos Golf have ads?
Which is updated more often, The Scoring Machine or Arccos Golf?
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