5 Things I Never Play Golf Without: David Dusek
As long as the weather is nice and the course is in good condition, there are only a few things required to play golf: clubs, balls, and a few tees. But things are never perfect, and there are a few items that I always bring with me to the course that help me enjoy my round even more.
Instead of collecting hats from courses I visit, I started collecting these a few years ago because I'm one of those players who repairs their ball mark (and any other ball marks I see) on the greens. I wish more people did it too. A few jabs and twists into the ground with a PitchFix's tongs and the work is done. The magnetic ball marker makes it even better.
I had an original Roll speaker, which had the same design but was larger, but left it on a cart a few years ago. These days, I leave this Mini Roll on my bag and still enjoy great sound from it. The oversized buttons make getting the volume just right easy, even with a golf glove on, and its battery lasts all day.
I've been playing with Arccos sensors (sold separately) on my clubs for over a decade, and the data has helped me play and practice smarter. Using Link Pro, I don't need to carry my phone in my pocket while I play or do anything else for the system to work. Setup is easy, it connects to the Arccos sensors flawlessly, and it transmits all my shots to Arccos's smartphone app without me having to do anything.
There are newer, more sophisticated laser rangefinders out there, but I've used this one for a while and like the clarity of the optics, the speed, and how it makes getting yardages easy. The Slope function is helpful, it vibrates in your hand when it zaps a flag, is water-resistant, and the magnet on the side is shockingly strong.
Birdies are good; skin cancer is bad. I noticed a lot of caddies using these a few years ago, so bought a pair and now keep them in my golf bag at all times. I wear a hat and use sunscreen before I play, even on cloudy days, but these sleeves make it much easier to stay protected, and the material actually makes me feel cooler on really hot days.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: 5 Things equipment writer David Dusek never plays golf without
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
30-05-2025
- USA Today
Wicket comes away big winner as Golfweek's Tech Lab makes 'major' move to Charlotte
Wicket comes away big winner as Golfweek's Tech Lab makes 'major' move to Charlotte Show Caption Hide Caption Wicket wins Golfweek Tech Lab grand prize Wicket's facial authentication platform took home the $25K prize at Golfweek Tech Lab, presented by T-Mobile for Business. The 2nd annual Golfweek Tech Lab, presented by T-Mobile for Business, was held in Charlotte. 18 startups competed for awards in five categories, plus a grand prize. Wicket, a facial recognition ticketing system, won the grand prize. Other category winners included VRTL, Platform Golf, and Play Anywhere. If the first Golfweek Tech Lab, held in 2024 at the PGA of America's new Frisco headquarters, proved the perfect starting point for a new festival focused on golf innovation, this year's gathering in Charlotte — just days before the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow — cemented the event as a major player in the yearly golf calendar. With 18 startups on site, the second annual event, again presented by T-Mobile for Business and produced by Golfweek and underdog venture team, included a session with Scott Gutterman, the PGA Tour's SVP/digital and broadcast technologies. 'If you look back across the history of the sport, the sport has always evolved, the sport has always changed,' Gutterman said. "We will always uphold the tradition of the game, but we want to be looking forward. We want to be looking forward to what does golf mean to new and developing demographics.' That sentiment was echoed by others at the conference, one that saw a guest panel of judges, including venture capitalists and business leaders from the world of golf. That group selected the winners of a best-in-show competition with participating companies hoping to earn recognition across five categories, as well as a grand prize. The judges evaluated each startup based on set criteria, including video submissions, onsite demonstration, and presentation to judges. The winners were announced by T-Mobile's SVP of Systems Realization Grant Castle. The grand prize winner was Wicket, which uses facial recognition to scan people into sporting events by linking them with their tickets. According to its mission statement, Wicket features a "biometrics platform that enhances the experience for fans, guests, and employees while providing a smooth, seamless experience for clients and teams, allowing them to leverage existing assets effectively." The company is based in Massachusetts. The category winners were: Fan Engagement: VRTL Athlete Performance: Platform Golf Digital & Media: Play Anywhere Business Solutions: Wicket 5G: Wicket According to Nate Scott, the vice president and general manager of sports and events for Gannett, Golfweek's Tech Lab was an unmitigated success. "I'm delighted with our second year of Tech Lab. I'm a geek for this stuff, and seeing how entrepreneurs are imagining the future of the sport is always super exciting to see," Scott said. "Golf has had a reputation for being set in its ways, yet I think there's as much experimentation and innovation happening in the sport as any other."
USA Today
10-05-2025
- USA Today
How far do amateurs really drive the ball? Arccos analyzes 6.5 million shots to find out
AI-assisted summary Average driving distance for amateur male golfers has remained relatively consistent over recent years. While driving distance decreases with age, accuracy tends to improve for both men and women. Higher handicap golfers experience significantly more wayward drives, requiring penalty or recovery shots. Women lose a larger percentage of their driving distance with age compared to men. Think you're hitting the ball farther off the tee than you did a few years ago? Odds are, you're not – and you're not alone. The trend of elite male golfers gaining distance over the past few decades was concerning enough to the United States Golf Association and the R&A that they announced in 2023 a plan to change how golf balls are tested starting in 2028 — essentially mandating balls that won't fly as far. But at the club level, distance is not a problem. In fact, according to a report released this week by Arccos Golf, nothing much has changed when it comes to distance for recreational players. Arccos makes a shot-tracking system that collects performance data through small tags that screw into the ends of a player's clubs and sync with a smartphone app. By pairing club usage with GPS and course maps, Arccos can determine how far shots travel, identify tendencies, and provide extensive on-course insights. Its database now includes more than 1 billion tracked shots by golfers around the world. After analyzing more than 6.5 million driver swings on par 4s and par 5s from more than 25,000 golfers during the 2024 season, Arccos published its annual report on amateur driving performance. Some of the results were expected — but others may surprise you. Here are five takeaways from the 2025 Arccos Driving Distance Report. Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle 1. You're probably not hitting the ball farther than you did five years ago Advancements in club fitting, swing instruction, and fitness science should, in theory, help players hit it longer. But the average driving distance for men has barely changed in recent years. According to Arccos, men averaged 224.0 yards in 2018 and 224.7 yards in 2024. The numbers don't factor in carry distance versus rollout, course conditions or weather, but the average has remained within a tight range — between 222.2 and 225.0 yards — since 2018. For women, the trend was slightly negative: average distance dropped from 179.2 yards in 2018 to 176.2 yards in 2024. 2. With age, golfers get shorter — but straighter Arccos divided players into seven age groups: 15–19, then each decade through age 70 and older. As expected, distance steadily declined with age across all handicap levels. Men between 15 and 19 averaged 241.6 yards off the tee, the longest of any age group. That figure dropped to 208.6 yards for men in their 60s and 190.5 for men in their 70s. But accuracy improved with age. Men in their 70s hit 56.5 percent of fairways, compared with just 39.0 percent for men in their 20s. For women, the pattern held. Players in their 20s averaged 201.1 yards, while those in their 60s averaged 158.4 yards. However, women in their 60s hit 62.2 percent of fairways — 17.1 percentage points more than those in their 20s (45.1 percent). In short: distance fades with age, but accuracy improves. 3. Low-handicap golfers are both the longest and the straightest This might seem obvious, but the data underscores the point. The best recreational golfers are not only longer off the tee — they're more accurate too. Male golfers with a 0–4.9 handicap averaged 250.0 yards and hit 49.3 percent of fairways. Those with a 30-plus handicap averaged 184.9 yards and hit 40.6 percent of fairways. That's a 65-yard difference and nearly a 9-point gap in accuracy. The women's data told a similar story — up to a point. Golfers in the 0–4.9 handicap group averaged 213.9 yards, compared with 140.5 yards for 30-plus handicaps — a difference of 73.4 yards. But accuracy didn't vary much. The best players hit 56.5 percent of fairways, while the least accurate group (15.0–19.9 handicaps) hit 54.7 percent. So, for women, driving accuracy doesn't appear to correlate strongly with handicap. 4. High-handicap golfers hit more truly bad drives Arccos also analyzed 'wayward' drives — defined as tee shots that result in either a penalty (e.g., out of bounds, lost ball, hazard) or force a recovery shot (like a punch-out). Male golfers with a 0–4.9 handicap hit penalty drives just 4.4 percent of the time and needed to hit recovery shots only 7.6 percent of the time. That's a total of 12.0 percent wayward shots. But for higher-handicap players, the numbers climb sharply. Golfers with a 25.0–29.9 handicap had 38.2 percent of their drives result in either penalties or recovery shots. And for 30-plus handicaps, more than 45 percent of tee shots were classified as wayward. 5. Compared with men, women lose more distance with age Men hit the ball farther than women in every age group, but they also retain more of their distance over time. According to Arccos, men in their 20s averaged 265.7 yards off the tee, while those in their 60s averaged 229.5 yards. That's a loss of 36.2 yards — or 13.6 percent. Women, by comparison, dropped from 201.1 yards in their 20s to 158.4 yards in their 60s — a 42.7-yard loss, or 21.2 percent. Group 20s Avg. Distance 60s Avg. Distance Yards Lost Percentage Loss Men 265.7 229.5 36.2 13.6 Women 201.1 158.4 42.7 21.2 So not only do women lose more yards over the years, they lose a larger percentage of their original distance, according to the Arccos data.
Forbes
08-05-2025
- Forbes
Do You Hit Your Tee Shots Longer Than Your Peers? Now You Can See.
Arccos tracks your tee shots with these clever sensors Apparently aging does inhibit our ability to hit a golf ball. This week, Arccos – the company that makes intelligent grip sensors for golf clubs – released its 7th Annual Driving Distance Report. In case you don't already know, Arccos records shot data from every golfer using its sensors – including distance, location, dispersion, etc. And because users – and there are a lot of them – provide their age and gender when they sign up, the company is able to amass super useful data about on-course tendencies. Captured in real time and verified using precise criteria, this data provides a transparent view of how amateur golfers perform off the tee. This report, for instance, compares more than 4 million rounds of male and female golfers' driving distance by age and handicap collected in 2024, to every year since 2018. The full Arccos dataset now includes over 1.2 billion shots across 22 million rounds played in 160+ countries. To ensure consistency and comparability, the analysis focuses exclusively on driver tee shots hit on par 4 and par 5 holes, according to Arccos, capturing total yardage (carry distance plus rollout) without normalization for conditions such as weather, turf or elevation. First off, despite their age or ability, men overall averaged 224 yards in 2018 and 224.7 yards in 2024. So we appear to be getting slightly longer. And women averaged 179.2 yards in 2018 and 176.2 yards in 2024. So it appears as if they are getting shorter. But I argue that this only means that more newbies are taking up the game, ever since the pandemic. And since these golfers are inexperienced, they're not hitting the ball long yet. And because they're eager to improve, they put Arccos sensors in their driver grips. So of course we're going to appear as if we are not getting longer off the tee. In reality, there are probably just more less-experienced players being included in this dataset – which of course skews the numbers. Low-handicap men (0 to 4.9) were both the longest and most accurate off the tee, averaging 250 yards and hitting 49.3% of fairways. In contrast, high-handicap men (30+) averaged 184.9 yards and found the fairway only 40.6% of the time. As for age, guys aged 15 to 19 averaged 241.6 yards (the longest age group) which was 51.1 yards longer than those in their 70s (the shortest group). And my personal driving numbers – and distance fall-off through the years – are consistent with the data. Another factor that struck me is that manufacturers push the longer-and-straighter message with their new drivers every year. So shouldn't we all be hitting tee shots longer, regardless of our handicap and age? But if one sign is encouraging to me, it's that I am slightly longer and more accurate than most people in my age group. But I'm also realistic in that I know that on any given day and in any type of weather, course condition and even altitude my numbers can change on a dime. One thing is for certain in these numbers: Older players are significantly more accurate off the tee. That's most likely because without crushing the ball, there's less of a right or left variation of ball flight. Or that they're just more experienced. Either way, it also explains why older people we play with often hit the ball straight and score better than us. Maybe we should all be striving for accuracy, as opposed to crushing our drives. But kudos to the people at Arccos for starting the conversation.
