The Arccos Smart Distance I've found to be among the most, if not the most, accurate plays like yardages I've received from a rangefinder. The device itself is a really nice size and weight. I prefer a rangefinder that has a slight amount of heft to it.

The optics on the Arccos rangefinder are excellent. While I always prefer 7x magnification, the 6.1x magnification on this device looks fantastic and never left me wanting for anything more.

This device will vibrate pretty much anytime you range a distance, not just when you lock onto a flag. The whole point of the vibration feature should be tactile confirmation that you actually shot the flag. When it vibrates no matter what, any time you range a distance, it makes that feature less useful.

70% of the time, it's pretty dead on, 20% of the time, it's close enough, and 10% of the time, it's a little ways off. The snail trail feature makes it very easy to see where you were on the green.

Arccos wants $200/year on top of the existing annual membership just to unlock the features that make the laser 'smart.' Don't be fooled when they say it's 'optional.' Without the subscription, the laser is just a standard rangefinder. And here's the kicker: my Bushnell Pro X3+ Elements already gives me slope, wind, and barometric pressure with zero subscription. This feels like a borderline predatory money grab and a slap in the face to loyal customers.

I use the Arccos system and I like it a lot. When I saw this gun for $250 I seriously considered it. But a $199/yr subscription for a rangefinder is insane! Why tf do I need a subscription for the rangefinder when I'm already paying for a subscription for the sensors.

Arccos laser is not only $279 and requires the $199/yr arccos subscription, it also requires a smart laser subscription for $199. What do we think of more subscriptions?

I love Arccos and have used it for years. I love the idea of this integration with all my existing Arccos data and distances. No chance I'm paying a $200/yr (on top of the annual fee) RANGEFINDER SUBSCRIPTION?!?!

After one full year and dumping $900 into Arccos products, I'm absolutely giving up a beaten and frustrated man. I've purchased the sensor caps, the grip and the link... it's all dreadful.

I've been on Arccos for the last five years and used GameGolf for almost five years before that. They just reminded me that it's time to pay them for the privilege of using the product again, and the price is now $200.

Arccos has helped me get from a 9 to a 3 in a year. I love the app, love the SG tracking, love how it integrates with an Apple Watch, how well it picks up shots, and how it has a years worth of my golf stats logged that I can go review at any time.

Standing on the tee box, my laser rangefinder flashed that the hole was just 147 yards away, but as the wind blew into my face, it was obvious that the playing number would be a lot more than that. The Arccos Smart Laser I was using told me the shot would really play closer to 190 yards. I took a leap of faith, grabbed my 5-iron and hit the shot. The ball climbed high before being swallowed by the wind. It dropped straight down — 31 feet past the hole. It was remarkable.

The Arccos Smart Laser looks and feels like many units you have tried in the past. There is a magnet on one side that lets you affix it to your golf cart, the device vibrates in your hand to let you know that it acquired the target, and the 6X optical zoom makes images appear crisp and sharply focused.

Either way, it's a lot of money, but consider this: high-quality laser rangefinders can cost $400-$600, and for years, they have been static, stand-alone devices. With the Smart Laser, Arccos is betting that golfers want something more.

The device leverages the company's database and expertise in course features as well as its live weather information to provide 'plays like' distances to go with the laser GPS readout. We've simplified all that information. We've taken something that is actually super complicated and presented it in an immediately actionable way.

When golfers have been making decisions, there's so much that goes into that decision making, but as far as the human mind goes, it's hard to really assess all those factors. We know we can help the golfers do that better, and so we're introducing a smarter rangefinder. This is the first connected rangefinder.

Arccos just dropped what could be the most significant advancement in rangefinder technology since the introduction of slope compensation. The Arccos Smart Laser Rangefinder promises to deliver golf's most precise 'plays like' distance by automatically adjusting for a comprehensive menu of environmental factors.

The company has tracked nearly 1.4 billion shots and the existing infrastructure of the Arccos platform has made the new Smart Laser possible. Unlike traditional hardware-focused rangefinders, the Smart Laser is more like Tesla vehicles in that it syncs with the Arccos app and will receive automatic software refreshes.

Along with the AI-powered 'plays like' distances, the Smart Laser Rangefinder automatically updates for wind speed and direction (including gusts), slope, temperature, humidity, and altitude in real time. It also features an automatic pin setting, whereby the location of every pin you shoot is instantly recorded in the Arccos app.

Solid, high-quality build with a familiar rangefinder shape. Everything about the presentation feels premium. The device itself looks like a traditional laser, which is a good thing — familiar ergonomics with unfamiliar intelligence inside.

What I'm increasingly using Arccos for more as the service has continued to evolve and get smarter is for strategy and gameplanning my way around a hole. And that's where I see this rangefinder really furthering that inflection point.

My caddie and I thought it was 10 yds longer. Arccos said 25. We played the 'Plays Like number', hit it to 4ft. We laughed. Arccos was smarter than both of us.

Having a true yardage, that factors in more than just slope is so important. Over 18 holes, that can save 5 or more shots.

Smartest rangefinder I've ever used. It factors in the environment and sets the pin, for even sharper Arccos stats.

Video review covering hands-on testing over multiple rounds. Praises accuracy and integration but flags subscription model and vibration issue as concerns.

I've played nearly 400 rounds with Arccos over the last decade. If you're an Arccos power user this rangefinder will enhance your experience in a number of ways. The added subscription is less than ideal, but in terms of performance, this thing delivers.

The Smart Laser does an excellent job at finding and locking onto flags very quickly. In two rounds, I haven't had any issues getting yardages I feel confident about right away. Even with trees or other objects in the background, I haven't really had any instances where it's gotten confused.

At 163 yards, I would have been likely to pull an 8 iron. 168 is in between a 7 and an 8. Having a 'Gusts' number even higher, essentially told me, take the longer club and don't be afraid to hit it, either. Sure enough, pin high.

Every forum thread and review comment I've seen is hammering them for this exact reason [subscription pricing], and I'm right there with them. Instead of rewarding us, Arccos is double-dipping.

I like that we are all sick of subscriptions. I'm a software developer so I'm building a free alternative. We shouldn't need to pay for some maps and a bit of shot tracking.

Rather than use a USB-C charger like most smart rangefinders, this uses a traditional battery. I personally prefer this, since I'm terrible at remembering to charge.

One of the reasons we invested in this Smart Laser is we think this is actually an easier entry for a lot of people who might be resistant to data, to help them understand what data can do. We're able to show them how the technology is getting really simple.

What's striking is how little of that complexity shows up when you're using the device. Despite all the calculations happening in the background, the display avoids distraction. Only three numbers appear: the actual yardage, a plays-like distance, and a gust reading.

Each time you zap the pin, the system now captures an exact location for the hole. That precision has ripple effects across the platform: approach-shot proximity data becomes more accurate, putting analytics improve because the system knows exactly where each putt started and finished.

I would like to see an update in the future where there's a notification within the viewfinder that confirms the pin as pin set. You can look at the app to see a checkmark confirming the pin setting, but in the rangefinder itself there's no way to see that.

I do wish you had the option to toggle this back to a standard black, but this is a minor critique since the red looks so good.

The Smart Laser requires two subscriptions to operate: a Smart Laser subscription (1-year included with purchase) and an active Arccos Game Tracking subscription. They each renew at $16.67 per month billed annually.

Delivers the most advanced 'plays like' distance in golf by automatically updating for wind speed and direction (including gusts), slope, temperature, humidity, and altitude, with precise mapping for 40,000+ courses worldwide to ensure accuracy.

With precise GPS positioning, live weather syncing, and detailed mapping of 600,000 holes, Arccos knows the direction of each hole and how the wind is affecting them relative to a player's location.

Simply select 'Smart Laser' along with whatever tracking device you plan to use, pair, and you're good to go. It's just as seamless as the Garmin device. Getting this right is one of the most important aspects of a product like this.