*Dream* Launch Monitor Driving Range

[JonMUSC08]

I am going out on a stretch with this one...

When we all buy new golf clubs or are in the market for a new club (testing), we head over to our local shop (Dicks Sports, Edwin Watts, PGA Superstore, etc) and request to try the clubs out in the bay with the launch monitors. Of course, how well is the new club going to compare to our existing club. In my personal experience, the employees in the shops always seem annoyed when you ask to try out clubs in the bays; more so if you are a lefty such as myself. That means they have to move the launch monitor sensor to the other side of the mat . Those of us not on tour or living in the 1% wealth do not have the ability to own a Trackman or GC Quad BUT would still like to utilize those products to test equipment and learn to gap our clubs. Do these 8 new drivers really give me 20 more yards and are much more straight than my existing driver... who knows, but the golf shop guy does not want me spending 3 hours testing all his equipment. Yet he wonders why i do not buy anything after i try one driver and dont get results. Don't be annoyed with me if i ask to try a different driver.

Here is the dream... A driving range with 2-4 bays rigged with launch monitors. Having top of the line monitors may be quite expensive but something to at least provide sufficient data to help the average or better golfer. By allowing players to learn their yardages and make adjustments will in essence speed up rounds as well. With the popularity of the technology AT the range, players would need to schedule times and pay fees for equipment use. The Arccos system is a great tool to help gap and determine club lengths BUT it takes quite a few rounds to determine all your clubs. Now i can hit 20 shots with each club and get solid data on EACH club. In addition, i can borrow or rent multiple clubs if i am in the market for a new driver, iron set, etc. IDEALLY having newly released equipment AT the  range would be perfect.

My Golf Spy Community, lets make this happen!

Make this the new Top Golf or get me in touch with a Top Golf guy to integrate this!

 

[cnosil]

Already exists, trackman has a product that can be installed at driving ranges.

https://trackmangolf.com/products/range

[Wedgie]

Just now, cnosil said:

Already exists, trackman has a product that can be installed at driving ranges.

https://trackmangolf.com/products/range
 

Yep, the range about 10 minutes from me has this.  It's pretty cool but the balls are so bad it is hard to really learn anything meaningful from the numbers you get.  But, if all the balls are bad you could still check your gapping I guess.

[JonMUSC08]

6 minutes ago, cnosil said:

Already exists, trackman has a product that can be installed at driving ranges.

https://trackmangolf.com/products/range
 

WEll that was a short lived dream... Seems like it may have only come out late last year. Could be quite some time until it gets implemented anywhere. Or only in major cities

[cnosil]

WEll that was a short lived dream... Seems like it may have only come out late last year. Could be quite some time until it gets implemented anywhere. Or only in major cities

Best bet is indoor simulators. Lots of places seem to be renting them out by the hour for practice.

[Shankster]

They need to make golf balls that make their own shot trail...

 

[tony@CIC]

They need to make golf balls that make their own shot trail...
 

Kinda like tracer bullets?


Sent from my iPad using MyGolfSpy

[Shankster]

Kinda like tracer bullets?


Sent from my iPad using MyGolfSpy

Yes only less destructive

[juspoole]

My local golf galaxy now has track man in 8 different hitting bays. Much easier to just move it over 2-3 feet and start hitting. I’ll go during my lunch hour during the week to see some numbers.


Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

[JonMUSC08]

We have 1 Edwin Watts in the Charleston, SC area and they recently lot some of their rental space and now only operate with 2 hitting bays. Used to have 4. Dick's Sports is the ONLY other option... No Bueno

[PlaidJacket]

I know LM's are all the rage and have been for quite a few years. I agree that they certainly are or can be useful. Not absolute. There are many factors involved with using a LM. IMO and as I've been told they have to be setup properly and calibrated in some way. You can't just open the box and plop one down on the floor and plug it in. I also don't advise buying clubs off indoor LM data alone. It's a good place to start and narrow your selection. But... again IMO you have to get outdoors with a game ball and see with your own eyes what's happening. There's many ways to measure your distance. Just take the club's you're interested in after testing them on a LM and go see for yourself outdoors which perform the best. It can be done.

[bardle]

4 hours ago, juspoole said:

My local golf galaxy now has track man in 8 different hitting bays. Much easier to just move it over 2-3 feet and start hitting. I’ll go during my lunch hour during the week to see some numbers.


Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

I do this as well when its cold out, and the stores I go to don't mind if you bring in your own clubs to compare against. It gets busy when its rainy and cold but otherwise its great to get to hit some balls. 

[M. Parsons]

My local golf galaxy now has track man in 8 different hitting bays. Much easier to just move it over 2-3 feet and start hitting. I’ll go during my lunch hour during the week to see some numbers.


Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

I thought the trackman was best suited for outdoor use, because it uses barometric pressure to accurately calculate some of the numbers/stats? I think I've heard that GC-Quad is best for indoor use.


Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

[TR1PTIK]

On 3/1/2019 at 12:18 PM, JonMUSC08 said:

WEll that was a short lived dream... Seems like it may have only come out late last year. Could be quite some time until it gets implemented anywhere. Or only in major cities

Carl's Golfland in Michigan was the first to launch with this technology I believe. It's only a 12-hour drive from me. 

[TR1PTIK]

8 minutes ago, M. Parsons said:

I thought the trackman was best suited for outdoor use, because it uses barometric pressure to accurately calculate some of the numbers/stats? I think I've heard that GC-Quad is best for indoor use.


Sent from my iPhone using MyGolfSpy

Depends on how you look at it. For starters, Track Man still has to be calibrated properly if you're going to factor in all those variables, but you can also turn all those settings off and use "normalized" conditions. Secondly, GC2 w/ HMT & GCQuad are camera based monitors that measure what the club and ball are actually doing within a specified range which provides highly accurate data. Not sure if GCQuad does anything to measure barometric pressure or any other variables like that, but IMO normalized conditions are a better way to test with an LM because you take wind out of it. Some days it might not matter so much, but the ball will fly differently depending on where the wind is coming from and how fast it's blowing.

Even after testing with an LM, it's always wise to test without - on the course if at all possible - and pay attention to what you actually see the ball doing. You should also test hitting different shots to see what club is going to be the most playable for you.

[JonMUSC08]

Right, something measuring your spin rates and angles will give you IDEAL condition results. These could be better or worse depending on your location and conditions. On the course, if you are in a higher altitude than the ball will go further than the LM suggests because the air is thinner. Humidity and temperature play a factor.

Launch monitors are great for comparison testing since no other factors affect the readings.

[palvord]

On 3/7/2019 at 11:53 AM, TR1PTIK said:

Carl's Golfland in Michigan was the first to launch with this technology I believe. It's only a 12-hour drive from me. 

Carl's is quite fun because of this technology.  You can take your bag of clubs and work on your game with the feedback from Trackman, or go into the store and find something to take outside and compare.

If anyone is in the Metro-Detroit area, I highly recommend getting over there to try it out.

[edingc]

1 hour ago, palvord said:

Carl's is quite fun because of this technology.  You can take your bag of clubs and work on your game with the feedback from Trackman, or go into the store and find something to take outside and compare.

If anyone is in the Metro-Detroit area, I highly recommend getting over there to try it out.

Not a short trip for me, but next time on that side of the state I'd love to stop in there.

Went to Miles of Golf in Ann Arbor a few weeks ago. What a setup for heated ranges. We have nothing like that over here.