Spin rates, AOA, and, more statistics then ever before - any real benefit

[higherplane 38]

Looking to see if others have genuinely improved, actual drop in handicap, based on personal statistics now available.   Fully believe these are important in club testing and fitting but that is once every year or two.    Personally got excited with my Garmin watch but for every stat review believe time would be better spent practice putting.  Old school measures like divot shape-size-spot and center mark on iron seem to show as much or more.                            

[ejgaudette 3,927]

Personally I have found the ability to track even some basic statistics such a swing speed enabled me to engage in overspeed training and gap my clubs easily on the range without pacing off shots. 

Also I have tried Across and Shot Scope and both provide very useful information to target what needs practicing. Take my last round despite not by best round driving which I felt was the worst element it of my round. Turns out it was my approach game, by a wide margin.

I think there can be information overload but if you use it well and target the right spots then it can really help. 

[vandyland 432]

My instructor uses trackman and I have to say club path, AoA and face contact readings are very helpful to me. For example, I was hitting a block that I thought was due to too much in to out swing but really I was just leaving the clubface open, my path was neutral. Angle of attack we watch because I tend to get steep with my irons and also helped me hit my driver farther by going from slightly down to slight up. Finally face contact is good because when I first started taking from my coach I couldn't always feel heel and, more often, toe contact but the readings on Trackman helped with that (you can use foot spray powder as well if you are more low-tech. Clubhead speed is fine I could take it or leave it but obviously carry distance is extremely important. I don't trust the trackman "total" distance so much especially since I play scruffy fairways. Spin rate was helpful for me making the switch to a 5 hybrid instead of a 5 iron because they went the same distance but the 5 hybrid spun a good deal more which helps it sit down on the green and feels like the additional spin keeps it in a tighter dispersion area, if that makes sense. 

[cnosil 25,270]

I have used launch monitor data to improve.  Haven’t seen a drop in handicap yet as the improvements have revealed issues in other areas.  I would also say the use of launch monitor numbers will vary significantly based on the skill of the player and what you are trying to change.  For someone looking for large changes vs changes in degrees a launch monitor may or may not be necessary. 
 

I have used launch monitor data to send/review information to my coach as baseline information to support the video or in person lessons.  While not chasing specific numbers, we show for example that my face is closed to the patch, my aoa aid too steep, or I need to have more shaft lean and I can use a launch monitor to check the numbers myself instead of trying to interpret divots or setting up aids.   
 

I don’t use on course stat trackers to assess weaknesses.  I use basic stats like is a tee shot playable,  approach distance, GIR/nGIR, and putting distances, chipping/pitching distances.  My coach has provided me with expectations for proximity to the hole for different distances.  From there it is easy to assess where I need to work.   But for players looking to understand bag makeup and actual club distancing those devices are ideal.  

there great think about these types of tools is that they can capture a significant amount of data.  However,  if you don’t understand the numbers, chase specific  numbers, or don’t know how to interpret the numbers you may practice or work on incorrect aspects of your game.  
 

 

[stuka44 421]

I agree.  I log all my scores and look at some things once in a while.  But my swing is mostly what its always going to be from this point on, so I think launch angles, swing speeds,  and more fancy stats would be lost on me. 

I read Every Stroke (or Shot) counts whichever it is.  Started keeping track of first putt distance.  Logic seemed pretty sound to me if I read it correctly,  if you can hit it closer on approach shots, and chip it closer to the hole your scores should come down, if you don't start throwing away strokes other places.

And the book also pointed out that the pro's 50/50 make distance is 8' so as a an amateur, I'm taking the books advice, and concentrating on trying to make more 4, 5, & 6 footers to improve my score, and work on trying not to 3 putt anything over 8 feet.  I'll still keep track of the other stuff, for fun.  

[RickyBobby_PR 9,633]

Don’t really care about launch monitor numbers outside of fittings and even then I don’t want to know what they are til things are over and looking at the data to compare. Use that along with what I see in ball flight and how the combo feels to make final decision.

Dont really need them during lessons. Have used instructors that looked at every shot and tracked them and others that didn’t use any or didn’t look at them til after the lesson and had success with both.

I don’t really track stats as I play various courses throughout the year and they all play differently from each other 

[Crane263 13]

I use an sc300 at home into a net and take it to the range occasionally, it’s more about watching my swing speed at the range because range balls don’t give very true speed and carry numbers. Its a really handy tool to watch gapping and consistency. I do like to get on a higher grade monitor like trackman here and there to check attack angle and spin rates that mine doesn’t read. I don’t go hog wild on all the data points I have certain numbers I want to hit on certain metrics and that’s what I pay the most attention to.