Most golfers don’t get to play with a caddie very often, in fact many probably never have. However, every golfer knows one of their main jobs is to provide distances and recommend a club based off that information. Today, Foresight Sports announces the GC3S with LINK-Enabled Technology, a technology designed in collaboration with Bushnell Golf that when paired with a Bushnell rangefinder intends to do just that, without the presence of a real caddie.
Foresight GC3S
The GC3S and LINK-Enabled bundle simplifies things for the average golfer and presents in such a way that we don’t need to be experts to understand it. Basically, it does the math for us while adding the benefit of a useful course management tool right at your fingertips.
This is an eye-opening technological advancement for amateur golfers who don’t have regular access to caddies that can deliver expert course management advice.
Chris Watters, Head of Commercial, Foresight Sports and Bushnell Golf
The GC3S is also the first launch monitor from Foresight Sports that includes a subscription model and comes in at price point that is more friendly to the average consumers wallet.
How does it work?
First, you need access to a GC3S, your smartphone, the Foresight App and someplace to hit golf balls. Preferably indoors where you can use your ball of choice for more accurate data, but if you have your own GC3S and prefer to hit outdoors you can do that too. After pairing your device via bluetooth, using the GC3S you will perform an initial MyBag assessment using the Foresight App.
The assessment is as simple as hitting 3 shots with each club in the bag. Sounds easy right? It ends up being a lot more swings than you think, trust me.
First you need to add your clubs as shown by the first image below. Once that is complete the app takes you through each club, conveniently starting with wedges and eventually finishing with driver, so you should be nice and warmed up by the time you swing the big stick.
The app moves you through the entire bag easily, telling you which club to hit, and once you have the 3 shots you are happy with, on to the next. Don’t fret if you hit a bad one or two, you can delete it and continue to record shots until you are happy with the 3 that will be used for the specified club. Once you are completed you will see your distances for each club listed like shown in the second image below.
Upon completing the MyBag assessment, you will need to open the Bushnell app which will then pull all of your MyBag data into the app for you to use. Best of all, when paired with a compatible Bushnell Laser Rangefinder like the one pictured below, all that information will sync and this is where the magic happens.
On Course
What you get
- Personalized Play As Distances: Distance is displayed right in the rangefinder based off your own personal data.
- Today’s Distances: Your yardages are automatically converted based on outdoor weather conditions.
- Club Dispersion Patterns: This feature is when using the Bushnell app only.
- Club Recommendations: As you laser the pin you see 2 different club recommendations indicated by a +/- in the viewfinder.
Everyone who’s used a laser rangefinder knows how to get a number, but they don’t always know how to use that information because that data has not been tailored to their actual performance, and knowing yardage to the pin is just one part of the club selection equation.
Chris Watters, Head of Commercial, Foresight Sports and Bushnell Golf
I was fortunate to be able to use this technology before writing this article and I found it to work quite well. Club recommendations were spot on during my round. While many golfers think they know their distances, having that virtual caddie information right in your viewfinder is different and gives you some reassurance. In comparison, a GPS gives you front middle and back distances with no club options, with this you get the actual yardage to the target and 2 clubs to choose from, eventually deciding yourself which one to hit based on course conditions.
Final Thoughts
Using data to improve your golf game is not a new concept. In fact it is one that we have been discussing for a number of years with various devices. It works. What makes this different is you are not tracking your data like other systems but using your own data to help make better choices, and thus hopefully play better. While other systems or apps may use data collected from on course performance, this uses your actual carry data from the GC3S from Foresight Sports which is widely considered to be one of the most accurate launch monitors on the market.
The only issue currently is you need access to a GC3S in order to do a MyBag assessment. Not everyone will own one or can afford one, so at the moment we will have to wait and see how this is received or rolled out to courses or stores. However, we are told that in the future there may be a way to do that without purchasing your own unit. Stay tuned.
The Details
The Foresight Sports GC3S bundle includes the Bushnell Golf Pro X3 LINK laser rangefinder and is available now for $3,799 MSRP. One thing of note as mentioned earlier, the GC3S does have a $499 annual software subscription which includes ball & club data plus FSX Play simulator software and FSX Pro performance analysis software.
If you prefer a non subscription model, the existing Foresight Sports GC3 launch monitor is available in a bundle priced at $6,999. It includes the device with ball & club data, a Bushnell Golf Pro X3 LINK laser rangefinder, a sling bag, 2-year warranty, and one year of access to GSPro.
Visit foresightsports.com for more information.
