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How much do you trust indoor launch data?

robmypro

robmypro

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When I went through my driver fitting at GS the numbers didn't come out as I expected. The numbers were saying 225 yards max, which didn't feel right at all, since the Bertha was cranking 275+ at the range earlier that day. So I basically took a leap of faith on Bertha, based primarily on what I saw at the range. Today I was hitting 300 yard bombs, which makes me really question the data I was seeing at GS.

It could be that I just don't hit well indoors at their facility. It could be faulty equipment. Not sure really, but I feel like I shouldn't even bother relying on the data this system is providing. Sort of like who am I going to believe? GS data or my own eyes?

Have you guys experienced such contradictory data before?
 
it really depends on the monitor and operator i tend to use them to compassion tool
 
I typically have seen the opposite at launch monitors in retailers. The distance they show is more than I typically achieve on the course. So I don't put a lot of faith in the distances they are showing. I do use them for comparisons among different clubs though as even if they are inflated of deflated that would be across the board no matter what club is being swung.
 
Info is helpful as long as you have a control club.

I know just how I hit my six iron. So I take that in first, and see what it reads. It can be all over the map from different fitters and etc, but I know what the real number is regardless of if theirs is higher or lower.

Then I hit the new club and compare the data to the 6 iron. That normally gives me a pretty accurate sense of how it will perform.

Where I like the launch data is in spin. That can be really helpful info.
 
I'm always short on the range. Rather, I don't look at distance on the range. Yardages get tuned on the course.

Maybe the simulator at golf smith wasn't tuned for the elevation.
 
robmypro said:
When I went through my driver fitting at GS the numbers didn't come out as I expected. The numbers were saying 225 yards max, which didn't feel right at all, since the Bertha was cranking 275+ at the range earlier that day. So I basically took a leap of faith on Bertha, based primarily on what I saw at the range. Today I was hitting 300 yard bombs, which makes me really question the data I was seeing at GS.

It could be that I just don't hit well indoors at their facility. It could be faulty equipment. Not sure really, but I feel like I shouldn't even bother relying on the data this system is providing. Sort of like who am I going to believe? GS data or my own eyes?

Have you guys experienced such contradictory data before?
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I was actually just posting in another thread that I was having a hard time comparing 2 driver shafts on a trackman that I think was having some issues the other day. It kept telling me that I was pull-hooking the ball and every carry number was basically stopping at 240y on the dot. I knew that nothing I was doing felt like a hook swing to me so I opened everything right up and took the biggest slice cuts I could and it still kept telling me I was hooking..... Irons seemed fine even on that machine and I have never had issues with them, but for some reason long clubs seem to have a hard time sometimes.
 
It depends on the launch monitor. I find most of them to be fairly accurate though I am very skeptical of store simulators. One store sim had me hitting my 6i 60 yards further than reality.
 
I get good results from Trackman or Flightscope when used outdoors on the range on real grass with non-range balls. I can compare what I see the ball do with what the screen says it did. Spin, launch angle, and shot height numbers become meaningful, instead of subject to doubt.

I am not a big fan of the cheaper simulators or the GC2 which use photographic interpretation instead of Doppler radar to measure the ball. They are too subject to errors and have too many preset inputs (such as smash factor, elevation, fairway rollout etc) that can be adjusted by the operator to affect readout. Sometimes bad settings are done on purpose, sometimes they happen through inattention. Perhaps if I owned one and could control all the presets rigorously and take my time, I wouldn't be as biased.

But you always have to keep your eyes open for suspect readouts with the indoor photographic systems because your senses can't tell you where the ball was really going. They measure ball speed pretty well and use it to guess at clubhead speed using a preset smash factor. They do pretty well at measuring spin and launch angle, but they'll glitch often enough that you will notice it a handful of times per session. If they don't catch the spin correctly, everything else will be screwed up. I was watching a British Youtube club reviewer do a GC2 test recently and I saw him keep (instead of discard) suspiciously "long" drives with absurdly low spin numbers.

Garbage in, garbage out. If a monitor technician wanted to wow you with a new driver and you didn't bring in your control, all he would have to do is set the smash factor to > 1.45, elevation to 7,500, fairway rollout to max and you will think you are Bubba Watson.
 
GolfFest said:
It depends on the launch monitor. I find most of them to be fairly accurate though I am very skeptical of store simulators. One store sim had me hitting my 6i 60 yards further than reality.
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I find the same thing. The actual lm's I have hit on are pretty close to what I do on the course, but the sims can get pretty wild. One had me hitting my 7i iron 120, and then showed me carrying a drive 268 with a 92 mph swing speed, ridiculous!
 
I genuinely don't trust sims in golf stores, just like I don't trust their putting areas and the magical 20 footers that ALWAYS drop.

Was talking with the head pro at golf galaxy the other day and he said their sim doesn't even consider spin --- How could you not consider spin?!
 
Canadan said:
I genuinely don't trust sims in golf stores, just like I don't trust their putting areas and the magical 20 footers that ALWAYS drop.

Was talking with the head pro at golf galaxy the other day and he said their sim doesn't even consider spin --- How could you not consider spin?!
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That's depressing, I can miss 20 footers in the store. lol
 
Canadan said:
You need to come down to a couple of the golf galaxy's around me dude -- They are almost silly.
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I can imagine, I've never bought a putter from any of the big box stores though. I just mess around with them at times. Unfortunately I have bought drivers based on a (flat out) lm swing, only to find that they were not so good on the course dispersion wise.
 
I trust it pretty well. One hiccup is that launch monitors at stores are, generally, set at sea level...and I play at around 5000'. It would be almost impossible for them to "tune" their launch monitor for the altitude I play at without being really blatant.
 
What I've learned about LMs (foresight) is the ball speed is accurate, the photos for launch angle and the total spin is accurate to within 50 rpm. Club head speed and distances though are calculated somehow. Obviously there are natural factors that come into play on the course that there no simulation for like heat, humidity, wind, so it's like hitting a ball in a vacuum. But for the most part it's been pretty accurate, at the least the ones I've hit on.
 
Canadan said:
You need to come down to a couple of the golf galaxy's around me dude -- They are almost silly.
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This is true! the funnel cups are awesome at GG. I travel a lot for work and they are the worst offender.


On the topic at hand--flightscope and trackman are pretty good, anything else try to bring in your actual club to compare against on the same monitor. Best ever is a place in Oregon I went to that has the open range out the garage type door with a trackman on it. See Trackman and actual flight.
 
I've had mixed results. As has been said, there's a lot of factors in play so it's tough to say. Always good to hit a club you know how far you hit as a control, I think. At least then you can baseline how off from real world experience with that club the numbers you are being given are.
 
yea I feel you need to take them with grains of salt. I've seen irons much too long and yet drivers much too short on same sims and the other way around. I tend to look at most things other than total distance and total left/right movement. I feel the info at point of contact is more trustworthy than end result.
 
Depends on your monitor and fitter. I trust Trackman data and it appears to be the LM choice of the Pros. I've used a flight scope and found it to be less accurate.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk
 
I think the info is good as a general guideline for fittings and depending on the fitter it can be pretty good. I use it for a couple things, I want to know how far offline I am and how close my grouping is, spin is somewhat important but not critical for me since I can't see the actual flight in real life and put it next to a number unless the fitting is on the range.
 
I only buy clubs I can hit outside on the course and/or range.
 
Depends on the system. Most of the retail stores I do not trust at all. Like others have said, Trackman is the system of choice for most as it is the most accurate


Proud Member of #TeamParadise
 
I think there are adjustments on them. I tried one at Dick's the other day, maybe a Trackman, and my first shot went 30 yards further than anything I've ever hit in my life. The manager adjusted something and then I started hitting my normal drives (oddly enough the swing speed stayed the same after the adjustment). I wonder if salesmen can juice the readings to excite customers...
 
I don't trust most in store monitors. It's often difficult to get the correct tee height and I don't swing exactly the same inside. I do trust a Trackman monitor and obviously prefer if it's outside. For me the easiest way to choose a new club or shaft is to hit it outside and watch the flight. To really know if a driver/shaft combination fits me I have to play a few rounds with it. That explains why I buy a few drivers every year!:act-up:
 
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