LMs and Sims - What's Next and at What Price?

[games]

I love my MEVO+ and consider it pretty accurate. Garmin and Foresight / Bushnell are getting a lot of love for new offerings at the opposite ends of the consumer SIM price spectrum (and also the middle if you consider the LP separate from the GC3). I do think they left the door WIDE open for Full Swing Kit if they can ever deliver on their promised offering.

I think the one thing that is missing in the consumer SIM/LM space is some type of "smart ball" technology. That is, a ball embedded with some type of gyro-chip that can aid in measuring spin (total, back, side, and axis location). I would expect a smart ball to supplement existing radar or camera technology, not be a stand-alone system. I see it as a way to measure key metrics relatively accurately, and less costly than higher-end units.

What do you see (or know about) coming up in this space?

 

[Daddio]

That idea makes a lot of $ense although you'd likely lose the benefit of your numbers being generated by the same balls you game (and the ability to compare different balls H2H) Trade offs I guess. Similar to ball stickers but better. Could easily integrate into the LM algorithms. Good idea at any rate.

 

[Luchnia]

One problem I see would be the balls don't last long on the LM/sim before they are split and doesn't really matter the brand at all - even Pro V1s. If the price point was decent though it could work out.

 

[jpotas]

LM's measure spin. Camera LM.s such as Skytrak are very accurate at measuring spin.

 

[Daddio]

One problem I see would be the balls don't last long on the LM/sim before they are split and doesn't really matter the brand at all - even Pro V1s. If the price point was decent though it could work out.

Was not aware of that phenomenon. Impact with screen over and over I guess? Do nets present same problem? But yeah that would be a real issue because I'd assume hi tech balls would be very pricey.

 

[Luchnia]

Was not aware of that phenomenon. Impact with screen over and over I guess? Do nets present same problem? But yeah that would be a real issue because I'd assume hi tech balls would be very pricey.

I hit into a net, but I do hit a lot of shots and go through a number of balls. I never really counted how many shots it takes before a ball gets whooped. I keep a trash can nearby to throw them in once they split. Once the ball starts sounding funny you know it won't be long before it is trash.

One of the guys that comes out and practices sometimes did not believe me when I told him the balls split. He was hitting a ball and he asked why the ball sounded weird on his last hit and I told him it probably was split. He looked at it and sure enough split.

 

[JB]

That idea makes a lot of $ense although you'd likely lose the benefit of your numbers being generated by the same balls you game (and the ability to compare different balls H2H) Trade offs I guess. Similar to ball stickers but better. Could easily integrate into the LM algorithms. Good idea at any rate.

It’s been tried and failed every single time. TaylorMade tried it with Dean Snell years ago and the balls split. Oncore took thousands of dollars from consumers and promised to deliver and failed miserably (never gave money back).

It’s a long ways away to make it work properly without the sacrifice of performance and nothing will beat camera capture indoors.