Not sure this is where this should go but here goes. Just curious, has anyone compared their flight monitor results to actual results on the course or range. Do the monitors record the actual/correct distance you really get?
FLIGHT MONITOR VS REALITY
I went for a lesson awhile back. Don't know what system he was using but it had me hitting my 7 iron 156 yards and sometimes more. On the course I play it for 145 and come up short more than long
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I was in a hitting cage at a store in Yorktown, VA once that had some brand of launch monitor/simulator. I hit a few demo drivers and was getting over 250 yards of CARRY. THAT was a truckload of bullshit. Not even close to my reality.
My golf buddy/neighbor has a new machine in his garage that actually reflects reality in swing speed and distance. I forget the brand (Something-trac? SkyTrac?). I typically don't even go near them as on-course data is all that matters to me and the data I get from those things won't help me chip and putt......that's where good scores come from.
Since I have been working from home
i'll often keep golf YouTube videos on in the background. Shiels, Finch and some of the other popular ones will do driver testing that has them hitting everything 310-335 but when they get on course it is 275-300. Still good but not what the simulator indicated.
Supposedly, many of the big golf retail places adjust their units to show "better than real" speeds and distances so the
uninformed public loves the new club they are testing and makes a purchase. I'm not sure this is true but I wouldn't put it past some of them either.
Ringoblack Do the monitors record the actual/correct distance you really get?
Couple things:
- I believe so, however, what percentage of people that use monitors have repeatable swings?
- I believe the type of monitor determines accuracy. Trackman & GC Quad are the ones you see pros and YTers using. I might disregard any responses where the top monitors were not used.
- Results would only be as good as a person's swing on a given day.
With this in mind, I think your answers will be a mixed bag
The reality for me is that the more consistent my golf swing is, i.e. mid-season form and playing on a reasonably consistent basis - the more helpful a launch monitor might be for me.
I generally avoid purchasing new equipment of any sort prior-to and immediately-after a long layoff for this reason specifically, unless it's just too good of a deal to pass up and I don't mind eating the investment if it doesn't pan out. And that is rarely the case for me, being a lefty especially.
The last thing I'm worried about is my spin rate and launch angle in April/May. I'm simply trying to remember how to get the ball on the club face and airborne again at this stage of the season. Obviously if I lived in an area where golf is played year-round, that would probably change.
Thanks Guys! That was what I was kinda of thinking. The good ones should be fairly close to reality but again, I wouldn't rely on them. But they might be good to fine tune in a comparison, but not really reality.
Launch monitors have certainly gotten better since this, but I wanted to share...
Many years ago our old STL FGI group went to a Dave and Busters during the winter to 'play golf' - we were getting stir crazy I guess. The simulator was poor and had us manufacturing strange shots in order to get results from the monitor.
As I recall, we all struggled when spring came around - as the simulator had messed us up!
Before making a purchasing decision based on any type swing machine, compare your present equipment to new equipment. No improvement, no sale.
Taki27 I think that might be explained by them hitting the ball into air and the actual drag that is present compared to hitting into a net/ screen and letting a computer figure out distances.
I think launch monitors can be a useful tool to help check what speeds, and spin are. Not sure that one can do that without a monitor. As far as a simulator, it would be a good way to work on your swing and be able to "golf" when it's a blizzard or hailing outside (providing you have power).
I'd love to get to play with one for a few hours. More to see my swing speeds, ball speed, and spin rates.
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Indoor swings are different than outdoor swings. I’ve worked at an indoor place for over 20 years. Indoor is almost a different sport. You tend to hit for a number because you don’t actually "feel"the ball missing the fairway. Outdoors, where the game is actually played... you see your consequences. You don’t swing the same.
Indoor things like Skytrak are good if your working on something in you swing like face angle, hook, slice. As soon as you start to look at distance, you’re screwed.
I have Trackman 4 that I take with me outside... very accurate... OUTSIDE.
Typhoon Indoor swings are different than outdoor swings. I’ve worked at an indoor place for over 20 years. Indoor is almost a different sport. You tend to hit for a number because you don’t actually "feel"the ball missing the fairway. Outdoors, where the game is actually played... you see your consequences. You don’t swing the same.
Indoor things like Skytrak are good if your working on something in you swing like face angle, hook, slice. As soon as you start to look at distance, you’re screwed.
I have Trackman 4 that I take with me outside... very accurate... OUTSIDE.
One of the best posts on G'Buzz this month and this is why indoor so called fittings at a discount golf store are not fittings they are marketing opportunities to naive golfers. Simulators at a store are not launch monitors.
I used one to decide which of my four drivers (i know, that's not many by forum standards) should be in my bag right now. In that situation, I didn't really care whether the actual numbers were correct, since presumably it would make the same errors for all the clubs I tested, and I only wanted to see which of those clubs would work best for me.
So, I think they can certainly be useful. If you are shopping for new irons, for example, you might have narrowed down your choices to two or three. You could go onto the monitor and hit those clubs, comparing outcomes in terms of relative benefits, rather than necessarily believing in the actual yardages it spits out.
As Typhoon pointed out hitting clubs indoors vs. outdoors is a night and day experience. How many have had buyers remorse after the honeymoon period is over? 
I consider myself a good driver, most days I can get it going and hit 9 or 10 of 14 fairways. I’m a senior but I get a good 200-220. That said I can’t tell you I hit the same exact trajectory two times in a row. I have hit majestic looking drives that aren’t that long when I get to the ball and line drives that are longer than I expected. I switch between Alpha, SMT, KZG, LaJolla, Bang and Macgregor and can’t say one is longer or straighter than the next. I probably have one of every brand ball in my bag and they’re all about the same. I stay around the middle of the face and my misses are usually high or low on the face. All R flex decent older shafts and the shafts don’t seam to matter. The only driver that stands out is the Alpha at 400cc because I can get a fade on demand and an occasional draw, must be the smaller head is easier to work. I have tried my son in laws new Cobra and my buddies Calloway and no difference.