• Equipment

  • Why can't there be Launch Monitor standards ?

Pet peeve...and should be everyone's pet peeve I think.

So we have our GC2 hooked up to the Foresight software. I've posted my numbers on here. From what i've read on other forums, people think the GC2 reads low spin improperly and gives too long of a distance. Who knows.

Today I'm at Golfers warehouse and they have a GC2 hooked up to Ping N'flight. Some of my numbers are so different its weird. I grabbed an M1 and an M2 off the shelf and hit those further than my Ping, wrong shaft I think. Here are some differences..

I know GC2 calulates clubhead speed. so why does one GC2 have me at 108 mph and the other one at 115? Both give me the same ball speed though. On hits where launch angle and spin were close on both GC2's, the one I have is 20 yards further. The thing is, both are long. I'm talking 285 total vs 305 total.

The 285 total is the 115 mph clubhead speed one....

Is it the software? There are no settings/calibration to be done on the GC2 so that's why I like it...it would seem that they would all give the same readings.

Just pissed me off... I'm thinking of a new driver and this just confuses the crap out of me.

John, I get a real kick out you and reading your posts about these stupid ass machines. Did you not say you were 50+, and have a plus handicap? What did you shoot last time out for 18 holes.....66, 67??

Understand that I'm not getting on your case, nor trying to piss you off, but why in the world would you care what those machines are showing you? I'd say you are hitting more fw than the Pros(only around 70 something % for them), hitting your driver as long as most of them, and certainly longer than the PGA avg.. I imagine your iron game to be something of a wonder to witness, with a short game that would make others shit themselves with envy.

Now, I say this with all the love I can send................GO PRACTICE YOUR PUTTING!! Instead of hitting drivers on those damn worthless machines.😁

    Additionally, I've found throughout my life that any computerized machine is only as good as the person that programmed it. And 1 will never perform exactly the same as the next one.

    John....what I would like to do on your line of thinking. Send you to 10 top club fitters across the country and see the driver they fit and build for you.

      There is a customer of mine who I built a set of irons for earlier this year, and he was OBSESSED with launch monitor numbers. What should have been a fairly simple process which would normally take no more than maybe one or two visits, turned into a several month debacle because he wanted to hit every single shaft in existence and crunch numbers and calculate which would give him closest to "ideal" numbers for launch angle, distance, ball speed, spin, etc. I tried to tell him time and time again that he could hit the exact same setup on the exact same launch monitor on 5 different days and get 5 different results, but he just kept at it. In the end I made a set for him that he was happy with for about 3 months, then just last week he came in telling me he wants to put a new set together because he's not entirely happy with the launch monitor numbers he is getting with his set. I asked him how he plays with them and he said great, he loves the way they feel and he's scoring really well, but he just doesn't like the launch monitor numbers he is getting with them and he thinks he play better with a set that gives him better LM results. SMH.....

        customgolfcenter

        Pain in the ass but he is buying sets so let him have his fun...lol

        I remember a LDer like that only it was F/A and loft. I would just pull 3 or 4 boxes of 6* heads and plant him next to L&L machine and he would be there for 8 hours looking for perfect specs

            Bangoman True, can't complain too much about a paying customer. But then again I probably spent 10x as much time with him as I do most customers, so the return on time investment was pretty low. But I'll always do whatever I can to make sure the customer is 100% happy with the setup they're getting, so if that's what it takes then that's what it takes.

            I guess the point I was trying to make is that LM numbers can be helpful in fitting, but far too many people get too caught up in the static data that they provide. Fitting is more of an art than a science, and just as with any artform every artist (fitter) has their own style and way of interpreting the data they get from LM's. And they will all use that interpretation along with their experience, opinions, preferences, and insight to put together a setup for you that they personally deem to be "ideal". But in the end, what matters most is how you play with the clubs on the course. That's why I said you could get fit for a driver by 10 different top 10 fitters and get 10 vastly different setups, all of which may work very well for you.

            And the truth of the matter is that 99% of golfers don't have a consistent enough swing that the shafts/heads/specs I fit them with today will be the same setup that their swing might dictate if they come in again 3 months from now, or hell even 3 days from now.

                customgolfcenter

                If you don't have spare time to BS with this neurotic customer, best to lose him. He might ended up costing you more than you could make from building the set ( or 2) for him.

                Probably already did cost you more with all the time you have to spend with him. No one could ever make this type of client happy.
                When I meet this type of client in my business, I'd ask "how many" first. Get the message across that they couldn't do enough business to own you.

                  Launch monitors are like using a Dynamometer on a racing engine. Sheer overall numbers don't equate how quickly the engine makes HP, etc. Torque is needed to get an object moving, etc.

                  Throw wind into the equation and the perfect launch angle you had at the range literally just blew out the window.

                  Covering two subjects: Sometimes a customer needs to be fired as they end up not being worth one's time.

                  I believe use of any swing machine is good for a comparison of "clubs" you are considering buying. As an example does it show me ClubA is better suited for me than ClubB or ClubC and at best, only that day between those 3 clubs. Any other variable (ClubD, the day, compare machine to machine, etc.) is not valid.

                  I believe they can also be useful in training one to repeat a given swing. Harvey Penick once said (paraphrasing) be wary of a person who can repeat their swing each time as they can learn to control it no matter how bad. Want "bad swings" that worked well for them? Look at Palmer and Trevino.

                  Don't lose your mind over the number fluff. Of you've got the game for a few hundred RPM of spin to make a difference that's awesome, but once you're hitting the ball 280 and under control, a little less spin or a few more yards aren't making a difference on the scorecard.

                  I've got a driver I can mash DEEP but I feel like it launches a little lower than what would be ideal. Guess how many strokes I lose because my driver might launch slightly low? Zero.

                  The numbers aren't useless, but if you've got a setup that you hit well and can control they're going to be more trouble than they're worth. Lots of time and money and stress just to gain no strokes.

                  Here is a quote from the US Open this year (I think -- it was definitely one of the majors) from Curtis Strange (I think -- the commentators were not on the screen at the time and it was just a couple of them talking). They were discussing Zach Johnson's driver set-up and how his launch was 13*. One of the commentators said that he could hit it further with a a higher launch, but that Zach said he didn't do that because he couldn't hit fairways with it. Strange (I believe) said, "There is a window that these players like to see their ball go through. You start looking for optimums and, well, let me tell you, the hall of fame is full of players who never saw optimum."

                  customgolfcenter

                  God....it feels good to hear a fitter talk like you do James! You must be an exceptional fitter. I get so tired of the same happy horseshit from so many others. GD Should read that post I am sure you would make Top 100. Like frank V. Said...it's first and foremost a selling tool....they see what you want them to hear.

                    Wow...tons of replies! Cool.

                    Rex, during the day I hate my job so much that I look for these stores just to go in and give myself a half hour away from wanting to cut someone's head off and stuff it in a bowling bag.

                    What gets me, and I think of others using these monitors too is why does the same machine give me 2 different calculations of almost the same numbers.

                    For me, I'm old school and like to see ballflight. The only time I have access to different shafts is on one of these....how do I know what it looks like.

                    My game, yeah it's fine. Just always think I'm lea ing something on the table.

                    Oh my putting has improved! Hahaha

                    Bangoman

                    I want to go see Frank over at Ace of clubs. It's just that I can pick up an M1 or M2 with credit from Golfers Warehouse. They guy I know there could fit me, he did a good job with my irons but I'd rather have Frank do it.

                    Then there is the m1 or M2 head question....I like the sliding cc weight but I'm afraid I'll be like a kid picking at a scab if I get something with a lot of adjustments!

                      What happens in the cage is not necessarily what will happen on the course. I think all that data just over complicates things and causes players to think too much. When the driver you selected based on the data doesn't behave on the course, how do you troubleshoot? Was it the machine? Is it the shaft? Is it the current hosel adjustment? Is it you?