Ernest ES B1 Launch Monitor First Impressions

Being at home during our "stay at home" orders here in California, I decided to invest in some equipment, to get my game in order, and hope to drop a few strokes here or there when my club opens back up. For the past month and a half, I've purchased a net, hitting mats, various ball brands (I'm a worse Amazon ho than my wife), new wedges, all in the name of becoming a better ball striker. My net only has been providing limited feedback, I know when I'm striking well, but have no idea what my ball is doing. I did a lot of research on a mid range launch monitor that I could use outside and would give me some basic ball data. After looking at the normal suspects, Skytrack, etc., I settled on the Ernest ES B1 launch Monitor. It is a brand new model, and seemed simple enough to give me some basic ball data so I might be able to gain some perspective on what my ball was doing. After using for a few days, I'm pleasantly surprised with some of the information I'm getting with the unit, and it pretty much lines up with what I know my distances and swing speed to be. The unit measures the following:

Swing SpeedBall SpeedLaunch AngleSmash FactorSpin RateSo far it seems to give good measurements, and playing around with my G10 Lst Driver, changing weights, moving weights, changing lofts, etc. I am getting expected changes in spin, launch angles, etc., which is a good thing. Seeing spin and launch angles at home is a real treat. You can record your sessions get your averages and even email those to your coach or teaching pro. A few things to note before you purchase.

Ernest Sports is working on a full manual (they only have a quick start guide thats pretty good), but there is no full instruction manual yet.You have to program your club lofts and there is no setting for 1/2 degree differences in your irons (i have ping i500 Power Spec lofts so example my 8 iron loft is 33.5 but I can only program 32, 33, 34, etc.) I spoke to an Ernest support person and he assured me that 1/2 changes would not impact the the algorithm. I asked what would be better to use and he said go lower, so my programed 8 iron is 33). My distances line up pretty much with what I see on the course. They are not sure about the Shot Tracer App coming.The unit DOES NOT track direction. I thought it did before I bought. You choose your direction manually if you want and that will tie into your shot sessions.Firmware updates - The unit supposedly gets firmware updates through the ES B1 app in the IOS store. There IS NO android app yet so if you dont have iPhone or iPad you only use the unit screen, which is a little hard to read in very bright sunlight. I'm not sure how you're supposed to update if you do not own iOS.So far so good, I'm really enjoying seeing my numbers. I have already tweaked some driver settings that I have been using for a long time. Example, I've been using 14g weight in my G10 and went to 18g and went up in loft and my numbers look way better than what I was gaming,. I'm going to keep this setting when I play this weekend for the first time and see what damage I've done. Anyway hopes this helps anyone considering buying one, it's a fun device, I'll need to take it to the driving range when it opens and really see if I'm getting accurate information.

Thank you for taking the time to write this up. I've been looking at this unit for a couple of weeks and I've been looking for feedback. This helps!

Thanks for write up. Out of curiosity, have you ever been on a Trackman or Flightscope in the past? Just wondering how accurate the numbers are on the B1.

curious what you mean by "They are not sure about the Shot Tracer App coming."

ES14, older model was compatible with the official shot tracer app. The ESB1 supposedly will get same compatibility

I haven's been on either in a long time. My friend has a trackman and as soon as I can get out with him after driving range finally opens, I'm gong to do side by side and see. My number's seem reasonable enough, distances certainly match up but I really am curious about spin rates and launch angles.

Do you have to place the unit directly behind the ball 4ft or can it be angled to the side just a tad?

There's a wide hitting area but a lot more accurate behind ball.

I ordered one today, but it will be a couple of weeks before I can use it. I'll follow up with a review after I've used it a few times.

Did you get it?

I did! I was out of town and just used it for the first time yestetcay. I want to use it a few more times before providing a review, but so far I'm very impressed. It's very easy to use and gives accurate info. I used 3 clubs, Driver and 7 and 9 iron, and didn't see a anything that looked out of line, i 'll follow up with more next week.

Awaiting your feedback :) I’m in the market for a monitor and not sure what to get.

Hope you get a chance to try it out and review it soon, TNGolfer8. Any more thoughts on yours, ctonylee65?

Anyone else use one of these yet? Itching to pull the trigger on a launch monitor.

I should be able to put it through a good range session sometime this weekend, I'll try to have some more feedback by Monday,

I had a chance to use the ESB1 on the range the other night, and I"m very glad that I have it. I wanted a unit that also measures spin, and based on a Trackman session I had a while back, it's very close to what I'm seeing from this unit. Most of the time has been spent with the driver, but I've also hit a good number of balls with irons 6-9 and partial swings with the PW and GW. The distance and swing speed are accurate for all. It's extremely easy to use and set up with each session, and the app is also very easy to use. I did the Tour comparison with the LPGA and PGA stats on a few shots, and it records the numbers, and places the Tour numbers in Red below your numbers in each category.

The only hiccup that I had was the other night, I had 3 shots with the 6i and 2 with the 8i that did not register. This did not happen during the first session. so I stopped, gave it a little time, re-positioned the unit, and it worked again with no other issues. I also hit 4-5 shots with the 7 iron yesterday before playing, and it registered all of them with no issues.

I hope this helps!

Thanks TNGolfer8. I think I will pull the trigger on one of these. How far back did you have the monitor? Thanks again.

4 feet. I believe it works in a range of 3-5 feet. I'm taking mine out again tonight.

I use 4 feet and works perfectly

Great. Thanks for the info, guys.

Does anyone know if the spin rate is estimated or actual?

Actual.

Thanks. Mevo doesn't do spin without a metalic sticke, I presume SB1 doesn't have any of that requirement?

Anymore reviews on the B1?

From a spin point of view, this LM looks good for a $550 unit.

I’m not getting any sound or speech from my unit. Any idea of what’s going on?

On 5/28/2020 at 6:36 AM, ctonylee65 said:

Being at home during our "stay at home" orders here in California, I decided to invest in some equipment, to get my game in order, and hope to drop a few strokes here or there when my club opens back up. For the past month and a half, I've purchased a net, hitting mats, various ball brands (I'm a worse Amazon ho than my wife), new wedges, all in the name of becoming a better ball striker. My net only has been providing limited feedback, I know when I'm striking well, but have no idea what my ball is doing. I did a lot of research on a mid range launch monitor that I could use outside and would give me some basic ball data. After looking at the normal suspects, Skytrack, etc., I settled on the Ernest ES B1 launch Monitor. It is a brand new model, and seemed simple enough to give me some basic ball data so I might be able to gain some perspective on what my ball was doing. After using for a few days, I'm pleasantly surprised with some of the information I'm getting with the unit, and it pretty much lines up with what I know my distances and swing speed to be. The unit measures the following:

Swing SpeedBall SpeedLaunch AngleSmash FactorSpin RateSo far it seems to give good measurements, and playing around with my G10 Lst Driver, changing weights, moving weights, changing lofts, etc. I am getting expected changes in spin, launch angles, etc., which is a good thing. Seeing spin and launch angles at home is a real treat. You can record your sessions get your averages and even email those to your coach or teaching pro. A few things to note before you purchase.

Ernest Sports is working on a full manual (they only have a quick start guide thats pretty good), but there is no full instruction manual yet.You have to program your club lofts and there is no setting for 1/2 degree differences in your irons (i have ping i500 Power Spec lofts so example my 8 iron loft is 33.5 but I can only program 32, 33, 34, etc.) I spoke to an Ernest support person and he assured me that 1/2 changes would not impact the the algorithm. I asked what would be better to use and he said go lower, so my programed 8 iron is 33). My distances line up pretty much with what I see on the course. They are not sure about the Shot Tracer App coming.The unit DOES NOT track direction. I thought it did before I bought. You choose your direction manually if you want and that will tie into your shot sessions.Firmware updates - The unit supposedly gets firmware updates through the ES B1 app in the IOS store. There IS NO android app yet so if you dont have iPhone or iPad you only use the unit screen, which is a little hard to read in very bright sunlight. I'm not sure how you're supposed to update if you do not own iOS.So far so good, I'm really enjoying seeing my numbers. I have already tweaked some driver settings that I have been using for a long time. Example, I've been using 14g weight in my G10 and went to 18g and went up in loft and my numbers look way better than what I was gaming,. I'm going to keep this setting when I play this weekend for the first time and see what damage I've done. Anyway hopes this helps anyone considering buying one, it's a fun device, I'll need to take it to the driving range when it opens and really see if I'm getting accurate information.

Thank you for great summary, very helpful.

Hi there, well it's Jan. 2021 and you've had this unit for about 6 months. How are things going with the ES B1 thus far? Has it helped you improve your game? Have you had any technical issues with it? Thanks in advance. 

Just saw an ad for this on Facebook so came here for reviews. But seeing no Android support makes this a no go for me. 

I just bought the ESB1 and will write a review soon. I can say that when I fire up the ShotTracer app it picks up the B1 as the ES14 so I am guessing it works.

Still no manual in the box

Any updates on the ESB1, seems to be at the top of my list based on research but would like to see a couple more reviews before pulling the trigger.

Curious to hear some more details on it too

Did you try Shot Tracer yet? I'm playing a lot better after some off time. ES B1 really helped my build out my woods this year. Being able to dial in the right numbers with the help of ES actually worked for me. I'm playing all Ping G425 woods and ES helped me get the best numbers with different shafts, weights, and loft.