Launch Monitor Input for a High Level Junior Player

[cubuffs]

Wanted to throw this out to the WRX community - Winter is approaching and would love to hear feedback from the community.  

 

We moved within the last year from TN to NH for a new job - and my only requirement when looking for a our house was that we have a room to move our indoor golf setup that was previously in the basement (the setup was a full net cage, impact screen, and SkyTrak that we have had since 2016).  Luckily we found a large 3 car garage with heated floors so we are set for the cold and snowy NH Winter.  As background, I am a 6 handicap and my Son is a Sophomore in High School and a +1.4 who would like to play D1 college golf (he plays AJGA and other 2 day junior events and just won the NH HS State Individual title).  My son will practice 5-6 days per week and hit 75-150 balls per day as a way to stay sharp.

 

Wanted to get feedback on if we should look to upgrade our current setup?  I am willing to spend some $$ to do this, but not the $15K that is needed for a new GC4.    We have 23 feet in the garage bay from door to impact net so wanted to get thoughts from my fellow WRXers on if there are things I should be looking at (i.e. GC2, a refurbished TrackMan...)? 

[Stuart_G]

Welcome to the Granite state.

 

If you want to keep it under the $15K  the  options realistically come down to:

1) Flightscope Xi+   or Xi Tour if you want club data.

2) GC2  with or without HMT depending on if you want club data.

 

Some questions that might factor into the decision

1) practice only or are you interested in SIM play?   What unit you decide on can limit what sim software you might be able to use.   GC2 is the better option for sim play since it supports more sim software options.

 

2) How important is club data?   Lowest cost for club data would be a used Xi Tour.   I personally like the radar unit better for club data although with HMT added GC2 can give good club data as well.  The downside is that HMT requires stickers on the face of the club to be able to get that data.

 

3) How much short game/putting practice do you want to support?

GC2 is the clear winner for short game practice (chipping, pitching < 30 yards, and putting).   You'd need to go up to at least the X3 for chipping and putting with a radar unit.   That would be right just a hair under the $15k - although that's still less the GCQuad.

 

4) Indoor only or do you want to be able to bring it to the range and get actual distances for outdoor practice?  Radar tends to do a better job outdoors IMO.

Edited October 28, 2020 by Stuart_G

[cubuffs]

Stuart - thank you for the very detailed response. I think you highlight all of the key questions as we would be looking at this more for practice than sim play. That might help make it through a long winter but really just looking for the most accurate tools to practice and refine small elements of both of our games.  Going to start to look at FlightScope options (that is what my Son’s teacher uses for indoor Winter lessons).  Will also need to measure the garage one more time to ensure we have the distance on both sides.  Thanks again for the thorough response!

[Stuart_G]

As far as the full swing goes (and assuming you have enough room to use a radar) they are all plenty accurate for practice and working on the swing.  IMO people worry too much about accuracy differences that don't really matter.   The decision really is about all those other little differences and details on how you want to use it.

[RagnarD]

I have a GC2&HMT, bought refurbished from Foresight. If you are working on specific swing path and angle of attack issues, the HMT may be an upgrade to skytrack, which I sold. But need some expertise and/or coaching to make use of the information. I would say the biggest concern is that practicing off a mat can instill bad habits because it allows fat shots. Also GC2 works better outside off the grass when you are practicing in warm weather.