Looking for suggestions for indoor casual practice

[Fav453]

 I'm setting up a budget indoor practice area and want a unit that simply lets me know if I hit a good vs bad shot. I'm not looking to tune distances or shot shape.  I'm in a 1 car garage with limited space and instead of hitting into a net and guessing how I made contact, I want some conformation that the shot was "good". I want it to consistently pick up the shots for all clubs. Outdoor capabilities would be nice but not necessary, maybe a nice to have.  I dont need simulation or integration, but simple data output for post processing. I like the MEVO but it seems like overkill and pricey and maybe not great indoor performance for my set up. Looking for thoughts. THX

[Stuart_G]

If the primary concern is the quality of impact, the best feedback is just to use foot powder spray on the face.   You can even use it on the mat to evaluate for fat shots if you haven't developed a feel for that with your mat.

 

But it's really going to depend on what specific feedback you need to get a confident sense of whether the shot was good.   For most that will include things like club speed, ball speed, spin, launch angle.  The distances are really just a bonus and doesn't cost much to calculate that once you have the basic ball data so that's not where the cost is coming from.   If your needs are different, you'll have to be a bit more specific as to what those are.   There are other units that are less expensive that don't measure spin.   Maybe that's enough for you?

 

if there is any concern about the quality of the swing - e.g.  path, face-to-path, dynamic loft, AoA  then there really isn't any good budget options - other than taking video and learning to evaluate your swing on the video.

 

Edited November 10, 2020 by Stuart_G

[Fav453]

Thanks for the feedback. I think the basic data you listed will be what I need. Getting Spin seems like the cost driver between units that provide the other metrics listed.  So that narrows it down in my list to the Mevo, unless I am missing something.  

[Stuart_G]

13 minutes ago, Fav453 said:

Thanks for the feedback. I think the basic data you listed will be what I need. Getting Spin seems like the cost driver between units that provide the other metrics listed.  So that narrows it down in my list to the Mevo, unless I am missing something.  

 

It's the only one in it's price range (or sub $2k for that matter) that I'm aware of.

[Fairway14]

On 11/9/2020 at 7:28 AM, Fav453 said:

 I'm in a 1 car garage with limited space and instead of hitting into a net and guessing how I made contact

 

Have you ever before hit balls into a net? The impact sound/feel is enough to reveal to the player whether the shot was solidly struck.

If you have not already installed the turf mat and net within your garage do that first , strike some balls, and see how you like it.

[Fav453]

So I have a net and a hitting surface which will be getting upgraded. My issue is I want to quantify how "good" my shots are. I am assuming that a poorly or marginal struck shot is going to have different launch angle and speed than a well struck shot. For instance. I find at the range hitting fat isn't as critical due to skip than on the course and a monitor will indicate an issue. Maybe I am wrong about that.  Second I wanted to get feedback on swing changes, tweaks should change the numbers. Hopefully I will find the my optimal swing and I could practice with the feedback of the monitor. 

[stevensd]

13 hours ago, Fav453 said:

Thanks for the feedback. I think the basic data you listed will be what I need. Getting Spin seems like the cost driver between units that provide the other metrics listed.  So that narrows it down in my list to the Mevo, unless I am missing something.  

 

Skytrak is another camera based option in a similar price range as Mevo+.

[Britboy]

Some great advice here in posts above. I use impact stickers on my clubs to focus on centre strike but foot spray also does the job well. The big problem is that without a device like Mevo + or Skytrak as a minimum there is no feedback on where you've hit it and as such hitting into a net can only give limited feedback. Hopefully there will be a cheaper option at some point

[Stuart_G]

Then there is also the fact that good results are not an indication or validation of a good swing.  You can get good results with bad swings and bad results with good swings.  That's particularly true when working on swing changes.   If it's the swing you really want to evaluate and get feedback on, stick to taking video - particularly early in the swing change process.  That's the only way to tell if you are progressing in the right direction with the changes.

 

Edited November 11, 2020 by Stuart_G

[Andygolderson]

Did you consider PRGR Launch Monitor? I just picked one up recently, it's around 200 USD.

One of the benefits is that you can pick up swing speed without hitting a ball. I think Smash factor is useful to be able to determine if you're hitting a "good shot". However, depending on your irons, you should probably be able to feel that anyway.

It measures Ball and club speed, carry, total, smash factor.

One pitfall is when changing clubs, you must designate it on the monitor to get the correct stats (based on some internally stored loft data, i presume)

For my wedges, it'ss difficult, since it only provides PW, AW, SW, so it's not precise for the degrees you may use on a wedge.

I think also depending on whether you use high lofted, or traditional lofted clubs might also give some differences into the stats.

Despite what i'd seen on many reviews, i notice some discrepencies with the numbers, have to be honest with you, it's about 80% accurate on distances when you've got the right club selected.

[Fav453]

Im starting to think I would need a more capable monitor to really get the quality of the shot indoors.

 

These could confirm im not hitting offline and slices (as I tend to do) along with the basics the $500 units have. Looks like Mevo+ and  Skytrak would be the ones that would work. 

 

Thanks for the replies. 

[vsabre]

38 minutes ago, Fav453 said:

Im starting to think I would need a more capable monitor to really get the quality of the shot indoors.

 

These could confirm im not hitting offline and slices (as I tend to do) along with the basics the $500 units have. Looks like Mevo+ and  Skytrak would be the ones that would work. 

 

Thanks for the replies. 

I would agree with you. I've done a ton of research as I follow down the same path.  I've got my net and mat on the way and I'm going to set that up first, check my distances ( spacing) in my garage and then add the launch monitor since it's essentially the most expensive piece. Rapsodo is out unless they add Android by year end. SkyTrak is nice but only useful indoors and not really interested in anything that has a subscription model.  I've followed Mevo ( original) since its inception and Flightscope, IMO, has done a nice job with firmware support correcting early issues. The Mevo + looks great with some built-in course and practice range capabilities but of course that's a higher cost/benefit decision. I like the video/data overlay of the Mevo products and will probably end up going that direction.  The original Mevo may see some price breaks in the next few weeks and I've already seen some pop-up discounts on the Flightscope site. We'll see!!

[Fav453]

Starting to add up again.  Mevo+ needs IOS for the included simulation.  Skytrak has a subscription model for simulation. 

Now I need to buy an iPad or pay a subscription. Does the Mevo+ included simulation work with PC or does one need to subscribe to the E6 products for PC? 

[hammersia]

Don’t forget to check the ball flight distance that the Mevo + needs (and other radar based units need) - if it’s a single car garage you may not have the room required, and skytrak will be your only current option. 

[Sons_of_Pitches]

The Rapsodo is also in the Mevo price range (I.e. $500).  MGS has a report out for personal launch monitors (see link below).  That said, I recently purchased a Mevo+ and absolutely love it.  For the limited time I have had it --- it has already helped me with my wedge game.   HTH 

 

https://Not allowed because of spam.com/best-personal-golf-launch-monitors-of-2020/

Edited November 18, 2020 by Sons_of_Pitches