Launch monitor setup questions

[ccash88]

I am in the market for a new launch monitor.  Haven't decided on which one yet but I do have a few questions:

 

1.  How do you determine start line or target line...I am guessing there are instructions for each unit that tells exactly where to position the device relative to intended target line?

2. Does the terrain make a difference...what I mean by that, is that our driving range at home goes out straight for 100 yards then up a steep incline.  Does this affect readings and can you adjust?

3. Has anyone found a good website or chart that details average numbers you should be looking for on each data point?

 

Thanks in advance!   

[ajlacombe]

2 hours ago, ccash88 said:

I am in the market for a new launch monitor.  Haven't decided on which one yet but I do have a few questions:

 

1.  How do you determine start line or target line...I am guessing there are instructions for each unit that tells exactly where to position the device relative to intended target line?

2. Does the terrain make a difference...what I mean by that, is that our driving range at home goes out straight for 100 yards then up a steep incline.  Does this affect readings and can you adjust?

3. Has anyone found a good website or chart that details average numbers you should be looking for on each data point?

 

Thanks in advance!   

1) With the GC Quad it is parallel to the face but there is a reflect rod that you can use to set it however you want.

 

2) The GC Quad is not tracking the whole ball flight - just the start.  Trackman, would be tracking the flight, so it depends

 

3) I am in the camp of you use the launch monitor to figure out what you are doing, but I am not really trying to be someone else 🙂  The thing I like to see is what am I doing with the club at impact and my gapping between clubs.  It can tell you that multiple clubs do the same thing, the club dynamic lie angle at impact, club path, face to path.  It also will point out your swing to swing variability with yardages.  I also saw my angle of attack was positive with my irons and I was hitting the ball thin - moved the ball back a touch to address it.  '

 

I think the launch monitor is super cool to help you understand what is going on with your swing.  I have only been messing with it for a week so these are initial thoughts.

 

[tdunirl]

Focusing on cheap monitors, I got PRGR red eyes pocket to compare to my swing caddie (SC200) and because it can measure clubhead speed without a ball.  Set up is easy and reliable with both devices. I find the swing caddie distances accurate for my very best shots, which tells me it is set to estimate distance off optimal launch and spin conditions, based on an accuarate ball speed reading.  So, as an example, which happened yesterday, I  hit my driver really well on 2 consecutive shots (same hole) and swing caddie measured 255 and 259 yards. Swingspeed showed as 100mph on the first and 98 mph on the second, which I tried to hit 'smoother' versus the first 'harder'.  It was slightly downwind (only a very light breeze) with medium roll conditions.  In the event, both balls ended up literally beside each other at exactly 262 yards (measured by club tracking-sure shot). Given they were slightly downwind and the final distance included roll, one can assume that the SC200 driver distance is total (not just carry) and absolutely maxed out (as there was a slight downwind).  Therefore, the SC200 will overread your distances for average shots ( I would say 5-10 yards irons and 10-20 yards driver) .  However, this is not a fault of the unit, it is you not hitting the ball optimally, if you accept that the unit only truly measures ballspeed.  Now, I have to do more testing on the red eys pocket but early indications are it is reatively reliable for ball and clubhead speed but definitely exaggerates distance more than the SC200, which I already know to be the absolute max in real life. For the above drives, it was reading 280 yards, so 20 more than real life maximum (which is 10-20 more than real life averages).  I would say it overreads irons by about 10 yards compared to the Sc200.  To confirm my suspicions, I'll have to to do a session where I home in on ballspeeds, but I'm guessing the problem is more to do with the calculations, as I suspect the ball speed readings should be fairly good.  Leaving aside the accuracy issue, it is more important to realise that these devices are in fact very consistent, and therefore great practise aids.  I can go on my balcony with the PRGR to see the impact of the latest great swing thought video and get a decent reading of what it does to my clubhead speed, which for me is worth the price alone.  It doesn't take too much effort to translate the results of these devices to your personal tendencies, after which the consistency of the readings is more important.  For me, they are great investments and improve the quality of my practise immensely, so if you have never invested in a cheap launch monitor and are on the fence, I would strongly advocate getting off the fence and going for it.  Hope that is all helpful........

[Rodmike10]

18 hours ago, ccash88 said:

I am in the market for a new launch monitor.  Haven't decided on which one yet but I do have a few questions:

 

1.  How do you determine start line or target line...I am guessing there are instructions for each unit that tells exactly where to position the device relative to intended target line? Each LM has it’s own feature as to your intended target line. Since you posted in the “$5k & up” forum, I can speak to the GCQuad. There is an alignment stick, which is similar to what you might use on the range for your feet. The Quad picks up the (special) alignment stick immediately and you adjust the unit and/or stick, to your target. It’s very easy.

 

18 hours ago, ccash88 said:

2. Does the terrain make a difference...what I mean by that, is that our driving range at home goes out straight for 100 yards then up a steep incline.  Does this affect readings and can you adjust? Slope really doesn’t matter on the range. Distance is distance. You account for slope on the course according to your distances dialed in on the range, or whatever, etc. I am also inclined to mention elevation, barometric pressure, and temperature, which are automatically picked up by the unit when booted up (wind can also be added vis FSX).  All these data points and more can be changed/adjusted on the Quad to suit and/or simulated desired conditions. 

 

18 hours ago, ccash88 said:

3. Has anyone found a good website or chart that details average numbers you should be looking for on each data point? TrackMan has a ton of great information on it’s website. There are far more YouTube videos for TM than the Quad or GC2, IME. However, I just stumbled upon ‘Foresight IQ’ which I never knew existed (maybe it’s new?). Also, FWIW, I put together quite a few Excel spreadsheets with data on PGA Tour Averages (published by TM) and I use it for comparison with my datasets. Most of the data is not published in a format conducive for ‘copy & paste’ so it was a manual (entry) process. I might be willing to share in exchange for helping out with additional data collection. My goal is to develop (in Python) a custom ML/A.I. algo with a GUI, so the more data, the better:)

 

Good luck with your search!

 

I am a newbie to some degree with the GCQuad, so trust but verify my comments are there could be errors.

18 hours ago, ccash88 said:

 

Thanks in advance!   

 

[tdunirl]

Hi ccash88, I am developing a website with all the data you could imagine, it will give every golfer by age and handicap their average distances worldwide as well as their optimal distances, along with resulting factors such as clubhead speed, smash factor, angle of attack, launch and spin. It's not yet ready for launch, but you can check it out on mygolfdistance.com.  The main part will be the 2 simulators (average distances and optimal distances) which access all this data and they are not ready yet.  If you need any data, let me know and I can share what you need.  The data has come from a combination of the all the reputable sources such as the USPGA/R&A distance reports, Trackman, Launch Monitors, Archos/Sure Shot, Optimal Flight simulator etc.  What I have done is aggregate it all in such a way it can be tailored to each individual golfer to see how they compare to averages (for their exact age and handicap) and to see what their optimal could be.  I'm not sure if this forum likes people giving out emails etc, but let me know what you need