Bushnell Launch Pro Device with Foresight

[YoungJedi]

Curious as to how putting will work with Simulator play. Auto 2 putt (or auto putting, sometimes 1 putt, sometimes 3 putt), since this has no putting feature? I guess I will find out tomorrow! V excited!

[Topher925]

24 minutes ago, YoungJedi said:

Curious as to how putting will work with Simulator play. Auto 2 putt (or auto putting, sometimes 1 putt, sometimes 3 putt), since this has no putting feature? I guess I will find out tomorrow! V excited!

It will read putting for simulator use but no data, according to the BLP Product Questions page. You can also set your own parameters for auto putt based on proximity to hole, I believe. 

[kwettig]

50 minutes ago, Jpan08 said:

Are you guys using half inch electrical metal conduit?

I bought fittings for 1” as that was what the Carl’s diy called for.  I think the pro enclosures use 2”.

[jcrews5508]

14 hours ago, DinoSpumoni228 said:

It would be pretty cool if there was a mode where you could tell foresight the club you were using and it would give you a goal angle of attack and club path and then tell you if you were within a reasonable range of that goal after every swing. Would be a good way to groove a consistent swing without focusing on mechanics.

This is exactly what I was hoping they would have. You described my thoughts perfectly. 

[atseng]

8 hours ago, AdamHermsdorfer said:

 

 

Can you share the ballpark costs for the setup?

 

The i5-3570k is a very old cpu from 2012 and GTX970 was released in 2014, so the cost would not be really relevant.  FWIW, I paid around $250 - $300 for the cpu + motherboard and around $330 for the video card. 
 

The issues now about trying to get a decent NVIDIA video card (RTX 2060-2080/super, RTX 3060-3090) is that they are still being bought by crypto miners.  And with chip shortage, it’s unlikely for most people to pick up a video card for golf simulators at regular retail price.  I lucked out on getting RTX3080 at MSRP for $699. But these cards are still going for $1700-2000+ on eBay.  

 

I would say the best bet would be buying either a mid/high end gaming laptop ($1200-2500) or purchase a gaming desktop from a Bestbuy or Microcenter for $1000-1800 and you would be all set on running golf simulators.

 

Others are correct that AMD cpus should likely work just fine.  I think Foresight tested their software on Intel CPU and NVIDIA graphics card platforms.  That’s why they felt more comfortable recommending those specifications as the standard.

 

I will preface my opinion with this.  I have not installed the FSX software yet (I will when I get my GC3 next week) so I can not confirm whether the specifications I suggest below would be able to run FSX with no issues whatsoever.  But I have had extensive experience building computers from scratch for the past 30 years and played countless hours of PC first person shooter video games to understand where the bottlenecks are.  Here are 3 builds listed on Microcenter I believe would run golf simulations just fine.

 

 

Edited October 22, 2021 by atseng

[James495738]

4 hours ago, Topher925 said:

It will read putting for simulator use but no data, according to the BLP Product Questions page. You can also set your own parameters for auto putt based on proximity to hole, I believe. 

Where is this specified?

 

It is very misleading if so because the product page states 'You can now practice any aspect of your game anywhere, anytime you want.' followed immediately by the 'Know your numbers' section. No exclusions are noted on the product page anywhere as far as I can see.

 

I am amazed there arent some more detailed videos about the device in the wild given a bunch of people have now received them...

[Topher925]

3 hours ago, James495738 said:

Where is this specified?

 

It is very misleading if so because the product page states 'You can now practice any aspect of your game anywhere, anytime you want.' followed immediately by the 'Know your numbers' section. No exclusions are noted on the product page anywhere as far as I can see.

 

I am amazed there arent some more detailed videos about the device in the wild given a bunch of people have now received them...

Scroll to the very bottom by reviews and select 'Questions' https://www.bushnellgolf.com/products/launch-monitors/launch-pro/

[clevited]

51 minutes ago, Topher925 said:

Scroll to the very bottom by reviews and select 'Questions' https://www.bushnellgolf.com/products/launch-monitors/launch-pro/

 

So are you saying this isn't like GC2?  GC2 I can putt a ball and it will read it as if it was a chip with no vertical launch angle basically (Unless I get a little hop off the putter face).   I would think the Launch Pro or GC3 can still do that otherwise they wouldn't read short chips either.  Think of putting as a thinned chip.  

 

Edit: Question area says no "advanced" putting data so my assumption is that you should still be able to take it to the course and get your ball speed, club speed, path, (see spin if any), horizontal launch angle and vertical launch angle (which you hopefully don't have much of).  To me, that is all a person needs to evaluate their putting to a high degree.

Edited October 22, 2021 by clevited

[Topher925]

26 minutes ago, clevited said:

 

So are you saying this isn't like GC2?  GC2 I can putt a ball and it will read it as if it was a chip with no vertical launch angle basically (Unless I get a little hop off the putter face).   I would think the Launch Pro or GC3 can still do that otherwise they wouldn't read short chips either.  Think of putting as a thinned chip.  

 

Edit: Question area says no "advanced" putting data so my assumption is that you should still be able to take it to the course and get your ball speed, club speed, path, (see spin if any), horizontal launch angle and vertical launch angle (which you hopefully don't have much of).  To me, that is all a person needs to evaluate their putting to a high degree.

I, personally, have no first-hand knowledge of BLP putting. I'm just speculating based on the info I've seen. Nor do I have any experience with GC2. Do you need to put fiducials on the putter for GC2 putting? What data is offered?

 

Since putting is available for sim purposes on the BLP/GC3, there will certainly be some data collected. I guess it comes down to what is considered "advanced" by the Bushnell/Foresight folks. 

Edited October 22, 2021 by Topher925

[clevited]

4 minutes ago, Topher925 said:

I, personally, have no first-hand knowledge of BLP putting. I'm just speculating based on the info I've seen. Nor do I have any experience with GC2. Do you need to put fiducials on the putter for GC2 putting? What data is offered?

 

Since putting is available for sim purposes on the BLP/GC3, there will certainly be some data collected. I guess it comes down to what is considered "advanced" by the Bushnell/Foresight folks. 

 

GC2 just spits out the ball data.  I don't have an hmt.  I am trying to see what quad users without the putting package see when they hit a putt with stickers on the club.  I imagine it would give you all data because how does the machine know that wasn't a chip that got thinned?  It should spit out all data, I am therefore curious what the quad putting analysis addon even does beyond that.

 

I imagine the GC3 would act the same as the quad if I can confirm that.

[Benoit61]

I decided to go with this guy and placed the order unless someone talks me out of it and I return it… I wanted to figure proof myself and hopefully this does it 

Edited October 22, 2021 by Benoit61

[AdamHermsdorfer]

8 hours ago, atseng said:

The i5-3570k is a very old cpu from 2012 and GTX970 was released in 2014, so the cost would not be really relevant.  FWIW, I paid around $250 - $300 for the cpu + motherboard and around $330 for the video card. 
 

The issues now about trying to get a decent NVIDIA video card (RTX 2060-2080/super, RTX 3060-3090) is that they are still being bought by crypto miners.  And with chip shortage, it’s unlikely for most people to pick up a video card for golf simulators at regular retail price.  I lucked out on getting RTX3080 at MSRP for $699. But these cards are still going for $1700-2000+ on eBay.  

 

I would say the best bet would be buying either a mid/high end gaming laptop ($1200-2500) or purchase a gaming desktop from a Bestbuy or Microcenter for $1000-1800 and you would be all set on running golf simulators.

 

Others are correct that AMD cpus should likely work just fine.  I think Foresight tested their software on Intel CPU and NVIDIA graphics card platforms.  That’s why they felt more comfortable recommending those specifications as the standard.

 

I will preface my opinion with this.  I have not installed the FSX software yet (I will when I get my GC3 next week) so I can not confirm whether the specifications I suggest below would be able to run FSX with no issues whatsoever.  But I have had extensive experience building computers from scratch for the past 30 years and played countless hours of PC first person shooter video games to understand where the bottlenecks are.  Here are 3 builds listed on Microcenter I believe would run golf simulations just fine.

 

 

 

atseng, thank you!  This is very helpful.  

[kwettig]

9 minutes ago, Benoit61 said:

I decided to go with this guy and placed the order unless someone talks me out of it and I return it… I wanted to figure proof myself and hopefully this does it 

Looks good.  Should be easier to upgrade if you ever needed to years down the road than a dell or hp machine too.

[radiman]

I work for a white box computer manufacturer. Constrained doesn’t even begin to describe the video card supply chain haha. 1660’s and 3070’s have been the hardest for us to get our hands on. We have gone through a ton of 3060’s which are a great card. 
 

If anyone has any questions on configurations feel free to shoot me a PM. As mentioned throughout this thread, if you can swing it you’ll probably be better off with a tower. You’ll get more horse power for your money and will have the ability to upgrade in the future should you choose. 
 

We’ve had this 3080 on the shelf for a bit and if it’s still here when I finally buy my setup there’s a good chance I’ll integrate it in my own build. 
 

[Jpan08]

32 minutes ago, radiman said:

I work for a white box computer manufacturer. Constrained doesn’t even begin to describe the video card supply chain haha. 1660’s and 3070’s have been the hardest for us to get our hands on. We have gone through a ton of 3060’s which are a great card. 
 

If anyone has any questions on configurations feel free to shoot me a PM. As mentioned throughout this thread, if you can swing it you’ll probably be better off with a tower. You’ll get more horse power for your money and will have the ability to upgrade in the future should you choose. 
 

We’ve had this 3080 on the shelf for a bit and if it’s still here when I finally buy my setup there’s a good chance I’ll integrate it in my own build. 
 

That thing is a monster. Also a big fan of evga. Impossible to get my hands on a current gen kingpin

[radiman]

6 minutes ago, Jpan08 said:

That thing is a monster. Also a big fan of evga. Impossible to get my hands on a current gen kingpin

Yeah, it's got a ton of weight to it.  

[The Green Jacket]

49 minutes ago, radiman said:

I work for a white box computer manufacturer. Constrained doesn’t even begin to describe the video card supply chain haha. 1660’s and 3070’s have been the hardest for us to get our hands on. We have gone through a ton of 3060’s which are a great card. 
 

If anyone has any questions on configurations feel free to shoot me a PM. As mentioned throughout this thread, if you can swing it you’ll probably be better off with a tower. You’ll get more horse power for your money and will have the ability to upgrade in the future should you choose. 
 

We’ve had this 3080 on the shelf for a bit and if it’s still here when I finally buy my setup there’s a good chance I’ll integrate it in my own build. 
 

Looks awesome!! It's so perty lol

[James495738]

2 hours ago, clevited said:

 

So are you saying this isn't like GC2?  GC2 I can putt a ball and it will read it as if it was a chip with no vertical launch angle basically (Unless I get a little hop off the putter face).   I would think the Launch Pro or GC3 can still do that otherwise they wouldn't read short chips either.  Think of putting as a thinned chip.  

 

Edit: Question area says no "advanced" putting data so my assumption is that you should still be able to take it to the course and get your ball speed, club speed, path, (see spin if any), horizontal launch angle and vertical launch angle (which you hopefully don't have much of).  To me, that is all a person needs to evaluate their putting to a high degree.

This was my thinking which is why I questioned it. I assume the GCQ captures normal 4-dot data without the putting pack so follows the same pattern. Otherwise it suggests the device suppresses information based on launch conditions?

[James495738]

3 hours ago, Topher925 said:

Scroll to the very bottom by reviews and select 'Questions' https://www.bushnellgolf.com/products/launch-monitors/launch-pro/

Thanks.

There is another question where they confirm simulation support will be limited to E6 and Creative Golf, specifically no integration with TGC and GSPro.

[Rory4Pres]

So $7k for the simulator/software, $1.5-2k for the computer tower to power the software, $150-750 for tv/computer monitor/protector, $500-2k for mat, net, other setup needs....

 

All in all, $9k-11k for a setup that likely doesn't accurately read putts or short chips, which are 40-55% of the game of golf.

 

Does anybody else find this a little absurd?  

[James495738]

2 minutes ago, Rory4Pres said:

So $7k for the simulator/software, $1.5-2k for the computer tower to power the software, $150-750 for tv/computer monitor/protector, $500-2k for mat, net, other setup needs....

 

All in all, $9k-11k for a setup that likely doesn't accurately read putts or short chips, which are 40-55% of the game of golf.

 

Does anybody else find this a little absurd?  

I think it will accurately read all shots; full, chip, putt etc...

[Rory4Pres]

1 minute ago, James495738 said:

I think it will accurately read all shots; full, chip, putt etc...

We need some reviews people, come on now!  

[RH2020]

20 minutes ago, James495738 said:

I think it will accurately read all shots; full, chip, putt etc...

Given the camera based system, there is really no reason it won’t read putting or chip shot accurately to the maximal precision (for putting of course it also depends on their physical modeling for the green, I.e. the simulation software)

[Krt22]

28 minutes ago, Rory4Pres said:

So $7k for the simulator/software, $1.5-2k for the computer tower to power the software, $150-750 for tv/computer monitor/protector, $500-2k for mat, net, other setup needs....

 

All in all, $9k-11k for a setup that likely doesn't accurately read putts or short chips, which are 40-55% of the game of golf.

 

Does anybody else find this a little absurd?  

Where did you read it wont capture putts and short chips? Even the GC2 has that capability and its one of the reason it was so popular with the indoor sim crowd.

[clevited]

1 minute ago, Krt22 said:

Where did you read it wont capture putts and short chips? Even the GC2 has that capability and its one of the reason it was so popular with the indoor sim crowd.

 

Does your quad read and display ball and club data for putts if you mark up your putter?  Even if it doesn't have putting analysis addon?  I assume it does.

Edited October 22, 2021 by clevited

[Rory4Pres]

7 minutes ago, Krt22 said:

Where did you read it wont capture putts and short chips? Even the GC2 has that capability and its one of the reason it was so popular with the indoor sim crowd.

MGS review states on "Putter analysis" GC3: NO; Quad: YES.

[Krt22]

8 minutes ago, clevited said:

 

Does your quad read and display ball and club data for putts if you mark up your putter?  Even if it doesn't have putting analysis addon?  I assume it does.

It will read it, but it reads it like a normal shot, so no carry comes up on the unit itself, just the ball/club data. When used with the sim software you get the putt length and what not, but not all the detailed putting metrics. 

[hammersia]

4 minutes ago, Rory4Pres said:

MGS review states on "Putter analysis" GC3: NO; Quad: YES.

As I've said ITT, MGS is great, but for some reason their launch monitor reviews / articles are often severely lacking. I wouldn't get LM info from there personally. 

[Dan13]

 Bushnell confirmed that you can putt (and by extension chip) with it for simulation purposes. So it has to be measuring the same ball and club data as with full shots.

 

I think the confusion is the lack of putting analysis as on the Quad which provides much more detailed information on your putting stroke. The ball speed, horizontal launch angle, club path and AoA should all still be available for review. 

[Krt22]

4 minutes ago, Rory4Pres said:

MGS review states on "Putter analysis" GC3: NO; Quad: YES.

That is the detailed analysis, for simulator use both the gc2 and quad capture ball speed and launch direction for basic putting, no reason to think the GC3 would not. That also clearly says nothing about short chips, so not sure why you decided to add that in.