Do personal LM's really help most golfers ?

[Hit-em]

I've been thinking of getting a personal LM to use outdoors but the more I think about it I wonder how would it really help me in my golf game ?

I don't think that most golfers hit the ball consistently enough or have a repeatable swing as the pros do where the data gathered is really useful.

What good are spin #'s & distance if you don't hit the ball consistently

That being the case how would a personal LM really help most golfers ?

I do think it would be fun just to see what your numbers would be when hitting balls at the range or into a net, but again how would that really help you if you're not consistent with your swing ?

I can see using it for virtual golf for the fun of it

Perhaps I can get some insight from those who have used them & how it helped you in your game

Thanks

 

Edited April 20, 2023 by Hit-em

[jimecherry]

1 hour ago, Hit-em said:

I've been thinking of getting a personal LM to use outdoors but the more I think about it I wonder how would it really help me in my golf game ?

I don't think that most golfers hit the ball consistently enough or have a repeatable swing as the pros do where the data gathered is really useful.

What good are spin #'s & distance if you don't hit the ball consistently

That being the case how would a personal LM really help most golfers ?

I do think it would be fun just to see what your numbers would be when hitting balls at the range or into a net, but again how would that really help you if you're not consistent with your swing ?

I can see using it for virtual golf for the fun of it

Perhaps I can get some insight from those who have used them & how it helped you in your game

Thanks

 

like most equipment one device alone wont help your game. if said device allows you to do something else like get more reps, or give a coach better insight into your swing, than the something else is what improves your game and you could do the some thing else with out the device, but usually at a greater time and effort cost.

[Walkerdb7]

Life got in the way and I realized it’s just difficult to get outdoors consistently and hit balls in the summer. Golf season is also short in Chicago 

 

I’m on month 2 with an R10. Planning to upgrade to the MLM2 Pro… but not set in stone

 

for my personal experience, it all comes down to what your expectations are, what it is you need to get out of the practice, and probably how precise of a golfer you are?

 

After using R10 a ton, I don’t fully trust the distances or the shot shapes, but it’s also something useful and not completely wrong. It allows me to hit balls 2-3 times a week without leaving my house, swing the club not matter the temperature, or needing daylight. 
 

i could never just hit balls into a net, because I’d have no idea what happened off the club face. With the R10, I get a pretty good guestamate of what happened and it helps me practice. I’m a 12 and like the ability to work on long irons launch and trying to minimize how I miss. 
 

if I was a 2 hdcp trying to precisely dial in gap yardages or gain 2 mph Club head speed, I’d be worried a PLM is not a precise enough device 

 

also… if you go the sub $700 route, be practical? There’s a reason more precise units cost $1,500-$10,000… the $500-$700 provide tons of useful info, but they’re far from perfect 

Edited April 21, 2023 by Walkerdb7

[Bubbtubbs]

5 hours ago, Walkerdb7 said:

Life got in the way and I realized it’s just difficult to get outdoors consistently and hit balls in the summer. Golf season is also short in Chicago 

 

I’m on month 2 with an R10. Planning to upgrade to the MLM2 Pro… but not set in stone

 

for my personal experience, it all comes down to what your expectations are, what it is you need to get out of the practice, and probably how precise of a golfer you are?

 

After using R10 a ton, I don’t fully trust the distances or the shot shapes, but it’s also something useful and not completely wrong. It allows me to hit balls 2-3 times a week without leaving my house, swing the club not matter the temperature, or needing daylight. 
 

i could never just hit balls into a net, because I’d have no idea what happened off the club face. With the R10, I get a pretty good guestamate of what happened and it helps me practice. I’m a 12 and like the ability to work on long irons launch and trying to minimize how I miss. 
 

if I was a 2 hdcp trying to precisely dial in gap yardages or gain 2 mph Club head speed, I’d be worried a PLM is not a precise enough device 

 

also… if you go the sub $700 route, be practical? There’s a reason more precise units cost $1,500-$10,000… the $500-$700 provide tons of useful info, but they’re far from perfect 

So long at the unit is set up properly, you can trust launch angles, ball speed and club speed to be very accurate, even with the cheap launch monitors. 

[Walkerdb7]

1 hour ago, Bubbtubbs said:

So long at the unit is set up properly, you can trust launch angles, ball speed and club speed to be very accurate, even with the cheap launch monitors. 

I think you and I have been a few threads around the personal launch monitors?

 

I think the Garmin is best unit if you want to spend the least amount possible for a sim? I got a unit and stand on eBay for $400. Can't beat that!

have the R10, it works well, but there are definitely some shots I don't trust. I would say like 1 or 2 out of 10 when I am using the Garmin Range or E6 courses. Could I have set up the ball in the wrong spot? Is the lighting in my garage causing a misread? That's all possible, but it's something to consider? They are not perfect or human error can easily creep in.

[BigUrsus]

Mlm2pro with a camera on the club, camera from down the line and via a cell phone/tablet a camera face on. Videos are synced and can be played side by side. It's probably helped more then any of the club data. 

[joekloo]

I agree with @Walkerdb7 - It depends on what your expectations are.

 

I am 50+ and live in the north.  The Skytrak gives me enough information and entertainment that I can hit balls all winter 3-4 times a week, so when the weather does improve I can pick right up with outdoor golf without lag of getting all the winter rust knocked off.  There is some benefit to seeing ball flight and numbers, but hitting into a net/screen off a mat is so much different than having real grass, changing lies and real hazards that I don't consider is the same.

 

I have had my unit for 3 years now.  I stopped paying the extra for the golf simulator and only use the driving range feature as I really use it mostly as a workout tool and less about actually playing golf.  

 

FWIW - I barely use the unit in the good weather, I just really prefer to be outside.  I even pay for range balls just so I can hit off real grass and see actual ball flight in the sunlight.

[karstens_ghost]

I was really let down by the original Mevo. Was fairly terrible in results and how it would kill my phone. Now we seem to be past all that.

 

I think you can get better, but it's in combination with being able to get reps and information. You can mindlessly hit balls into a net and your contact will improve -- because that's the only thing you can really judge. You can go to a driving range and work on hitting windows, but that's expensive and the balls are funky. In combination, I'd imagine you'd learn a lot.

 

That said, grass is always different. You can groove a swing, get your gaps, etc., and also learn how to hit straight. Just don't forget that the game isn't played on a level piece of astroturf.

 

But to answer the main question, you can get a lot better faster if you have feedback and you can practice more and with few limits. Just beware you also don't develop ISS -- indoor swing syndrome. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

[thaar]

I definitely think they're useful if you have an approach of how you want to use it. When I had access to a LM a couple years ago during the off-season, my goal was to dial in my yardages with my clubs, as well as dial in partial wedge shots from 40-90yds. My swing is obviously not as consistent as a pro, but I at least knew my tendencies for misses, average carry distance and total distances. I started to better understand my ball flight and spin characteristics. I felt like my game was quite good that season apart from my putting lol. 

 

I also liked the challenges (like the TM combine). Not only is it a good test, but helps you measure your progress over time.

 

That being said, this was all indoors with my ball. I don't think LMs are as useful for most outdoor ranges since a majority of them use crap balls. 

[Binson]

Before I had access to Trackman facilities, I had a Rapsodo and found it helpful on the range.  

 

Is it perfect? No. But, it did make practice a lot more engaging.  It also slows you down so you're not just beating balls.  And, You get a good visual of what you're working on (since it also records your swing).

 

Even if you're inconsistent, you probably have 1 or 2 more prominent misses. Understanding how those misses typically behave and what it looks like when you make those swings can be helpful on the course and to show to your instructor to help correct (if you also have the recording).

 

With Trackman and a good understanding of the delivery numbers, that helps establish baselines and understand why the ball is doing what it does.  It also gives you targets based on what better golfers impact numbers look like.  That said, it's a good reminder there are many ways to get there and your swing doesn't have to look like Adam Scott's to be functional.  

 

I would still recommend recording the swings as well for the visual since feel is not real.  Once I got access to Trackman though I didn't really use the Rapsodo and sold it off.  Might pick up something like a PRGR in the off-season for speed training.    

Edited May 5, 2023 by Binson

[kiwihacker]

My R10 has helped my game a lot. Not through reading the spin numbers, angle of attack, ball speed, clubhead speed etc. It has just helped my game by allowing me to hit balls far more frequently than I would if I relied on playing and range sessions. It may not be perfect but it is a lot better than nothing and although the numbers, shot shape etc may not always be perfect you know the difference between a good strike and a poor strike and so does the R10. Also hitting into a net enabled me to keep hitting balls when I was injured and unable to play. So it's a big yes from me. On top of all that it is a lot of fun. Belting balls blind into a net would bore me within about 2 minutes. With this I can happily hit balls for hours. 

[MattM97]

In practice I'm trying to work on specific things, if I just focus on those specific fields and get the numbers I want I know I'm doing well. If I'm not then I have to focus more on all that and see if I can execute a proper swing. If all I'm worried about is swing speed, carry and total I can just pump bad technique and make those numbers look good. But then again if you have a well dialed in swing maybe Carry, Total and Spin is all you need. 

[North Butte]

On 5/4/2023 at 10:23 PM, karstens_ghost said:

I was really let down by the original Mevo. Was fairly terrible in results and how it would kill my phone. Now we seem to be past all that.

Me too. I had high hopes for Mevo to use it outdoors. But even with a fixture for leveling it and careful measuring of distance to the ball no matter how consistent I was with the setup it just did not give me numbers I could trust on launch angle or spin. I'm pretty sure it was close to right on club speed and ball speed maybe 90% of the time (an occasional swing gave "this can't be right" numbers) but I wanted to see how my setup and swing influenced launch and spin. I do not think in the real world, hitting off actual grass, the unit is capable of reliably measuring those things with irons and wedges. 

[Walkerdb7]

The data on MLM 2 Pro could definitely be used for improvement. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Spinozist]

If one has some target information I think they can be useful. If you're just getting numbers and not knowing what you're looking for, less so. For instance, right now I'm working on flight trajectory, and without any vertical references at nearby ranges, and I'm not quite sure where I'm at. So getting some info on that front could help me see if what I think is high is really high. On the other hand, insofar as they're being used in a range with range balls, or off a mat, I think both of those can really limit their usefulness.

[Streuner]

Indoor I did concentrate on my short game and scoring irons. And since I am using a personal LM my training on this part got more fun and with it more intensive. Full shots with i5 and longer I mostly hit outside at a range. 

[COL_B]

If you like to experiment with a lot of different clubs and shafts they can be very useful.

 

The readings are not perfect on my Mevo, but clubhead and ballspeed are pretty good.  The spin readings with a Mevo are all over the place, but I practice on an outside range with Titleist ProV1 practice balls, so I can eyeball validate the spin and carry pretty well.

 

The shot to shot accuracy may be a little off, but hit 10 shots and the average will be pretty good -- particularly when comparing shafts and heads side by side.

 

I can also make adjustments to my swing and see how it affects clubhead speed. The swing record feature is awesome. It is interesting how little visual difference there is between swings that feel very different in my head.

 

It was worth the $400 I paid for it.

 

 

[thechief16]

Rapsodo user here, so that's my baseline for comments, and I only use it outside.  I can see it being useful for club testing (comparative ball speed, distance, and dispersion) and cataloging/identifying where my misses are. But for game improvement, I really feel like I need face/path info. I have relatively cheap access to a local trackman, and find that much more useful when I am trying to improve my game.

[getitdaily]

Idk about "most golfers" but it has helped me tremendously. My mevo+ has allowed me to practice long game from home. In the time it used to take me to driver to and from the range, my practice sessions are over. I can hit balls several times a week now. 

 

But the key is the path and face to path data. Knowing those numbers has allowed me to understand what causes misses. It has allowed me to monitor swing changes and how my path and ftp numbers are changing. 

 

Now, I was a scratch to + handicap when I bought my monitor. Swing changes due to having it have allowed me to get better. I've gone sub 70 3 or 4 times in the last 6 weeks. Hadn't been sub 70 in over a year prior.