The struggle to choose a PLM for my primary use case [grass range, at night, playing simulated 18 holes for practice] - Mevo+ / Full Swing / Garmin R10

[dlovage]

So I've been struggling with PLM selection for my specific use case and have had to piece together bits and bytes from others on the forums that have similar-ish primary use cases. 

 

My primary use case is as follows:

• Range 1-2x a week, late evenings (after 8 PM)
• Grass range (I have a membership at local range that allows us to hit from grass; however, the grass it not super well kept and people don't take divots the right way so its super uneven)
• Primary needs: I usually warm up and then go straight into game simulation (per feedback from my instructor), but I also am a club builder who loves club testing / shaft testing (metrics driven)

 

I used to have a Trackman (yes I know, I know...) which was of course phenomenal, but I didn't (a) feel comfortable lugging a 20k+ piece of equipment to the range at night and (b) upon self-reflection was 100% overkill for my use case. So I ended up buying a Garmin R10 which was super easy to use and loved the quick gameplay on Home Course Hero (I don't need sexy graphics), but boy was it inaccurate. I used to get massive swings in shots (ex: same general location and path, somehow would read 20-30 yards different or have significantly different dispersion). I sold it, but then told myself it was because I was lazy with setup. So now I have an R10 *again* and I bought an alignment laser and stabilizer. Although it's gotten better, I still find alignment to be such a pain. When I think it's all aligned, I somehow will hit a perfect, straight shot, and the Home Course Hero app launches it into a tree 20 yards left. I've tinkered so much with it and become super frustrated.

 

At the same time I've seen some great new PLMs come out like the Mevo+ 2023, FullSwing, etc. I've eliminated ones like Rapsodo MLM Pro (don't have special balls at the range, doesn't have a ton of club data - less metrics) and GC3 (for what I want, I'd prefer the GCQuad which is of course in Trackman territory). So here's my options and pros/ cons:

 

1. Keep the Garmin R10 and really figure out alignment better. I've also heard that Awesome Golf is a worth investment and performs better/ more realistically than the stock Garmin options?

2. Full Swing KIT: looks awesome, seems portable, love the display. Cons: seems like there are only 5 courses to sim on - will that expand or are there third party options? Also doesn't have club impact location which I know is silly but a stat that I love.

3. Mevo+: seems to be the best combo of most metrics + accuracy but see horror stories on app reliability. Also seems like it has limited options for game play also, yes?

 

Thoughts?

 

Edited May 15, 2023 by dlovage

[Mych]

A buddy of mine has similar constraints, with most of his practice coming in the evenings in his backyard. He has been pretty happy with the Skytrak for his needs. With the new version coming, that might be worth serious consideration also.

[TheFatArmadillo]

4 hours ago, Mych said:

A buddy of mine has similar constraints, with most of his practice coming in the evenings in his backyard. He has been pretty happy with the Skytrak for his needs. With the new version coming, that might be worth serious consideration also.

I’m waiting to see some reviews outside, but this is something I’m seriously looking at.

[Dan13]

8 hours ago, dlovage said:

So I've been struggling with PLM selection for my specific use case and have had to piece together bits and bytes from others on the forums that have similar-ish primary use cases. 

 

My primary use case is as follows:

• Range 1-2x a week, late evenings (after 8 PM)
• Grass range (I have a membership at local range that allows us to hit from grass; however, the grass it not super well kept and people don't take divots the right way so its super uneven)
• Primary needs: I usually warm up and then go straight into game simulation (per feedback from my instructor), but I also am a club builder who loves club testing / shaft testing (metrics driven)

 

I used to have a Trackman (yes I know, I know...) which was of course phenomenal, but I didn't (a) feel comfortable lugging a 20k+ piece of equipment to the range at night and (b) upon self-reflection was 100% overkill for my use case. So I ended up buying a Garmin R10 which was super easy to use and loved the quick gameplay on Home Course Hero (I don't need sexy graphics), but boy was it inaccurate. I used to get massive swings in shots (ex: same general location and path, somehow would read 20-30 yards different or have significantly different dispersion). I sold it, but then told myself it was because I was lazy with setup. So now I have an R10 *again* and I bought an alignment laser and stabilizer. Although it's gotten better, I still find alignment to be such a pain. When I think it's all aligned, I somehow will hit a perfect, straight shot, and the Home Course Hero app launches it into a tree 20 yards left. I've tinkered so much with it and become super frustrated.

 

At the same time I've seen some great new PLMs come out like the Mevo+ 2023, FullSwing, etc. I've eliminated ones like Rapsodo MLM Pro (don't have special balls at the range, doesn't have a ton of club data - less metrics) and GC3 (for what I want, I'd prefer the GCQuad which is of course in Trackman territory). So here's my options and pros/ cons:

 

1. Keep the Garmin R10 and really figure out alignment better. I've also heard that Awesome Golf is a worth investment and performs better/ more realistically than the stock Garmin options?

2. Full Swing KIT: looks awesome, seems portable, love the display. Cons: seems like there are only 5 courses to sim on - will that expand or are there third party options? Also doesn't have club impact location which I know is silly but a stat that I love.

3. Mevo+: seems to be the best combo of most metrics + accuracy but see horror stories on app reliability. Also seems like it has limited options for game play also, yes?

 

Thoughts?

 

So full flight with range balls in the dusk on grass range that is not that well kept.  Heavy sim play on . . . ipad? Metrics important.

 

FSK - Easier set up for sure. Self leveling. Ball normalization. If you want more than 5 E6 courses looking at extra $300 / yr. 16 metrics. $4k

Mevo plus 2023 - comes with 10 sim course. Not self leveling. Messing with tilt and roll on uneven turf might drive you nuts. Could buy a stand to assist. Also has ball normalization. More metrics if you get pro package including speed and acceleration profiles if you really want to dive into club fitting. Face impact likely won’t work  -  not enough light. $3k

 

For your use case and these choices - I’d likely go FSK. 

[kiddoc]

BLP