Is the MLM Pro 2 my best bet under a grand? Also hitting mat recc's?

Simpsonia · February 23

35 minutes ago, _chris said:

Curious on what constitutes high. I don't have an issue put I peak at 165. I know many go much higher than that.

Actually I stand corrected, it definitely did have issues over 150mph for a long time, but I guess that bug was patched circa 2020-2021 roundabouts from posts on the other golf sim forum.

golfpractitioner5 · February 23

2 hours ago, Simpsonia said:

It depends on some variables. The OG Skytrak is notoriously draw biased, it doesn't handle driver the best if you have high ball speeds, there is also some small repair/longevity issues on the laser curtain that triggers the CMOS sensors, it's also a bit more fiddly when it comes to setup (if you don't have a permanent sim setup).

MLM2 does use radar, but if I understand it, it's mostly for ball speed and as the launch trigger. I think everything else is calculated optically from the RPT ball, though radar may be for HLA and VLA too, not sure. That said, I have not had any issues whatsoever with a fan running in my garage with the MLM2. I also have an aluminum based ceiling covering (radiant heat barrier) which it has no issues with. It has been tested to be pretty much dead on accuracy wise with the GC4, not sure how that stacks up to the OG Skytrak, but I've been really happy with my MLM2. It does work better at the range, if you do ever get outside with the unit. OG Skytrak definitely suffers in the sunshine. Only downsides are the RPT balls and the $200/yr subscription, but I just consider that as deferred payment vs something like an Eye Mini or BLP.

With your MLM2 Pro, do you have anything between it and hour hitting area covering the concrete in the garage such as turf in the at area. I've read that concrete and cement can affect radar based units, too.

_chris · February 23

16 minutes ago, Simpsonia said:

Actually I stand corrected, it definitely did have issues over 150mph for a long time, but I guess that bug was patched circa 2020-2021 roundabouts from posts on the other golf sim forum.

Gotcha. I got mine refurbished from Skytrak just about 6 months ago. I would say the ST makes me happy in every respect except the delay from strike to info. In an age when it seems the Trackman IO has the info on screen before your ball even lands, being able to take a healthy leak while waiting for info to show is pretty annoying. Although I understand this is much better in the +. If this was not an issue I would have zero reason to look elsewhere.

_chris · February 23

7 minutes ago, golfpractitioner5 said:

With your MLM2 Pro, do you have anything between it and hour hitting area covering the concrete in the garage such as turf in the at area. I've read that concrete and cement can affect radar based units, too.

These things affect radar based units heavily.

golfpractitioner5 · February 23

18 minutes ago, _chris said:

These things affect radar based units heavily.

That is what I keep hearing which is why I am siding heavily with the Skytrak+ for my garage build.

Simpsonia · February 23

1 hour ago, golfpractitioner5 said:

With your MLM2 Pro, do you have anything between it and hour hitting area covering the concrete in the garage such as turf in the at area. I've read that concrete and cement can affect radar based units, too.

Nope, I set the MLM2 on the concrete, nothing but concrete until it gets to my roll of crappy astroturf that I use just as the underlayment to prevent ball bouncing after impact, then the Fiberbuilt Flight Deck I have half nestled into my stance mat I've got a half oval cut out of the side edge of the stance mat that the Flight Deck nestles into for my hitting strip. The only issues I've ever had is the occasional no-read on chips under like 6 yards, but I think I just need to raise it up a tad and level it a bit better. Currently I do absolutely nothing for any of that and have no issues otherwise.

I mean from the outside my garage seems like it should be a nightmare for a radar based LM (exposed concrete, fan in the summer, aluminum based ceiling covering), but I have no issues with the MLM2. My guess is that it is not nearly as affected as other pure radar LMs since it's really a hybrid unit and does a lot of calculations based on the optical side.

Edited February 23 by Simpsonia

golfpractitioner5 · February 23

15 minutes ago, Simpsonia said:

Nope, I set the MLM2 on the concrete, nothing but concrete until it gets to my roll of crappy astroturf that I use just as the underlayment to prevent ball bouncing after impact, then the Fiberbuilt Flight Deck I have half nestled into my stance mat I've got a half oval cut out of the side edge of the stance mat that the Flight Deck nestles into for my hitting strip. The only issues I've ever had is the occasional no-read on chips under like 6 yards, but I think I just need to raise it up a tad and level it a bit better. Currently I do absolutely nothing for any of that and have no issues otherwise.

I mean from the outside my garage seems like it should be a nightmare for a radar based LM (exposed concrete, fan in the summer, aluminum based ceiling covering), but I have no issues with the MLM2. My guess is that it is not nearly as affected as other pure radar LMs since it's really a hybrid unit and does a lot of calculations based on the optical side.

I think I have seen a picture of your hitting mat\t set up on one of the other topics. How do you like that fiberbuilt Flight deck insert? It is so affordable compared to most other hitting strips that I have considered doing exactly what you did.

It is odd that so many people say that the concrete would absolutely affect the issue but some many people do not.

I've always questioned it because at hitting ranges, most people set their radar units on the concrete area behind the hitting mats with no issue.

Simpsonia · February 23

30 minutes ago, golfpractitioner5 said:

I think I have seen a picture of your hitting mat\t set up on one of the other topics. How do you like that fiberbuilt Flight deck insert? It is so affordable compared to most other hitting strips that I have considered doing exactly what you did.

It is odd that so many people say that the concrete would absolutely affect the issue but some many people do not.

I've always questioned it because at hitting ranges, most people set their radar units on the concrete area behind the hitting mats with no issue.

I'm a bit mixed on the flight deck. It's a lot better than my old solution (DIY TrueStrike). Feedback on fat shots is a lot more subtle than other options out there, but to that end it's a hell of a lot easier on the wrists/hands. But you do get to know the audio feedback pretty well, as well as the reduced smash factor/distance. It doesn't punish fat shots (distance-wise) as much as some other mats. If you hit too fat, you'll end up hitting the hard plastic shell on the bottom, which isn't painful, but is very loud. It's a trooper though too, I've been using it for about a year and a half 4-5 hours a week of sim/practice time and it still has plenty of life left. Even when it does bite the dust, at $60 it will be dead easy to just replace. Most of all it's easy to pack up. I've got a single-car detached garage in a major city, so the sim has to be able to be rolled up pretty quickly and easily, and this works quite well for that. My stance matt is a 1" interlocking foam mat with SynLawn putting turf bonded to it, so it's super lightweight I can just pick it up and move everything, the flight deck is easy to slot in. Bigger/heavier mats with the big dedicated hitting strips just seem like they'd be too much of a pain to constantly move.

JoeyC1977 · February 24

11 hours ago, Simpsonia said:

It depends on some variables. The OG Skytrak is notoriously draw biased, it doesn't handle driver the best if you have high ball speeds, there is also some small repair/longevity issues on the laser curtain that triggers the CMOS sensors, it's also a bit more fiddly when it comes to setup (if you don't have a permanent sim setup).

MLM2 does use radar, but if I understand it, it's mostly for ball speed and as the launch trigger. I think everything else is calculated optically from the RPT ball, though radar may be for HLA and VLA too, not sure. That said, I have not had any issues whatsoever with a fan running in my garage with the MLM2. I also have an aluminum based ceiling covering (radiant heat barrier) which it has no issues with. It has been tested to be pretty much dead on accuracy wise with the GC4, not sure how that stacks up to the OG Skytrak, but I've been really happy with my MLM2. It does work better at the range, if you do ever get outside with the unit. OG Skytrak definitely suffers in the sunshine. Only downsides are the RPT balls and the $200/yr subscription, but I just consider that as deferred payment vs something like an Eye Mini or BLP.

Thanks. A lot of great feedback on here. I'm fairly new to GolfWRX and building a practice area here at home. I opted for the Skytrak mainly due to my driveway having a bit of an incline and getting a good deal on an original ST. I wasn't sure how the slight grade (down, then up) would affect ball placement with the radar units and from my understanding the ST can have an ever so slight difference if it's perfectly level and the hitting mat has a slight grade. I also liked the integration with PC software and not having to buy an iPad for the full functionality of the MLM2Pro.

Besides, this is just to knock the rust off and get back in the groove during the spring/summer. The plan is to piece everything together (including the gaming PC), gift the ST to my son, then look at the Uneekor/BLP/ST+. Again, thanks for the feedback.

kcstock · February 27

I typically use my iPad to connect with the MLM Pro and then run a small projector for the range and simulator. I recently used my iPhone and noticed it had an upgraded graphics package when compared to the iPad. Does anyone know about this?

My ipad is few years old and I'm wondering if I would get better graphics if I had a newer ipad, or if I should just plan on using my iPhone instead.

Smok3y · March 5

I play on a friend’s Skytrack every couple weeks or more and I like it as an inexpensive SIM setup. Most of the guys think it isn’t super accurate, but they hit way harder and further than me. It is pretty close for me. I like it in the garage atmosphere.

I picked up the MLM2 Pro for me and my use at the range, back yard net, and occasional SIM. I think it is perfect for this as it is so easy to move around and connect to my iPad. Everything I found online makes it seem like it is the most accurate inexpensive option. Compared to the Skytrack, all my data is pretty close, but my fastest driver swings do get 3-4 MPH higher than highest on the Skytrack. I am a data junkie, and I am really enjoying it. I haven’t even tried SIMs yet, because the practice, range, and combine have been more important to me. It has tons of courses and you get a few E6 courses free without needing an E6 subscription.

As for mats… I don’t have a lot of experience with many. My friend’s setup that we play on is the EZ Tee Hybrid. I like it a lot. It isn’t too hard or soft. Fat shots aren’t too harsh. It doesn’t wear even with all our playing. I chose to go with the Monster Mat for use outside, after reading the reviews to try something different, but it was hard not to get the EZ. I like it a lot. I don’t see any wear and no crap on the clubs. I like that I can use real tees in the small rubber tees that are flat with the mat. It is very comfortable. Fat shots are penalized in the data, but don’t hurt. I should say that I am a shallow swinger, so I don’t dig on either of these mats. My friend also picked up a cheap mat on Amazon, but the product wasn’t the same in person. It is a cheap, thin piece of junk.