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I bought the Flightscope Xi back in February of 2013. Overall, I am very pleased with the only exceptions being aspects of the Xi Skills app, and the My Flightscope.com environment.
Packaging:
The Xi is packaged in a very simple white box with nothing in it besides the sensor, a carrying case, a charger, and some metallic stickers for indoor use, along with a very basic “manual” of sorts.
The charger comes with adapters for use overseas, and a USB 2.0 to micro USB cable is included for “service” updates only. I’m curious as to if this is what the sensor will be connected to the computer with, we’ll see I guess.
Build Quality:
As expected for something that costs $2,500+, the build of the sensor itself is of very high quality. The sensor has a very nice “heft” to it, with the parts made out of high quality plastics and metals. The two front, motorized feet (used for auto-leveling) are plastic and the rear “kick-stand” is some lightweight metal, probably aluminum. The tinted black plastic on top is secure and not flimsy, and it houses the LED notification lights that display the sensors status along with the battery life.
Software:
The Xi Skills app is the only app that works with the Xi unit.
The skills app does do what it meant to do pretty well. The app is a target based “game” where the user selects from either preset targets or can make custom targets at custom distances. The targets can be made to be circular, arched array, or fairway grid style. These three types of targets allow to user to practice target style approaches (circular), layup style shots (arched array), or drivers and fairway woods (fairway grid).
My problems with the app, in my opinion:
The MyFlightscope.com website does have some nice features:
Setup:
Setup is probably the easiest/best part of this launch monitor.
Align the left leg with the ball through the intended target line, and square up the unit to your intended target.
Then place ball and hit away!
If indoors, you must use a metallic sticker on the ball, and face that sticker towards the net/screen. If you are having issues with weird spin on very fast ball speed shots, point the sticker up to the ceiling. This gives the radar a chance to see another revolution of the ball prior to impact with the barrier.
My setup is the minimum required at 13’ from tee to screen, and 9’ from radar to tee. With that said, I have literally only had a handful of shots not register over the 10 months I’ve used it. Very impressive.
Every once in a looonnngggg while, you’ll get a shot where the spin seems doubled. But, this may be 1/1000 shots, so more than reasonable.
I hit every club in my bag including soft lob wedge pitches. I have had carries of 6 yards measured, from memory, but the unit will measure any shot over about 6’.
Coming from a Protee simulator, being able to throw down a premium mat and hit balls without setup of cameras/sensor boards/computer…etc. is very, very nice. I can put my son (4 mo. old) down for a 45 mins nap and go through a warm up session followed by a full combine session with time to spare.
As I said in the first line, I am very pleased with this purchase and would recommend it to anyone.
Packaging:
The Xi is packaged in a very simple white box with nothing in it besides the sensor, a carrying case, a charger, and some metallic stickers for indoor use, along with a very basic “manual” of sorts.
The charger comes with adapters for use overseas, and a USB 2.0 to micro USB cable is included for “service” updates only. I’m curious as to if this is what the sensor will be connected to the computer with, we’ll see I guess.
Build Quality:
As expected for something that costs $2,500+, the build of the sensor itself is of very high quality. The sensor has a very nice “heft” to it, with the parts made out of high quality plastics and metals. The two front, motorized feet (used for auto-leveling) are plastic and the rear “kick-stand” is some lightweight metal, probably aluminum. The tinted black plastic on top is secure and not flimsy, and it houses the LED notification lights that display the sensors status along with the battery life.
Software:
The Xi Skills app is the only app that works with the Xi unit.
The skills app does do what it meant to do pretty well. The app is a target based “game” where the user selects from either preset targets or can make custom targets at custom distances. The targets can be made to be circular, arched array, or fairway grid style. These three types of targets allow to user to practice target style approaches (circular), layup style shots (arched array), or drivers and fairway woods (fairway grid).
My problems with the app, in my opinion:
- Needs more views. Currently you can see from behind the ball in a static view, or isometrically at a 30-45* angle left or right. I believe they should add a follow-type view so the user can dramatically see his ball approaching the target (or not approaching).
- Somewhat cumbersome shot review. You have to either wait until the session is complete and view your results on MyFlightscope.com, or go to the review section of the app, which seems to be nothing more than the standard views when hitting shots, but the shot trails are already displayed. I’d like to see graphs, charts, profile views, averages…etc. But I do know that the Xi+ and of course the X2 have these and more, so it looks like it’s on purpose.
- Free range. Currently you cannot just hit balls at a bunch of range distances. You can setup a target and hit whatever club you want, but the app is always trying to score your shot, based on what target you set. I have setup sessions with 99+ shots for a target at 100 yards and just hit balls with all my clubs to warmup. Problem is after each shot is will say “0 points” and show you a graphic of the missed target, leading to wait time in between shots for no reason.
The MyFlightscope.com website does have some nice features:
- Summary of all your sessions to date since you have linked your Flightscope account to your email address.
- Comparison of your session stats per distance against the PGA Tour averages.
- Averages for longest drive, fairway %, average drive/ball speed/club speed, and same for approach shots.
- Flightscope combine scores and how you compare to others than have completed the combine
Setup:
Setup is probably the easiest/best part of this launch monitor.
Align the left leg with the ball through the intended target line, and square up the unit to your intended target.
Then place ball and hit away!
If indoors, you must use a metallic sticker on the ball, and face that sticker towards the net/screen. If you are having issues with weird spin on very fast ball speed shots, point the sticker up to the ceiling. This gives the radar a chance to see another revolution of the ball prior to impact with the barrier.
My setup is the minimum required at 13’ from tee to screen, and 9’ from radar to tee. With that said, I have literally only had a handful of shots not register over the 10 months I’ve used it. Very impressive.
Every once in a looonnngggg while, you’ll get a shot where the spin seems doubled. But, this may be 1/1000 shots, so more than reasonable.
I hit every club in my bag including soft lob wedge pitches. I have had carries of 6 yards measured, from memory, but the unit will measure any shot over about 6’.
Coming from a Protee simulator, being able to throw down a premium mat and hit balls without setup of cameras/sensor boards/computer…etc. is very, very nice. I can put my son (4 mo. old) down for a 45 mins nap and go through a warm up session followed by a full combine session with time to spare.
As I said in the first line, I am very pleased with this purchase and would recommend it to anyone.
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