Help point me in the right direction

[Moggy]

Hello all!

I've been lurking around for a little while now, diving into the various topics and threads. As an independent source of information to balance all the reviews I've been watching online, you have been wonderful. I'm looking forward to being able to lean on you all even more as my journey into launch monitors and golf simulators progresses!

What I need right now is a little guidance. I'd like to use a launch monitor as a training and practice aid. Living in Florida, I can play year round (yay!) but really want to improve my game. As an ex-high tech nerd, I'm always after the data. Hence launch monitors. I was very impressed with the Trackman (3e, I think) that we used when I was fitted for my clubs.

My setup will be in a corner of my workshop. Initially it will be a matt, practice net, some form of monitor/computer/tablet off to the side, and (of course), the launch monitor. I have no plans at this time for a full impact screen / projector setup nor do I plan on playing any simulation rounds. The ability to expand in that direction would be nice but not required. I'm fully prepared to revisit my hardware when (if) that time comes.

I'm most interested in club head data. In order of importance: swing plane (outside-in/inside-out), facing (open/closed), speed, impact zone. My thinking is that if I can correct my swing, the ball will do the right thing.

I'm less interested in ball data, but wouldn't say no to knowing carry distances.

The Trackman 4 or 3e look very good but are expensive and may need more space than other solutions.
The GC2 (or quad) would require the HMT which ramps up the price and their software pricing seems outrageous. Might as well get a Trackman for the eventual cost it'll be.
ES16 - thank you, thank you, thank you for helping me dodge this bullet!!
Optishot - would be great if more accurate.

My budget is around $10K for hardware and software.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

Martin

[WadeH]

With your budget, if you want club head data I think you have a few realistic options.

1. Protee System
2. Skytrac + RMotion Add on (Rmotion adds club head data)
3. Used GC2 + HMT

[StuartG]

Best price for good accurate club data would be an Flightscope Xi Tour. New they are between $8-9k (frequent sales offered by FS). But also petty easy to find used ones in the $4.5k -> $6k range. A used X2 would be in a similar range and also a good option. And no annual fees like TM.

The biggest downside is that all the radar units (both TM and FS) need more room to use. Minimum is 18' from radar to screen/net - w/ 20' is a little better (TM isn't really any different in that respect).

More affordable than gc2/HMT and easier to take to the range with you compared to any of the others suggested. And even better than GC2 if when on a grass range (usability, not accuracy). Also, no requirement to put dots on the club faces.

But if you don't have the room for radar, GC2/HMT really is the next best thing for club data for your budget. Used, you should be able to get one near the $9k range - which is a LOT better than TM :-)

[Moggy]

Thanks for the suggestions. The more I delve into it, the more I'm thinking that the Protee system is a good way to start. Though there are some downsides. Having to implement a more permanent solution is going to delay using the system. Plug and play it most definitely isn't. I've some concerns about setup and accuracy, but I think I'll take them to the Protee sub-forums...

Thanks!!