Trackman 4 or Trugolf Truflight or ...?

[FunNGolf]

Hi,
we (some keen golfers) are looking into buying a golf simulator. Basically we don't know anything about the market, some of us have used a Trackman for swing analysis. We would like to have a system that's accurate, easy to operate and doesn't require much maintenance. The first products we've found were the Trackman and Trugolf simulators. Trackman uses radar. Trugolf uses cameras. The Trugolf E6 software is well known, Trackman claims their software is now even better and it would also work with E6. Most likely Trackman is slightly more expensive.

Trackman could also be used on the range.


Do you have any input on what would you choose? We're also open for other options. What are the pros/cons?

[mikemcd22]

Take a look at the Foresight Quad (if you want portable) and Definitely the very excellent Uneekor products (QED or newer EYEXO) if you are building inside. Also, Just based on your post, I'm thinking you and your golf buddies will definitely want to make sure whatever you buy is compatible with TGC 2019. TruGolf is now using infrared tech as well and might be the best all in one solution (Foresight has some great packages but many don't particularly like their software). This is all subjective and one man's opinion. Other's here will help if you provide the following:

• Budget
• Dimensions of the space you want to fit up
• Experience (Keen Golfers ehh??)
• Necessities (Do you want to play rounds, compete, just have club/ball data, etc.)

[FunNGolf]

my contact person claims TGC is mostly for single players and not for e.g. 4 players. Wrong information?

[mikemcd22]

Your contact person has the wrong information unfortunately. I play TGC regularly with 4 people and while E6 offers online play, I think most golfers here would tell you that TGC is hands down the best online alternative for online tournaments, match play with others who have TGC, etc. It has over 175,000 courses (you will get to know the ones you like by good designers) and you can even build your own course (I've built 5 or 6 of my local courses over the last year). With no disrespect to your contact person, I would highly recommend hanging out and asking questions on this forum. In 2017, the information, suggestions and encouragement I got from this group of guys was extraordinary! I'm still learning something new every time I logon! Many of us have gone through some of the trials and revisions of building our own sim rooms. Believe, ask; and you will get an answer. Let me know if I can help in any way.

[Dax]

There are lots of good options out there depending on your budget and as noted space will be an important factor. Radar systems do require space and so does having multiple people playing on the sim at the same time.

[FunNGolf]

Thanks for your replies.

budget: roughly 40-50k USD
space: about 36 sqm, 6x6m
experience: Professional (hcp +2) ti rather new (hcp -40)
play rounds, ball data, compete against ~4 people in the same room

the idea is that we finance most of it, but other colleagues can play for a small fee, I.e. not for profit, but maybe we’ll manage to cover the costs

[mikemcd22]

Are you overseas? Pro Tee may be another option. In any case, if you're going to have high handicappers... I might avoid the Quad (or Skytrak, etc.) for fear of errant impacts. Otherwise, previous recommendations stand. With ~18' X 18' (6x6m) you should have no problem with the width for any simulator (lefties and righties - provided the launch monitor accepts both). 18' in length is a little short for Trackman and 4 golfers with all their club sets, especially if you have furniture (think chairs, small table, refrigerator, golf bags or racks for clubs, etc.) You will also need some room for the PC with Monitor. You will need between 10 and 15' depending on the sim you decide on. that will clear your your backswing with driver. Whatever you have left is where golfers will hang out. Good Luck.

[mikemcd22]

Just to give you an idea of how easy/quickly your sim can become cluttered.

[FunNGolf]

Thanks. Yes, we are in Europe.

option for left handed would be nice, so I guess that eliminates the quad? :-(

wow, I expected that room to be more than large enough. Is there anything else to consider? So many options and not much objective tests besides this forum, so I’m quite lost

[mikemcd22]

If you're intent on accommodating lefties and righties, just make sure you plan the placement of your computer equipment carefully to allow full swings on both sides. At 18' you should be good right in the middle. Are there any obstructions on your ceiling (duct work, vaults, etc.)? People have set up sims in smaller spaces so you can make it happen.

[JackedUpSwing]

Look at ceiling mounted devices(off the floor, seamless left/right play). Uneekor EYE XO/Uneekor QED/Foresight GCHAWK.

[FunNGolf]

Is there a reason you didn’t mention TruGolf?

are the camera / ceiling solutions as accurate as radar?

i find it quite useful that the trackman can also be used outside in summer, but i guess that comes with the disadvantage of it not being ceiling based

[JackedUpSwing]

I didn't mention Trugolf because it doesn't measure spin.

Spin is the hardest(which makes it the most important) thing for launch monitors to measure. Ballspeed/launch angles etc are all very similar, but measuring spin accurately is the most important feature of a good launch monitor.

Radars struggle indoors measuring spin, which is why I would never spend $$$$ for a trackman if I was just using it primarily indoors.

Camera based LMs like GC2/Quad/Uneekor have been proven to be very accurate and consistent measuring spin.

Trackman has put a lot of investment in getting impact location to work really well so they can use it to ESTIMATE spin better.

[FunNGolf]

Is there some data on Trackman indoors? Is it really struggling to measure spin? I've found a couple of nearby golf players who are using Tackmans and (not surprisingly, considering they own a Trackman ^^) they claim the data is perfect

[Dax]

Your space would be at the minimum for TM likely not enough especially if you have a high driver ball speed. You will need 1 foot from wall to front of impact screen which will leave 17 feet for the radar shave off 8 inches or so for wall to front of radar and that leaves a little over 16 feet. With min 7 feet from impact to front of radar you have 9 feet and TM suggests 10 as a minimum. Thus not really sure if you will have the room. Also 18 by 18 will be tight for four golfers.

as for the comment on TM struggling with spin indoors. This is another area where they have spent a great deal of time and investment and it seems as if they don’t struggle based on the testing that has been done. Also, I am hoping the new ball solution that they are working on will give them another way to read spin and also allow for the removal of the metallic dot.

TM may be a good solution if you can get the length to work, as the software is great, it easily allows for lefty and righty without moving, is not in the way of the ball and can be taken outside (please remember that indoor outdoor TM costs a bit more). Also with TM you get the camera (plus app for up to six more), club measurement and putting.

The other options for you will be Uneekor and perhaps the hawk. You could likely also do 2 GC2’s with offsetting hitting locations (person standing in the middle of the room) as your budget seems to permit this. Not as elegant, but then you would have two units you could take outside.

[FunNGolf]

Thanks! That's good to know, hence Trugolf is not that interesting.

By the way, what's your experience regarding putting? To be honest, I can't quite imagine that this works well on a simulator and I have doubts whether I can improve my putting skills by hitting a ball against a screen. Am I underestimating those simulators?

How about above mentioned Pro Tee? So far I haven't heard anything about them.

[JackedUpSwing]

Putting is incredibly accurate with QED and EyeXO. It takes a while to get used to putting to a NUMBER instead of visually, but if you push/pull a put by 1 degree, you will miss a straight putt @ 10 feet. You can't just walk up there and slap the put, you have to make sure you hit straight, with the correct speed.

Bonus for the Uneekor QED and EyeXO is the video of impact you get. It's seriously amazing to see your club through the hitting zone, and gives you a lot of confidence in the data when you can literally see the club closed/open/hitting turf first/etc.

[Dax]

Putting on the TM is great and very accurate. Putts under six feet don’t register. TM will even tell you the stomp of the green that you are hitting off of.

[FunNGolf]

How would you compare Trackmans software (Virtual Golf) vs E6? Might this also be a selling point for Trackman as their software is better and only works with Trackman?

[Dax]

Virtual Golf 2 is fantastic and getting better all the time as TM adds about two courses a month. We will also hopefully have online tourney play this season (may have it now based on work of some other owners just need to test things out).

E6 Connect is also very good and while it has some minor bugs, their support is also pretty good. They have a very good selection of courses as well.

I think you would be happy with either and from a subjective point of view that may be considered biased, I do prefer TMs sim software (noting you need up to date software subscription to play, which some see as a negative). On the software sub side it costs $1000 a year or $2000 for three. The $2k option works out to be just above that of the annual subscription price for e6 (the one that gets you all their courses).

I would suggest going online, there are a view videos of online gameplay for both Virtual Golf and e6 connect. If you have a big screen at home, I would suggest looking in that, as all of the sim software out there looks good on a 27 inch computer monitor.

[Dax]

Forgot to answer your question on selling point that Virtual Golf only works with TM, I think it is good and bad. The bad of course is that you can only play tournaments with other TM owners. E6 allows TM and other systems which I think makes for a better experience if you are looking for a bigger group to play with.

[FunNGolf]

Do you guys consider 4k worth the money? Do TGC, E6 and Virtual Golf have full 4K Support? I imagine it could make quite a visual difference, however at least the 4k beamer offered by the simulator dealers are probably above our budget. I imagine I could save some money by building / buying screen, pc, ... myself, however I currently don't have the time for it.

They usually offer something like i7 (yes ... no detail on which i7 ... great), RTX 2060, 512 GB SSD, 16 GB (sounds quite low?) - is this more than sufficient in your opinion? I hope they at least pay some attention to the cooling system. It wouldn't cost much, but silence is key..

[Dax]

People are starting to go 4K now and on my theatre pixie shift 4K it does make a difference, but I still use 1920 x 1200 in my sim environment. There have been some reviews by others on a 4K laser projector this past month.

[FunNGolf]

Thanks, I'll look them up!

Do you have an opinion on Fullswing? Another brand that has been mentioned to me, though currently Uneekor Eye XO is my favourite