Help us upgrade!

[isayaboot]

We purchased a TruGolf Pro simulator in our office a few years ago (2 years, 7 months).

It wasn't cheap by time all was said and done.... this was PC, enclosure, projector, screen, flooring, etc. It was a pretty pro set-up I've shared before. We were prob in for 45K cdn by time we built/bought/installed everything.

https://imgur.com/f93j9tx

The golf has been good, but not without many, many issues, problems, downtime etc. It's been a fun tool. We've had to send the unit back for warranty, camera issues, software issues, lighting issues etc. Everything from even the turf colour, to the ambient lighting in the place causes issues and havoc with cameras.

That said, we're considering an upgrade. Upgrade would mean, better overall experience, fewer problems, more ease of use, potential revenue stream/rentals....It does seem most newer systems are using a camera system.

Looking for recommendations on best unit for us.

The unit through the winter is primarily used by groups looking to play a foresome or a pair, or individuals just looking to practice. This unit with E6 was fun, easily playable to go to nice courses, etc.

It's also used by individuals/serious golfers for lessons, training etc. So we're looking for accurate numbers/data.

We had the trackman guys out, but the price was another 35K CDN bucks or so....My office partner is an avid golfer and really wants a TM4 Indoor/Outdoor... Others have suggested Uneekor....

Trackman would need to be set behind and potentially recessed/protected in the wall.

[COgolfengineer]

I'm a golf sim dealer/builder and can help with various brands including Uneekor and BenQ. I am in the US but I ship to Canada as well and can save money. And yes all my shipments to Canada does all the proper duty and taxes, so no extra bill to you.

Camera units are far superior indoors. TM4 or and radar LM can't measure sidespin of the ball so that's not good. They can measure total spin with RCT balls. The TM iO solves this where they use a camera for measuring spin axis. But damn that thing is expensive! And comes with a steep annual cost to use their software.

I had a Uneekor Eyexo for a couple years but just swapped to the Eyexo2, both are great. Overhead to me would make the most sense for your use-case because it's completely out of the way and don't have to worry about calibration constantly like a floor unit and also don't really need to worry about theft. The impact video on the Uneekor's is quite useful and also shows people that they hit it fat. I've had a lot of people come to my house to play and they call BS that their shot went much less than they expected....simply show them the video replay that they hit 3" behind the ball...shuts em up pretty quick.

I use the GSpro software which is very accurate and accounts for lie angles of the terrain and penalties are dynamic for rough/deep rough/sand which is far better than a fixed penalty like in E6. Graphics are great as well. You and other users can even join the online tour which is pretty awesome.

Anyway, when choosing components, a lot of details to go over. Feel free to DM with any questions. Thanks.

[drsagacity]

Your setup looks great. I have used Trackman, GC2, GC Quad, and HD Golf sim. I personally own the Uneekor and the Bushnell Launch Pro (same as GC3). For a home setup, I agree that the Uneekor is a fantastic setup. Similar to COgolfengineer I have had people call BS on my Uneekor distances, but having the live video after the fact usually makes people realize…oh yeah. When they hit a shot and then the slow motion instant replay shows that they hit off the toe and they see the club face bounce open…it’s eye opening.

As far as accuracy, the GC Quad, Trackman, BLP/GC3, and Uneekor all show nearly identical numbers, so with any of them You won’t go wrong with any of them from a performance perspective.

I guess the question comes down to use case and your particular setup. As an example, is there any value to you being able to take the launch monitor to the course or do you see your best solution as being mounted in the sim exclusively? From a space perspective, can you hit from center of screen or is there value on being able to move the launch monitor to accommodate right/left handed golfers?

From an accuracy perspective, the top launch monitors will all be very close. However, your other components like the hitting mat will impact the data. As an example, I have 3 hitting mats. The Real Feel hitting mat is really penal on shots that are a little heavy…way more penal than what a person would experience on a golf course.

How important is putting for you? For realistic putting one nice thing I use on my Uneekor is setting different hitting areas. I was able to set a position for hitting irons (on a hitting strip that’s a little less penal), driver goes just outside on the real feel mat where I can use regular tees, and I have the putting area set to be on the putting green so that I don’t have to putt off the hitting mat. Putting off the hitting mat does not have the same feel of being realistic when compared to actually having the ball on a putting green.

If I were buying now I 100% would go with the new Uneekor Eye XO2 for something mounted at home. I would integrate that with a face on and down-the-line camera system so that you can see your club face impact, but also see the swing for the shot. It’s also nice because Uneekor gives you all of the options for the software gaming options too. GS Pro, TGC 2019, or E6. I believe my BLP is more limited in terms of software integration (not sure about GC3).

If being able to take the launch monitor outside then I would look at the GC Quad as the premium option, but know you won’t sacrifice accuracy with either the GC3 or BLP. One caveat here, taking an LM to the driving range is not valuable for ball data because the balls are trash compared to real golf balls. However, you can use the club data and see that the ball flight is what you want to see. I have found taking the launch monitor to the course is far better practice. That way you get to hit your ball, you can see the club/ball data and you can compare it to what you really get on the course (because launch monitor rollout may not match what you are really getting, but the carry distances will be spot on).