Foresight or Skytrak? Looking for my First LM

[pierso2]

New guy here so please go easy on me. I worked in the golf industry for a while and now that I had to get a regular 9-5 job I don't have access to golf sims the way I used to. I've been squirrling away some funds and selling off some clubs and I'm looking to get something to help me fight off the winter golf itch that happens to us northerners (Living in Illinois). I'm looking for something that works both indoors and out. I have a pretty decent sized garage and when the cars are out, I have my hitting mat and 3 sided net to beat balls into. I'm looking to know exactly what the ball is doing and all of that to further dial my game in.

I used to work for a company that does golf ball fitting but I won't mention the name. The setup that they used utilized cameras and I'm a big fan of that technology because it spits out pretty accurate info. I've looked at flightscopes and other doppler based LM's but due to size restrictions in the garage, I think camera based would be best.

So now that I'm rather convinced that camera would be better, I'm left with the decision of do I go Skytrak or Foresight? While I know Foresight is about 3 times the amount of Skytrak, I appreciate the quality of the product. It may hurt the bank account initially but it seems more reliable than others. I'm not all that familiar with the course play options on Foresight so that has me a bit hesitant. Also, what's the cost for the courses?

Skytrak is at a great price point but as I've read on here and elsewhere, it has it's faults. What I do like about the skytrak is that it seems to have a good social group for playing and practice. I plan on using it to play against others and play rounds for fun as well as tune my game and equipment during the long winters. Also, are the courses all that great? While the initial cost is lower, I feel like the annual fees add up over time.

As you can see, I'm kind of split 50-50 and looking to you all for advice. My gut is telling me Foresight but my wallet is telling me Skytrak. Please help!!!

[wbond]

Well, you can do the math yourself on the annual fee and see how long it takes you to get to the GC2 cost.

If you are buying new, the GC2 is now more than 3x the cost with their sdk fee if you don't buy their software. If you've got the money, you can't beat the GC2.

Skytrak has TGC which many, myself included, consider to be an excellent software program that pretty much has unlimited courses and continually adding more and they make pretty regular updates. They will also have PG coming out in the "near" future. It' currently available in a "beta" type format for GC2, but this is rumored to be an annual fee and it sounds like you are already not too happy with that format.

You can't beat the price of skytrak.

[aja]

I'd go with your gut.

If you worked in the past with a nameless company that used camera based systems, sounds like you got used to a certain level of accuracy and reliability. The Foresight monitor is regarded as accurate and reliable. The Skytrak, though less money, is not in the same league. Some units seem to be trouble free, but there are so many postings about connection issues, misreads, etc. that, in my view, raise doubts about the ease of use. I can't recall anybody complaining about their Foresight GC2 about any similar issues.

Both monitors may be used with TGC, which has a fairly loyal following and in terms of the number of courses available is very cost efficient. TGC, however you connect to it (ProTee, GC2, Skytrak or GSA), runs weekly tournaments and is probably the same social group that you are referring to.

I currently use ProTee with TGC, but at some point I will be setting up a second golf sim at another location for which I plan on getting a GC2.

[pierso2]

Thanks for the advice! I worked for the golf ball company and after I worked for them, I worked at 2 top golf stores. One used About Golf and the other used GC2. I liked the reliability of the GC2 and the ease of setting up as well as being able to use it indoors and out. However, I do like the size and user friendly capabilities of the skytrak. If I find a GC2 for a good price, I'll probably go that route. I'd much rather buy something that'll last me a long while than something that seems to have products that are less than stellar. I'm sure for every "dud" they sell, they have 30 great units but with my luck, I'll get the fuzzy end of the lollipop on that.

[RCorsa]

I was in the same boat and finally decided on the gc2. I figured I would always wonder if the experience and accuracy would be better if I went with sky track. Plus I hear there is a big delay after hitting. The price of the gc2 plus fsx cost me about 7k more than sky track plus tgc but for me that's less that a years dues at my club and I wanted the best to get my game dialed for a 2017 golf trip to Scotland.

[doublebogey]

pierso2, my honest opinion:
- If money does not matter, then brand-new GC2.
- For rest of the human world where money matters somewhat, I would rank as follows - 1) used GC2 below $3.5k in good condition if you can find one, 2) SkyTrak, 3) brand-new GC2.

[V8burble]

Looks like great advice to me. I bought a used GC2 in UK for £3500 before SkyTrak was released. I would do the same again today given it's (bullet proof) reliability (my words, nobody elses). But... I would gladly buy SkyTrak, from what I've heard, rather than a new GC2 if that was my choice today(disclaimer - I have no idea of long term SkyTrak reliability, which I truly hope will be excellent).

[v10king]

I had two skytrak units, had issues with distances and misreads, returned and bought a used GC2. I spent 4100 but it had new flash, bluetooth fixed, and recently checked over by foresight. The thing is rock solid, love it, I have hit 1000s of balls on it and have had maybe 5 no reads and likely that was because of me not making sure the ball was in the right area. This was outside in sunshine conditions too. The skytrak I had serious issues with misreads and short distances.

[Golfshopjim]

Gc2 for2500.00 on eBay right now is this the scam people are talking about.

[pierso2]

Yeah anything with an email address in the description is a Class A+ do not buy. The one for $7500 obo is a legitimate guy though. Just not sure where he's getting that number from.