Do you trust the Golf store Simulators???

[Losttheplot]

Do you trust the Golf store SImulators???
I pop in there now and again to my local store and try the drivers. I'm not sure if they bias the computer to make it look like you hit it better than you actually do.

If you know any inside info to these simulators to whether they are true or not please please keep quiet till tomorrow evening (7pm for example) to allow people to respond.

This is purely to see what peoples feelings are to them and if you trust them accurately or do you think they are bias in golf stores to make you think you hit the clubs well. (you get the point!)

 

[Ethan]

Some stores clearly amp up the simulators. One way to do this is to set the machine setting to a high altitude, so that you get a ball flight like you are up in the Alps.

 

[brendy]

The best way to compare drivers etc is to take your existing one along with you.
Last time I went, I took my driver and the g15 was easily longer than my old driver, the D2, the g10 and the rapture, all on the same day without any dealer intervention, I was left in the area on my own with the pc in front of me untouched.
Doing it this way means regardless of how they set the machine up, if all clubs are tested then, you know which one works best for you.

 

[RGDave]

Well, AG in Telford don't mess around with them. Not when I'm in there, anyway.

I changed 1/3 of my bag (the woods) based on the accuracy and distance of the original test of a Wilson Staff hybrid done on a simulator. Distance and dispersion were quite good, as they are on the course.

Sometimes they talk some rubbish though. When I tested a driver once, I was getting 118 yards carry.

?

I get at least 120 yards carry with a driver.

 

[Matty]

@RGDave,

Please can you share your secret - I'd love to get a couple of extra yards carry!!!

 

[jammydodger]

Never ever used a stores simulator. Wouldnt trust them and would only buy a club that I have hit and seen the real results from

 

[Losttheplot]

I've tried the AG in Telford and that's the only one I've tried apart from a nearest the pin at the golf show at Birmingham NEC last year.

I have no inside knowledge on this So if you know anything we should know then please feel free the share what you know....

 

[RGDave]

Never ever used a stores simulator. Wouldnt trust them and would only buy a club that I have hit and seen the real results from

Trying for real is very important. I felt confident to "believe" the stats for my hybrid without seeing balls fly for real on a range. I knew what the issues were with my existing model and left with confidence that I'd be happy out on the course. The regular V2 shaft (in the Wilson version) seems just about perfect for me. I also tried a Ben Sayers "benny" on a L.M. (pro-launch red) and although didn't buy one at the time, felt good about buying one a few months later, and was not disappointed.

 

[RGDave]

I have no inside knowledge on this so if you know anything we should know then please feel free the share what you know....

I can't tell you anything other than when the machine is up and running, it's very accurate. It reads lots of statistics in real time off the ball, speed (clubhead and ball), spin (back/top right/left), launch angle. Enough to tell you if there good or bad issues with a certain club/shaft combo.

Interestingly, the only club I've bought purely on the results of a range test (hitting balls) has actually been the least successful of my buys.....

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Apart from the fact that stores tend to tweak the machine anyway the biggest problem I have is that in stores like AG the staff simply don't know how to use the data other than the distance. If you ask most of the shop staff about launch angles, smash rates, spin rates etc their eyes glaze over. I'd personally prefer to use my own judgement on a club by hitting it on a range.

The only monitor information I'd trust is from a pro or a recognised custom fitting demo

 

[level5s]

I have been happy with clubs (driver, 3-wood and hybrid, on seperate occasions) I have bought based on their output.
I tend to have a favourite based on feel before checking the onscreen output though.

 

[viscount17]

a lot depends on the machine (and software) that they use (Trackman is supposedly miles better than Vector).
some take a lot of setting up, don't seem to be able to store the settings from day to day,
training is another issue, you can have the best macine in the world but useless if you can't interpret the results properly.

 

[colint]

I've tried to use the simulator twice in my local AG, both times they couldn't get it working.

Amazingly, one of the staff actually just watched me hit the ball and made some recommendations on shafts based on that, really seemed to know his stuff which was a unique experience for me in AG. Ended up with a stiff shafted Titleist hybrid which is not what I was looking for and I'm nailing it, great service. He originally tried to get me to go with a Ping, but he was easily mid fifties so understandable