Personal Launch Monitors - Doppler Radar

ok in justification - when you make a swing change you get absolute proof/evidence of the affect it's having. You can get your numbers absolutely nailed. If you work with a pro and he looks at the data too, you can work out which departments of your game need attention. I might be a bit of a techno-junkie but frankly can't wait to get my hands on it. And yes I have a net in my back garden too and it gets used ;)
 
For the doubters wouldn't it just be good to help you know how far you hit each club so that when you see that you're xxx yards from the green on course you know that club xxx is the one?

You'd know from the feedback that you usually hit your 6 iron a certain distance rather than the usual is this a 6 or maybe a 5 scenario that occurs frequently on course.
 
Thing about this gadget and it's proponents is that it would appear to appeal to the golfer for who golf is a game of mechanics over imagination. Me? Give me imagination every day. I might become a better and more consistent golfer if I took a factual, statistical and mechanical approach to playing the game - but I don't think I'd enjoy it quite so much as I do today (most of the time).

Measuring my Launch Angle? You have got to be joking :) Don't even think I know what launch angle is and why I would be interested in finding out.

And I know roughly how far I am likely to hit say a 7i - as in - further than 120yds and less than 170yds. Everything in between depends on me, how I feel, the hole, risk/reward assessment, the weather, the shot I want to play etc etc. Actually needing to know pretty precisely how far I'll hit any club is pretty low down the list of things when I am deciding the shot to play.

Played yesterday in a Bogey comp with a guy who was off 3.7 a few years ago - now 5. Carried his clubs. No DMD equipment. Old 'small headed' drivers/fairway clubs. He was telling me he preferred to play the game as he found it on the day - using the clubs he was comfortable with to play the shots as he saw them. His distance measuring was limited to an occasional quick walk to the nearest fairway sprinkler head where yardages to centre of green are marked. And he got on with it. Our 3 ball went round in just under 4 hrs - and he was wondering what happened to the 3hr round for a 3 ball bogey!

A man to my heart
 
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MGL said:
Perhaps some people find them useful, just like they might find a net in their back garden useful. Just because you don't/didn't doesn't mean you need to question someones reasons for wanting one.

I don't understand the negativity tbh.
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what is the point of having the latest gizmo if you dont know how to fundamentally change your swing to get the best results and in my opinion it should be used in conjunction with a teaching pro,same as the net what is the point of hitting ball after ball into a net if all you are doing is honing a poor swing,i used the net at the club to warm up before a round because thats all you can do with them.
 
road2ruin said:
I have been having a look at these things for a while and am already a complete sucker for a gadget of any description!!!

Anyway, settled on the Swing Caddie SC100 and have just ordered off eBay ($225) so will report back once I have it in my sweaty mitts!!

The main reason I went for this over the ES12/14 was practicality. In the reviews I had read the main negatives I found were the space required. As the ES12/14 need to be set up adjacent to the ball I'd read that using them in range bays wasn't always possible. Seeing as I will only going to use these in a range I can't afford to have this issue. The SC100 on the other hand sits a metre or so behind the ball so no issues there.

Will report back!!
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Just wondering if you had to pay the 'Import Charges' quoted when you checked out or whether these were optional?!

I'd like to make the seller an offer and pay postage but seeing that the Import Charges of $73.65 is putting me off as I'd send him an email asking him to be kind & mark the item as a gift with a value of $35.
 
Scazza said:
Just wondering if you had to pay the 'Import Charges' quoted when you checked out or whether these were optional?!

I'd like to make the seller an offer and pay postage but seeing that the Import Charges of $73.65 is putting me off as I'd send him an email asking him to be kind & mark the item as a gift with a value of $35.
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As things stand I've only paid postage and cost of item. I assume customs will send me the additional invoice once it gets over here.
 
road2ruin said:
As things stand I've only paid postage and cost of item. I assume customs will send me the additional invoice once it gets over here.
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Youll more than likely receive a note in post saying package has arrived and duty needs to be paid upon collection. The "send as gift option" is used quite a bit on eBay. But as goods are quite valuable no sensible seller would do it as they'd not be covered for loss or damages.
 
Scazza said:
Ah ok. Just been trying to make sense of eBays Global Postage System as it seems to me that they add the import charges at checkout :confused: very confusing!
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Yep, just checked my Paypal confirmation and it does say that it was multiple payments i.e. 1 for the item and 1 for the dispatch/customs charges.

It was dispatched yesterday so will just wait and see what happens over the next couple of weeks.
 
MGL said:
Perhaps some people find them useful, just like they might find a net in their back garden useful. Just because you don't/didn't doesn't mean you need to question someones reasons for wanting one.

I don't understand the negativity tbh.
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@MGL - not negativity from @6inchcup I'd suggest - just an answer to the OP question

Any thoughts? Something you would like?
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SwingsitlikeHogan said:
@MGL - not negativity from @6inchcup I'd suggest - just an answer to the OP question
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Not trying to start an argument but I thought it was - and a subsequent one as well.

You've both stated you can't see the point in them - what can an amateur do with all those stats, etc.

One of the key benefits I can see in them (I'm thinking of the Swingbyte 2 here) is that you can take the figures its throws out and view 3d and spin the shot around on a screen, you can see your takeaway, line at the top, whether you decelerate, where your transition is, how forceful that is, etc etc. You could then easily try drills to correct anything and then remeasure and compare. Thats one particular benefit I can see to us normal golfers.

The fact that (with Swingbyte again) you can store sessions over time and do this compare/contrast over a number of sessions I think is really useful.

Believe me, I am not some stat geek who would pore over lots of data - but I do (from a personal point of view) see some practical utility in these devices.

Everyone learns in different ways.
 
They have made it look like a more expensive model and that's about it. Calculated spin rates an launch angles are useless.

Gives no more usable information than the SC100 does, then puts what useful there is into an app which is riddled with bugs - great stuff.

SC100 is still on top of my list.
 
RichardSanderson said:
They have made it look like a more expensive model and that's about it. Calculated spin rates an launch angles are useless.

Gives no more usable information than the SC100 does, then puts what useful there is into an app which is riddled with bugs - great stuff.

SC100 is still on top of my list.
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I think the other consideration is a practical one on the usage front. I was quite keen on the ES14 when I found out about the additional bits that it measures however the biggest negative I kept finding on the reviews was the space it required especially when using driver etc. Apparently it was very difficult to set up in range bags as it needed to be set too far away from the mat. The SC100 measures from behind so no such difficulties.

Now obviously I am only basing this on what I have read so owners of the ES might well come back and say that is rubbish however I wasn't prepared to risk that so the SC100 is winging its way to me now.
 
road2ruin said:
I was quite keen on the ES14 when I found out about the additional bits that it measures
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This is the root of the problem. it doesn't measure the additional bits - it takes an (un)educated guess.

I fear too few people will realise this and think they are buying a full blown launch monitor with all the bells and whistles.

Their marketing strategy on this product is shameful. They need to be clear that it calculates the launch and spin rates.
 
Alex1975 said:
Good review but with no launch and spin I am out...
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I was hoping the review would dmonstrate an excellent correlation on ALL shots but, alas, the lack of launch and spin measurement means this is not for me either.

Genuine question... if someone managed to release a GC2 equivalent (without HMT, i.e. ball launch only) for around £2,500, whilst you would no doubt be tempted do you think you would actually buy?
 
mab said:
I was hoping the review would dmonstrate an excellent correlation on ALL shots but, alas, the lack of launch and spin measurement means this is not for me either.

Genuine question... if someone managed to release a GC2 equivalent (without HMT, i.e. ball launch only) for around £2,500, whilst you would no doubt be tempted do you think you would actually buy?
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Yep same, that the spin was around 1k out means that they are WAY out of it.


Ye I would buy a GC2 type bit of kit for £2500...
 
MGL said:
One of the key benefits I can see in them (I'm thinking of the Swingbyte 2 here) is that you can take the figures its throws out and view 3d and spin the shot around on a screen, you can see your takeaway, line at the top, whether you decelerate, where your transition is, how forceful that is, etc etc. You could then easily try drills to correct anything and then remeasure and compare. Thats one particular benefit I can see to us normal golfers.
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Blimey - given that information would completely do my head in. I don't even understand the words wot you've wrote :)
 
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