Simulator Summary

The 2015 PGA Show was an amazing event, packed with cool new products, highlighted by some incredible technology. We met with reps from 7 simulator companies over two days, and the amount of information we received was staggering. We learned about new ball and club tracking technologies, simulator features, teaching methods, and even got a chance to personally test every simulator we reviewed. 

They can generally be broken up into two sections: launch monitors and simulators. The self-contained, "all-inclusive" simulator products package everything you need into one custom built space. The tracking technology, screen, computer, projector, and in most cases the room, are built specifically for sim golf. These companies include X-Golf, Full Swing Golf, Tru Golf, and About Golf.

Launch monitors are the product that reads ball and club data during the golf shot, and are available outside of the all-inclusive simulator setup. Trackman, Flightscope, and Foresight are the three companies we saw who's primary product is their launch monitor. All three of these companies will build you a self-contained simulator room, but they are most noted for their portability and versatility. Foresight especially offers a beautiful complete simulator system, with two GC2's permanently installed facing a right and left handed player. 

 Overall rating and comments: (scroll down or click links to the right for full reviews)

 

1. - About Golf - About Golf's simulator was fantastic. Easy to use, accurate, fun, and great for teaching. It offered a family experience not seen in any other simulator. The AGPortal is genius, and makes this simulator the most versatile available. From Tour Pros to beginner golfers, everyone will find something to love in an About Golf Simulator. If The Golf Channel trusts it for live T.V, you know the technology is accurate and reliable. 

2. - Full Swing Golf - Was a slightly better simulator experience than About Golf, but the AGPortal got About Golf the number 1 spot. What amazed me most about Full Swing Golf was how quick and accurate the ball tracking was. The rep challenged me to hit draws, fades, skulls, and shanks; and they all looked exactly like they would on a real range. You really feel like your golf ball blasts through the screen and flies off into the digital world. Chipping and putting was perfectly lifelike.

3. - Trackman - The number 1 launch monitor system. Trackman is the choice of the pro's for a reason, it measures more data, and claims more accuracy than anyone. It's inability to pick up short game shots make it a lesser option as a full golf simulator experience, but as a virtual driving range it can be very effective. Its portability can also be important if your area is only sometimes enclosed, or if you wish to take it outside. Overall more of a teaching tool than a simulator.

4. - Foresight GC2 - Great combination of simulator (runs E6 software), and launch monitor. Measures less data than most other launch monitors, but also costs a lot less. The companies pre-built simulator setups are great looking, but you need a GC2 on each side to accommodate left and right handed players. We currently have a GC2 with E6 simulator software setup indoors for teaching use this winter and early spring. 

5. - FlightScope - The HUD was not quite a clean as Trackman; and some of the info was difficult to find and compare. The ball flight indoors (about 40 yards) did not always correspond to what was shown on the display.

6. - Tru Golf - Rating Tru Golf number 6 is a little unfair, as they created the E6 simulator software that many of these companies are running, but their attempt at a self-contained simulator was very average. Sonar technology did not measure as many data points and experience was not as clean or sharp as the above models. The rep almost suggested you would be better off having Tru Golf build you a sim with a Trackman in it.
 
7. - X- Golf - A lot going on with X-Golf, and some of it is pretty cool. The auto-teeing system was original, and being able to control the simulator on a foot pad behind the teeing area would be very useful if practicing alone. However, the gadgets and gizmos clogged the teeing area visually, and the simulator software was par for the course. It costs nearly what an About Golf or Full Swing Golf unit would cost, and does not provide close to the same experience.





Disclaimer....This article and those previous to it were written based on personal experiences, testimony, and product reviews. Some of the information in the blog may have been taken from promotional materials. The opinions are those solely of the writer, and do not reflect the opinions of any group, business, or organization he is associated with. Hit it long and straight!

About Golf

The About Golf Simulator was one of the best overall products we saw at the show. They are the "Official Golf Simulator" of the PGA Tour, and the simulator used live on The Golf Channel's Morning Drive. Both of those honors are well justified.

The About Golf Simulator is accurate, utilizing their proprietary 3Trak ball and club tracking technology. 3Trak's high-speed, 3D camera placed above the golfer captures and measures 27 points of ball and club data. Unlike many systems that require multiple pieces of technology to capture so much data, the About Golf Simulator's 3Trak camera is able to do so alone. Perhaps the only negative is that marked balls are required to provide the most accurate spin readings.

About Golf 3Trak ceiling mounted camera

 About Golf's simulator has multiple teaching features as well. Pressure plates built into the floor read weight shift, balance, and tempo, and can be displayed graphically on the screen in real time. Secondary cameras can be placed beside or behind the golfer and linked into the system to use video analysis in addition to launch data. About Golf will track your practice or play sessions, club fittings, and lessons, which can be easily shared amongst your friends or with your pro. The separate fitting mode in the simulator is exceptional. It tracks dispersion data, and allows your fitter to compare different results over one or multiple sessions. Want to know if that new driver really is going farther? We have your data from your old one, and can overlay the display with the results from the new one.

About Golf Fitting Screen

Simulated rounds of golf, and simulated range time are absolute joys on the About Golf Simulator. The interface is easy to use, the graphics are excellent, and the ball response is fast. Shot tracking seemed very accurate, all the way down to chipping and putting. Your practice session can be fully customized with selected targets, shots, and skills challenges. With over 55 courses and 8 ranges available, there are plenty of places to play and shots to challenge yourself with. About Golf also allows a player to create a custom set of tees for a simulated round. Your son or daughter can play from tees that are 20-120 yards away from the green, while you play from the tips. This customization plus the next great feature AGPortal, make About Golf the most family oriented simulator on the market.

About Golf Simulator Range

AGPortal is truly what we felt set About Golf Simulators above the rest. AGPortal is a home screen for the simulator software that gives the user many great options other than playing golf. You can watch Netflix, listen to Pandora, surf the internet, store pictures, watch live T.V, and play awesome family golf games. Picture in picture T.V. and Pandora are both available while you are playing a simulated round. There is also a news scroll at the bottom of the screen that can be turned on or off while you are practicing or playing. Sim Golf Night with the guys? Keep up with the basketball scores instantly. Throw Spongebob on the PIP while you hit range balls and I bet little Johnny will sit still.
Or, if you want to bring the whole family in on the fun, AGPortal offers mini-golf games, golf skills games and even Skeeball, played by actually putting into the simulator. These seemed a little strange at first, but were incredibly fun and addicting to play.

Overall, the About Golf Simulator was amazing, and was definitely my favorite simulator of the PGA Show. The combination of its teaching and fitting abilities, with fantastic simulation, entertainment, and games make it the most versatile simulator available. About Golf's Simulators are built custom to spec, and generally cost between $48,000 and $55,000.

www.aboutgolf.com

Full Swing Golf

"Their new technology is impressive, it allows me to shape shots the way I want to." That was Tiger Woods on January 21st discussing his new partnership with Full Swing Golf Simulators.

Full Swing Simulators are equipped with Ion2 Vision Technology, a combination of an overhead high speed camera and Infrared Lightwave Technology which provided one of the most accurate and enjoyable golf simulator experiences of the PGA Show.

Infrared Lightwave Technology consists of a series of infrared senors built into a strip in the wall and ceiling of the simulator's self-contained enclosure that create 2 light "windows" the ball passes through. This technology allows the Full Swing Simulator to be incredibly fast, accurate, and realistic. Unlike most simulators that require the ball to be placed in a a specific location, inside the full swing simulator you can tee it up anywhere, and aim it at any corner of the screen. Since the ball breaks the "windows" at different locations, and the camera has tracked its starting location, golfers can adjust their aim, and change their angles just like they would in real life. The Full Swing Simulator is also fast; the instant your golf ball hits the screen it's visible in the virtual world at that exact location. It legitimately looks like you hit the golf ball into the game. The "golfer view" shot viewing option makes it even better, as the picture on the simulator tilts up to watch your ball flight as your eyes would in real life.

The accuracy for draws and fades, even on shorter shots was beautiful. It was comparable to the radar based systems which track the entire ball flight, but in a self contained indoor enclosure.

Full Swings beautiful self contained simulator.

Full Swing's data and video technology is equally impressive. It measures 11 data points via the overhead camera including club head speed and angle, and all your standard ball launch statistics via the infrared sensors. It also is compatible with a high tech video system called Swing Catalyst.

Full Swing Golf club path display

Swing Catalyst uses 3 cameras and pressure plates in the floor to capture biometric and movement data. This includes body angles, weight shift, pressure, center of gravity, swing balance, and tempo. Combined with their fantastic launch monitor technology, and their lifelike simulator, Full Swing Golf and Swing Catalyst offer a complete package for indoor golf teaching, simulation, and club fitting.

Full Swing provides a full suite of teaching tools, including cloud based session storage, PDF student reports, shot and club comparisons, and fitting mode tools to directly compare clubs against one another. They also offer online tournaments and leagues that can be created or joined privately or publicly. 

Swing Catalyst Camera Setup, biometric data on screen

Full Swing Golf's Simulator is clean, good looking, and simple. The floor is raised to accommodate pressure plates, but it's a one level riser, and there are no bulky lumps around the teeing area. The carpeted riser floor, teeing area, and walls with infrared senors built in are all included.

Full Swing Golf Simulators are all built custom to spec, and range in price from the high 40's to the low 50's depending on your requirements.

Overall, I cannot overstate how fantastic this simulator was. Full Swing's combination of great technology, teaching tools, and realistic golf sim was without question one of the best of the show. It's no surprise that Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth, Hunter Mahan, Michael Jordan, and Donald Trump are some of their recent clients.

www.fullswinggolf.com

Trackman

The TrackMan Pro is a top-of-the-line radar based launch monitor. It measures the full trajectory of any shot, from 6-foot pitches to 400-yard drives, pinpointing the landing position with an accuracy of 1 foot at 100 yards. Delivering state-of-the-art data without using any modeling or calculations, the shot’s actual 3D trajectory together with 26 club and ball flight statistics are measured and displayed. Trackman Pro is able to measure club path, face angle, angle of attack, club speed, dynamic loft, as well as ball data such as distance, spin, axis, height, flight time, ball speed, and smash factor.

Trackman also has a high speed video camera, which captures video of the golfer and allows the teacher all the options and tools of a complete video teaching suite.

Trackman Pro is one of the industry leaders in radar based launch monitors, and is used by dozens of PGA Tour players, Top 100 teachers, and University Golf Programs.

Trackman with video analysis app

Like most radar based launch monitors, Trackman Pro is less effective indoors, as it has a larger ball flight requirement to always provide accurate data. Therefore simulators built with a Trackman as their only launch monitor technology will struggle to provide short game practice options, and make playing full rounds of golf a little more difficult.

Trackman does offer fully built simulator units between $44,000 and $54,000, which includes a screen, projector, and run E6 simulator software. The Trackman Pro alone starts at $22,000 for an indoor only model, and $24,000 for the indoor/outdoor model.

The Trackman launch monitor itself is also exceedingly portable. It can be moved from an indoor studio to the range, or from hitting bay to hitting bay with ease. This is why you see a line of them behind Tour Pros on the driving ranges early in tournament week. The information is easily accessible via mobile app or computer, and is saveable and sharable on the mytrackman.com website. Reports on shot data from lessons can be downloaded and sent from teacher to student immediately after a practice session, or saved for later use. 

Trackman data display screen

Trackman also provides a variety of training "games" that you can play to make your practice more fun and to challenge yourself. How many times can you hit a wedge within 20 ft of your target? Trackman will tell you, and let you share it with your buddies. Now you're not just competing on Saturday morning. Take their 60 swing test and see how stack up against PGA Tour pros in accuracy and distance throughout your bag.

Overall, the Trackman Pro comes highly reviewed and recommended for its accuracy, teaching tools, club fitting modes, and for "Trackman University"; an educational program for students to learn how to best utilize their Trackman. It is generally considered the gold standard in outdoor launch monitor technology, and rightfully so.

http://trackmangolf.com/

Tru Golf and the E6 Simulator Software

Tru Golf, the makers of the industry leading E6 Simulator Software, also offers a variety of "all inclusive" setups. Using optic sensors implanted in the mat below the hitting zone, Tru Golf Simulators track your club path and face angle. To measure ball data, Tru Golf uses an interesting and unique technology, sonar. Three sensors about the size of a quarter are implanted in the walls and ceiling a few feet in front of where golf shots will impact your net or screen. They create a sonar field which triangulates the location of the ball as it passes through. This location, combined with the club data captured by the laser sensors then calculate your ball flight statistics. It is notable that most of the statistics are not measured directly from the golf ball, which can lead to higher variations in accuracy. You are however, free to use any unmarked ball you would like so you can play or practice with your preferred golf ball.

Tru Golfs Simulator with a curved projector screen and touch screen computer

Tru Golf self-contained simulator setups range from $30,000 to $45,000 based on screen size, awning and wood trim options, and number of courses available to play.

Where Tru Golf really shines is in its E6 Simulator Software, which is shared with companies like Foresight, FlightScope, and Trackman, and is among the best in the industry. The graphics and accuracy are excellent, and the display is very intuitive and easy to use. It's easy to see why so many other launch monitor companies use E6 in their full simulator builds.

Fortunately, this shared technology can allow you to customize a Tru Golf simulator with a completely different launch monitor than the above describe sonar and lasers.

Tru Golf will build you a simulator with a Trackman, FlightScope, or GC2 launch monitor combined with the E6 Software. This flexibility would be useful if a location was going to be used as a simulator some of the time, and a standard hitting bay at other times.
 

Jim watching his ball flight on the Tru Golf Simulator

https://trugolf.com/

X-Golf

The X-Golf Simulator is a self-contained golf simulator system that uses high speed laser light sensors in the floor and a high speed camera mounted above the golfer to capture golf ball and club data, and display a virtual shot to the golfer on a projection screen. Ball data is captured by the camera above the golfer, and reads all your standard launch and spin statistics. The laser light sensors mounted in the floor directly before and after the impact zone capture club path and face angles. All of this information is easily available on the heads-up-display during a round or practice session, or by going to a dedicated data screen.
X-Golf incorporated numerous features that we had not seen before, including an auto-teeing system, a foot pedal controller, and a variable lie changing platform.

X-Golf Teeing Area, auto-tee is the circle in front, foot control behind

 The combination of ground sensors and the birds-eye-view camera is available in the "NEX Golf System" which also includes video analysis software, and 89 worldwide courses is priced at $40,000. X-Golf also has "ZES" (lasers only), and "EYE" (camera only) systems available at $35,000 and $30,000 respectively. One can also expect around $10,000 in additional costs when computers, enclosures, screens, projectors, and flooring are added. The variable lie changing platform XPlate is also a $9,000 upcharge.

Since the lasers are below the hitting area, a 6 inch riser must be built to contain the technology.

X-Golf Simulator

Some of the benefits of the X-Golf Simulator are that it measures everything (other than distance) about the club and the ball flight. The lasers in the floor "see" the club path and face angles; it's not assumed based on the ball flight as it is in some simulators. The camera above captures the ball data. Specially marked balls must also be used to accurately measure spin rates, though that is common with most systems.

X-Golf Simulator displaying clubface data after a shot...yes it went in the water

Overall the X-Golf Simulator was merely average, the graphics were decent, and the ball flight seemed accurate. However the teeing area was a mess aesthetically, and the speed with which the ball appeared on the screen after the ball impacted it was slow. All of the extra bells and whistles, seem to have driven up the cost to that of the most elite systems, which this one is not.

www.xgolfsimulator.com

FlightScope

Unlike the camera based GC2, the FlightScope Xi and X2 Elite Launch Monitors use 3D Doppler Radar to track your club path through the hitting zone, as well as ball flight from impact to landing. The system captures 26 data points including launch angles (vertical and horizontal), spin axis, spin rate, apex height, distance to a selected target, flight time, and carry and roll distances. Since the golf ball is being tracked through its entire flight, information such as carry and roll distances are measured, not calculated. Radar based systems claim the carry distance statistic is accurate down to 1 foot.

FlightScope displays ball and club data for an entire series of swings.

FlightScope displayed club face angle and swing path through the impact zone

However, these launch monitors can be difficult to use indoors. The FlightScope must be placed at least 8 feet behind the player, and requires a minimum 13ft of ball flight to provide readings. Additionally, since the golf ball is no longer being tracked through its entire flight, distance data will be calculated using launch angle, ball speed, and spin rates, just like a camera based launch monitor. It is also unable to track chip shots below 13ft, or putts of any kind.
This severely limits the effectiveness of FlightScope when used with simulator software. The E6 virtual driving range is usable with a FlightScope, but the experience of playing a simulated golf course is diminished.
It can also be overwhelming for beginners due to the amount of information presented. We actually ran into a local Head Professional at the FlightScope booth who complained that he was unable to understand a variety of the measurements, and how they interacted with ball flight and the golf swing.

FlightScope virtual driving range displayed on a T.V.

FlightScope models range from a basic Xi+ at $5,000, to the fitting model the X2 Elite at $12,000. The X2 Elite comes with access to myflightscope.com, a web app which connects players and teachers to their practice sessions when using the radar. Shot data is available for players to save, review, and share. They can compare practice sessions, fitting clubs, and track statistics throughout the season.
FlightScope also offers a variety of training sessions throughout the country to allow the Golf Professional to become "FlightScope Certified". 

Overall the FlightScope is a great launch monitor at a reasonable cost. The ability to track both the ball and the club and provide 26 data points can be an important tool for players and teachers who understand how to analyze and utilize the data. 

The FlightScope Launch Monitor at the PGA Show indoor range.

http://flightscope.com/