Here’s Why It’s a Bad Idea to Cheap Out on a Golf Launch Monitor

It’s true that inexpensive golf launch monitors are far superior to what they were just a few years ago. But even with a variety of affordable options, you’re probably still best off maximizing your budget.

Before we go any further, I’m not talking about buying more than you can afford. If you’ve got $600 to spend, great news: You now have legitimately solid golf launch monitor choices available to you that didn’t exist a few years back.

What I’m talking about is if you have a budget of $2,500, or $5,000, or $10,000, or more. Don’t cheap out and try to spend less than a grand.

It’ll be tempting, sure. At first glance, it can look like all golf launch monitors do about the same things and deliver about the same results. Why should you throw money away on a product that costs more but doesn’t do anything differently?

The answer, of course, is that there are differences—big ones—between budget golf launch monitors and the best golf launch monitor that you can afford.

Think of your golf launch monitor purchase as a long-term investment. If you buy the best you can afford now, your future self is going to thank you. And if you don’t, chances are you’re going to be re-buying sooner than later. Here’s why.

Should You Spend More on a Golf Launch Monitor? Understanding the Accuracy Advantage

Let’s talk about accuracy. It’s one of the biggest separators between the least expensive and the most expensive golf launch monitors.

Here’s a not-perfect-but-pretty-reliable truism: The more expensive the golf launch monitor, the more consistently accurate its data readouts.

I know that sucks. It’s not always that way with other types of products. But having tested almost all of the golf launch monitors available today, I can confirm and share with confidence that consistent accuracy and price go hand-in-hand.

There will always be variables that challenge that rule of thumb. Proper setup and the right conditions for the right kind of golf launch monitor are two that come to mind.

But when all things are equal, more expensive golf launch monitors are more accurate than less expensive golf launch monitors.

A big reason for that is the materials that go into these golf launch monitors. As you might expect, cheaper golf launch monitors consist of cheaper materials. That means that things like camera lenses, sensors, internal gyroscopes, etc. are either made of cheaper materials and not as thoroughly designed, or they’re not included at all.

The opposite is true of the highest end (and most expensive) golf launch monitors. When I visited the Foresight Sports headquarters, I was blown away by the attention to detail, the engineering, and the over-the-top stringent quality control lengths they went to, all in the name of achieving the utmost accuracy and reliability.

So, yes, the Foresight QuadMAX costs $19,999. But if you understood the premium materials and the exhaustive engineering that went into making that product, you might actually consider it a bargain.

And because of those materials and that design and engineering, the QuadMAX is, in fact, the most accurate golf launch monitor on the market. There’s a reason that Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau and so many other top tour pros use that product. They require the most accurate readings.

And, yeah, those players can afford the highest-priced golf launch monitors. By the way, I learned that Foresight doesn’t give their products away, even to the tour pros.

But chances are, you’re not a professional golfer. Which means that maybe you don’t need the absolute best and most reliable accuracy.

But I’d still encourage you to access the best accuracy that you can afford. It’s going to make your game-improvement efforts and your overall enjoyment so much better. If your data isn’t true to your on-course golf game, what good is it? You need as accurate of information as you can get. Which is a big reason that you need the best golf launch monitor that you can afford.

Less-expensive golf launch monitors often can deliver perfectly accurate data readings some of the time, or in certain conditions, or with a limited range of clubs. But if you spend more, that reliability and consistency increases.

Am I Better off With a More Expensive Golf Launch Monitor? The Data Difference

There’s ball data, and there’s club data. Ball data, of course, refers to the things that the actual golf ball is doing after it’s been hit. Club data refers specifically to what the clubface is doing as it approaches the ball, contacts it, and exits the hitting area.

The best golf launch monitors not only deliver both ball and club data, but they report that data with more consistent accuracy and with more meaningful contextualization and insights. And once again, that tends to cost more money.

Less expensive golf launch monitors may come with only ball data, or with the option to add club data for an additional fee. In either case, the less-expensive options will not only lack consistent accuracy with every club in the bag, they also won’t provide much information beyond the numbers themselves.

More expensive golf launch monitors give you more information and features to accompany the data.

Take a product like the FlightScope Mevo+ for example. Not only does it come with every possible ball and club data metric you could want, it also gives you access to really insightful 3D visuals, as well as things like swing video and impact location information.

All of that information, especially when it’s reliably accurate, can be very useful for game improvement. And that’s one more reason why it’s worth it to pay $2,299 for the Mevo+ as opposed to $599.99 for a lesser golf launch monitor.

That cheaper product isn’t going to match the accuracy consistency, the overall data points, and the data insights that something like the Mevo+ gives you. And the further up the expense chain you go, generally, the bigger that separation between a budget and premium experience becomes.

Golf Simulator Software: Pay Attention to What’s Included

Still another reason to stretch your spending when shopping for a golf launch monitor is the golf simulator experience.

This is open to debate, but I find that simulator software like FSX Play, GSPro, and SkyTrak+’s Course Play are graphically and detail-wise superior to packages like those from E6 Connect, or Rapsodo Courses, or the original Home Tee Hero that’s available with the Garmin Approach R10. So it’s important to consider which software experiences are included in each golf launch monitor’s purchase price.

On the surface, it may look like a sweet deal that you can get, say, five E6 Connect courses available with purchase.

But, even though it’s more expensive, it’s a sweeter simulator experience deal to buy a Foresight Sports golf launch monitor and get 25 FSX courses included with purchase. That software allows for such a rich, vibrant, lifelike simulator experience. It’s a far cry from the more cartoon-like graphics of some other options.

It’s also worth noting that the Home Tee Hero experience that’s available to Garmin Approach R50 users is so much better than the Home Tee Hero available to Garmin Approach R10 users. That’s one of a huge number of reasons that the R50 costs much more than the R10.

 

You also need to be mindful of simulator software compatibility. If you want to play something like GSPro, you have to make sure that the golf launch monitor will work with that software.

And then we circle back to the accuracy issue. To get the most realistic simulator golf experience, the shot shapes and distances have to be realistic. Once again, more expensive golf launch monitors are going to provide that more consistently accurate data that will produce those more lifelike simulator golf experiences, especially in an indoor golf simulator studio.

You’re just not going to be able to access the most realistic golf sim experience with the least expensive golf launch monitors. Sure, you’ll be able to play some kind of sim golf, but the experience is going to be lacking relative to top-end golf launch monitors.

Buy Once, Cry Once

I get it. Buying a golf launch monitor is a big purchase. They are expensive. It’s awfully tempting to spend as little as you can.

And I’m certainly not here to spend your money for you. I respect that there are limitations to what most people can spend. I’d never advise anyone to spend beyond their means.

If you can’t afford the best golf launch monitor, it doesn’t mean you can’t still have a great experience. It’s just that there are going to be limitations. You’re going to have to accept some inconsistencies, some missed shots, some data insight shortcomings, some less-lifelike golf simulator play.

Does that mean you shouldn’t buy a golf launch monitor unless you have $20 grand to spend? Of course not!!

But what it does mean is that you’d be wise to spend what you can afford. That is, if you value the best golf launch monitor and simulator experience.

About PlayBetter Golf Reviewer Marc Sheforgen

Marc Sheforgen is a golf writer whose passion for the game far exceeds his ability to play it well. Marc covers all things golf, from product reviews and equipment recommendations to event coverage and tournament analysis. When he’s not playing, watching, or writing about golf, he enjoys traveling (often golf-related), youth sports coaching, volunteering, and record collecting.