Foresight Falcon 2024 Review: Overhead Golf Simulator Now Smaller, Less Expensive

If you really want to do a golf simulator studio right — I’m talking about a dream setup that’s on the level of what you’d find at a commercial operation — you’ve got to go with an overhead mount for the golf launch monitor.

You’re with me, right?

I mean, when you dream of your own golf simulator studio, what does it look like? Chances are, your ultimate vision doesn’t include a launch monitor on the floor and in the way. No, your dreams are of a large screen and a simulator and projector that are mounted out of site and out of mind. 

I think that if space and budget weren’t factors, that’s what we’d all want for our home golf simulator studios. Something with a large hitting area, where both righties and lefties can share space and nobody has to perfectly position the ball so that the shot is captured.

Well, the dream got just a little bit closer to reality earlier this year when Foresight Sports released their Foresight Falcon. It’s a smaller, less expensive, just as powerful version of their popular-in-commercial-spaces GCHawk.

Suddenly, an overhead-mounted golf simulator at home is a little more accessible than it used to be.

No, the Foresight Falcon isn’t cheap. It costs $14,999.99. But that’s five grand less than the GCHawk. Foresight has actually reduced the price of their flagship overhead simulator system and made it smaller without changing anything about the shot tracking. This is legitimately good news.

And when you consider that for that $15K you automatically get both ball and club data, there are no annual subscription fees, and you get all of Foresight’s best simulator software plus 25 simulator golf courses, the price really isn’t as scary as it might initially seem.

Fact is, compared to the GCHawk or anything else that’s come out, the Foresight Falcon gets us all closer to realizing our home golf simulator dreams.

Is there a better way to spend $15,000 on a golf launch monitor?

For a lot of us, I don’t think so. If you plan to use your golf launch monitor only in your indoor golf simulator studio, I think this might be the current mountaintop.

But it won’t be right for all of us, of course. Obviously, budget is still going to be a major issue for many. But there are some other things to consider before blindly chasing this dream any further. Let’s pump the brakes just a bit and dissect it all.

Foresight Falcon vs GCHawk: Same Power, Now Smaller 

For a lot of people, one issue with the GCHawk, besides the $20K asking price, has been its size. It’s kind of enormous. The Hawk is more than 7 feet long. The new Falcon is only 3.5 feet long. So we’re talking about a reduction in size of more than half.

While it’s true that if you have enough space for an indoor golf simulator, you probably have more than 7 feet of ceiling length to mount the Hawk, think of what an unwieldy, pain-to-position-and-secure beast that thing is. The Foresight Falcon is way more reasonable and simpler, especially if you ever plan to move it.

But the cool thing about the smaller size of the Falcon is that it doesn’t sacrifice any of the hitting zone size. One of the things that’s made the GCHawk such an awesome golf simulator is that you can toss a ball down carelessly and still get a readout on your impact screen. The hitting zone with the Hawk is more than 4 feet long.

Well, now with the smaller Foresight Falcon, the hitting zone is even larger at just under 5 feet. You do give up 2 inches of hitting zone depth with the Falcon compared to the Hawk, but at more than 2 feet (28 inches), it’s still more than sufficient.

Also, the 26-pound Falcon is 10 pounds lighter than the 36-pound Hawk. Again, that’s a good thing when it comes to installation and alignment.

Foresight Sports also improved the mounting system for the Falcon, introducing an automatic latching ceiling mount that’s designed to be easier to operate than the slide-in mount of the Hawk.

The Falcon also features an integrated power supply now, rather than the additional bulk of the external power supply on the GCHawk.

Other than that, it’s the same reinforced aluminum construction with both the Falcon and the Hawk. The Falcon does feature a new rubberized impact protection layer that is replaceable, so I guess that’s a plus in the event that your launch monitor takes some hits by extremely errant golf balls.

That is something worth noting. The Foresight Falcon gets mounted 4 feet in front of your hitting area. It is possible to hit it with a big flop shot. So, yeah, don’t do that. But the Falcon is designed to withstand heavy use and looks like it can take a reasonable beating, assuming you don’t damage the lenses of the cameras. It’s constructed to survive constant use in a commercial operation.

As for how much space you’ll need to install a Foresight Falcon, you definitely need at least 9.5-foot ceilings, though I’d say at least 10 would be ideal. Height requirements are always going to vary depending on the height and swing lengths of the golfers using the space.

You’ll also need at least 10 feet between the ball and the impact screen and then enough space behind the ball so that you can swing the club without hitting the wall. That’s probably another 4 feet, so your room depth requirements are likely around 14 feet.

For width, you just need the space to accommodate your screen and enclosure, which will be wide enough to allow you to swing without hitting the side walls.

To me, it’s crazy to think that you can pull off a pro-style simulator studio with an overhead mount in a room smaller than what you’d need to run a floor-sitting Doppler radar golf launch monitor, which usually requires as much as 21 feet of depth.

Ceiling height, as it always is with indoor golf simulators, is likely the biggest challenge for most users. But I also think it’s interesting that you don’t need that much more ceiling height for an overhead-mounted monitor than you would with something sitting on the floor. The biggest hurdle to clear is still having enough room to swing your driver in your house without destroying your stuff. The Foresight Falcon really doesn’t make that bar that much harder to clear.

Foresight Falcon: Golf Simulation Stays the Same, but No More Soccer!

The one thing that the GCHawk can do that the Foresight Falcon can’t is soccer simulation. The Hawk was designed as a multi-sport device capable of delivering home entertainment beyond just golf.

So, if you or your kids or grandkids want to use your overhead golf launch monitor to kick soccer balls at the screen and into a simulated net, you’re out of luck with the Foresight Falcon.

My guess is that the soccer functionality wasn’t as popular as Foresight originally envisioned. Regardless, readers of this space likely only care about the golf features. And the good news is that nothing has changed on that front between the Hawk and Falcon. That means that unless you want soccer, the Falcon offers you a $5,000 savings over the Hawk when it comes to golf data and simulation.

Like the Hawk, the Falcon features the same quadrascopic high-speed camera system as the Foresight GCQuad and QuadMAX. That means four cameras tracking every shot from multiple angles to deliver the industry standard in ball and club data metrics. 

You’ve got multiple options available for connecting the Falcon to a computer and the Foresight software. There’s USB-C and Ethernet ports, and the Ethernet data rate is improved to a gigabit per second compared to 10 megabits per second with the Hawk. You can also connect to the Falcon via WiFi.

Like the Quad and QuadMAX, the Falcon provides unmatched accuracy and detail in data collection. It’s the kind of device that’s good enough even for pro-level players, teaching pros, and club fitters.

Right out of the box and with no annual subscriptions, you get:

Ball Data

• Carry distance
• Ball speed
• Vertical launch angle
• Horizontal launch angle
• Total spin
• Spin axis
• Ball apex
• Descent angle
• Ball offline

Club Data

• Club head speed
• Club path
• Angle of attack
• Lie and face angle at impact
• Smash factor
• Loft at impact
• Impact location on clubface
• Closure rate

That’s actually the same data you get with a QuadMAX, which costs $5,000 more than the Falcon!

Now we’re starting to get a clearer picture. Really, the only reason I think someone would choose something like the GCQuad or QuadMAX over the Foresight Falcon is if they wanted a portable golf launch monitor that they could bring with them out to the driving range. If not for that scenario, why wouldn’t you choose the more professional, user-friendly experience of an overhead-mounted Falcon?

To get the club data, you will need to add stickers to your clubface. While the stickers are small and pretty inconspicuous, a lot of people, myself included, view them as a bit of a pain. That’s especially true when you have guests and want them to be able to see their club data. That said, the Falcon does come with a sticker dispenser to make the process fast and easy.

Another minor annoyance is the way the hitting area is laid out. It is huge, which is awesome. But because of how the unit is constructed and the position of the four cameras, it can’t pick up club data across the whole hitting zone. Instead, there are two 11-inch by 11-inch squares in the front corners of the hitting area. To get club data, you need to hit shots from one of those two areas. This isn’t a deal breaker by any stretch, and the issue is the same with the GCHawk. But it does mean that you have to be at least a little precise with your ball placement if you want to get the club data (which, of course, you will want).

Foresight Falcon Golf Simulator Functionality

Once again, there’s nothing new to report when it comes to using the Foresight Falcon as a golf simulator. And that’s a good thing. If it ain’t broke, why fix it?

Just as with the GC3, GCQuad, and QuadMAX, you get the same Foresight simulator software and the same 25 simulator golf courses.

That software includes:

• FSX Play
• FSX 2020
• FSX Pro Performance
• Foresight Fairgrounds
• Awesome Golf

It’s an awesome suite of software with a ton of driving range and gameplay options. The FSX Play software alone is a showstopper with some of the most lifelike graphics in the industry.

For simulator golf courses, you get:

• Blue Bayou Golf and Fishing Club
• Broken Tree Golf Course
• Linfield National Golf Club
• Teton Pines Golf Course
• Willow Crest Golf Club
• The Farms Golf Club
• Beaver Hills Country Club
• Tall Pines
• Butterfield Country Club
• Kinsale Golf and Fitness Club
• Awbrey Glen Golf Course
• Barren Boulders Executive
• Black Rock Golf Course
• Detroit Country Club
• Glen Flora Country Club
• Greencastle Golf Club
• Meadowbrook Country Club
• Mill Creek Golf Club
• Potter’s Park Golf Course
• Prairie Bluff Golf Club
• Sunnyside Golf & Country Club
• The Bedens Brook Club
• Twin Run Golf Course
• Wellington National Golf Club
• Tropical Paradise Executive 

You’ll have to pay additional for any other Foresight golf courses, and they can be a bit expensive. Some of the biggies, like St Andrews and Pebble Beach, cost another $500 each.

Remember, one of the big pluses about these Foresight Sports golf launch monitors, including the Falcon, is that there are no annual subscriptions. With a lot of competing products, you can’t play simulator golf, or get club data, or unlock the most advanced features without paying a subscription. So, yes, the price of the Falcon is steep, but it’s a one-time investment.

Reasons Not To Buy the Foresight Falcon

Clearly, the biggest deterrent to buying a Foresight Falcon is the price. Not everyone has an extra $15,0000 to spend on a golf launch monitor. Especially when you consider that if you go with something this state-of-the-art, you’re likely going to want to invest in the very best accompanying accessories like the hitting mat, enclosure, projector, and impact screen. Obviously, things can get quite expensive very fast.

The next biggest limiting factor is ceiling height. But as I pointed out, this is likely to be a challenge regardless of what kind of golf launch monitor you get, whether floor-standing or mounted overhead. Not everyone has the 9-to-10-foot ceilings it takes to play golf in your house.

After that, the biggest reason not to buy a Foresight Falcon is if you like to get your numbers out at the driving range. When you turn on the TV to watch the pros warm up on the range, you’ll see a lot of GCQuad and QuadMAX launch monitors. That’s because the best players want the most reliable data to confirm their numbers before their most important competitive rounds.

You can’t take a Foresight Falcon out to the driving range. You can’t even take it over to your buddy’s house. With the Falcon, once you mount it, it’s probably going to stay there until you move houses or replace it with something else.

So for competitive players who need their numbers on the go, or for teaching pros who teach out on the range, or for clubfitters who work outdoors at a golf course, the Foresight Falcon isn’t the right tool.

I also don’t think the Falcon is the way to go if you’re not really serious about indoor golf. There are so many great affordable golf launch monitor options available. If you’re just getting started or aren’t quite sure how much time you’ll really spend in your golf simulator space, you can save a lot of money by buying something else.

And, of course, if you had your heart set on playing soccer using your golf simulator, well, the Falcon won’t work for that.

Reasons That You Should Buy the Foresight Falcon

As I said at the start, if you really want the dream sim setup that so many of us envision, I think the Foresight Falcon is the perfect choice.

It’s expensive, yes. But it’s not expensive relative to comparable golf launch monitor technology, including from the same Foresight Sports brand. In fact, when you compare it to something like the GCQuad and QuadMAX, the Falcon presents a lot of value.

If you want the ultimate in accuracy, lifelike simulator golf experience, set-it-and-forget-it convenience, the Falcon is the way to go. Floor-standing golf launch monitors, whether photometric or radar, can be great, but they also very often are in the way.

Especially when kids are involved or if you’re using the space for activities beyond golf, you can almost guarantee that at some point the golf launch monitor is going to get knocked over and have to be repositioned. With an overhead mount, you don’t have any of those concerns. Whenever you want to play, it’s as simple as firing up the system and starting to hit golf shots.

To now get all of these advantages in a smaller unit than the GCHawk and in one that costs $5,000 less is cause for celebration if you were on the fence about installing an overhead golf launch monitor in your home.

And if those incentives aren’t enough, remember that if you buy from PlayBetter.com, you’ll enjoy free two-day shipping and 30-day, no-hassle returns.

In other words, if you’ve got the budget and you’ve got the space, what are you waiting for?

About PlayBetter Golf Reviewer Marc Sheforgen

Marc "Shef" 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.