Everything You Need To Know About the Square Golf Launch Monitor

Square Golf is going to shake up the affordable golf launch monitor market in a big, big way.

Lower-price launch monitors have been stuck in a bit of a holding pattern. There’s a fair amount of same ol’, same ol’ from product to product with general compromises in exchange for the savings.

With the Square Golf Launch Monitor, that’s all changing.

Finally, we have a photometric golf launch monitor for under $1,000.

Finally, we’ve got a first-of-its kind, pay-as-you-go golf simulator software model that allows users to tailor their spending to their specific wants.

Finally, we’ve got an affordable golf simulator that not only includes putting but that actually excels at putting.

Finally, we have a sub-$1,000 GLM with a GSPro connection. And that doesn’t even gig you with an extra fee to access that connection!

And finally, we’ve got a legitimate golf launch monitor that includes a means of practicing and playing without even hitting an actual golf ball! 

That’s a hell of a lot of significant firsts. And that’s why the new Square is the most disruptive product to ever hit the affordable golf launch monitor market. This thing is putting all competitors on serious notice.

But…

The Square does include some limitations, the biggest being that it’s for indoor use only. I’m sorry to get you all worked up only to tell you that this might not be the right golf launch monitor for you.

Then again, it very well may be.

Let’s uncover all the truths about the most anticipated budget golf launch monitor since the Garmin Approach R10 established this product class more than three years ago.

Square Golf Unboxing and Setup Experience

In this gig of testing golf products, I’ve had more than a dozen golf launch monitors delivered to my house. All of them have arrived in a cube-like or rectangular box of varying size and weight.

Then the Square Golf Launch Monitor showed up. And I thought I’d been shipped a new driver. The Square is packaged in a long, skinny box that looks almost exactly like what you’d get if you ordered a golf club by mail, just a little bit shorter.

And that’s because, well, it includes the Swing Stick, something that’s at least very similar to an actual golf club.

I’ll get into the Swing Stick use later, but its inclusion does make the Square packaging much larger than it would be if you just got the golf launch monitor and the standard accessories like the charging cord.

The launch monitor itself is quite small, and also very light. It’s a rectangle that’s about 7.5 x 2.75 x 2.75 inches and weighs just 1 pound.

Honestly, my first impression was that this thing is too light for me to take seriously. I mean, it weighs less than a can of beer. How durable can it be?

My thoughts evolved on that as I got into using it. I’m coming around to accepting that, while it is quite light, the build quality isn’t overly cheap. Still, I worry about direct shots with an errant golf ball. I didn’t dare test that, but I wonder how well it’d hold up.

Which brings up another point: There’s no included carrying case. And there’s no included protective “shank tank” or cage to guard the Square from direct hits. Those are both potential gripes.

Here’s what you do get in the Square Golf box:

• Square Golf Launch Monitor
• Swing Stick
• Charging cable
• Remote control (with batteries included)
• Three marked golf balls
• Club shaft reflective stickers
• 1,000-credit code for simulator golf
• Instruction manual
• Removable lithium-ion battery

As for setup, it’s so incredibly easy. It’s actually one of the simplest-to-use golf launch monitors I’ve tested.

You download the Square Golf app, which works with iOS, Android, and PC, you follow the calibration prompts, you align the unit with your target using an included alignment stick and a tool in the app, and you’re ready to rock in just a couple of minutes. Super, super simple. Even if you’re tech-averse, you’ll be fine, trust me.

Features and Capabilities

Before we drill down in any one direction, let me give you something of an overview on some of the things that make the Square Golf unit distinctive.

Pay-As-You-Go Golf Simulator

One for-sure standout feature is the pay-as-you-go simulator model. Unlike many competitors that lock you into costly subscription plans, Square Golf takes a more flexible approach.

Each hole of golf costs a single credit, and the device comes with 1,000 credits at purchase—equivalent to 55 full rounds! Additional credits are available for as little as $0.02 each, making the cost negligible for casual or even frequent play.

I freaking love this credit model! It’s so awesome to have golf simulator access that doesn’t force you into a monthly or yearly subscription. Say you’re not playing much sim golf one month, why should you have to pay for what you’re not using? With Square, you don’t! 

I’ll cover more of the sim experience in a bit, including the courses included. But as for the pricing, I’m a big fan.

Third-Party Simulator Access WITHOUT a GLM Subscription

The Square is fully compatible with GSPro and E6 Connect. And you don’t have to use any of your Square credits to play sim golf with those third-party software packages.

Hallelujah! I know that a lot of golf launch monitor users are tired of having to pay a subscription just to allow them to use their golf launch monitors with third-party simulator software providers. It feels like gouging. No such greed with the Square. Another huge selling point for users who love GSPro and E6 Connect.

Ball and Club Data Included

The Square Golf Launch Monitor gives you:

• Ball Data: Ball Speed, Launch Direction, Launch Angle, Backspin, Sidespin, Apex, Carry Distance, Run Out, Total Distance
• Club Data: Path, Angle of Attack, Dynamic Loft, Face to Target

It’s great that the Square gives you club data without hiding it behind an additional paywall. But there are some key metrics that are missing. I’ll get into that as well as the accuracy as we go. And I’ll talk about what accessories you need to get the most accurate results.

Short Game and Putting Performance

One area where Square Golf shines brightest is in its short game and putting functionality. Not terribly surprising considering this golf launch monitor is from the company that brought us Exputt, a dedicated putting golf simulator product.

For putting, the Square is remarkably accurate, measuring ball speed and launch direction within 0.5 miles per hour and 0.5 degrees. That precision extends to chipping, which definitely sets the Square apart from other inexpensive golf launch monitors. It’s a big deal to have a $699.99 golf launch monitor that can actually help you improve your chipping and putting.

Swing Stick Innovation

The Swing Stick is a compact, 27-inch golf-club-like device with a proper golf club grip that allows you to use any of the Square’s functions—virtual driving range, closest-to-the-pin targets, putting practice, virtual golf courses—without having to use an actual golf club or hit an actual ball.

That means you need basically no room at all to have a lot of golf simulator fun.

But, as I’ll report below, it’s not quite a substitute for “the real thing.” 

Testing the Square Golf Launch Monitor Accuracy

First things first, the Square is for indoor use only. So, if you’re looking for a launch monitor that you can bring out to the range, this isn’t the one.

Apparently, direct sunlight not only compromises the two cameras and eight infrared sensors, but it can actually damage them. So, it won’t work well outside, and it’s not advisable to even try it outside. So I didn’t.

In an indoor sim studio, I put it up against the Foresight GCHawk. Because of the infrared sensors, I suspected that I’d have interference issues going side-by-side with some of the other floor-standing photometric golf launch monitors.

On the surface, it seems that pitting the $699.99 Square against the $19,999 GCHawk isn’t exactly a fair fight. But I was shocked to find out how well the Square held up. 

To get the best ball data accuracy, you need to use special Square Golf-issued marked golf balls. You get three of them with purchase and you can buy more as needed.

And to get club data, you need to apply reflective stickers to your golf club shafts. You get a sheet of them with your purchase of the Square. Yeah, this isn’t ideal, but it’s actually not a big deal. In fact, I kind of prefer these shaft stickers to the white dot fiducials you need with other photometric units. And these Square club shaft stickers are much less intrusive than what you get with something like the GolfJoy GDS Plus.

In my full-swing testing, I hit shots with a 56 degree wedge, a pitching wedge, a 7 iron, a 3 wood, and a driver. I gotta say that all the way up to the 3 wood, the data readings between the Square and GCHawk were spookily similar.

Ball speeds were often literally identical. Off maybe 1 or 2 mph when there was a discrepancy.

Carry distances were within a couple yards every single time.

Angle of attack was likewise pretty much dead on.

What really surprised me was how accurate the Square’s backspin numbers were. They only varied by a couple hundred RPMs, if that, from what I was seeing with the Hawk. Impressive!

Now, when I got to the 3 wood and driver, the numbers were further off. But, not crazily so. Carry distances were still typically within 5 yards, though I did have a few shots that drifted closer to 10 yards.

The other thing that impressed me was that shot shapes and trajectories—with all of the clubs I tested—were spot on. They matched what I was seeing with the GCHawk readouts and, to the best of my ability to tell, they matched what I was feeling with the shot. If I felt like I wiped across the ball, sure enough, I’d see a weak, pushy fade. And if I yanked one, it read true as a dead pull.

Still another thing that really struck me was how immediate the data readouts and ball flight appeared in the app after I hit each shot. The “shot to show,” as they call it, is instantaneous with the Square.

And finally, I have to say that I was incredibly impressed with how well the Square picked up chip and pitch shots. Even high-trajectory flop-like shots read without issue. That is so often a no-go with golf launch monitors anywhere near this price point.

Now I did suffer a fair amount of missed shots with the Square. Not with any one club in particular. And not an overly bad amount. But it happened. About one out of every dozen shots I hit just didn’t register for whatever reason. I thought I may have had a shadow issue going on with where I was testing, but changing that variable didn’t seem to fix the intermittent issue, so I’m not sure. I’m going to have to test it further.

While it’s awesome that you get club data with purchase, it is a fairly limited offering. Two big omissions are clubhead speed and smash factor. Those are numbers a lot of golfers are going to want, and the Square isn’t going to be able to deliver them for you.

Another negative had to do with Dynamic Loft readouts, which were just wildly inaccurate pretty much on all of my shots. This is clearly an estimated number by this golf launch monitor, and I don’t think it’s doing a very good job with its calculations. Then again, I’m not sure this is going to be a critical data point for most users.

Square Golf App Options

The Square Golf app is fairly basic. But that’s not to say it’s not useful. And it certainly is intuitive, easy to navigate, and responsive.

But the best thing is the graphic quality is actually surprisingly good compared to what I was expecting out of a relative newcomer at such a low price point.

When you open up the app, you’ve got options that include:

• Driving Ranges
• Closest to Pin
• Putting Practice
• Game

Driving Ranges

You have two virtual driving range options. One has big rock formations framing the range. The other is in a port with a big yacht parked next to the range. The latter range is kind of a strange look, actually. I prefer the former.

For either range, you can choose a fixed camera angle that will show a trace of the ball as it flies, or you can choose a tracking angle that will follow the ball through the air. I prefer fixed. It gives me a better picture and understanding of what the shot is actually doing.

The driving ranges are fairly basic, but like I said, the graphic quality is pretty good. On each range, you have your ball data running along the bottom of the screen, your club data on the right-hand side, your time of use and number of shots in the upper lefthand corner, and your club selection in the bottom right-hand corner.

Then in the very top right corner, there’s a “mode” button. When you press that, you can toggle between Graphics Mode (which allows you to see the virtual range and watch the ball flight) or Data Mode. In Data Mode, you get your ball and club data plus overhead and side simulations of what your club was doing through impact.

The visuals in Data Mode are cool and useful, but I hate that you can’t combine them with a shot tracer of your ball flight. To see the shot tracer, you have to be in Graphics Mode. I wish there was some means of combining those two visuals.

Closest to Pin

This is a cool practice feature. You can choose a fixed distance, random distances, or increasing distances, which means that the software will steadily move your target further away.

You can also set your green speed to affect how far the ball will roll out once it hits the green. And, like on the driving ranges, you can choose between fixed or tracking camera angles and between Graphics or Data modes. 

Putting Practice

A less-than-$1,000 golf launch monitor with a dedicated Putting Practice feature?! Say what?!

Not only does the Square read putts, it actually does a very good job of it. Like with the Closest to the Pin feature, you can choose whatever length putt, or random computer-assigned distances, or increasing distances. And you can choose your green speed.

Plus, after you strike each putt, you get a Ball Speed and Launch Direction readout along with the distance your putt rolled and how far you have remaining to the hole.

I gotta say, if you’ve got a good putting mat, this is a pretty darn decent way to practice your stroke. The “weight” and roll of the putts really do seem realistic. I’m certainly not suggesting that this replaces outdoor on-the-green practice by any stretch. But to hone your stroke, yeah, I think it’s actually useful and reliable.

Game 

This feature refers to playing simulator golf. You can play with up to four players, and you’ve got 12 fictional courses to choose from. As I understand it, Square Golf is going to be adding even more courses.

Let’s look a little closer at that golf simulator virtual course experience.

Square Golf Simulator Experience, Including Putting!

So, yes, the golf courses in the Square Golf software are fictional. But you know what? They don’t suck. Graphics-wise, detail-wise, realism-wise, I was quite impressed. And remember, you can plug into GSPro or E6 Connect without having to pay a connection fee. Once again, that’s such a nice plus.

In the Square app, once you choose your course and set your wind speed and green speeds, you’ll be charged one credit per golfer for each hole that you play.

Remember, you get 1,000 credits with the purchase of the Square Golf Launch Monitor. So if you’re playing solo, that’s more than 55 18-hole rounds. And if you want to reload credits, you’ve got options to buy them 100, 220, 440, 770, or 1,000 at a time, with price breaks as you go.

I love this pricing model. I think it’s going to be hugely popular. It’s so nice that you don’t have to pay for more simulator golf than you want to use. And when you do want to use it, the price is reasonable.

I found the experience of playing a simulated round to be really enjoyable. It was easy to operate. The flight paths and distances were realistic. The holes looked great. The detail was impressive.

But best of all… the putting! Finally, an affordable golf launch monitor that actually lets you complete the entire hole. You can choose to autoputt each green if you’d like. Or you can select “concede” distances of either 2 feet, 3 feet, or 4 feet. On the green, you get a grid showing you break and slope. Golf simulator putting is never going to quite mimic an outdoor experience, but the Square Golf solution is actually one of the best ones out there.

The Swing Stick: Gimmick or Game-Improvement Tool?

On top of everything we’ve discussed so far, the Square Golf Launch Monitor comes with a virtual golf club called the Swing Stick.

You set the app to indicate that you’re going to use the Swing Stick instead of a real club. Then you place a ball down in the hitting zone. You point this stick (which has an actual golf grip and has sensors all around the kind of triangular head) at the ball. And then you swing just like you would with a real club.

All of the features I mentioned—including the driving ranges, the closest to the pin, the putting practice, and the virtual golf courses—can be played using the Swing Stick.

Sounds pretty sweet, right?

Well, yes and no…

Here’s what’s realistic about it: The weight of the golf club is actually pretty real-feeling. I actually kind of love it for grooving or practicing your swing in a space where you don’t have room to swing a full-length club.

Here’s what’s not realistic: Everything is a little too perfect. I’ll put it like this: I WISH I hit the ball as well as the Swing Stick tells me I am. Every drive is pounded down the middle and further than I can hit one. Every approach shot seems to head straight towards the flag. If you used just the Swing Stick to practice golf and then went out to the course, you’d be in for a very rude awakening.

I will say that shot distances with everything up through my irons was actually pretty realistic. Woods and driver, not so much. The numbers were a little inflated. 

So, what is the Swing Stick good for? A lot, really.

I had house guests over the holidays. They included a couple of non-golfing teenagers. I fired up the Square Golf app, pulled out the Swing Stick in our living room, and they had a blast playing Closest to the Pin challenges and a few holes of simulator golf.

So for families and kids, I think this thing is awesome. And, like I said, I actually think it’s a useful tool for grooving your swing. I’m trying to do a better job of getting my lead hip to bump forward to start my downswing, and I’ve loved using the Swing Stick to practice that transition move.

But I don’t think this is a great tool if you’re trying to play serious simulator golf or to use it to hit shots on the virtual driving range and get meaningful data. The numbers are going to give you false hope. Even, for example, when I really try to close down the clubface to create a severe pull, the ball moves only a few yards left of the center line.

For that reason, I wish the Swing Stick was an add-on purchase option. Why not make the Square Golf Launch Monitor even less expensive and then offer the Swing Stick as an optional purchase? Or keep the launch monitor the same price but give us something more universally useful, like a carrying case, instead of the Swing Stick?

Square Golf Launch Monitor Strengths and Limitations

What I Loved

• Affordability: At $699.99, this is a budget-friendly option with premium features.
• A photometric GLM for less than $1,000: Before the Square, everything around this price point was radar. Not always a great indoor option for reasons of space requirements and accuracy issues.
• No subscription fees: The credit-based simulator model is a welcome departure from costly subscriptions.
• Accuracy: For the most part, ball and club data is impressively accurate for the price.
• Putting and chipping: Exceptional short game capabilities make this device a standout.
• Swing Stick: Not everyone’s gonna love it, but I think it’s got its place. I’m just not sure it should be automatically included with purchase.

Areas for Improvement

• Small hitting area: Some precision is required to align the ball within the required 6-inch square hitting zone.
• Missing key data points: Would love to see clubhead speed and smash factor included.
• Forced Swing Stick purchase: Instead of paying for the Swing Stick as part of the Square Golf purchase, I’d like to see it as an a la carte add-on option to save some money for those who may not be interested in this feature.
• No carrying case: Maybe throw in a carrying case instead of the Swing Stick. Then again, as an indoor-only unit, chances are you’re going to leave it set up in a fixed location. 

The Square Golf Launch Monitor Is a Bargain and Then Some!

No, the Square Golf Launch Monitor is not a Foresight Sports QuadMAX. You’re not going to see the pros using it. While the Square accuracy is good, it’s not up to those highest standards.

It’s also not going to give you the same software experiences, challenges, insights, and visuals of mid-tier-priced options like the FlightScope Mevo+ or the Skytrak+.

And, of course, it’s not even an option for outdoor use. So for anyone hoping to use a golf launch monitor to improve at the range, you’ll have to look elsewhere.

In other words, the Square isn’t right for everyone.

But you’re not going to find any other golf launch monitor that, for just $699.99 gives the space-saving and accuracy advantages of a photometric device, a pay-as-you-go golf simulator pricing model, free connection to GSPro and E6 Connect, useful putting and chipping numbers, and a fun option to play virtual golf without hitting an actual ball.

I mean, come on, this thing is going to make major waves in the affordable golf launch monitor space.

If you’re not looking for the top-level best and if you don’t care about using a golf launch monitor outdoors, I gotta advise you to take a serious look at the Square Golf Launch Monitor. I think you’re going to be very impressed.

I know I was.

Marc's Overall Rating for the Square Indoor Golf Launch Monitor