Professional golfers now hit the ball further than ever. In 2000, the average driving distance on the PGA Tour stood at 273.2 yards. In 2023 it hit 299.9 yards. Experts attribute most of the ever-increasing gains to three technological advances in golf gear: solid core golf balls; oversized, thin-faced driver heads; and launch monitors. Those monitors allow golfers to optimize the combination of swing mechanics and club specs for maximum distance. The tech behind such devices has slowly trickled down to the average player, letting home users to get in on the action at anywhere from $8,000 to $500.
Bushnell’s $3,500 Launch Pro represents the middle of the market yet ranks among the top models available for accuracy. But for those of us who may still find this too pricey,?the company recently released a more affordable, scaled down version that will only set you back $2,000. What does the new Launch Pro offer and is it worth its discounted price? A few weeks of review on a driveway mat and a trip to the range hinted at some answers.
The Bushnell Launch Pro uses three high-speed cameras to capture critical data around the moment of impact, which allows golfers to analyze their swings and make changes based on performance metrics. And with an additional membership, this lower-cost version can also turn the device into a full-featured, high-definition golf simulator.
What we liked about it
Fast and easy
The Launch Pro is intuitive and easy to use. Charge the battery for 6 hours, hit the “on” button and swing away. The first time I used it, my friend Dave was hitting shots into a net and getting feedback from the machine before I even finished scanning the directions.
Of course, it does pay to slow down. Since the unit gives data on left-right trajectory and spin, it needs to be calibrated to your target line so it’s measuring along the same axis you’re attempting to hit. Thankfully, this is easy enough to do.
The unit works indoors and out, and it’s solid at about a foot tall and five pounds, meaning you can take it to the range without much trouble. It comes with a power cord, a USB cable for connecting to a computer and a collapsible alignment stick. Unfold the stick, lay it on your target line then pivot the Launch Pro until it’s within one degree plus or minus. Let it adjust for a moment and you’re good to go. Simple.
After each shot, the built-in LCD screen displays six data points in type that’s clear and large enough to read without bending over. The full-price, $3,500 unit includes club data such as clubhead speed, angle of attack, club path and smash factor, but the lower-priced unit only offers ball-flight data. The parameters include ball speed, carry distance, launch angle, backspin, left-right trajectory and sidespin.
Taken together, those six stats can tell you a lot about what you’re doing right and wrong and help you ingrain new swing patterns — provided you know what they mean and how to manipulate them.
Excellent accuracy
The Launch Pro uses three high-speed cameras to capture data before, during and after impact, allowing it to take precise measurements of spin rates, trajectories and angles. That makes it — and its projections — very real and very accurate, especially since they’re not impacted by outside factors like wind. Monitors that rely on radar technology to track ball flight need a larger sample and have to make extrapolations to provide similar data. The Launch Pro even has a built-in barometer to account for pressure differences at varying altitudes.
In the company’s robot testing, our field testing and in side-by-side comparison with the Foresight GC Quad, a favorite on Tour, the Launch Pro proved its precision. During another session, we used the Launch Pro side-by-side with a radar-enabled?smart-phone based launch monitor, which gave readings that varied from the Launch Pro by a few mph in ball speed and a few yards in shot distance.
Learning is fun
The Launch Pro won’t in itself improve your game, but it will provide data that can help you figure out what your problems are and make practice more efficient. In my case, I noticed that I was generating a decent amount of backspin with my short irons (which creates lift and distance) but disproportionately less with my long irons, which causes me to lose distance with those clubs and decrease the distance gap between them. The likely cause, I assumed, was a shallower swing with those longer clubs. The Launch Pro allowed me to focus on hitting those shots with more of a descending blow, which, when I pulled it off, seemed to help.
Similarly, Dave is working on hitting a steady draw, and the Launch Pro showed when his shots started to the right and had left spin on it, which is what he wants. He could then try to repeat and groove those swings. That’s a huge advantage, because when you’re hitting into a net in the driveway, you can’t normally tell where the ball goes and whether you’ve hit a good shot or a bad one. Getting that data made his practice more effective.
Stepping up
Besides accuracy, the Launch Pro distinguishes itself through its expanded capabilities. With a $499 a year membership, Launch Pro owners can download apps created by Foresight Sports, Bushnell’s partner. The FSX Play and FSX 2020 apps pair with a PC and turn the Launch Pro into a more comprehensive analytics tool and a full-on simulator with access to at least 10 courses and a driving range mode. Connect to a large-screen TV, and you’re playing indoor golf on courses rendered in high definition. For Apple users, the Foresight mobile app connects to the cloud to store and organize data with greater functionality while the FSX Pro app replicates a driving range and adds analytics functions but doesn’t allow full course play. A built-in WiFi transmitter makes it simple to connect to and sync with outside devices.
What we didn’t like about it
The Launch Pro doesn’t offer analysis or feedback beyond the six data points tracking ball flight. What’s the ideal launch angle for a 6-iron? How much backspin should an 8-iron generate? The Launch Pro has nothing to say. That information is available, but it’s between you and the golf teacher or search engine of your choice.
There’s also no on-screen representation of your swing, which means you can’t see if a steeper looking swing generated more backspin while a flatter follow-through created more side spin. The only way to visualize data was through one of the companion apps. The device comes with a free two-week app trial, but if you think that seems more like a means to entice sales then a thank you gift, you might be onto something. The deal is even worse for Apple users, who can’t even access the simulator function.
One last nitpicky gripe — for going to the range or even the course, a carry bag would be nice — especially for the price.
How it compares
As with so many other things in life, the launch monitor category offers a series of tradeoffs between money, space, performance and capabilities. Top-end, full-feature simulators with precision club and ball data and a wide variety of pre-loaded courses go for anywhere from $15,000 to more than $20,000. Radar driven phone apps run in the $300 to $900 range.
Bushnell is carving up the middle of the market. Functionally, the Launch Pro is the same as its corporate cousin, the Foresight Sports GC3, which costs between $7,000 and $8,500. That’s because the GC3 doesn’t require a membership to access the software applications. The Launch Pro, at either $3,500 or $1,999, requires a smaller up-front investment but a yearly $499 fee. Of course, if you’re not interested in using it as a simulator or with analytics software, the new Launch Pro provides ball flight data at a much better price.
Systems at comparable prices, including the SkyTrak+ ($2,700), Full Swing Kit ($4,999) and Uneekor Eye Mini ($4,999) are radar based, as are most of the smaller phone-based systems. The one we used didn’t display as many data points as the Launch Pro, but it did play back the recorded swing, allowing you to see your stats in the context of each individual shot.
Bottom line
For anyone deadly serious about their game, the Launch Pro is a pro level tool, especially when connected to the app, which also adds the fun of a simulator. That package, $2,000 for the unit with ball data only and $500 a year for the membership, may seem steep, but it’s accessible for less than the full function, $3,500 Launch Pro. With that latter, you’re paying extra $1,500 just for club data. Of course, if you’re serious enough about your game to drop two Gs, maybe the extra 1.5 is worth it.
