Each one of us has been living through some strange times these past couple of years, and we've all had the pleasure of playing golf outside in the fresh air taken away from us for extended periods of time. Whilst there are undoubtedly worse things happening around the world, to a golf fanatic this is almost as bad as it gets. Fortunately for golfers the personal launch monitor arrived on the scene and these little boxes of wonder made lockdown a lot more bearable for many of us. Social media was filled with videos of people practicing in their gardens with a net (or a chair and a towel) and a launch monitor that provided them with all the data from their last shot.  

When they were first released, they were not immediately popular as they came with a somewhat restrictive price tag and data accuracy that was at best dubious. As with all electronic items though, later iterations saw the price tag lower and the accuracy improve to the point where they became a genuine practice aid that could really help to improve your golf game. No longer were you just blindly bashing balls into a net, now you had real data that showed you where the ball went, how far it went and how fast you were swinging.  

So how accurate are they? At Scottsdale Golf we are in the privileged position of having a fantastic Performance & Build fitting centre which houses two Foresight GC Quad Launch Monitors. These are the Rolls Royce of indoor launch monitors that also come with a fairly hefty price tag, making them an unlikely option for home use for most of the golfing population. 

What is has allowed us to do though is to test the personal launch monitors that we sell on our website to see just how good they are, and the results are extremely impressive! We have found that some read slightly slower than our GC Quads and underestimate speed and distance whilst others slightly over estimate. Whichever it does though it does consistently. This is all important as it means that your baseline statistics are always relevant and improvements you see on your device are genuine improvements. You are always comparing apples with apples. 

Personal Launch Monitors

PRGR Portable Golf Launch Monitor
Portable / Instant Feedback On Your Swing Premium Next Day

£219.00

Voice Caddie SC300i Swing Caddie Launch Golf Monitor
Portable / Instant Feedback On Your Swing Premium Next Day

£439.00

Voice Caddie SC200 Plus Swing Caddie Golf Launch Monitor
Portable / Instant Feedback On Your Swing Premium Next Day

RRP £299.99 £249.99

Whilst I am sure you will join me in hoping that there will never be another lockdown, I can confidently say that making the investment in a personal launch monitor is one of the best things you can do to make your practice time worthwhile. They give real data that immediately shows you whether you the swing changes you are working on are making you a better player. This kind of feedback is invaluable when you are striving to improve.