Personal Golf Launch Monitors | 2023 Buying Guide

There's no doubt that a good golf launch monitor can really bring your "golfing from home" set up to a whole new level. It can give you much needed feedback when you hit a shot, added realism, and can make your practice sessions a lot more meaningful, productive and (let's not forget) a lot more fun!

And with improvements in accuracy, functionality as well as affordability over the last few years, personal golf launch monitors are really starting to become an essential part of golfers' home set ups. 

In this article, we will provide a summary of what personal golf launch monitors are available in the Australian market in 2023 along with our thoughts on how each unit compares with their competitors in their price segment.

Given this is about personal golf launch monitors, we are focusing on products which are targeted for personal/home use and are retailing for less than $5,000 in Australia. We've further categorised these products into the following 3 price segments:

• "No Frills" - under $500
• Intermediate - between $500 and $800
• Golf Simulator Ready - between $800 and $5,000

We hope this article will help you to make an informed buying decision if you are on the market for a personal golf launch monitor.

Also note that unlike a number of reviewers, we do not  sell these products and we don't take cut when these launch monitors get sold, so we can truly say that this buying guide represents our honest opinion. 

"No Frills" (<$500)

Yes you can get a golf launch monitor for less then $500, and they can really help you with your game too!

These are usually smaller units which only give you some basic data including club head speed, ball speed and smash factor. These units can also estimate your carry distance based on ball speed and your club selection. As mentioned before, these units can really help you in improve your golf game, especially in the following areas:

• Ball striking - each of golf club will have a maximum smash factor (ball speed / swing speed), e.g. drivers max out at around 1.48 and 7 irons at 1.35. Keep an eye on your smash factor to really understand how well and consistently you hit a golf ball.
• Distance gapping - these golf launch monitors are excellent tools in helping you to understand your distances with each club, especially with your irons. Focus on carry distances as you hit a batch of shots with the same club and you will never play a guessing game next time you need to carry a hazard on the course. 
• Wedge practice - how confident are you in hitting your wedges to a distance from 100m and in? Again use these machines when you are working on your wedges to really dial in your distances when you have a lofted club in your hand. You will soon wonder where all the up-and-downs are coming from. 
• Speed training - use these launch monitors to track your progress if you are working on gaining swing speed. One of the products mentioned below has a cool party trick in this regard, read on to find out. 

There are 2 popular products in this category:

Our verdict - given the 2 units basically measure the same things, we really don't see the need to spend another $170 for the Voice Caddie unit. So we recommend the PRGR, and in fact have one ourselves! If you want a more detailed review of this product, feel free to check out our blog post here.

If you are working on gaining some club head speed, the PRGR can even measure this without the need to hit a ball. 

Also an honourable mention goes to the Garmin G80 Golf GPS which also has an inbuilt launch monitor which also measures club and ball speed. It currently retails for $799, but obviously you are primarily paying for the GPS unit. So if you are on the market for a new golf GPS, and want a "no frills" golf launch monitor, then you should definitely consider the G80.

Intermediate ($500 - $800)

Products in this price range essentially charge you a bit more money for some added functionality over the "no frills" launch monitors, but they are not quite golf simulator ready. Let's meet the contenders.

Verdict - our pick is the Rapsodo MLM, purely because it's the only launch monitor in this category that measures shot dispersion, which can be really good feedback when hitting into a net - you will need an iOS device though. But in general, given that you can be "golf simulator ready" for not a lot more cash, this group of products seem a bit neither here or there, so we would really recommend either saving your cash and getting a PRGR or investing a little more and get into the world of golf simulators. 

Golf Simulator Ready ($800 - $5,000)

This category includes all personal launch monitors which can measure all the ball flight data which allows you to simulate the resulting ball flight, these will include ball speed, vertical and horizontal launch angle and spin. Once you are able to simulate ball flight, then you can basically play simulator golf. So let's go through the list of personal launch monitors/golf simulators under $5,000.

Verdict

Unlike the previous 2 categories, we don't believe there's a clear winner in this group. So here's what we think

• Avoid the Voice Caddie SC4 for now - you can get a more accurate unit in a similar price range. Also as it does not measure spin axis, we don't recommend using it for simulation play. If you are just looking for something that displays numbers to you when when you go to the range or play on the course, then all you need is really a SC300 or even the PRGR.
• If you are looking to build a golf simulator at home on a budget, then go with the Garmin R10. Just be prepared to fiddle with alignment and level and you can still have tons of fun.
• If you can stretch your budget and have the need to use it both indoors and outdoors, then Mevo+ is the launch monitor for you.
• If you are primarily using it indoors and you have limited space, then Skytrak is ideal. And if you really want accurate club head data, then consider spending the extra $1800 to upgrade to the Skytrak+. In our honest opinion, your ball flight will give you a lot of information on what your club head is doing at impact, but if budget is not a concern and you really want the data, then go for the Skytrak+, otherwise the OG Skytrak is still a plenty good option.
• The Rapsodo MLM2Pro could be the game changer here. With it's claimed capabilities and a very attractive price, if it's as good as it looks on paper, it will be hard to beat. As consumers and golf enthusiasts, it's very good news. It will be very interesting to see what the initial buyer feedback is on this golf launch monitor. We will also definitely look to get our hands on it and test it out.

[Update] We have finally got our hands on a MLM 2 Pro and here are our review articles on this unit:

• Rapsodo MLM2 Pro Launch Monitor | First Look

What can I get with more budget (~$10K)?

With constant improvements in technology, we are starting to see companies releasing products in the $10k price range. This was a segment of the market which was previously an unoccupied gap between Tour/Commercial Golf Launch monitors such as Trackman and GC Quad vs. Personal Launch Monitors mentioned above.

These are effectively commercial grade products which pretty much offer the same functionality and performance as Tour/Commercial Golf Launch monitors but are priced to target high end home set ups. 

Leading products within this category include:

• GC3/Bushnell Launch Pro (~$10K) - basically a GC4 but with 1 less camera. It also does not provide some some of the more nuanced club metrics such as Loft/Lie, Impact Location etc. It also doesn't offer putting analysis. But given it's from the Foresight Sports family, you can trust that metric it produces will be super accurate! 
• Full Swing Kit Launch Monitor ($7,999) - a dual doppler radar based launch monitor that is endorsed by no other than Tiger Woods himself. Do we need to say more?

What's our opinion on this category? If you are the 80%+ of users who have limited budget and just want to play simulator golf with an accurate golf launch monitor, then you already have really good options under $5k. Invest the price difference on golf lessons with top teaching pros who have commercial grade launch monitors and you can thank me later.

We believe this category of product would suit teaching pros who may not have the budget for a GC Quad or Trackman but want to offer more value to their students. Elite players who have intimate knowledgeable about their own golf swing would also benefit from this type of product.  

Final Thoughts

Adding a golf launch monitor to your Golfing From Home set up can be really beneficial to the quality of your practice as well as the fun factor. And the good news is that there are high quality personal launch monitors which will suit any budget.

In this buying guide, we have listed what personal golf launch monitors are available in Australia at different price points together with our thoughts on them. We hope that this will help you in making an informed buying decision when purchasing a launch monitor.

If you are after a good quality Golf Mat or Impact Screen for your home golf simulator, then feel free to check out our range of products here. We pride ourselves on providing high quality products without charging you through the nose.

Do you agree with our thoughts? What launch monitor do you use? We'd love to hear from you! Please feel free to contact us, we would be grateful for your feedback!