The word “about” is used far too often by weekend golfers. Ask nearly all of them how far they hit their driver in the air and you will get an answer along the lines of, “My driver, about 240 yards.” Ask about another club and you will hear, “My 6-iron goes about 160 yards.”
As the pros you see on TV how far they hit each club in their bag and you get a totally different answer. “Driver carry is 297 in the air.”
Players on the PGA Tour know that because nearly all of them use a launch monitor on a regular basis, and units like a TrackMan 4 or a ForeSight GC Quad, which can cost well over $12,000, deliver accurate information about how far shots go, how much spin they have and what the player’s club was doing as it made contact. Insights like that can help players improve, make smarter decisions and play better golf.
Thankfully for club players, a new crop of launch monitors at more-affordable prices are coming to the market. They deliver surprisingly good accuracy and many also collect valuable ball and club data, as you can see in this video.