Strange PRGR Launch Monitor readings

[KHGC]

Hi there everyone,

I have recently purchased PRGR Launch Monitor to entertain me during the long golfless days of Covid-19 lock down in Melbourne.

So I set it up in the court yard (I don't have a garden) and tested it swinging a 3 wood. It produced club head speed between 32 and 37, which I assume is miles per hour. This seemed way out. Depending on conditions, I carry a 3 wood between 200-220 meters (220-240 yards), so I was expecting something in the range of 85-105 mph.

I assume that the results are effected by the confined space and high concrete walls of my court yard (roughly 18' by 12') and that I may have to wait until I get back on the practice range before I get a proper reading. Either that or the device isn't working properly.

I would be interested to hear your thoughts or alternative explanations...

Many thanks,

R.

[hammersia]

Sounds the same as my Yupiteru unit - that reading is in metres/s 

 

Multiply by 2.2 for a mph reading 

[TooSteep]

I bought the latest PRGR black unit a month or so ago, and it absolutely does NOT work with dry swings for me. I read a few reviews that said it was fine without a ball, but I have never got a reasonable reading yet. It works very, very well at the range when hitting real balls.

[Cptwiggly]

I got mine last night and the dry swing speed definitely seems off. It’s showing a 74 MPH 8 iron and 87 mph driver. My normal carry with 8 iron is 155 and driver is 245-255. I am also swinging in a courtyard with high stone walls. It seems to be 10-12 mph off for me. I’ll try to get to an actual range this weekend to test there. 

[Cptwiggly]

So as in update, I got much more accurate numbers when actually hitting a ball. The ball speed, swing speed and carry distance all seems pretty accurate hitting balls at the range. 

[marmot8]

The same is true of the older model everyone used for super speed training, the Sports Spensor.

[Chasing Scratch]

Don't know if the PRGR has been updated since but mine consistently reads about 4mph faster than trackman and about on par with GCQuad. The original post it sounds like it is measuring your backswing which the unit tends to do if you begin the swing from a position beyond the golf ball.

[Hybrid]

Battery strength matters. Without a ball, my swings were 99-105. Suddenly, I got a swing speed of 139 mph, 178 ball speed and 361 yds total distance...then the unit shut off and wouldn’t turn back on without fresh batteries. I was feelin’ very DeChambeau-like for 10 seconds, then reality. 

[ALTSean]

Just got a PRGR and took it to the range for the first time.  The practice swings, without hitting a ball, were consistently 7-10 mph slower than the swings where I hit a ball.  Is this a known issue?  

 

I bought the PRGR because I want a way to measure swing speed while starting a weighted swing speed stick program and mostly just need clubhead speed.  If the PRGR consistently reads low for practice swings, does it at least read consistent speeds?  I guess I would be ok using it for a swing speed program as long as I knew I could trust the numbers and hopefully be able to track progress.  

[nupezb]

On 5/6/2021 at 7:38 PM, ALTSean said:

Just got a PRGR and took it to the range for the first time.  The practice swings, without hitting a ball, were consistently 7-10 mph slower than the swings where I hit a ball.  Is this a known issue?  

 

I bought the PRGR because I want a way to measure swing speed while starting a weighted swing speed stick program and mostly just need clubhead speed.  If the PRGR consistently reads low for practice swings, does it at least read consistent speeds?  I guess I would be ok using it for a swing speed program as long as I knew I could trust the numbers and hopefully be able to track progress.  

I haven’t had that issue while doing my speed training. I do have the latest model HS-130a which is supposed to have an improved radar. 

[JayNause]

Got one today , swing speed and distance are way low - I'm not a big hitter but get 135 -145 from my 7 iron - this thing says under a hundred yards even when I swing right out of my boots. Will try it at the range as was hoping to get some distance information on all my clubs but seems pretty poor into the net at home. Tried moving it around etc but does not seem to make a difference. Feel quite let down. Will get a tripod and try it out without the surrounding walls but so far seems a bit shite.  

[nikeblades00]

Mine seems off also. I'm in a basement with about 5 feet between Matt and net. 7 iron maxxed at 141 yards and that's going after it, I'm usually stock 7iron at 165.

 

I have mine sitting on a ProV1 box to bring it a little higher. Any suggestions? Not happy at first impression. 

 

Air swings with driver could be accurate tho. I got mainly between 93 and 97 mph. A few at 100. It's a little slow but maybe it's the user and not the unit. I haven't been on trackman in a year but I was up to 108 mph warmed up then. Also last month on top tracer range I got up to 155 ball speed, but usually cruise at 148-150 ball speed. Maybe the air swings are accurate, and I'm slower now 

[maamold]

On 1/22/2021 at 8:51 PM, Cptwiggly said:

I got mine last night and the dry swing speed definitely seems off. It’s showing a 74 MPH 8 iron and 87 mph driver. My normal carry with 8 iron is 155 and driver is 245-255. I am also swinging in a courtyard with high stone walls. It seems to be 10-12 mph off for me. I’ll try to get to an actual range this weekend to test there. 

A guy had one at the range today and I took a swing. It showed 95mph driver and 219 carry. I just had an iron fitting last week and trackman has my 7i at 84mph with 155y carry. That PRGR was not reading the swing properly.  

[K48]

 

[Tpfol]

Got the 2021 version, and was curious, is there a way to turn off the beep? It's a little obnoxious to be at a crowded range and the constant beep has a tendency to draw some nasty looks

[barnum1]

Late to the party, but I also see 5-6-7 mph less without a ball. Thought it was something mental, but it is very consistent.

I would say that PRGR's claim that it can read CHS without a ball is wrong.

 

With a ball, it works fine. I tested it along-side a GCQuad and the number were very similar.

 

[barnum1]

With shorter irons, I often get very high club head speeds and smash factor around 1 (club speed is almost same as ball speed).

Ball speed looks reasonable. 

Can it be that it thinks the ball is the club? 

[nupezb]

On 4/8/2022 at 5:37 AM, barnum1 said:

Late to the party, but I also see 5-6-7 mph less without a ball. Thought it was something mental, but it is very consistent.

I would say that PRGR's claim that it can read CHS without a ball is wrong.

 

With a ball, it works fine. I tested it along-side a GCQuad and the number were very similar.

 

Actually, PRGR can still claim they can read CHS without a ball.  They just can't same it will be the same reading...lol

[Noodler]

I bought the latest version of the PRGR LM (HS-130A) about a week ago.  I'm happy to report that not only is it easily picking up every swing, my dry swings (no ball) are also picked up and are basically identical in speed to when I'm hitting balls.  So I'm not sure what's happening to other folks, but this latest version seems to be working well for me so far.

 

I picked up a mini-tripod that I have mounted to it so that I can easily level it and adjust the angle no matter what surface it's on.

[YU3Putt]

On 1/25/2022 at 4:30 PM, K48 said:

 

Just for anyone who watches this video, These reviewers use the PRGR incorrectly during testing. They never selected which club they were hitting, which you have to do to correctly use the device. So if you're having issues with a PRGR like these reviewers sort of had, you may want to thoroughly read the instructions before using ... unlike these 2ndSwing YouTubers.

[nupezb]

6 hours ago, YU3Putt said:

Just for anyone who watches this video, These reviewers use the PRGR incorrectly during testing. They never selected which club they were hitting, which you have to do to correctly use the device. So if you're having issues with a PRGR like these reviewers sort of had, you may want to thoroughly read the instructions before using ... unlike these 2ndSwing YouTubers.

Concur they didn’t select the appropriate club during the testing which may have impacted the yardage calculations. However, a key take away, club and ball speed was captured correctly for anyone doing over speed training. 

[Tpfol]

Wish I would have put the $$ towards something else, I assume the YT videos professing it to be great are a result of being paid to do so. 

Piece of junk

[Noodler]

On 5/3/2022 at 7:32 AM, Tpfol said:

Wish I would have put the $$ towards something else, I assume the YT videos professing it to be great are a result of being paid to do so. 

Piece of junk

 

Sure seems like you may just have a "bum" unit.  I have compared my PRGR to my Mevo+ and it's spot on for ball and club speed.

[Tpfol]

On 5/5/2022 at 10:34 PM, Noodler said:

 

Sure seems like you may just have a "bum" unit.  I have compared my PRGR to my Mevo+ and it's spot on for ball and club speed.

Just curious, but why would you buy the wish.com version of the Mevo+ if you already own a Mevo+?

 

[obie72]

On 4/16/2022 at 8:29 PM, Noodler said:

I bought the latest version of the PRGR LM (HS-130A) about a week ago.  I'm happy to report that not only is it easily picking up every swing, my dry swings (no ball) are also picked up and are basically identical in speed to when I'm hitting balls.  So I'm not sure what's happening to other folks, but this latest version seems to be working well for me so far.

 

I picked up a mini-tripod that I have mounted to it so that I can easily level it and adjust the angle no matter what surface it's on.

I am now on my second PRGR 130A - 

This thing is absolutely garbage.
Its readings are at least 20% slower than my swing speeds captured in Trackman and I get ball number with about 1 of 3 hits.

To make things worse, there is no support for the product available anywhere. 

I don't live in a country where I can buy these things locally so have to order from the UK, so so far I had to wait over 5 weeks, through delivery and returns, spent over £45 and still don't have a reliable unit for speed testing

[oc_mike]

Strange, I have a PRGR and find it incredibly accurate and pretty much never misses a shot unless the ball is in completely the wrong spot.  When used as the same time as my Bushnell Launch Pro, it is pretty much dead on for swing speed and ball speed.  It has been way more consistent and much more accurate than my prior blue swing speed radar (SSR).

 

[Noodler]

On 5/8/2022 at 5:59 AM, Tpfol said:

Just curious, but why would you buy the wish.com version of the Mevo+ if you already own a Mevo+?

 

Purchased before the Mevo+.  Keeping it because it’s small and easy as a grab and go unit for the range.

[oc_mike]

14 minutes ago, Noodler said:

Purchased before the Mevo+.  Keeping it because it’s small and easy as a grab and go unit for the range.

Yep, it's perfect to leave in the bag and use at the range.

 

[YU3Putt]

On 4/16/2022 at 2:29 PM, Noodler said:

I bought the latest version of the PRGR LM (HS-130A) about a week ago.  I'm happy to report that not only is it easily picking up every swing, my dry swings (no ball) are also picked up and are basically identical in speed to when I'm hitting balls.  So I'm not sure what's happening to other folks, but this latest version seems to be working well for me so far.

 

I picked up a mini-tripod that I have mounted to it so that I can easily level it and adjust the angle no matter what surface it's on.

I bought a PRGR in Feb. 2022 and, like you, it's working well for me. Used it at home hitting into a net for 2 months before I was able to get it to a driving range.  The distances I saw at the range were spot on with the readings from my PRGR unit. I do not use a tripod, just put it on top of the box about 3.5 ft behind the ball on my target line. Is the unit perfect??? No, I get mis-readings on roughly 1 out of every 50 shots. I also live near a range that has TopTracer and the PRGR ball speed numbers as well as the carry & total distance readings are nearly identical.

[FenderSpots]

I think PRGR is good for the price. It certainly isn't perfect, but the value is certainly there with it.

 

I originally used mine for super speed training and was great. When I used it for ball data I was impressed because it gave decent readings on a net. Wasn't that light dependent, however positioning was critical. Not just in that session, but over multiple sessions. 

 

I marked out where it should go to help keep things consistent and at least have a better reference point for the numbers it did give.