Strange PRGR Launch Monitor readings

[oc_mike]

23 hours ago, YU3Putt said:

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.

 

I've always set mine on the ground.  Does it make any difference with the readings on a tripod or sitting on the box?

[pjhm1]

We've been using the PRGR for Superspeed since October and have had a massive variability in speeds the last two months. Guys have drastically fallen off for Superspeed yet the driver swing numbers on GCQuad have been increasing. Has anyone else noticed this? 

[Walk-it-in]

Can confirm with the latest PRGR model that club head speed with no ball contact, like super speed training is about 12 mph slower with driver on average than with a ball. It’s better than nothing but it’s not an accurate measurement if you’re tracking progress with super speed or other trainers. The actual reading when hitting balls is great for the price though. 

[yonghov]

On 7/21/2022 at 8:20 PM, Walk-it-in said:

Can confirm with the latest PRGR model that club head speed with no ball contact, like super speed training is about 12 mph slower with driver on average than with a ball. It’s better than nothing but it’s not an accurate measurement if you’re tracking progress with super speed or other trainers. The actual reading when hitting balls is great for the price though. 

Absolutely spot on with my experience. I even returned the original PRGR and ordered a second device from another seller and they behaved the same with air swings—I’m getting 80-90mph reading when I’m usually around 105mph. I can only get up to 90 on PRGR if I swing as hard as possible with no regard for form or contact point. 
 

Very frustrating. Doesn’t sound like anyone was able to find a solution if they are affected by this. 

[ezra76]

I just got the 130 today, it was used open box. Similar to others my air swings are only mid 80's. My driver with a ball into net with driver was mid 80's and an all out smoked high of 91mph. I'm at 96-97avg on launch monitor with high of 102 warmed up.

 

So as long as I have a baseline I guess it's fine but seems to be a little low on driver #'s. 5iron as well was reading more like my 8iron yardages, even getting up into high 80's clubhead speed.

 

I'll tinker with it but initial reaction is a little disappointed it's off by that much.

[ezra76]

After some tinkering it does a lot better with more room to read. I got driver speeds up to 98-99 and numbers were inline with what I see on a real launch monitor. I hit it at a place with a giant net about 20-30yds. out. 

 

Also got a chance to use with wedges and liked it. My mid 60's swing with my SW going 60yds. and same swing with GW goes 80. 

[barnum1]

2 hours ago, ezra76 said:

After some tinkering it does a lot better with more room to read. I got driver speeds up to 98-99 and numbers were inline with what I see on a real launch monitor. I hit it at a place with a giant net about 20-30yds. out. 

 

Also got a chance to use with wedges and liked it. My mid 60's swing with my SW going 60yds. and same swing with GW goes 80. 

So the readings were better if you moved the unit further away from the ball?

 

[ezra76]

1 hour ago, barnum1 said:

So the readings were better if you moved the unit further away from the ball?

 

Not so much moving the unit further back from where I was setup but it being able to see more of the ballflight. 

 

I hit a few balls into my net earlier with 15.5* driving iron. On a real monitor it says 195-210 carry with a ton of roll out. The prgr into my net was only reading it at like 120-150yds.. Swing speed was more accurate though at 84-87. 

[barnum1]

9 hours ago, ezra76 said:

Not so much moving the unit further back from where I was setup but it being able to see more of the ballflight. 

 

I hit a few balls into my net earlier with 15.5* driving iron. On a real monitor it says 195-210 carry with a ton of roll out. The prgr into my net was only reading it at like 120-150yds.. Swing speed was more accurate though at 84-87. 

Ok, I see. I didn't think reading the ball flight would affect club head speed measurement... 

[Tim Schoch]

Got the PRGR last week. All measurements seem good, except distance.  Waay too short, by 30-40 yards. I'm indoors with four ceiling lights and three floor lamps. Anyone have experience with the lighting and background colors necessary inside?  I have it positioned correctly and I've chosen the correct clubs on the unit.  

 

Can't wait to try it outdoors, but it's good freaking cold right now.

 

Thanks.

[hlca]

I've been using mine at the range on a tripod.  I often get max smash factor even on mishits and non-driver.  I'm wondering if it is having trouble capturing my swing speed?

[B_of_H]

I think I may have gotten a bad one, not sure what to make of these.  For instance: 

 

(CHS, BS, Smash, carry) (all actual distances in 50 degree and into light breeze with newish titleist tour practice balls)

 

5 iron: 89 mph, BS 129, smash 1.44 distance 203 carry, 211 total  (distance okay but the mph/bs are way off)

 

6 iron: 87, 123, 1.41, 184 (ball flew between 190 and 193?)

 

8 iron: 85, 114, 1.33, 160 (ball flew past a 170 flag)

 

PW: 87, 90, 1.04, 116 (just short of 144 flag)

77, 99, 1.29, 131 (past 144 flag)

96, 101, 1..05, 134 (ball flew 144 flag green)

 

Driver: 107, 149, 1.39, 250 (hit net at 260)

105, 152, 1.44, 257 (hit net at 260)

104, 145, 1.39, 240 (hit net at 260)

 

58 degree (sw): 73, 74, 1.01, 88 (ball landed at about 85 yards)

 

that math doesn't add up to say the least.  i'm not sure why my numbers are so all over the place, especially chs/bs. My chs is about 112 and change on driver, 93mph on 7 iron, and 86mph on pw as a baseline. 

 

 

 

[Cameaux]

I just had a similar experience indoors. Driver numbers seemed ok (avg. about 101 CHs and 148 BS) which is pretty close to my normal swing speed (normally 104-106 CHS on Trackman). 
 

Hit some 8 irons and the numbers were way off. The ones that seemed to read the CHS correctly (77-80) were showing carry averaging about 120 which is about 20 yards short of my normal 8 iron carry number. I also got a number of pretty obvious misreads where CHS spiked to 89-91 but BS and carry both dropped below the ones that seemed like the more accurate reads.  
 

I’m not sure if I just got a bad unit or what, but in light of how good the reviews seem to be on this, my result seems pretty puzzling. The driver numbers seem decently close but I would have liked to have gotten something that could approximate carry numbers down the bag. Mulling whether to return it now. 

[braincramp52]

On 6/6/2022 at 10:37 AM, oc_mike said:

 

I've always set mine on the ground.  Does it make any difference with the readings on a tripod or sitting on the box?

Yes, you will never come close to getting good readings with it sitting on the ground. I've found 4 feet behind the ball and 3"-4" off the the ground is best. Inside light and distance the ball travels also effect the performance. The unit seems to measure ball speed pretty well but distance is usually 15-20 yards short. It's a cheap radar unit that is what it is. 

Edited February 15, 2024 by braincramp52

[CelliniEvo]

Just picked up one of these units for speed training with the Stack and kind of frustrated by the 'air-swing' readings vs. with a ball. I have the HS-130A model and wondering if anyone has found a good setup position for using with the Stack? There doesn't seem to be a better option on the market currently, but think accurate readings would be great for speed training/motivation....this 10mph difference pi$$es me off. 

[RCGA]

The unit is highly dependent on location (proximity to the ball, height, angle) and the things around it (messy garage for example). 

 

Also has trouble picking up a white ball on a white screen. 

[Guest RobS]

On 3/4/2024 at 11:41 AM, CelliniEvo said:

Just picked up one of these units for speed training with the Stack and kind of frustrated by the 'air-swing' readings vs. with a ball. I have the HS-130A model and wondering if anyone has found a good setup position for using with the Stack? There doesn't seem to be a better option on the market currently, but think accurate readings would be great for speed training/motivation....this 10mph difference pi$$es me off. 

When you swing the Stack, the head is a higher off the ground than with a golf club so I find that elevating the PRGR to get it close to the same plane as the Stack head gives me more consistent, accurate readings.  I also put a ball marker on the ground 4.5' from and in line with the PRGR to give me a target to swing over.  I found lining up straight down the line with the Stack was not as easy as with a ball and normal golf club and I would miss some readings by swinging inside the line.

[ppjn348]

I just bought an HS-130A. It replaced my blue SSR. When speed training with my driver, the dry swings on the PRGR are coming in around 120-122 while the SSR was showing 125-129. I'll be on a GC Quad next week so, I'm excited to see which was closer but I'm hoping it is the SSR lol!

[markmcco]

Here is a pic of my PRGR swinging stack at 195g.  So did I swing 89 or 98, because there was no ball.  I have a piece of foam in the little prgr bag that elevates it about 1" off ground.  My theory is the prgr picks up club still on way down and not at top speed, then again picks it up near bottom of arc and gives you two speeds, thinking the higher is ball.  Only a theory but kind of useless to understand your gains in speed training.  Sometimes it only records a single speed.  Who knows.