Garmin Approach R10 Portable Golf Launch Monitor

[Carolina Golfer 2]

16 hours ago, Trickygolf said:

Just wondering if anyone with a unit could test if swing speed affects accuracy of swing path detection. I have a lower end swing speed and hopefully the unit will be slightly more accurate for me vs someone with faster speed

Thanks

Heres another one with all 3 screen shots included.  I think most of the numbers are pretty close on this one for me, again other than spin.   One possible factor.  I was using range balls which are typically very low spin.   
 

Disclaimer: these are from an actual senior golfer who never claimed to be part of the WRX Long Hitters Association!   So I’m putting pride aside and sharing real life numbers😀

 

[Nevek]

24 degrees of launch with sub 4k rpm backspin seems very fishy...

[Carolina Golfer 2]

36 minutes ago, Nevek said:

24 degrees of launch with sub 4k rpm backspin seems very fishy...

Yeah. I’m just not buying the backspin numbers so far.  

[puresurfr]

took my R10 out to a outdoor range and it was a breeze to set up with very few glitches......The carry numbers looked spot on and the ball speed and swing speed were very good.....i also found the launch angle to be accurate.....The backspin numbers however dont seem quite right, im hitting bullets with a Sim 8* head and my spin is in the 3500 range.....Im not sure if its because of range balls or because it was into a 2 club wind but the spin "looked" to be sub 2000 but the unit read 3200-3800..

 

*Does anybody know if ball speed is affected by going into the wind vs having a tail wind ???  i know in real life it makes a huge difference but does these budget launch monitors or even trackman pick up the difference ????

[mgoblue83]

22 minutes ago, puresurfr said:

took my R10 out to a outdoor range and it was a breeze to set up with very few glitches......The carry numbers looked spot on and the ball speed and swing speed were very good.....i also found the launch angle to be accurate.....The backspin numbers however dont seem quite right, im hitting bullets with a Sim 8* head and my spin is in the 3500 range.....Im not sure if its because of range balls or because it was into a 2 club wind but the spin "looked" to be sub 2000 but the unit read 3200-3800..

 

*Does anybody know if ball speed is affected by going into the wind vs having a tail wind ???  i know in real life it makes a huge difference but does these budget launch monitors or even trackman pick up the difference ????

 

 

The unit doesn't measure spin. It's calculated from the metrics that it does measure and it's more accurate with irons than with driver.

 

The real question is how accurate is the unit with your shot shape?

Does the launch angle, start direction, and horizontal curvature look good?

 

 

[dpvu]

56 minutes ago, puresurfr said:

took my R10 out to a outdoor range and it was a breeze to set up with very few glitches......The carry numbers looked spot on and the ball speed and swing speed were very good.....i also found the launch angle to be accurate.....The backspin numbers however dont seem quite right, im hitting bullets with a Sim 8* head and my spin is in the 3500 range.....Im not sure if its because of range balls or because it was into a 2 club wind but the spin "looked" to be sub 2000 but the unit read 3200-3800..

 

*Does anybody know if ball speed is affected by going into the wind vs having a tail wind ???  i know in real life it makes a huge difference but does these budget launch monitors or even trackman pick up the difference ????

 

I don't think the unit is as affected by wind. Trackman tracks the ball very far (supposedly almost to the ground even) but I suspect the R10 is picking up much less. I don't know what the number is but if I had to guess only ~15-20 feet.

[sparkfist]

I built a little mount for my R10. Considering the ball and club measurements are based off the unit being exactly paralle to the "tee box", any obscure results (not including spin because its calculated) will be directly related to the unit being off by x degrees. If you are always pulling shots 3 degrees to the left and you move the unit 3 degrees to the right it should be dead straight every time. I started noticing consistency in the inaccurate numbers. 

 

I was super frustrated that all my shots where pulling left when I knew it was dead straight. Using using my little mount/jig and hitting 200 balls tonight I am SIGNIFICANTLY more confident in the data.

 

check out the pictures here of the setup. I have some leveling legs coming Wednesday that I will be adding.

https://imgur.com/a/LhSY6LZ

 

I might also just try a laser level/measuring device inside but thats like 100-200 for a decent bosch one. My job cost me <$10 in materials and the most expensive thing was the scrap piece of plywood i used.

Edited August 23, 2021 by sparkfist

[Cactus Jack]

5 minutes ago, sparkfist said:

I built a little mount for my R10. Considering the ball and club measurements are based off the unit being exactly paralle to the "tee box", any obscure results (not including spin because its calculated) will be directly related to the unit being off by x degrees. If you are always pulling shots 3 degrees to the left and you move the unit 3 degrees to the right it should be dead straight every time. I started noticing consistency in the inaccurate numbers. 

 

I was super frustrated that all my shots where pulling left when I knew it was dead straight. Using using my little mount/jig and hitting 200 balls tonight I am SIGNIFICANTLY more confident in the data.

 

check out the pictures here of the setup. I have some leveling legs coming Wednesday that I will be adding.

https://imgur.com/a/LhSY6LZ

 

I might also just try a laser level/measuring device inside but thats like 100-200 for a decent bosch one. My job cost me <$10 in materials and the most expensive thing was the scrap piece of plywood i used.

Awesome mount! That sucker should be rock solid. Great idea. 

[puresurfr]

3 hours ago, mgoblue83 said:

 

 

The unit doesn't measure spin. It's calculated from the metrics that it does measure and it's more accurate with irons than with driver.

 

The real question is how accurate is the unit with your shot shape?

Does the launch angle, start direction, and horizontal curvature look good?

 

 

 

The launch angle looks good.....I didnt pay much attention to the shot tracer and shape because I was outdoors and could see the entire flight.......I bought this unit to replace my Rapsodo, I loved the rhapsody but was always paranoid that my unit would get kicked over and my iPhone 12 would be damaged ( I dont use a case ). Another drawback of the Rapsodo is that it shut down on very warm days because of overheating and the battery drain on my phone was tremendous.....Im not sure how the Garmin will handle the sun especially since it is a pitch black unit.

[golfexplorer]

8 hours ago, sparkfist said:

I built a little mount for my R10. Considering the ball and club measurements are based off the unit being exactly paralle to the "tee box", any obscure results (not including spin because its calculated) will be directly related to the unit being off by x degrees. If you are always pulling shots 3 degrees to the left and you move the unit 3 degrees to the right it should be dead straight every time. I started noticing consistency in the inaccurate numbers. 

 

I was super frustrated that all my shots where pulling left when I knew it was dead straight. Using using my little mount/jig and hitting 200 balls tonight I am SIGNIFICANTLY more confident in the data.

 

check out the pictures here of the setup. I have some leveling legs coming Wednesday that I will be adding.

https://imgur.com/a/LhSY6LZ

 

I might also just try a laser level/measuring device inside but thats like 100-200 for a decent bosch one. My job cost me <$10 in materials and the most expensive thing was the scrap piece of plywood i used.

Wow really nice!

Are all numbers correct for you with this setup?

[Bigwilly12]

Would anyone be interested in starting an e6 online play group?

[rlefig]

sounds good once i get mine

[Simpsonia]

Just to circle back to unit off-set. I was able to test angling the unit ever so slightly aware from my side (I'm a righty and angled it a degree or two to the right), and anecdotally it definitely seemed to help accuracy as far as ball flight and H Launch direction. I definitely think that doing some testing with an actual target line (I use a rope hanging vertically on my net) and chip shots is of the utmost importance to find the right setup for your particular R10. Setting it up perfectly straight via lasers and levels vs the alignment line doesn't seem to always offer the best results for everyone. That said, my vertical launch is also still completely off, so hopefully a firmware update can fix that. 

 

I'm also starting to wondering if these idiosyncrasies could also just be mediocre manufacturing tolerances and/or QC. Hardware inside the box might be not be perfectly straight or calibrations off, etc. 

 

Edit: @GungHoGolf any chance of re-running your GCQuad test after testing out your alignment with the chip shot testing method the R10 manual describes rather than going off of perfectly straight and even via the alignment line? 

Edited August 23, 2021 by Simpsonia

[Murdock]

31 minutes ago, Simpsonia said:

Just to circle back to unit off-set. I was able to test angling the unit ever so slightly aware from my side (I'm a righty and angled it a degree or two to the right), and anecdotally it definitely seemed to help accuracy as far as ball flight and H Launch direction. I definitely think that doing some testing with an actual target line (I use a rope hanging vertically on my net) and chip shots is of the utmost importance to find the right setup for your particular R10. Setting it up perfectly straight via lasers and levels vs the alignment line doesn't seem to always offer the best results for everyone. That said, my vertical launch is also still completely off, so hopefully a firmware update can fix that. 

 

I'm also starting to wondering if these idiosyncrasies could also just be mediocre manufacturing tolerances and/or QC. Hardware inside the box might be not be perfectly straight or calibrations off, etc. 

 

Edit: @GungHoGolf any chance of re-running your GCQuad test after testing out your alignment with the chip shot testing method the R10 manual describes rather than going off of perfectly straight and even via the alignment line? 

 

Thanks for this.  I was going to ask the same thing...I got mine yesterday but haven't had a chance to test it quite yet.  Thinking in terms of alignment, originally I was thinking there has to be some way to ensure it's dead straight, but based on your response it sounds like a quick calibration would make sense at every range session (outdoors -- obviously if you're using an indoor sim, conditions shouldn't deviate much).  

 

In regards to the folks saying the irons track well, but woods seem off, I wonder if elevating the unit would help?  If the unit reads perfectly on it's tripod for iron shots where the ball is ground level, and you elevated the ball 1.5" or so for driver, if you also raised the R10 the same amount it would keep the height difference between the unit and the ball consistent.  To this end, it would have been sweet if Garmin had extendable legs and a spirit level with the tripod (or sell an aftermarket one), similar to a camera or video tripod...that way you could easily tweak the elevation to test this theory.  

 

I remember the Mevo needed to be set on top of it's box or a carrying case in order to get the best numbers (or to not miss shots).  This unit could be similar? 

[scoobanny]

1 hour ago, Simpsonia said:

Just to circle back to unit off-set. I was able to test angling the unit ever so slightly aware from my side (I'm a righty and angled it a degree or two to the right), and anecdotally it definitely seemed to help accuracy as far as ball flight and H Launch direction. I definitely think that doing some testing with an actual target line (I use a rope hanging vertically on my net) and chip shots is of the utmost importance to find the right setup for your particular R10. Setting it up perfectly straight via lasers and levels vs the alignment line doesn't seem to always offer the best results for everyone. That said, my vertical launch is also still completely off, so hopefully a firmware update can fix that. 

 

I'm also starting to wondering if these idiosyncrasies could also just be mediocre manufacturing tolerances and/or QC. Hardware inside the box might be not be perfectly straight or calibrations off, etc. 

 

Edit: @GungHoGolf any chance of re-running your GCQuad test after testing out your alignment with the chip shot testing method the R10 manual describes rather than going off of perfectly straight and even via the alignment line? 

The horizontal launch angle in that test was spot on, so the device must have been aligned very well.

Edited August 23, 2021 by scoobanny

[GungHoGolf]

1 hour ago, Simpsonia said:

Just to circle back to unit off-set. I was able to test angling the unit ever so slightly aware from my side (I'm a righty and angled it a degree or two to the right), and anecdotally it definitely seemed to help accuracy as far as ball flight and H Launch direction. I definitely think that doing some testing with an actual target line (I use a rope hanging vertically on my net) and chip shots is of the utmost importance to find the right setup for your particular R10. Setting it up perfectly straight via lasers and levels vs the alignment line doesn't seem to always offer the best results for everyone. That said, my vertical launch is also still completely off, so hopefully a firmware update can fix that. 

 

I'm also starting to wondering if these idiosyncrasies could also just be mediocre manufacturing tolerances and/or QC. Hardware inside the box might be not be perfectly straight or calibrations off, etc. 

 

Edit: @GungHoGolf any chance of re-running your GCQuad test after testing out your alignment with the chip shot testing method the R10 manual describes rather than going off of perfectly straight and even via the alignment line? 

 

In our R10 vs Quad test here, the alignment was spot-on (HLA varied between the two units by no more than 0.2 degrees on most shots).

 

[Simpsonia]

13 minutes ago, GungHoGolf said:

 

In our R10 vs Quad test here, the alignment was spot-on (HLA varied between the two units by no more than 0.2 degrees on most shots).

 

 

I guess I meant more to check and see about the anecdotal reports from myself and @PowderedToastMan that slightly angling the unit seems to have a positive affect offsetting the fade-bias that the units seem to have. For all we know it could be a pure placebo effect. 

[James Hogan]

Got my device today, liking it so far, was wondering on E6 connect on the event tab can I play these comps, I set the putting to computer,(when on the first green) loaded second game but was still prompted to putt

[cometravi]

Got mine in today. Both updates installed. Had some initial trouble connecting but once it happened it was bulletproof.

 

Set it up as per guidelines and gave it an indoor test run on the ‘driving range app’ . Metrics were decent with alignment and I can live with mostly everything except the low reported distances. I tried draws and fades and it mostly picks it up correctly.  The under reported distances really gets me . In sky trak you can change elevation and get away with it somewhat but here you can’t. 

 

My 9i was consistently under reporting by 20 -30 yards . Same with approach wedge and other wedges. Didn’t have the heart to go higher.

 

Any recommendations?

 

pics of my set up as below .Used steel

rulers and angles to ensure everything was squared up and precisely aligned behind the ball .

[Red4282]

3 minutes ago, cometravi said:

Got mine in today. Both updates installed. Had some initial trouble connecting but once it happened it was bulletproof.

 

Set it up as per guidelines and gave it an indoor test run on the ‘driving range app’ . Metrics were decent with alignment and I can live with mostly everything except the low reported distances. I tried draws and fades and it mostly picks it up correctly.  The under reported distances really gets me . In sky trak you can change elevation and get away with it somewhat but here you can’t. 

 

My 9i was consistently under reporting by 20 -30 yards . Same with approach wedge and other wedges. Didn’t have the heart to go higher.

 

Any recommendations?

 

pics of my set up as below .Used steel

rulers and angles to ensure everything was squared up and precisely aligned behind the ball .

Was ball speed, launch or spin off? Or just the distances? 

[dpvu]

48 minutes ago, cometravi said:

Got mine in today. Both updates installed. Had some initial trouble connecting but once it happened it was bulletproof.

 

Set it up as per guidelines and gave it an indoor test run on the ‘driving range app’ . Metrics were decent with alignment and I can live with mostly everything except the low reported distances. I tried draws and fades and it mostly picks it up correctly.  The under reported distances really gets me . In sky trak you can change elevation and get away with it somewhat but here you can’t. 

 

My 9i was consistently under reporting by 20 -30 yards . Same with approach wedge and other wedges. Didn’t have the heart to go higher.

 

Any recommendations?

 

pics of my set up as below .Used steel

rulers and angles to ensure everything was squared up and precisely aligned behind the ball .

 

It might just need more ball to net or screen. I know the manual says 8 feet but the more the better. The testing I did had about 10-12 feet and was pretty good.

[cometravi]

46 minutes ago, Red4282 said:

Was ball speed, launch or spin off? Or just the distances? 

Launch was accurate. Ball speed looked low. Spin was kinda ok. 7.5-8k for 9 iron. I use i200 irons.

[cometravi]

3 minutes ago, dpvu said:

 

It might just need more ball to net or screen. I know the manual says 8 feet but the more the better. The testing I did had about 10-12 feet and was pretty good.

I had 7.5 ft to screen. I can go max 8 ft. If that works then great else its not really an ‘indoor’ sim. Hoping it works as advertised!

[whumber]

Just now, cometravi said:

I had 7.5 ft to screen. I can go max 8 ft. If that works then great else its not really an ‘indoor’ sim. Hoping it works as advertised!

It might be worth elevating the R10 a bit to get the bottom of the tripod to the same height as the hitting surface. It could be an illusion from the photo but it looks like the bottom is the tripod is well below the hitting surface at the moment.

[wolfyand1]

21 minutes ago, whumber said:

It might be worth elevating the R10 a bit to get the bottom of the tripod to the same height as the hitting surface. It could be an illusion from the photo but it looks like the bottom is the tripod is well below the hitting surface at the moment.

 

this is what I thought, I am holding out hope to see some more reviews. In Aus it doesnt look like we are getting them until late sept/early oct.

[psu517]

Mine came today.  Hopefully an alignment issue, but seems it is off on right or left.  This was 7 iron.  Kind of looks somewhat of a square shot with aim to left, but interested to know anyone’s thoughts/advice.  I don’t have a laser so I just tried using a tape measure. 

[cometravi]

3 hours ago, whumber said:

It might be worth elevating the R10 a bit to get the bottom of the tripod to the same height as the hitting surface. It could be an illusion from the photo but it looks like the bottom is the tripod is well below the hitting surface at the moment.

I elevated the unit and again hit a few: Crushed my 9iron . It’s usually 150 carry. But it shows 107 carry, 8300 backspin, 1L, ball speed 92, club-speed 78 and smash 1.18. Again if carry is not accurate what’s the point . Hope is that since the carry is consistently 30-35y short it can be manipulated. Maybe the carry needs to be increased if used indoors with a net and that can be a option in the app while set up.

[dpvu]

3 hours ago, whumber said:

It might be worth elevating the R10 a bit to get the bottom of the tripod to the same height as the hitting surface. It could be an illusion from the photo but it looks like the bottom is the tripod is well below the hitting surface at the moment.

The manual states to make sure the bottom of the unit is above the mat. In my testing the elevation of the unit didn't matter much but maybe in a situation where you don't quite have the recommended space to the screen it can help. 

 

3 hours ago, cometravi said:

Launch was accurate. Ball speed looked low. Spin was kinda ok. 7.5-8k for 9 iron. I use i200 irons.

 

Ball speed has been very accurate in my experience (1-2 mph difference) even indoors. It could just be the space. You could try on the range just to make sure you don't have some issue with the unit

[dpvu]

2 minutes ago, cometravi said:

I elevated the unit and again hit a few: Crushed my 9iron . It’s usually 150 carry. But it shows 107 carry, 8300 backspin, 1L, ball speed 92, club-speed 78 and smash 1.18. Again if carry is not accurate what’s the point . Hope is that since the carry is consistently 30-35y short it can be manipulated. Maybe the carry needs to be increased if used indoors with a net and that can be a option in the app while set up.

 

Your clubhead speed is 78 mph and ball speed is 92 mph... that's about what I get on my i210s with a 9i and my 9i carry is closer to 125. Speed has to be off if you carry 150 with that club normally or you have an indoor swing you're taking a little off.

[cometravi]

I play an inch longer 3 deg upright.  So mmy 9i is the length of a regular 7i. I am 6'4". My other sim (p2proswing) shows clubspeed of 82-85 mph on a good shot with the 9i. P2pro is fairly accurate on the clubhead speed metric.

 

If clubhead speed is not measuring properly, distance will suffer i guess.