Foresight GC3/Bushnell Launch Pro - Outdoors with Range Balls

[TMfan54]

I've been searching and can't find a review or info on my specific questions. I am debating buying the Bushnell Launch Pro to use to help me dial in carry distances. My question is does this make sense? I would be using it outside at my club's range. They use premium range balls but wouldn't the spin and carry distances still be pretty different than my regular ball (left dash prov1x)? Is there an optimizer type feature that could get it closer? Any feedback or reviews on spin and carry numbers with a range ball vs regular ball would be greatly appreciated!

[ajlacombe]

I have a GC Quad and use it hitting into my simulator or backyard cage.  I think it is very good at allowing you to dial in your yardages, but another aspect is the actual specs of the clubs.  I recently bought a loft/lie machine and found that I had some inconsistent loft gaps.  You also can play with lie angles based on your ball flight issues.  My lie angles were not spot on.

 

As far as trying to dial in anything with ANY range balls, I would think is pointless.  You need YOUR ball with your clubs and then you can see what is going on.  It is well worth the time IMO.  If you have something like Arccos you can compare the launch monitor data with the real shots from the course. The course data is not gospel because you will not know which of those shots were hit into or with the wind - cross winds, sloped lies... but it is another data point

 

The launch monitor is really worth it IMO

[kiddoc]

On 2/11/2022 at 8:35 PM, TMfan54 said:

I've been searching and can't find a review or info on my specific questions. I am debating buying the Bushnell Launch Pro to use to help me dial in carry distances. My question is does this make sense? I would be using it outside at my club's range. They use premium range balls but wouldn't the spin and carry distances still be pretty different than my regular ball (left dash prov1x)? Is there an optimizer type feature that could get it closer? Any feedback or reviews on spin and carry numbers with a range ball vs regular ball would be greatly appreciated!

What range balls does your club use?

Are they premium balls that say PRACTICE on them?

 

If so they will be “close enough” and you can confirm with your ball in a net at home.

 

[ShupeSC]

Just take it out on the course.  That’s what I do.

[TMfan54]

7 hours ago, kiddoc said:

What range balls does your club use?

Are they premium balls that say PRACTICE on them?

 

If so they will be “close enough” and you can confirm with your ball in a net at home.

 

Yeah, they're the TaylorMade tp5 ones with “practice” on them. Has anyone compared ball speed with that type vs actual ball? 

[kiddoc]

4 hours ago, TMfan54 said:

Yeah, they're the TaylorMade tp5 ones with “practice” on them. Has anyone compared ball speed with that type vs actual ball? 

Our club has the same balls, this year’s version.

 

Speeds same.

 

Our club picks them every night, no hot/cold or water changes.

 

 

 

[TMfan54]

Awesome! Thanks. We do the same so it should work pretty well

[Krt22]

21 hours ago, TMfan54 said:

Yeah, they're the TaylorMade tp5 ones with “practice” on them. Has anyone compared ball speed with that type vs actual ball? 

I would feel confident getting decent data with tp5 practice balls. But I would likely also do as others suggest and bring it on the course with your real balls so you can get an idea of the delta between the two balls 

[bfisher410]

The difference between regular range balls and pro v1x is about 5-6 mph club head speed. 

[goudok]

On 2/14/2022 at 4:17 PM, bfisher410 said:

The difference between regular range balls and pro v1x is about 5-6 mph club head speed. 

Club head speed doesn’t change with different balls. I know you meant to say ball speed 😉  

[Billdozer324]

Curious if anyone here has experience with the gc3 vs gc4? Accuracy, using as a sim, and using only as a launch monitor, with potential outside use. 

[dh2o]

I've used both. Accuracy wise, I haven't seen any difference between the two. The club head data is the only huge difference, but the data that's provided on both units matches up very closely.

[oc_mike]

 .

Edited March 14, 2022 by oc_mike

[codylowrygolf]

Decent article summing this all up: https://golf.com/gear/golf-balls/range-vs-premium-golf-balls-launch-monitor/

 

A couple snapshots for those who don't have the 3 minutes to read it 😂

 

This does give me a slight pause in purchasing, as I had an ideal world scenario where I would be loving life more on the practice tee. I guess you could get to a point with your clubs range balls where you know what the average is for practice purposes. Then dial it in on the course. 

 

Once you have a solid idea, practice becomes a game of "plus and minus"

- Sure, you hit a 6 iron 10 yards less on average on the range, but you start working on Hogan's secret and start striping it 5-10 yards further. Well... if you are starting to match your PREMIUM ball numbers on the range... after you have normalized an average distance reduction... you can deduce whatever it is is working and go to the actual course, with ProVs and start the stripe show. 

- Same can be said for spin, launch, etc. 

 

Just a thought as I sit here and entertain the largest golf purchase I have ever made 🙂

 

__________

 

[cdub59]

On 3/11/2022 at 7:10 AM, Billdozer324 said:

Curious if anyone here has experience with the gc3 vs gc4? Accuracy, using as a sim, and using only as a launch monitor, with potential outside use. 

I own both (actually selling my Bushnell Launch Pro now that I have my Quad) and the numbers match up incredibly well. The Quad gives you more club and face data, but for the overwhelming majority of golfers the GC3/Bushnell unit provides more than enough data (that is incredibly accurate). 

[Krt22]

11 hours ago, cdub59 said:

I own both (actually selling my Bushnell Launch Pro now that I have my Quad) and the numbers match up incredibly well. The Quad gives you more club and face data, but for the overwhelming majority of golfers the GC3/Bushnell unit provides more than enough data (that is incredibly accurate). 

Welcome to the #quadsquad 

[ErichZF]

With a camera based system I’d take your own balls and a hitting net to the range.  Might look silly but you’ll get all your data to dial in your clubs and keep your balls.  

[Shushwap]

On 4/6/2022 at 5:36 PM, ErichZF said:

With a camera based system I’d take your own balls and a hitting net to the range.  Might look silly but you’ll get all your data to dial in your clubs and keep your balls.  

If u are going to do that..why go to the range ?

Do it at home or head to the nearest school field 

[SunnyGolfin]

On 2/11/2022 at 7:35 PM, TMfan54 said:

I've been searching and can't find a review or info on my specific questions. I am debating buying the Bushnell Launch Pro to use to help me dial in carry distances. My question is does this make sense? I would be using it outside at my club's range. They use premium range balls but wouldn't the spin and carry distances still be pretty different than my regular ball (left dash prov1x)? Is there an optimizer type feature that could get it closer? Any feedback or reviews on spin and carry numbers with a range ball vs regular ball would be greatly appreciated!

I use the gc3 outdoors with range balls, I generally take it with a grain of salt since range balls suck vs playing with actual balls. I’d attempt to buy some secondhand pro v 1s and hit a few and see the % difference as a baseline

[SunnyGolfin]

On 3/25/2022 at 9:44 AM, Krt22 said:

Welcome to the #quadsquad 

I’m also selling my gc3 but can’t yet until I hit 75 posts 😉

[SunnyGolfin]

On 3/11/2022 at 5:10 AM, Billdozer324 said:

Curious if anyone here has experience with the gc3 vs gc4? Accuracy, using as a sim, and using only as a launch monitor, with potential outside use. 

I have used both outside, the numbers are pretty much similar in every aspect from wedge to drivers 

[dfwcanuck]

On 4/10/2022 at 9:39 PM, SunnyGolfin said:

I’m also selling my gc3 but can’t yet until I hit 75 posts 😉

 

You can always pay the $5 to list it without having to hit 75 posts. 

[Tooeasy]

$5.00 to post an ad  without 75 post..ok..that seems responsible 

[Supa Dupa Fly]

On 2/11/2022 at 7:35 PM, TMfan54 said:

I've been searching and can't find a review or info on my specific questions. I am debating buying the Bushnell Launch Pro to use to help me dial in carry distances. My question is does this make sense? I would be using it outside at my club's range. They use premium range balls but wouldn't the spin and carry distances still be pretty different than my regular ball (left dash prov1x)? Is there an optimizer type feature that could get it closer? Any feedback or reviews on spin and carry numbers with a range ball vs regular ball would be greatly appreciated!

What did you end up going with? I am also facing the same dilemma. Not sure if I want to shell out $3500 for a monitor when the only thing I’ll be hitting is range balls. The range balls I use are TaylorMade as well but not the TP5 that you mentioned. I would assume range balls generally are slower ball speed.

[Jamesheeney]

Just my two cents, but the use of the monitor on the range to me has value.

 

First, there is club data information which I feel is helpful.  Swing speed, path etc, which

 

Second, I do find the direction of the ball is really accurate and helpful. I know there are pins out there but I appreciate seeing how it moved generally and find that accurate and helpful as I practice. 

 

As for the advice about taking it on the course, this is absolutely critical if you buy one.  Seeing how you are swinging when it matters helps and so does it with respect to uneven ground and on grass.  You can always go indoors to check your distances but the part I struggle with is that the mat vs. grass is the real important piece. The mat, even the best ones, will not punish you like the grass does on fat shots. Similarly, the spin is higher on grass generally than a mat (imho) so the distances are a bit different. 

 

I am a huge tech nerd, and terrible golfer, but I think these monitors are amazing and I do think they help particularly when you are trying to implement swing changes from lessons (like I am). There is a reason you see all the PGA pros with them on the range - its not needed but fun and helpful.

 

[MysteryV]

On 3/15/2022 at 7:37 PM, codylowrygolf said:

Decent article summing this all up: https://golf.com/gear/golf-balls/range-vs-premium-golf-balls-launch-monitor/

 

A couple snapshots for those who don't have the 3 minutes to read it 😂

 

This does give me a slight pause in purchasing, as I had an ideal world scenario where I would be loving life more on the practice tee. I guess you could get to a point with your clubs range balls where you know what the average is for practice purposes. Then dial it in on the course. 

 

Once you have a solid idea, practice becomes a game of "plus and minus"

- Sure, you hit a 6 iron 10 yards less on average on the range, but you start working on Hogan's secret and start striping it 5-10 yards further. Well... if you are starting to match your PREMIUM ball numbers on the range... after you have normalized an average distance reduction... you can deduce whatever it is is working and go to the actual course, with ProVs and start the stripe show. 

- Same can be said for spin, launch, etc. 

 

Just a thought as I sit here and entertain the largest golf purchase I have ever made 🙂

 

__________

 

 

For this type of range ball - a quad is completely worthless imo.  I've stopped taking my quad to the range and instead just take my PRGR to get speed.  

 

These findings are also WAY different than what I've measured and observed at my local range.  The balls here tend to be WAY WAY spinnier (though not limited flight) and thus worthless for dialing in anything other than mechanics and strike location.

 

You can always take one of your local range balls into your local Quad and see how it performs if you're still considering the purchase all these years later.

 

 Oddly, I came to this forum today wondering if anyone had any ideas as to how to get valuable data from bad range balls.  🙂

 

 

[Supa Dupa Fly]

15 hours ago, MysteryV said:

 

For this type of range ball - a quad is completely worthless imo.  I've stopped taking my quad to the range and instead just take my PRGR to get speed.  

 

These findings are also WAY different than what I've measured and observed at my local range.  The balls here tend to be WAY WAY spinnier (though not limited flight) and thus worthless for dialing in anything other than mechanics and strike location.

 

You can always take one of your local range balls into your local Quad and see how it performs if you're still considering the purchase all these years later.

 

 Oddly, I came to this forum today wondering if anyone had any ideas as to how to get valuable data from bad range balls.  🙂

 

 

 

Good thing that you mention the PRGR, since that's all what I've been using. Not sure of your experience but I think it's relatively accurate in getting ball speed, and then it uses optimized numbers, spin, aoa, etc to arrive at the most optimized carry distance. Which means... if a TaylorMade practice ball has a a 2mph ball speed difference with a Pro-V, then the carry distances should be roughly 5 yards apart between the 2 balls. In that specific example, maybe the PRGR is more usable than a quad at the range. 

[MysteryV]

50 minutes ago, Supa Dupa Fly said:

 

Good thing that you mention the PRGR, since that's all what I've been using. Not sure of your experience but I think it's relatively accurate in getting ball speed, and then it uses optimized numbers, spin, aoa, etc to arrive at the most optimized carry distance. Which means... if a TaylorMade practice ball has a a 2mph ball speed difference with a Pro-V, then the carry distances should be roughly 5 yards apart between the 2 balls. In that specific example, maybe the PRGR is more usable than a quad at the range. 

 

I honestly don't look at the carry distance at all, but your logic works for me.  😄

 

The PRGR is a really good little unit for the price I think.  I use it for speed training and range balls and for the most part, it's only sees drivers. 

 

The odd thing about the prgr is that sometimes the speed just jumps quite a bit - but not enough to be unreasonable - so I'm constantly like "Did I just get super efficient?  Did I make a bigger turn?  Did I add extra effort?".  This happens with and without a ball.  I tend to believe it, as it's repeatable - just not super frequently.

 

But yeah PRGR is a great little range ball machine imo - and it comes with the added comfort that you won't get jacked in the dark parking lot on your way out of the range 

[Supa Dupa Fly]

52 minutes ago, MysteryV said:

 

I honestly don't look at the carry distance at all, but your logic works for me.  😄

 

The PRGR is a really good little unit for the price I think.  I use it for speed training and range balls and for the most part, it's only sees drivers. 

 

The odd thing about the prgr is that sometimes the speed just jumps quite a bit - but not enough to be unreasonable - so I'm constantly like "Did I just get super efficient?  Did I make a bigger turn?  Did I add extra effort?".  This happens with and without a ball.  I tend to believe it, as it's repeatable - just not super frequently.

 

But yeah PRGR is a great little range ball machine imo - and it comes with the added comfort that you won't get jacked in the dark parking lot on your way out of the range 

 

haha, yeah, the other day I saw my 7 iron continuously reaching clubhead speed of 117. But I think this happens when the battery is about to die.

[TMfan54]

On 3/19/2024 at 10:06 PM, Supa Dupa Fly said:

What did you end up going with? I am also facing the same dilemma. Not sure if I want to shell out $3500 for a monitor when the only thing I’ll be hitting is range balls. The range balls I use are TaylorMade as well but not the TP5 that you mentioned. I would assume range balls generally are slower ball speed.

Sorry, haven't logged on in a long time. I ended up not buying anything. Seems like its not worth it unless I am hitting my exact ball because I was only interested in dialing in yardages.