Trackman Launch Moniter

Almost exactly a year ago, I did a blog post called Trackman vs. Flightscope where I talked about my experience with testing the two machines.  You can follow the previous link the read my initial review.  Basically, it states the Trackman is just more accurate.  This is especially true when it comes to the angle of attack.

I’d heard that Flightscope had come out with some new software and wanted to see how the two compared again.  One of my twitter followers sent me some results from a side by side comparison of the new Flightscope Prime with the new software and Trackman.

I am in the process of loading the data onto my server and will post it here when complete.  Data is located at the end of the post.

Until then, I will tell you what it shows.  For the most part, the two machines tracked the flight and launch of the ball almost exactly.

Flightscope Prime

Some shots had variables in spin but not enough for me to say that one is worse than the other.  This test composed of a sand wedge, 6 iron and a driver.  Once again, the issue with Flightscope was the angle of attack.  Driver comparisons were pretty close but when it came to the 6 iron and sandwedge, the Flightscope was way off.  In 8 of 10 shots, Flightscope returned a positive angle of attack for a club professional.  This is just way off.

We all know that we are supposed to take a divot after the ball with an iron shot.  The only way to accomplish this is with a downward angle of attack.  Not only is the angle of attack incorrect but because it is incorrect, the club path numbers are inaccurate.   The angle of attack has a direct impact on the 3d club path.  Downward angles of attack create a more rightward path relative to the swing and upward angles of attack create a more leftward path relative to the swing.  So when Trackman says 2 degrees down and Flightscope says 2 degrees up, we have a major difference in club path.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again.  Flightscope would work very well as a fitting tool but if you want a fitting tool and a teaching tool you need a Trackman.  Just remember Flightscope is about $8000 and Trackman Pro is about $28000.  Accuracy is what you get for that extra $20000.

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Update:  I had some questions regarding the set up of the test so here’s a picture of the set up:

Trackman vs Flightscope Set Up

Here is the Data and screen shots from the 6irons in question:

Trackman Screen Shot for 6 Iron Data

Flightscope Screen Shot for 6 Iron Data

Here are the screen shots to show that this data is from the newest version of software and firmware that Flightscope offers:

Flightscope Firmware Version

Flightscope Software