Garmin Approach R10 Simulator

Has anyone tried the Garmin R10? It sounds like it offers similar data to SkyTrak at less than a third of the price. Would love to see a comparison between the two. And Jon, when you are done you can send it my way for further review :wink:

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While Iā€™ve started to see some advance reviews out there, I donā€™t think they are publicly available for a few months. Iā€™ll be super interested to see more about it myself, particularly with the simulation ability and how they will price that.

I donā€™t know the rules about posting links to youtube from other companies, but it appears it struggles indoors on distances over 100 yards. However, the first ā€œcomparisonā€ video isnā€™t actually putting a table up showing comparison distances, just the speaker saying he found his longer clubs came up a bit short compared to Skytrak/Foresight.

When I saw the announcement I was very interested as well. I did see some youtube videos about it. The main thing that I saw that tempered my enthusiasm from must ordering one on the spot was much of the things I was interested in face strike, spin and so forth are calculated and have a Ā± 1-2 degree. That is a large difference from a Skytrak. I donā€™t currently have enough knowledge to know if I could make decisions off of that, but I suspect that I canā€™t. I look forward to more reviews, until those come out I still have my eyes on the SkyTrak.

Looks like woods came up 10-15 yards short in the only video review out there. A little suspicious that one low-traffic channel has only review out there, gushes about the product, but gets a little hand wavy about how accuracy issues will resolve with future hardware updates. SC and PRGR had to do hardware updates to really improve.

I pre-ordered and have the original Mevo as well. Things I liked was AOA, path, and the ability to play a ton of courses ( I know the detail is limited) during the wintertime. Weā€™ll see about E6 as another course option. Iā€™ll run it side by side with the Mevo and report back once I get the R10. The Mevo works fine and Flightscope has done a good job of firmware updates to bring it to where it is now, but if the R10 can be close with the additional parameters being offered, Iā€™ll be pleasedā€¦

It sounds like this product is starting to get into customersā€™ hands. Thereā€™s a few ā€œfirst impressionā€ videos starting to trickle in on Youtube.

It seems like there are several new launch monitor / simulators hitting the market this fall (this one, Bushnell/Foresight product, Full Swing Kit) and I hope @jon will do some reviews when they start hitting the market. I really hope the market demand is high and the prices start falling as competition heats up. I love the Rapsodo/Mevo/SC300 generation but Iā€™d love to see more access to path, face, spin rate, etc as well as connecting it all up to simulation software.

I have one of these things and the best I can say is that itā€™s inconsistent. It seems like the carry distance, spin, and speed numbers are close but the direction, club path, and face angle are all over the place. Every 6-7 swings, it reports a ball going in the opposite direction from the actual ball flight and, usually, the path data is absurdly wrong. I think itā€™s very finicky with the alignment and if your setup and clubface alignment are not nearly perfectly in line with the alignment marker on the monitor, the results are weird. Not a huge deal if you are hitting inside and can hit from the same point every time but it is a big problem outside on a grass range (where I do all my practice).

Iā€™m kind of a junky for these launch monitors so Iā€™m sure Iā€™ll end up with the next low priced one that comes along. I should just bite the bullet and buy a trackman.

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Tony from MGS has talked about the limitations in doppler radar at this size. Something along similar lines as what you stated. Cameras seem to do better in this regard.

This youtuber had the same experience (and yes Iā€™m such a geek that I watched all 45min). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAT9XbBrN3s

How does this compare to the flight scope mevo? I live up north and would love to practice in my garage during the winter. Garmin R10 reviews on YouTube have been really good, but some of you are saying itā€™s inconsistent.

Just got my R10 this week, but I did not find the time to try it out yet.

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My Golf Spy is going to release their review tomorrow. Should be interesting.

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Have you had time to try it? Would like to read your thoughts.

@Tanner:
I just did an hour or so at the range on Friday. I donā€™t really know what to make of it to be honest.

On full shots, the R10 seemed to pick up my wedges and shorter irons quite okay, but my hybrid and woods seemed all over the place. On a particular bad shot with driver that I saw land at around the 190 yard marker, the R10 showed a carry of over 230 and a smash factor of 1.6, while clubhead speed was 80 mph. Not sure why it struggles picking up the longer clubs.

Also, what I noticed is that it has problems picking up chip shots and pitches. I hit some around 20 yds and the R10 showed many of these at double the distance.

This also bothered me in Home Tee hero (which by itself is quite good). For example I played hole #1 of my home course and had some 15 yds to the flag. Hit a soft chip shot, which for sure was less than 15, and the R10 showed the ball flying over the green and landing beyondā€¦

I canā€™t really tell anything about the accuracy of the spin and AoA metrics, as I did not have any reference numbers to compare them to.

I decided to send it back for now, and maybe wait until they smooth the algorithms out a bit.

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Iā€™ve had one a couple weeks and find it situationally accurate. At the range without enough space around itā€™s extremely accurate with clubs under 5w. Fun to play local courses at the range, and I get more wedge practice in doing that than I would otherwise do.

At home in my narrow backyard, with a quick setup, my 7i goes 80 yards, with the net 8 feet away (scary). I donā€™t think itā€™s going to work well in the garage where I want it.

I get the sense that with the right setup and alignment and removal of obstructions, it would be perfect for playing par 3 courses, Not sure if I can actually do that, so Iā€™m not sure Iā€™m keeping it.

If you try it in the garage, let me know. I want a good garage monitor and the garmin features seem unmatched, but Iā€™m worried about the accuracy.

@Tanner just an update, I was finding it short so I took it to Dicks and put it up against a Trackman, and itā€™s accurate, Iā€™m just short hitting off a mat in a confined space.

Iā€™ve been playing a lot of Home Tee Hero and my scores are plummeting (I am a newer golfer). I end up using wedges quite a bit and have to change clubs each shot. My son and I simulate the local par 3 he gets a huge kick out of it.

I did have to get used to the ā€œsim gappingā€, but I played live golf with my ā€œrealā€ numbers and had no difficulty adjusting.

Ball launch angle and speed are very accurate, clubhead speed and ball spin are not. For a mid-high handicapper who is looking for fun practice, wants more than an Optishot but to spend less than a Skytrak, I think itā€™s a win.

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@Spells I appreciate the update! Iā€™m a bit nervous because itā€™s for my garage and everything I have heard/read says that the indoor numbers are quite sporadic. However, this review makes me feel relieved- especially as a high handicap player who is looking to play more and have more practice opportunities. Someday a Trackman would be great, but Iā€™m just not ready quite yet.

I too am considering the R10. I would (obviously) love to get a Mevo+ or SkyTrak but Iā€™d never get the $2K past my wife. At $600, I might have a chance.
My situation might be different than most here. I donā€™t have room in the house or garage, so my current setup is a mat&net in the backyard which works well. Added benefit is I can use my ā€˜gameā€™ balls. Since Iā€™m outdoors, net-ball-monitor distance is not an issue; Iā€™m leaning toward radar-based systems. My practice is typically split between home net and a nearby range.
I currently have a Mevo which works beautifully (home or range) for carry, club gapping, wedge practice, etc. The Mevo also allows me to video my swing, so I can get some idea of path. Of course, Iā€™m never without Dr Scholls for impact. At the range Iā€™m usually looking at ball flight tendencies. Added benefit is they have grass tees, but I donā€™t put a great deal of stock in ā€˜range ballā€™ numbers. Iā€™m also an Arccos user so Iā€™ve got a decent idea of total distances plus carry distances (from Mevo) for each club.
With that in mind, any recommendations?
Iā€™d like to determine/work on dispersion, path and clubface, which I understand the R10 provides.
From what Iā€™ve been reading, the R10 firmware updates have improved spin axis, distance accuracy, etc. can anybody comment?
Is there any way to set wind speed, wind direction, altitude, etc on the R10?
Thanks!