Comparison of three launch monitors assessment of driver performance

Abstract

This investigation examined driver performance across three commercially available golf launch monitor devices. Each of 13 female NCAA Division I golfers performed five swings with their driver. Each swing was analyzed concurrently by the three devices outdoors. A total of six metrics were assessed across the three devices. Significant differences were present for all six variables assessed in this investigation. Statistically significant differences were seen between each device for clubhead speed, carry distance, smash factor, and launch angle (p < 0.05). Trackman values were significantly different than both Flightscope models for ball speed and spin rate with no differences between Flightscope models. Near-perfect correlations were present between devices for ball speed (r = 0.99). Very large significant correlations were present between devices for clubhead speed (r = 0.78–0.89), and large significant correlations were present between devices for carry distance (r = 0.61–0.66). Smash factor displayed the highest level of agreement across devices (mean bias −0.05 to 0.03), while spin rate displayed the poorest agreement across the three devices (mean bias 73.67–641.90) with the highest spin rates coming from the Mevo. Though significant correlations were present for several metrics, the statistically significant differences among all metrics suggest that golf practitioners should use caution when comparing data obtained across different launch monitor devices.