Radar vs. Camera Launch Monitors

A launch monitor is the part of a simulator that turns a real golf shot into numbers: ball speed, launch angle, spin, and direction. Two technologies do that job, and they want very different rooms. Radar units track the ball through the air; camera units photograph it at impact. This page supplements our DIY golf simulator room build guide: read it before you lay out the room, because the monitor type sets the depth, the ceiling, and the floor space the rest of the build must fit around.

Radar-based monitors

A radar unit sits on the floor behind the golfer and follows the ball with Doppler radar as it flies. Typical placement is 6–8 feet (1.8–2.4 metres) behind the ball, and the unit needs roughly 8 feet (2.4 metres) of ball flight to build a full track.

Pros:

• Measures real ball flight, not a calculation of it, so shot shape, apex, and total distance are what the ball actually did. That makes radar the stronger choice outdoors and for gapping work.
• Strong on clubhead speed and swing path, with no markers needed on the club.
• One unit serves left-handed and right-handed golfers with nothing to move or realign between players.

Cons:

• It is a depth hog. The space behind the ball plus ball-to-screen distance pushes room depth toward 18–20 feet (5.5–6.1 metres), which many garages and basements cannot accommodate.
• Indoors it can under-report carry distance, because the ball does not fly far enough for a complete radar track before it hits the screen.
• It is sensitive to its surroundings: moving air, fans, and metal objects behind the golfer can interfere with the radar return.
• A floor unit behind the golfer sits in kick and trip range, so it needs a protected spot clear of feet and swing paths.

Camera-based monitors

A camera unit sits beside the ball or overhead and photographs the ball and club at impact with high-speed cameras, reading speed, launch angle, and spin from how the ball moves between frames. Side units sit next to the hitting area; overhead units mount to the ceiling above it.

Pros:

• Needs far less room depth, because it measures at impact and does not need ball flight. That is why camera units are better suited for most in-home simulator rooms.
• Much better for the short game. Putts and chips read accurately because they never needed to fly anywhere.
• Indifferent to airflow and to what is moving behind the golfer.

Cons:

• What it shows beyond the first few feet is a physics calculation, not a measurement. Outdoors in wind, it shows the shot your impact would have produced in calm conditions, not the shot the wind actually produced.
• Bright direct light and reflective surfaces can interfere with the cameras. Infrared-based units are more tolerant, but lighting still deserves a thought: a dark enclosure with no light falling on the screen helps camera units as well as picture quality.
• Club data on many camera units needs reflective stickers on the clubface.
• Side units have a lefty/righty problem: the unit must be picked up, moved to the other side of the mat, and realigned every time the other-handed player hits. Overhead units avoid that, but they need ceiling height and a solid mount, clear of every swing path.

Which fits your room?

Work from the room you have, not the unit you want:

• Depth is tight (under about 18 feet / 5.5 metres). Camera. A radar unit in a short room will read short and frustrate you.
• You also play outdoors. Radar. Real flight measurement is what you are paying for, and outdoors there is room for it.
• Short-game practice matters. Camera. Putting and chipping are where camera units are clearly better.
• Mixed left- and right-handed players. Radar, or an overhead camera unit. A side camera unit moved and realigned for every player change slows every session down.
• Ceiling is tight. Radar or a side camera unit. Overhead camera units need mounting height above the hitting area plus clearance for the swing.

Hybrid units that combine radar and camera tracking also exist, for builders who do not want to choose. They cost more and still need the radar's depth, so treat them as radar units when planning the room.

Placing the unit

Whatever type you choose, install it to its maker's placement specs and treat them as exact. A radar unit sits behind the ball at its specified distance, with an unobstructed line of sight to the ball and the screen. A side camera unit sits beside the bay at the specified height and distance, square to the target line. An overhead camera unit mounts to the ceiling above the hitting area, with a clear view of the ball. In all three cases, level the unit and align it to the target line: a monitor skewed to the line reads every shot skewed. Keep the unit out of the ball flight path, shield it where a mishit could reach it without blocking its view, and run power and data cables before you finalize the position.