The PGA Show in Orlando every January is a pretty reliable barometer as to which products are going to move the needle for the remainder of the year and the buzz around the Shot Scope LM1 was arguably bigger than anything else that week.
This was not surprising. It was being billed as a compact, affordable, easy-to-use launch monitor that produced accurate numbers – all for just £199.99 – something I was very keen to put to the test.
Out of the box, I was surprised how small and lightweight the unit is. It came in at exactly 300 grams on my scales and comes with a tidy, protective zipped carry case that makes it easy to store and transport in your golf bag safely with plenty of room to spare.
You turn it on and access the settings via the buttons on the side of the unit. To start getting data, simply place the unit 4-5 feet behind where you’re hitting from, select your club and you’re away – it really takes no time at all and there’s no calibration or alignment needed.
(Image credit: Howard Boylan)
The LM1 provides the five key metrics of club speed, ball speed, smash factor, carry distance and total distance. The numbers appear quickly on the screen and are easy to read from where you’re hitting from in most light conditions. They also tallied with what I would expect from each club, but I needed to take my testing a step or two further to validate such claims.
Out of pure curiosity’s sake, I tested the LM1 against a Foresight Sports GCQuad launch monitor (RRP £16,788) – a laughable comparison, some might say, given the disparity between the prices of the two units, but I thought it would be interesting to see how the LM1 stacked up against arguably the gold standard of launch monitor technology.
(Image credit: Howard Boylan)
Admittedly these two launch monitors get their data very differently (the GCQuad is camera based while the LM1 is radar based) but it meant I was able to gather data on the same shot with both units concurrently. As you’ll see below, the data was very comparable on the metrics both products offer.
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I then took things to a whole new level and asked a friend to go down the range and watch (from a…
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