The new Shot Scope LM1 launch monitor may be one of the most eagerly anticipated product launches we’ve seen over the past 10 years. A big part of that is due to Shot Scope’s slow and deliberate release cadence.
We first learned about the $199 LM1 in mid-January and saw it in action at the PGA Show. We’ve had one in hand for a few weeks and have been not-so-patiently waiting for this day to actually dig in and share the details.
Trust us, friends. You’re going to want to read this one.
What the new Shot Scope LM1 is, and what it isn’t
We know you’ve had many, many questions about the Shot Scope LM1 and we’ll do our best to answer them all. As we go through the process, however, you need to understand just what the LM1 is and, more importantly, what it isn’t.
Please understand the LM1 is not a fitting tool. It’s not meant to replace a GC Quad or a Trackman. It won’t provide you with nearly enough metrics to find performance differences in shaft and head combinations. A fitting tool will cost you considerably more than $199.
Also understand that the LM1 is not a teaching tool. If you’re a teaching pro, the LM1 won’t provide you with nearly enough metrics to teach anyone the game of golf, particularly if you’re looking to analyze cause and effect for a student. A teaching tool will also cost you considerably more than $199.
Lastly, the LM1 is not a golf simulation tool. It doesn’t connect to a projector nor does it come pre-loaded with courses that you can play in your garage with your buddies. That, too, will cost you considerably more than $199.
If you want and/or need any one of the above, you’ll need to look elsewhere.
So what is the Shot Scope LM1?
Pretty simple: a practice tool, which is different from a teaching tool. It’s a single-array Doppler radar unit that gives you five simple metrics: swing speed, ball speed, smash factor, carry distance, total distance.
“We know there are golfers who want more data and are willing to invest $600 or $700 to get it,” Shot Scope Chief Commercial Officer Gavin Dear tells MyGolfSpy. “They have a raft of options but there are an awful lot of golfers who just want to go hit golf balls and get some feedback.”
Hit balls, get some feedback and, most importantly, store your data. Wash, rinse and repeat. That’s what the LM1 is, and it doesn’t claim to be anything else.
However, that storing of your data and what you can do with it gives the LM1 a unique niche.
“We’re talkin’ ‘bout practice …”
“Our goal with the LM1 wasn’t to disrupt the market,” says Dear. “It was to create a market.”
One can argue (and many of you have) that the LM1 is basically no different than a PRGR or Voice Caddie unit, just in a nicer package. On one level, you’re absolutely correct. On another level, however, you’re most definitely wrong. One huge and fundamental difference lies in what you can do with the information.
Perhaps the most overused phrase in golf technology this year is “ecosystem.” It describes cloud-based storage of your data and a platform for using that data to achieve your goals. Shot Scope’s “ecosystem” is more refined and usable than most and the LM1 will be a key component. It stores your shot-by-shot data for each practice session.
That data can then be easily uploaded to your free Shot Scope account via Bluetooth.
“You’ll be able to see your averages, your tendencies and your session history,” explains Dear. “It’s side-by-side with your shot tracking data and you can use it in the My Strategy portion of the app.”
For that purpose, we found the Shot Scope LM1 ridiculously easy to use. The time between hitting the “on” button and your first recorded swing might be 15 seconds, depending on how much you waggle. Seriously, it’ll take you more time to put your glove on than to set this thing up. Once it’s running, the LM1 requires very little babysitting. It collects and presents your data almost instantly and it advances to the next shot automatically. To change clubs, you simply press the up or down buttons on the side. The club will be displayed on the screen.
As it’s Doppler radar-based (more on that in a sec), the LM1 needs to be set up approximately 55 inches behind you.
The $199 Question: Is it accurate?
In our indoor testing, we found the LM1 to be spot-on with the GC Quad in two key metrics: ball speed and carry distance. Swing speed was within a 1.5-mph window. Total distance could be off a yard or two but well within what most would consider acceptable. Smash factor accuracy is relative based on swing speed but it does tell you how efficiently you’re striking the ball.
In other words, for a practice tool, the data is close enough. As a game-planning tool, carry is the key metric you’re looking for. The LM1 proved to be on par with the GC Quad.
“It’s looking at launch characteristics,” Dear explains. “It works from there to project out and normalize that information.”
The other “$199 question” we’ve been seeing is: What about spin? The LM1 doesn’t report spin but it does measure spin. Its operating algorithm (which normalizes to a premium ball and a 70-degree ambient air temp) uses that information to determine carry and, by extension, total distance.
At this point in the discussion, we’ll need to dive a little deeper into how a Doppler radar-based system works and how it measures spin. It’s a little different from a camera-based launch monitor, but the relative accuracy of both types depends on their respective operating algorithms.
Doppler 101
Let’s start with the obvious. I’m no rocket surgeon and had to learn the basics of Doppler radar on the fly. Since we’re here to help, what follows will have to pass as Intro To Doppler.
Doppler-based launch monitors use microwave radar waves to measure the motion of the club and the ball. If you’ve ever been pulled over for speeding by a cop using radar, you know the score.
The LM1 emits radar waves toward the hitting area where they bounce off the club and the ball and reflect back to the unit. Since both the club and ball are moving, the frequency of those waves shifts. That’s known as the Doppler Shift and it reveals motion. As the ball moves farther away from the unit, the waves get longer and the frequency gets lower.
The unit then analyzes those frequency shifts and the larger the shift, the faster the motion. Theoretically, a radar unit can track the entire flight of the ball from launch to landing. Realistically, a $199 single-array unit can only track the ball for about 30 yards. However, that’s enough to easily calculate clubhead speed, ball speed and launch angle.
Spin is a trickier animal. The LM1 does measure spin to a degree. Because the ball is moving forward and rotating, the surface of the ball has different relative velocities: half of the ball is rotating toward the unit, the other half is rotating away from it. This differential in motion alters the returning radar signal which allows the unit to calculate spin. High-end Doppler units like Trackman use a professional-grade, high-resolution radar to track spin over a longer portion of the ball’s flight.
An inexpensive unit like the LM1 can, however, be surprisingly accurate. Here’s how.
The Shot Scope LM1 and the science of spin
An entry-level Doppler unit like the LM1 can easily measure ball speed and launch angle which are the two biggest predictors of carry distance. It can also track the ball long enough to capture initial flight arc, launch direction, and velocity decay. All of that information is instantly fed into the unit’s operating algorithm.
While initial spin is measured to a degree, the LM1 uses a physics-based model to determine spin values from ball speed, launch angle, typical spin relations for a given club and a set of preloaded aerodynamic parameters. It’s important to note, friends, that all launch monitors measure spin in a similar way. They all interpret what they see through a mathematical filter and give you the very best estimate they can. So when we ask, “Is it accurate?” what we’re really asking is, “How good is its best estimate?”
Our ball speed and carry distance comparisons with GC Quad indicate the LM1‘s best estimate is pretty solid.
Total distance is all about the modeled trajectory. As the unit measures ball speed, launch angle and the ball’s initial path, it estimates spin, lift and drag. It then models the ball’s flight and predicts the estimated rollout. These models are built into the software and don’t require direct spin measurements.
So, is the LM1 equal to a $20,000 camera-based unit? C’mon, people, that can’t be a serious question.
The question we should be asking is whether the LM1 is accurate enough for the likes of you and me? From what we’ve seen, we can give you an unqualified “absolutely.” It uses reasonable mathematical solutions that, for $199, will get you pretty freaking close.
At this point, it’s fair to ask if the Shot Scope LM1 can reasonably interpret spin, why doesn’t it report that info?
The spin on spin
The Shot Scope LM1 is a single-array Doppler unit. As such, it has some limitations.
“Don’t get me wrong, our spin won’t be quite as accurate as you’d want to put out in a consumer product,” says Dear. “We’re using spin to help us understand ball flight and work out carry and total distances using our algorithms.”
Again, it’s important, so we’ll say it again. The LM1 isn’t a fitting or a teaching tool. It’s a practice tool. Since spin is a function of the ball you use, club loft and type of shaft, along with swing path and face angle, your eyes are the best judges during practice sessions. If you’re practicing wedges, you’ll be able to see on the LM1 how close swing speed is to ball speed and you’ll be able to see the delta between total and carry. If you’re hitting driver, a titanic slice will tell you more than any numbers will.
While other Doppler-based units in the sub-$1,000 price range do provide spin numbers, their methodology for calculating spin is similar. Those units usually feature a dual-array Doppler, which can track ball flight for a longer distance, but you’ll pay for it both in terms of purchase price and an annual subscription. The LM1 is a single-array unit and carries no additional subscription fees.
“We’ve never believed golfers should pay for their own data,” says Dear. “Subscriptions lock people out, create ongoing costs and stop golfers from fully owning their own improvement.”
How is this any different from the PRGR or Voice Caddy?
That’s another common question we’ve seen. Given that the LM1 provides essentially the same metrics as the PRGR and Voice Caddie units, it’s also a fair one.
In our testing, however, we’ve seen big differences in consistency and accuracy.
“I was shocked at how close it was to the GC Quad for ball speed and carry,” says MyGolfSpy Testing Director Phillip Bishop. “We found it to be way more accurate than either the PRGR or the Voice Caddie.”
“For indoor use, accuracy depends on who’s hitting the golf ball,” adds Dear. “With a driver, if you’re hitting it 300 yards through the air with 2,000 rpm of spin, you’ll need about 14 feet from the ball to the net. If you only hit it 250 with 2,800 rpm, you’ll only need maybe nine feet.”
The 55 inches between the ball and the unit is pretty important, especially indoors. Also, you won’t want to use this unit indoors alongside any other Doppler device, such as a Trackman.
“During testing, we had the LM1 against a Trackman, the Garmin G10 and a Rapsodo,” says Dear. “The radar interference bouncing around that room was off the charts.”
Dear adds that indoor interference can also come from air conditioning equipment, certain types of lighting or anything else that might be sending out microwaves. Outdoors, or even in your garage with no other interference, the unit will work fine.
“If you’re using the LM1 at your driving range and someone next to you pulls out their LM1, there won’t be any interference because they’re on different frequencies,” explains Dear. “The only issue is indoors because you have microwaves bouncing off walls in all directions.”
The Shot Scope LM1: Final thoughts
If you’re a hardcore competitive golfer and absolutely need a boatload of metrics from your personal launch monitor, you already know the LM1 isn’t for you. That’s OK by Shot Scope as the unit wasn’t meant for you.
It is, as we’ve banged on about, a practice tool for those of us who play golf for fun and want to improve.
“The LM1 started as a little homemade launch monitor that our electrical engineers created in the office,” explains Dear. “We sent our golfers out with it to do testing with our other products.”
Dear says everyone in the office enjoyed using that little homemade unit. Shot Scope didn’t intend to actually turn it into a product but the commercial team couldn’t deny it any longer.
“We’re always looking at gaps in the marketplace and whether our capabilities can fill those gaps,” he explains. “We finally were like, OK, we have something here.”
The market certainly seems ready for the LM1. Shot Scope sold out its initial pre-order instantly, causing its website to crash. The company has been ramping up production to meet that demand but the biggest challenge will be making sure it has enough stock.
“We’ve taken something simple and made it look good and made it easy to use,” says Dear. “It’s portable and you have a golf brand behind it. You have access to our ecosystem and you can store and use all your data.
“We’re always updating our software and I have no doubt we’ll have a raft of users giving us feedback on what to do next.”
The Shot Scope LM1 is available now at retailers and on Shot Scope’s website. It’s $199, with ZERO subscription fees.