Why every Grip bay runs Trackman.
Two indoor studios can look identical and play completely differently. What separates them sits behind the screen: the tracer reading every shot you hit. Every Grip bay runs Trackman, the system the professional game is built on.
The one distinction that separates good data from bad.
A tracer, or launch monitor, is the sensor that reads your shot. It is the engine behind every number on the screen, every lesson you take and every change you make to your swing.
Measured data physically captures what happened: ball speed, spin, spin axis, club path, face angle and strike location. The numbers describe a real event.
Estimated data measures a few things, then leans on algorithms to fill in the rest. The numbers describe a model’s best guess, and most budget tracers work this way, calculating club path, face angle and spin from a handful of inputs.
On the screen the two look identical. In your game they behave very differently. That is the whole argument: measured data is real, estimated data is a guess.
How the tracers compare.
Where measured data and estimated data part ways, and where every system, ours included, still has its place.
| Capability | Our pick Trackman In every Grip bay | Mid-level | Budget tracers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spin & spin axis measured directly | Yes | Yes | No |
| Club path & face angle measured directly | Yes | Yes | No |
| Radar + camera hybrid tracking | Yes | No | No |
| Tour-standard tracking (PGA & DP World Tour) | Yes | No | No |
| Numbers that transfer to the course | Yes | Yes | No |
| Great for a casual, social round | Yes | Yes | Yes |
The clearest gap sits between tracers that measure the numbers directly and budget systems that estimate the ones they cannot measure.
A guessed number still lights up the screen. The trouble starts the moment you build on it.
Four ways estimated data quietly holds a game back.
- Grooving against ghosts
When a face angle is guessed at, you can spend weeks chasing a fault the tracer invented, or missing one it smoothed over.
- Carry that comes up short
Budget camera systems commonly read short on driver carry, often by several yards. Trust those yardages outdoors and you land well short of the green.
- Coaching from a sketch
Measured club and ball data lets a coach diagnose a real cause. Modelled approximations leave them reading a sketch of your swing.
- Practice that won’t transfer
Indoor sessions pay off outdoors when the ball flight you train against matches the flight you would actually hit on the course.
How Trackman works.
Trackman uses a hybrid system. Its indoor unit combines Doppler radar, an infrared light system and dual high-speed cameras running at up to 4,600 frames per second, an approach the company calls optically enhanced radar tracking.
The result is data you can act on: the kind a coach can build a plan around, and a fitting can rely on.
- Measured spin Spin and spin axis are measured directly from the ball, and spin is the number that decides shot shape and stopping power.
- Full club data Face angle, dynamic loft, impact height and impact offset, all captured with no markers or stickers on your ball or club.
- Grounded indoors Indoor reads are anchored to billions of measured full shots, so the flight on screen matches real-world physics.
One read, three ways measured.
Radar, infrared and high-speed cameras work together, which is how the number on the screen matches what your ball did.
- 4,600 fpsHigh-speed camera capture
- 3Tracking systems in one unit
- 0Markers on your ball or club
- BillionsReal shots behind every read
The professionals settled this argument.
You don't have to take a venue's word for which tracer is serious. Look at what the professional game chose.
- PGA TOUR
The PGA Tour
Runs its shot-tracking on Trackman radar, and has committed to it through 2030.
- DP WORLD TOUR
The DP World Tour
Named Trackman its official launch monitor and ball-tracing technology in 2025.
- TOUR STANDARD
Coaches & fitters
The system most tour professionals, leading coaches and club fitters reach for first.
When a cheaper tracer is the right call.
Plenty of golfers don't need this, and we'd rather you know that. For a relaxed evening with friends, a few drinks and a fun nearest-the-pin, a budget tracer is perfectly good, since the numbers can be loose and the night will still be a great one.
Trackman also shares the serious end of the market. Camera-based professional units, notably Foresight’s, are genuinely excellent and trusted right across the fitting world. We chose Trackman for its radar-and-camera hybrid, its directly measured spin, its marker-free setup and the standing it holds as the reference the tour game is built on.
Trackman earns its place the moment you start caring about getting better — real improvement, real fitting, real practice that shows up on the course. That is who we built Grip for.
Trackman in every bay, at every studio.
No “premium bay” upsell, and no luck of the draw on which sensor you get. At Grip, you play on the system the professionals trust.
Trackman, answered.
The questions prospective members ask most before switching to a Trackman bay.
Is Trackman more accurate than other launch monitors?
Trackman directly measures the data that cheaper tracers estimate, including spin, spin axis and club face data. Against budget and consumer systems, that is a clear accuracy advantage. Other professional-grade systems, such as Foresight's camera-based units, are also highly accurate; the meaningful gap is between professional-grade tracers and the cheaper systems that calculate metrics they cannot measure.
What launch monitor do professional golfers use?
The PGA Tour's shot-tracking runs on Trackman, committed through 2030, and the DP World Tour named Trackman its official launch monitor in 2025. It is the system most tour players, coaches and fitters use.
Why do some indoor golf venues use different tracers?
The tracer is the most expensive item in a bay, so some venues fit budget systems to keep costs down. Those systems frequently estimate club and spin data, which makes the numbers less reliable for coaching, fitting and practice that transfers to the course.
Does the tracer really change how much I improve?
Yes. Practice and coaching are only as good as the data behind them. If your tracer estimates club path, face angle or spin, you may be working against numbers that were never measured. Measured data lets a coach diagnose real faults and lets your practice carry over to the course.
Do I need markers or stickers on my ball at Grip?
No. Trackman's indoor system reads your shot without any markings on the ball or club.