What I Love About Every Golf Launch Monitor I Own

After a video tearing into everything I hate about my launch monitor collection, it's time for the much easier — and much longer — list: the things I genuinely love about each one. None of these units is perfect, but every single one brings something to the table worth celebrating.

We're working from most expensive to least: the Garmin R50, the Bushnell Launch Pro, the SkyTrak ST+ and ST MAX, the FlightScope Mevo Gen2, the Rapsodo MLM2Pro, the Square Home Edition, and the original Garmin R10. There's also a Square Omni on the horizon that I'm hoping to get my hands on soon — and it could shake up several of these conversations.

Garmin Approach R50

Bushnell Launch Pro

FlightScope Mevo Gen2

Garmin R50 — The All-in-One Simplicity King

The Garmin R50 is the only unit here that's truly standalone. You don't have to hook it up to anything else, deal with extra software, or fight a PC. Plug it straight into a projector or hit into a net using the built-in screen, and you're up and running. There's nothing simpler.

The Home Tee Hero experience is a genuine value, especially with the 18 enhanced courses — getting to play Augusta and Pebble Beach for $10 a month or $100 a year is remarkable. Even when you pair it with GS Pro, the built-in screen earns its keep as an auxiliary display for hitting-area indication, video playback, and data. Speaking of video playback — I love that it's there even though the quality, crops, and timing drive me crazy. It's a love-hate thing, but seeing what the club face does at impact is worth it. The hitting-area indicator is the best of any unit here, and shot registration is nearly instantaneous.

Bushnell Launch Pro — Built Like a Tank

The Launch Pro feels like it's built like a tank — heavy where I want it to be heavy, planted the moment I set it down. Of all these units, it makes the most sense to take to the range or onto the course. The on-device display gives you shot numbers even without a subscription, so there's real utility out of the box.

Yes, the subscriptions are steep — $200/year for Silver (5 courses), $500/year for Gold (25 courses plus third-party connectivity) — but FSX Play is probably my favorite software package for virtual golf. The gameplay, physics, and visuals are deeply immersive. The new Foresight iPad app is also a big win, adding a great range, practice drills, and bag mapping. If money were no object and I had to pick one device, it's the Launch Pro: $2,500 up front, $500/year Gold, plus $250 for GS Pro. That $750/year buys a near no-compromise setup.

The Square Omni offers a lot of the same utility without the subscription at a cheaper entry point. There's a real chance it becomes my daily driver — but form factor and feel matter, and the Launch Pro nails both.

SkyTrak ST+ and ST MAX — The Best Software Ecosystem

The ST+ is such a solid value right now that if I had to pick one of these today, it might be it. The ST MAX is a bit faster and better for speed training, but the price jump doesn't justify the incremental improvement for most people.

The SkyTrak app ecosystem is my favorite overall package — second only to Foresight's software for course play. You can choose Foresight or TrackMan versions of courses, and you can play virtual golf on iPad, PC, or MacBook with the same app and the same capabilities across every device. No other unit here delivers full virtual course play out of the native iPad software. You also get most club data with no club stickers, can use any ball or clubs, and there's a laser that points right to the hitting area. The catch: no official third-party connectivity, so you're living in the SkyTrak ecosystem — which honestly simplifies life.

FlightScope Mevo Gen2 — Pay Only for What You Need

The Mevo Gen2 is such a cool device, and no other unit here gives you this kind of data. I love FlightScope's pricing model: the base unit is $1,300, and Face Impact or the Pro package are à la carte lifetime unlocks — no subscriptions. For many golfers, the base purchase covers everything they need, including angle of attack, a club metric the SkyTrak units don't give you.

Step up to roughly $1,600 and you get a unit with face impact data, angle of attack, and excellent third-party connectivity with no subscription requirements whatsoever. No other launch monitor on this table gives you face impact (until the Square Omni arrives). For a radar-based unit, it also registers shots quickly — faster than the Rapsodo and faster than the SkyTrak units. Tons of data, pay only for what you need, no recurring fees: that's a value winner.