How many people can play on a home simulator, and what about left-handers?

Three questions for a sim with more than one golfer

Most people buy a simulator for themselves and then find the family, or a group of friends, wants a go. Before you pick a launch monitor and software, it's worth checking three things:

1. How many people can play the same round at once. That's set by the software, not the launch monitor.
2. Whether each person gets their own profile, so their shots, stats and handicap are kept separately.
3. What happens when a left-hander follows a right-hander. That's set by where the launch monitor sits.

A profile is simply a player's own account in the software, holding their name, tee choice, handedness and history. A guest is a player without one: they can play, but nothing is saved.

How many players each software allows

These are the figures each maker publishes. Players take turns on the same mat, and the software keeps the order and the scorecard.

• Garmin Home Tee Hero (Approach® R50 and R10): up to 4 players, with a Garmin Golf membership. On the R50 the manual lets you set the order of play for rounds with multiple players.
• GSPro: up to 8 players, local or online, in stroke play, scramble, Stableford, match play, best ball and alternate shot.
• E6 Connect: up to 8 players. TruGolf's manual says "8 players max" when you add players to a round.
• Awesome Golf: up to 4 people. It also has 15 computer opponents, which Awesome Golf calls bots, if you're playing alone.
• Square Golf's own software: up to 4 players on a single launch monitor.
• Golfzon Vision WAVE: up to 6 players. Golfzon's Free and Light plans are limited to 3 players; Basic and Premium add players without that limit.
• Foresight Premier: Foresight doesn't publish a player limit on the pages I could read. Its older FSX software added everyone in the session to the round, and match play is for two players only.

Profiles and handicaps

Garmin

The R50 is registered to one profile, but you can add more. Each new player either signs in with their own Garmin account or uses a guest profile. Garmin's manual says guest data "will only be stored locally", on the unit. Handedness is a setting in each profile.

Foresight+ and Premier

Foresight puts extra profiles behind its top tier. On the Foresight+ page, "Student/Family profiles" are listed for Gold only, at $599 a year (Foresight prices in US dollars). Free and Silver don't include them. Online and Challenge competitions come with Silver and Gold. If two people in your house want their own stats on a GC3, budget for Gold, not Silver.

GSPro

GSPro has its own handicap system, GSP HCP, which you can sync with GSPro Cloud. Players can be added mid-round, and the N key switches a player between right and left hand.

E6 Connect

Each player logs in, creates a profile, or plays as a guest. A profile holds the player's tee, handicap and hand. TruGolf's manual warns: "DO NOT enter a handicap if you don't want to factor it into the scoring". Guests' stats aren't tracked, and guests can't enter online events.

Awesome Golf

Players are added as registered users or guests. Each one can set their name, tee position, colour and "right/left dexterity". Guests' shots and personal bests aren't saved, and guests can't go on the leaderboards. Awesome Golf's guides don't mention a handicap setting.

The launch monitor makers' own apps

• Uneekor: the free Player plan has a single profile. Pro has 5, Champion 50 and Ultimate 100, at $199, $399 and $599 a year per unit (Uneekor prices in US dollars).
• SkyTrak: each master account can have up to 14 sub-accounts. SkyTrak's ST MAX guide says handedness "can not be changed mid round".
• Square Golf: you set left or right hand in the app, and each user has their own My Page.

Left and right-handers taking turns

This is the bit that catches out mixed households. Every software above has a left-handed setting. The question is whether the launch monitor has to move as well.

Camera units beside the ball: they move

A camera unit sits on the far side of the ball from the golfer, looking back at it. A left-hander stands on the other side of the ball, so the unit has to cross over too.

• Garmin Approach® R50: the manual places it about 0.5m to the side of the tee, facing it. For a left-hander, it goes 0.5m to the other side.
• Foresight GC3: its left-handed mode sets the device "in the proper orientation" for a left-handed hitter, switched on its screen. Foresight's help centre also says Premier connects to one launch monitor at a time, so two units, one for each hand, in the same round isn't supported. You reposition the one unit between players.
• Square Golf: Square Golf's FAQ says the device "may need to be repositioned" when switching between right and left-handed players. On the OMNI, the ball zone starts 5cm to the right of the unit, or 5cm to the left for a left-hander.

In practice, moving the unit means re-aligning it each time. In a round of four with one left-hander, that happens on every hole. It works, but it slows the game down.

Radar behind the ball: it stays put

A radar sits behind the ball on the target line, so it sees left and right-handers from the same spot. FlightScope says that because the Mevo Gen2 sits 2.4m (8ft) directly behind the ball, left and right-handers "can hit back-to-back without ever moving the device". The Garmin R10, Full Swing KIT and Golfzon WAVE sit behind the ball in the same way. Change the hand in the software and carry on.

Overhead units: one hitting zone

Ceiling units look down on the whole hitting area. Foresight's Falcon quick start guide asks you to leave room to swing for both a left-handed and a right-handed golfer, and Uneekor's EYE XO2 manual asks you to allow for both when you cut the hitting insert into your mat.

Room space for both

If a camera unit has to swap sides, keep clear floor on both sides of the ball. For a left-hander, the stance also moves to the other side of the ball, so the mat needs to be wide enough for either. Our radar vs camera page covers the room length each type needs.