Radar or camera launch monitor: which suits your room?

Two ways to measure a golf shot

A launch monitor is the box that measures each shot and sends the numbers to the simulator software. There are two ways it can do that, and the choice changes your floor plan more than anything else.

• Radar (also called Doppler radar). The unit sits behind you, looking down the line, and follows the ball with radio waves as it flies. The FlightScope Mevo Gen2, Full Swing KIT, Garmin Approach R10 and Golfzon WAVE work this way.
• Camera (also called photometric). The unit sits beside the ball and photographs it, and often the club, in the instant after impact. The Garmin Approach R50, Foresight GC3, Square Golf, Uneekor EYE MINI and SkyTrak work this way.

Some units mix the two. The Full Swing KIT adds a camera to its radar, the Rapsodo MLM2PRO and SkyTrak+ pair cameras with radar, and the Golfzon WAVE adds an infrared putting sensor. What matters for your room is simply where the unit has to sit.

What it means for the length of your room

Our simulator rooms start at 3.0m wide, 2.7m high and 4.2m long, and a ceiling of 3m or more is ideal. That 4.2m allows 30cm behind the screen, about 2.5m from the ball to the screen, and room to swing. A camera unit fits inside that, because it sits next to you.

A radar unit has to sit behind the ball, so I add its distance from the maker's manual:

• FlightScope Mevo Gen2: 2.4m (8ft) behind the ball, so a 5.2m room.
• Full Swing KIT: 3.05m (10ft) directly behind the ball, so a 5.85m room.
• Garmin Approach R10: 1.8m to 2.4m behind the ball, so 4.6m to 5.2m.
• Rapsodo MLM2PRO: 2.0m to 2.6m behind the ball, so 4.8m to 5.4m.
• Golfzon WAVE: the radar goes 2.0m to 2.5m behind the tee, and Golfzon asks for 3.5m from ball to screen, so 5.8m to 6.3m.

If your room is 4.2m to 5m long, radar is usually out, and a camera unit is the answer. Will a golf simulator fit my room? has the full table for each enclosure size.

Overhead units: nothing on the floor

A third group are camera units that bolt to the ceiling. The Foresight Falcon and GCHawk look down on the ball from above, and the Uneekor EYE XO2 and EYE XR are mounted overhead too. Nothing sits on the mat, nothing gets hit, and left- and right-handed players use the same spot. The trade-off is height and permanence: Foresight's Falcon manual asks for a ceiling of 2.9m to 3.2m, and once it's fitted it stays put. These suit a dedicated room, not a garage that still has a car in it.

Light, electrics and the ball

Each type has its own enemy.

Cameras dislike light

Sunlight through a window, bright lamps and reflections from a shiny floor or glass can stop a camera seeing the ball. Square Golf and NVisage use infrared cameras, so some lamps that give off infrared upset them. Camera units also need to sit level with the hitting mat, and a mat the same colour as the ball causes missed shots.

Radar dislikes electrical noise and needs help with spin

FlightScope says fluorescent lights, fans, air conditioning, TVs and computers in front of the Mevo Gen2 cause poor tracking, so keep them behind it. Indoors, the ball only flies about 2.5m before it hits the screen, so many radar units can't read spin on their own. The Mevo Gen2 needs a small aluminium sticker on the ball, and the MLM2PRO needs Rapsodo's RPT balls for spin. Outdoors, radar follows the whole flight, which is where it shines.

Club data: what each type sees

Ball numbers (ball speed, launch and spin) decide where the shot goes. Club numbers (club path, face angle and angle of attack) tell you why. If you want to fix your swing, club data matters.

• Most camera units read club data directly, though the R50, EYE MINI and Square Golf need small stickers on the clubface for it.
• Radar units vary. The Mevo Gen2's club path and face angle come with FlightScope's paid Pro Package, not the base unit.

The glossary explains every number in a line.

Which I'd choose

For a typical UK garage or spare room, I'd start with a camera unit. It fits the 4.2m room, it switches between left- and right-handed players without fuss, and most read club data. Radar earns its place when the room is long, when you also want to take it to the range, or when you can't control the light, such as a garden room with big windows. The UK launch monitor ladder lines up every model we sell.