Garmin R50 vs SkyTrak+ (UK): Built-In Screen or Tablet App, and Which Suits Your Room

Both are camera units that sit beside the ball and fit our 4.2 m minimum room. The Garmin R50 runs a simulator on its own touchscreen and plugs straight into a projector; the SkyTrak+ runs from a phone or tablet app, with course play on a SkyTrak membership. For most UK rooms I'd pick the R50, and here's why.

Garmin R50 vs SkyTrak is a comparison I get asked about more each month, partly because SkyTrak has been around long enough that plenty of people know the name. They're closer on paper than you might think: same placement, same room length, both read club data. The gaps are in what you need to add to play, what the software costs each year, and what the two makers will and won't confirm. I'll take them in that order.

Two camera units, one big difference

A launch monitor is the box that measures each shot. Both of these are camera (photometric) units: they photograph the ball, and the club, in the instant after impact, which is why they sit beside the ball rather than behind you. The SkyTrak+ adds a radar alongside its cameras; the R50 uses three cameras.

The big difference is the screen. The Garmin Approach R50 has a touchscreen built in, runs Garmin's Home Tee Hero simulator on it, and has an HDMI port, so one cable sends the picture to a projector. Nothing else is needed to start. The SkyTrak+ has no screen of its own: it connects to the SkyTrak app on a phone or tablet, and you mirror or cable that to a projector if you want a big picture. SkyTrak's own FAQ lists most modern iOS and Android tablets and phones as compatible devices.

Where each sits and the room it needs

Garmin's manual places the R50 about 0.5 m to the side of the tee, facing it, at roughly tee height, and says it compensates for uneven surfaces so it needs no levelling. SkyTrak's alignment guide has the SkyTrak+ next to the ball with the ball on its red laser dot, the bottom of the unit level with the top of the hitting surface and the unit parallel to the target line. Neither needs space behind you.

That means both fit our minimum room: 3.0 m wide, 2.7 m high and 4.2 m long, with a ceiling of 3 m or more ideal. SkyTrak's FAQ recommends a minimum 10 ft by 10 ft indoors with enough ceiling to swing your longest club, which is about 3 m by 3 m and sits inside our figures. If your room is short, this is the lane to be in; radar units need 5.2 m or more. Our Sim Buyer Docs page on the UK launch monitor ladder lines every unit up by room length.

What each measures

Ball numbers (speed, launch, spin) tell you where the shot went. Club numbers (club path, face angle, angle of attack) tell you why. Both units give you both, with a condition each.

• The R50 reads more than 15 ball and club metrics. Club data needs one of Garmin's included stickers on the club face; Garmin's manual says to replace it when it's worn and that putting records no club data, so the putter needs no sticker.
• The SkyTrak+ reads ball data plus club speed, path and face. SkyTrak's checklist for missed shots includes turning the ball so the logo faces the unit and checking the handedness in the session settings, which tells you how the cameras work: they want a clear view of a marked ball.

Both dislike sunlight on the unit and reflective surfaces in view, so a garage or a room you can shade suits either. Garmin's accuracy tips say to keep direct sun off the front of the R50 and off the club face, because sun on the sticker can stop club data being read.

Software: Home Tee Hero vs the SkyTrak app

This is where the two part company, and it's worth being precise.

The R50 plays Home Tee Hero on its own screen, with practice modes free and course play needing a Garmin Golf membership, bought through the profile settings on the device. If you later want GSPro, E6 Connect or Awesome Golf, Garmin and those software makers confirm the R50 runs them, on a Windows PC for GSPro, and Garmin doesn't charge a plan of its own to let you.

The SkyTrak+ runs SkyTrak's own app, with a practice range and course play on SkyTrak's membership tiers. For third-party software, I'll say exactly what I say on the docs pages: SkyTrak's current UK membership pages describe its own course play and don't mention GSPro, E6 or Awesome Golf, and neither GSPro's nor Awesome Golf's compatibility lists include SkyTrak. Older reviews say otherwise. If third-party software matters to you, check with SkyTrak before you buy. The full compatibility table is on software by launch monitor, and the yearly figures for both makers are kept current on what golf simulator software costs.

Side by side

Sources: Garmin's Approach R50 owner's manual and SkyTrak's frequently asked questions, checked 8 October 2026.

Running costs, without the numbers

I don't put prices in articles because they go stale, so here's the shape of it instead. With the R50 you pay for the unit, then a Garmin Golf membership if you want courses, and nothing more to Garmin if you add GSPro beyond GSPro's own subscription and a PC. With the SkyTrak+ you pay for the unit, then a SkyTrak membership tier for course play. The docs page above has both makers' current figures, and either unit comes with our 14-day returns.

Which I'd pick, and for whom

I recommend the R50 for most people. It's the simpler room: unit, HDMI cable, projector, done, and if you later want a PC and GSPro the door is open with no extra plan from Garmin. The Garmin R50 golf simulator package adds the SimSpace enclosure, Tee Turf mat, rubber base and the BenQ short-throw projector in a floor case; side netting and the HDMI cable are add-ons. As a complete room it sits in the £5k–£8k band; see the live price on the page.

The SkyTrak+ makes sense if you already have a tablet you like playing on, you want SkyTrak's own courses and practice tools, and third-party software isn't on your list. I noticed that most of the SkyTrak questions that reach me are about third-party software rather than the unit itself, which is why I'd settle that question with SkyTrak before buying rather than after.

Frequently asked questions

Does the SkyTrak+ need a PC?

No. It runs from the SkyTrak app on a phone or tablet. A PC only comes into it if you want third-party software, and for SkyTrak that's a check-with-SkyTrak question.

Does the Garmin R50 need a PC?

No. Home Tee Hero runs on the R50's own screen and goes to a projector over HDMI. You'd add a Windows PC only for GSPro or similar.

Which fits a shorter room?

Both. Each sits beside the ball, so each works in our 4.2 m minimum room. The limit is the ceiling: 2.7 m to swing a driver, 3 m or more ideal.

Is the SkyTrak+ accurate enough for a simulator?

SkyTrak has sold simulator launch monitors for years and the SkyTrak+ is its mid-range unit. What I'd check is placement, because both makers' guides put misreads down to the unit not being level with the mat, the ball off its spot or sunlight on the cameras.

The R50 is the launch monitor I'd put in most UK rooms, because the screen and HDMI port mean there's nothing else to buy to start, and the software door stays open. The SkyTrak+ is a fair choice for a tablet-based room on SkyTrak's own software, as long as you check anything third-party with SkyTrak first.

Not sure which option fits your space or budget? Message Tom on WhatsApp for a free consultation — no obligation.