How we review
Every review here answers the same four questions in the same order. That way you can hold one page up against the next.
Will it fit your room
This comes first, because room size rules out more launch monitors than price does.
We take the maker's advice on where the unit sits. Then we add the space the ball needs to fly into a net or impact screen. That gives one number in feet: how deep your room has to be with a net, and with a screen. Ceiling height and width get the same treatment.
The room checker uses the exact same figures. So a review and the checker never disagree.
Which numbers it gets right
A launch monitor is only worth the money if you can trust the numbers you care about.
Some numbers a unit measures directly. Others it works out from the rest. We tell you which is which, and where a unit tends to drift. Indoor wedge spin and club path are the usual trouble spots. Then we say which numbers you can build practice around and which are only a rough guide.
What it really costs
The sticker price is rarely the whole bill. Each review adds the yearly software fee and the simulator software you'll likely want. It also adds the parts the unit needs around it, like a mat a camera can read or metallic dots for the ball.
Launch monitor prices show as a range. Street prices move through the year, and a single number goes stale fast. Screens, mats and projectors get a rough price band for their type, since dozens of brands make them. We update the ranges when a price moves or a new model comes out.
Who should buy it, and who should skip it
Every review ends with a plain call. Buy it if your room and budget look like this. Buy that one instead if they don't.
Best-of lists are ranked the same way: by how well each unit fits the room and budget the list is about.
What we don't do
- We don't rank by commission. The affiliate programs we use pay 3 to 11 percent, and that has no say in the order of our lists.
- We don't take free units in exchange for coverage. If a maker lends us one, the review says so.
- We don't make up testimonials, reader counts or scores. If you see a number, it has a source.
- We don't cover golf carts, clubs, lessons or courses. This site is about the bay.