The Numbers Behind Trackman Golf Simulators

As sports technology has evolved, athletes have more options than ever before to analyse their performance and make necessary adjustments to reach the top of their game.

The same is true for serious golfers who are no longer limited by what they can see with their own two eyes when they play games, or what is viewable through video playback.

Trackman products - like the Trackman Golf Simulator and Trackman iO - are such examples of sports analysis technology. Not only helping recreate the golfing experience to a tee (pun intended), but also providing key insights that have the capability to lower scores.

But what specific elements are measurable with Trackman, and why are they so essential in building the perfect golf swing?

What is the Trackman Virtual Golf Simulator?

An innovative indoor golf system, the Trackman simulator utilises optically enhanced radar tracking (OERT), doppler radar technology and dual radar technology to analyse your swing and ball data and predict where your ball would land had it been in real play.

A simulation of a golf course of your choosing is projected onto a large screen, with players striking the ball directly into the screen. It’s at this point the simulator takes over and offers an accurate prediction of the ball’s path and flight, and where it would have landed on the fairway, rough or green.

The best part? Players can play on any of the 300+ real-life courses that are built into the system, with new courses being built and added regularly, making it the gold standard in the industry today.

All the data collected by the simulator is calculated in a matter of seconds and can be viewed via the dedicated Trackman app, helping players identify specific areas for performance improvement.

What does the Trackman Simulator look for?

The Trackman simulator and Trackman iO launch monitors can both be invaluable tools to correct minor or major issues with your swing, offering a wide-ranging collection of swing metrics for you to consider.

Here are just a few of the big ones:

Club path (swing direction)

This means exactly what you’d expect: The path which your club takes as you go from the top of your swing to the follow-through. 

When taking a lesson with a professional, you may hear them say things like “you swing from out-to-in” or vice-versa. They’re referring to your club path.

A swing that motions towards the right of your target will be represented by a positive number, with the opposite being true for a negative number.

In an ideal world, your club path should be as close to 0 as possible for a traditionally straight shot. But a little in either direction won’t do too much damage, either.

Launch angle

The is the angle at which your club face is pointing as it strikes the ball and is an essential component in hitting the ball straight (or not hitting it straight, if you’re unlucky!).

Your face will either be open, closed or square on impact. A closed face, which will likely fire the ball to the left (if you’re a righty) will be represented by a negative number, while an open face will be a positive number and send your ball in the opposite direction.

Again, 0 is the ideal scenario here, representing a face that’s square to the target.

Carry

This is a term that’s thrown around a lot in golfing circles, but if you’re not familiar, don’t let it confuse you.

‘Carry’ simply means how far your ball has travelled after it’s left the ground or the tee. In other words, it’s how many yards you’ve managed to hit it.

In the context of golf simulators, carry is an approximation based on the data captured. But don’t be fooled - Trackman products are recognised as being impeccably accurate in this regard, so you could expect very similar results if you were playing on a real-life course.

Explore the Trackman Golf Simulator at Black Box Golf

If you want access to all the relevant metrics to take your golf game to the next level, selecting something from the Trackman range is the best way to go - and Black Box Golf is here to help.

To find out more about how Trackman could help your game, or any other product information, be sure to click the links above.

Or get in touch with the Black Box team today and we’ll advise you as best we can.