Swing simulator

[Smarf]

Yesterday, I stopped by Golf Galaxy and since the swing simulator was empty I decided to try out a few drivers and see what I liked. I've been slicing the heck out of my cheapo one, and I know it's my technique.

So I grabbed every driver I've heard of and started swinging them. Now, I made a conscious effort to put the ball off my left because I think I was confused and swinging with it in the middle of my stance. I hit every damn one straight, and about 200 yards.

Now this is my usual distance with the wicked slice, so I thought maybe I had corrected my slice. I kept trying different clubs, mostly 9.5 and 10 degree ones, and it always went straight or with a slight (5 yrd) drift to the right. I finally came to the Cleveland Hi Bore XLS (I think), that looks like a stealth bomber or something. This one was 8.5 degrees which I hear is a pro style offset and not for beginners. Well I tried this one and I was hitting past 200 in the air, and they all ended up in the same spot at about 220 - 225.

It's not but $70.00 pre-owned, so I'll probably get it but I'd like to know if these simulators are accurate as far as distance and ball spin etc. It wouldn't suprise me if they were set up to make your ball flight appear straighter and farther than normal so that you'll buy that shiny new driver the salesman hands you.

[Gioguy21]

i think it depends on the place? I go to dicks by my work to try the feel of clubs (notice i didn't say flight/spin/shape, etc) in their simulator because it's ironic; i've never had a consistent draw let alone a hook in any one of my clubs. when i'm on the simulator, it shows a draw/hook on every shot i take. I've taken my own clubs in to demonstrate this to the guy, he swears it's accurate. I told him i'd make a bet of 50 bucks if we went out to play golf i wouldn't, even on accident draw a ball the entire round. (he hasnt' taken the bet yet). i think it's really just based on where you go because i have one by my house that i actually went to way back when to get fitted for my ping's. that one seemed to be really accurate and a solid reference for hitting the ball. try a few places to get a better judgement. just my opinion

[PiKapp23]

I hit on the simulators quite a bit at Golf Galaxy in testing new stuff or just killing time. What I have found is that they do not seem to read the ball spin, but rather just the flight as it crosses the laser paths. In other words, the machine picks up pushes and pulls, but not so much hooks and slices. I can get it to show that I hit a draw or a fade, but that same swing results in slice or hook on the real range. Earlier this year I hit on the launch monitor and simulator (bays next to one another) and saw very different results. I was hitting draws (supposedly) on simulator that were recording as fade/slices on launch monitor. I also found that the simulator was showing my distances to be about 10% longer or so. One thing one of the fitters said was that they both need to be configured for the type of club you are hitting and are more accurate if that's done. If you are hitting driver and the simulator is set for an iron he says the numbers will be skewed.

[1par2win]

What I have done in the past was to bring in my current driver and compare them head to head. Provided you know your standard carry distances and ball flight you can then establish a baseline in which to compare the other drivers with. So regardless of what the simulator is recording as flight and distance you can use the difference to get an idea of what the effect would be on the course.

[umpiremark]

"Sometimes it IS the arrow ..." Tom Wishon

Possibly you were swinging clubs of different weights, differing swingweights, different MOI, differing shaft flex, differing kick points, etc. Sounds to me like your original driver is poorly matched to your swing type/shape and some of these other clubs you hit matched better. Just my humble opinion ...

[Smarf]

  umpiremark said:

"Sometimes it IS the arrow ..."

That wouldn't shock me much since my regular driver is an Acuity (made by Dick's Sporting Goods) in their bargain bin for $14.95. Once I know for sure that I'm hitting it on the range like I did in the simulator I'll pay attention to what kind of shaft etc it has. Half of those thing you mentioned, I don't even know what they are.

I'm going to the range with it tonight, so hopefully my slice is still gone.

[randall]

Not sure if the guy was feeding me a line, but I asked one time while in there does this thing really pick up a slice or a hook? He says it will, but with the lines and all the aiming points on the deck of the simulator that people line up properly far more often than they actually do on the course. Due to that you have less slices/hooksand more straight shots/fades/draws when using the simulator.

Just passing along what I was told.

[Smarf]

  randall said:

Not sure if the guy was feeding me a line, but I asked one time while in there does this thing really pick up a slice or a hook? He says it will, but with the lines and all the aiming points on the deck of the simulator that people line up properly far more often than they actually do on the course. Due to that you have less slices/hooksand more straight shots/fades/draws when using the simulator.

That makes sense, except this one didn't have anything except one of those artificial turf mats and rubber tee like they have at the driving ranges. I think they have a more sophisticated one in the section where they give lessons.