How accurate is that video screen at golf galaxy?

[BadGolfer]

You know, where you can practice into it and it shows you how your ball would fly.

I'm thinking of going to test some irons there and I don't know if I should rely on that at all or just completely on how they feel. How do you test clubs?

[DavidFehertysBike]

I dont think they are very accurate. I hit a 21 degree hybrid 240 yards according to that thing... I barley hit a 3 wood that far, IRL.

[IcemanYVR]

I don't think they are very accurate at all. I recently went to the one at my local GolfTown and it said I hit the ball 230 with a big fade. It also said I had a swing speed of 101mph (I'm closer to 105) and a launch angle of 18' IRL, I consistantly carry the ball 265-270 with a slight draw, and launch the ball between 12-14'

I recently had a fitting at Titleist Fitting Center on a practice range for a driver, and the swing specs for GolfTown were not even close. So I think that taking the results "with a grain of salt" would even be asking too much.

[he4dhuntr]

So how should one rely on these screens when comparing clubs in store (i.e., GolfTown)? :/

[rebby]

So how should one rely on these screens when comparing clubs in store (i.e., GolfTown)? :/

Bring your current clubs along and use those numbers as a baseline.

[golfro]

interesting... i've found them to be not too far off for me, confirmed with a range finder on distance and general numbers seem pretty consistent.

[ks8829]

If you know the distance of one of your irons you can bring it along to check it as a reference.

[mdbuschsr]

The simulators can be adjusted, to show you what they think you want to see. When I was getting ready to buy my new clubs I demoed some at Golfsmith, then went directly to Golf Galaxy and demoed some others. But I hit one set (Cleveland CG7's) in both stores and the difference was amazing. I found it interesting that the most expensive clubs I tested at Golfsmith flew the farthest. I expected to pick up some distance with the new irons, but Golfsmith showed an increase of 40-50 yards. Golf Galaxy on the other hand only showed an increase of 10-15 yards.

In the end, don't take the distance that they show you as real. Demo the clubs, and see what feels right.

[nevets88]

So it's like the scale at the health club/gym? Whatever it takes to get you back for more business.

[Chris223]

^ That's how business works my friend, lol. I work in retail, I see every day first hand how these companies play the game.

[2bGood]

^ That's how business works my friend, lol. I work in retail, I see every day first hand how these companies play the game.

Like another poster I always find my driver is way shorter, at times I can't even get it to go 200 yards on those machines. In real life I hit it 250-270 and on the internet I carry it 300. weird????

I think the machine are set to be juiced, they just are inaccurate.

[jayt0625]

Don't think they are very accurate either. It had me hitting a 4 wood consistently over 300 yards.....

[DaSportsGuy]

I don't think they're very accurate. According to that thing I could barely hit my drives 220yds. But somehow on a 315 yard Par 4 I am within 30 yards of the green.

[rjfan91]

You know, where you can practice into it and it shows you how your ball would fly.

Think about the guy guessing weight at a county fair. He's more accurate.

[jayt0625]

Besides how do they get an accurate measuremnet when the face is taped? How can they detect spin rate effectively......I think its stacked in your favor so you buy the damn club! Heck works for me almost everytime, LOL...

[he4dhuntr]

Well this is definitely not too encouraging... I'm looking at buying my first set of clubs at GolfTown soon, so I don't really have any irons to compare them with (been renting/borrowing clubs and won't be able to have any when I go to the store). Comparing clubs in the store to each other on the screen, does that work (as far as how straight and far the shots go), or is that totally bogus too...?

Thanks!

[golfro]

Well this is definitely not too encouraging... I'm looking at buying my first set of clubs at GolfTown soon, so I don't really have any irons to compare them with (been renting/borrowing clubs and won't be able to have any when I go to the store). Comparing clubs in the store to each other on the screen, does that work (as far as how straight and far the shots go), or is that totally bogus too...?

Eh, I don't personally believe that the machines are heavily skewed. For me, the numbers were accurate enough for me to get the basic gist of it. This past year was the year that I extensively playing around with my driver to find the right shaft, etc. I tried out several drivers at several different shops, all of which use different machines, add onto that the Bridgestone ball fitting...and allt he numbers were similar. Nothing was off enough for me to think "wtf is this crap"

I was at Golf Galaxy testing out various drivers and again, the numbers, aside from differences caused by different shafts were once in again vaguely similar. Whether a Titleist 909D3, Nike VR Tour, or my beat up Ping G10, it wasn't far fetched enough for me to think it was a load of crap. Same goes when I was down in Portland testing out drivers at Golfsmith. Sure there were some variances depending on club but It sure as hell wasn't as drastically different as some people on this thread are stating. And it definitely didn't skew the numbers toward more expensive clubs...since...the machines don't know what club I'm hitting...not like I input Titleist 909D3 into the machine. Anyway, point of the matter is...if you're skeptical, read the numbers with a grain of salt but youc an still extract the basic gist of it.

[Koth]

In real life I hit it 250-270 and on the internet I carry it 300.

Haha! Nice.