$200 R-Motion for Driving Range

[ZANDER1994]

Hey guys, I live in Minnesota and I've probably only got a couple outdoor sessions left before I start having to hit the dome this winter. The crappy thing about domes is you can't really see ball flight more than a few yards so I often don't know until the Spring if I've been drawing or fading the ball as intended.

I read up on the R-Motion and realized the product actually comes with an app that shows you ball flight stats. For $200 you can basically clip motion sensors on 4 of your clubs at a time and it will give you data like swing path, face angle, estimated distance as well as trajectory. I think that is just awesome, and something I would love to have in my pocket at my dome practice sessions. Not only that, but if I move out of my tiny apartment to a place with a garage next year, I could invest another couple hundred bucks and have my own golf simulator. Has anyone tried the R-motion? What do you think of the app? For someone who doesn't currently have the space for a simulator, is it worth it just as a tool at the dome?

[iacas]

https://rmotiongolf.com

[Foot Wedge]

I was kind of confused by this but looked it up real quick and it makes sense that it's more of a "game" than a simulator.  Which still beats the heck out of not seeing any ball flight at all.  I can see how a sensor on the shaft can get a fairly accurate reading of what the ball flight *should* be based on the swing minus some accuracy since there is no actual reading of ball speed, backspin, launch angle and spin axis.

I wouldn't test clubs or base my club distances off it (since I don't think it's a simulator) but for $200 it may be worth is just for seeing ball flight.  Otherwise you're almost flying blind.

 

[Grass Destruction]

Zander - Hail fellow Minnesotan! I have bought Rmotion about this time last year and think it's a nice tool for the money, especially for us Northerners who only get to play half of the year. This is kinda long but here's my take on it:

Cons: 

1. My biggest complaint is that the driving range won't keep a record of previous shots. For example: If you go to GG or 2ndSwing and hit a bunch of shots in their simulator, you get to see a chart with the all the stats from each swing. Rmotion doesn't do that at all. It will show you the results of each swing but once you make another swing, those stats are gone. 
2. The software can't be installed on just any old PC. Check the required specs or you will not be happy with the golf simulator games.
3. The clips for the sensor easy to put on but will get snagged when you put them in/out of your bag. I usually just lean the club up against the wall in my garage until I use it. 

Pro/Con

1. This is both a good and bad thing (in my opinion) - To get an accurate reading, you HAVE to set the club head square to your target. Their software uses this 'starting point/angle' to calculate how the ball flies. Let's say you have a tendency to setup with the club hooded (aka closed face) to guard against a slice. The software assumes you're lined up straight down the fairway so you will get some wonky ball flight stats. In this example, it would show the ball slicing every time. So you're forced to setup square to get good results. Which is what we're supposed to be doing anyways so that's why it's a good thing I guess. Foot Wedge has it right in that the software has to make some assumptions for ball strike but it's pretty close in my experience. 

Pros:

1. Super easy to use. Just move the sensor from one club to another and tell the software what club you're swinging. 
2. Fairly accurate distances and flight (assuming you have taken the time to setup the specs of your clubs - loft, length from the sensor to the ground, etc)
3. If you install the software on a PC, the golf simulator 'games' can be kinda fun to play.
4. The phone app is pretty nice. I hadn't thought about using it at a dome. I have everything setup in my garage but I can see how that would be a big plus for golfers without a garage or the room to swing a club at home. 
5. I'm on the north side of 50 now and this really helps me keep my golf muscles in shape over winter. 2 years ago I went to Orlando with friends for a week long golf trip. After the 1st day, my back hurt so bad that I could hardly play the rest of the week. After using Rmotion last winter, this year's Orlando trip was a piece of cake! No back pain at all 'cause I made sure to 'play' a couple of times each week all winter long. 

Overall, it's good value for your money based on what you get. It's sort of like Optishot but easier to use. I don't know if I'd buy it just to replace going to a dome. But if you can find room to use it at home or in the garage, then I think it's well worth it. 

 

[JonMA1]

I don’t think it’s compatible with a Mac yet. I’ve been looking at this since last winter. My wife actually found it and was going to surprise me with one.

As you guys have said, not a tool to improve the swing, but it might be nice to get us through the winter.