TESTED BY: Jimmy Emanuel, Golf Australia Deputy & Digital Editor

MODEL PLAYED: Trackman 3e

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: If you follow tournament golf, have had a club fitting over the last few years or regularly get golf lessons, chances are you’re at least aware of, if not have had an interaction with a launch monitor.

Here at Golf Australia magazine we have begun using the slightly older 3e unit in our product testing, and the arrival of the Trackman saw the staff reacting like kids in a candy store.

The set-up and initial use of a Trackman is fairly simple for even the non-tech savvy amongst us, with supporting apps and software to produce the data the physical unit produces available at the touch of the button. And the local Australian team are exceptionally helpful with any questions or issues you may have.

First impressions were of course, this will take our product testing to another level, while every person sighting the familiar black and orange colourway was immediately full of questions as to the capabilities of the Trackman, which are quite endless.

HOW IT PERFORMED: From a purely functional point of view, it is easy to understand why Trackman is so popular in the launch monitor space. In its most simplistic form, getting information like club and ball data is equally easy and enlightening for every golfer.

This sort of basic usage of course only scratches the surface of what the 3e is capable of, with the newer Trackman 4 offering even more usage options, such
as putting.

Using radar and a camera, the 3e allows for comparison of clubs going head-to-head, variation in ball models within a brand, and beyond that improvement in your golf swing is made easier with numbers to guide improvement under the tutelage of a golf pro.

Trackman also the perfect addition if you are setting up a simulator, or range setting to work on your game, with play and practise options plentiful that will make heading to the actual golf course seem a little laborious. The accuracy of the numbers and results so vastly improved on the early days of launch monitors, even when used indoors, it is hard to believe.

Of course, a Trackman unit is expensive and not all who read this will be running out the door to grab one to carry around with them when they head out to hit some balls, or have the space and money to setup a home Trackman studio. But for those that do, Trackman, be it a 3e or 4 is more than worth the consideration. And for those that simply have the chance to use one in any setting, be it club fitting or learning, take it with both hands. Just be careful not to slide too deep down a numbers hole, as you still have to play the game on a real golf course.

We are in the early stages of using Trackman for our unique purpose, but the ease of use and the detailed data make it unquestionable it will aid what we are trying to do. And having ready access to the unit is straight out fun and educational, watching instant feedback on what just happened to create the resulting shot. That kid in a candy store feeling isn’t going anywhere fast, one would think.

TRACKMAN SAYS: It started with a question. Could we track a golf ball? It was just one question. But since 2003, there have been so many more.

And that relentless desire to seek, to probe, to test and to push has remained at the heart of the company philosophy. That’s why our technology leads the industry. With solutions across golf and innovation in baseball, soccer and American football too, we’ve changed how sports are played, taught and viewed on live broadcast. We’ve changed the game.

We produce state-of-the-art hardware platforms and deliver improvements across tracking algorithms and front-end applications that are radically innovative and strikingly meaningful. Only when hardware is fully exhausted do we launch a new generation platform in the journey. When we do, we make sure it’s right.

Visit, www.trackman.com to find out more information.