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17 September 2026 · 9 min read

Radar or camera: how a golf simulator measures the ball and what that means for you

Behind every simulator is a launch monitor, and there are two ways to capture the ball. Both are good. But they are not the same, and the difference decides what a venue is good for.

Radar or camera: how a golf simulator measures the ball and what that means for you — post image

The screen is not the simulator. The simulator is the device beside or behind you that decides, in the first centimetres after impact, where the ball flies on the screen: the launch monitor. There are two designs, and once you understand how they work you also understand why some venues are famous for fitting and others for long evenings with friends.

Radar: TrackMan and FlightScope

A radar system stands behind you and sends microwaves in the direction of flight. The ball reflects them, and from the frequency shift (the Doppler effect) the device calculates speed and direction, many times a second. TrackMan 4 uses two radar units of different frequencies: one for the club, one for the ball. Outdoors the radar follows the whole flight to landing. That is why the tour measures with it.

Indoors the ball flies four metres and hits the screen. So the radar sees only the beginning and extrapolates the rest. That works well when the device has room: TrackMan needs distance behind the ball and space in front of it so it sees the flight long enough. A common rule of thumb from retailers puts the TrackMan 4 at around five metres of depth. In large bays that is no problem; in a small room it becomes one.

Camera: Foresight, Uneekor, Full Swing

A camera system stands beside the ball or hangs above it and photographs impact with several high-speed cameras, thousands of frames a second. From the images it reads speed, launch angle, spin and spin axis directly. It needs no flight, only the first half metre. That is why it is as accurate indoors as out, and why almost every fitting studio has a Foresight.

The price: cameras see the ball, not the flight. What the ball does 200 metres on is calculation for both systems, but the camera has the complete launch values for it and the radar the first metres of reality. In practice the two land so close on carry distance that you will not notice the difference on the course.

Where the spin number comes from

The most interesting difference is not speed but spin, and it explains almost everything else. A camera reads the rotation straight off the ball: it photographs the dimple pattern several times in a row and compares how far it has turned. Foresight calls the method spherical correlation (foresightsports.eu). That needs no flight, only two sharp images.

A radar measures spin from the flight. Outdoors it has hundreds of metres for that. Indoors it has four, which is not enough for a clean calculation; in indoor mode it therefore derives spin and spin axis from what it does see reliably, above all from the club and the strike. That is not a defect but a different order: the camera measures the spin and computes the flight, the radar measures the flight and computes the spin.

What it means for you: in a small bay with a radar, ball speed, launch angle and direction are solid, and the spin figure is a model. If you want to work on spin rate, because the irons fly too flat, say, or the driver climbs too much, look for a venue with a camera system, or a bay that leaves the radar enough depth.

What both measure

The language of the numbers is the same everywhere. For the ball: speed, launch angle, direction, spin and spin axis; from those carry, total distance, height and offline. For the club, where the system captures it: club speed, attack angle, path, face angle and smash factor, the ratio of ball speed to club speed. A good iron shot has a smash factor around 1.35, a good driver around 1.48. Anyone who can read those five club values no longer needs a video analyst to know why the ball goes right.

The numbers on the screen, translated

NumberWhat it measuresWhat you need it for
Ball speedThe ball's speed right after impactAlmost all of the distance sits in here
Launch angleThe angle the ball leaves atToo low: no carry. Too steep: no distance
SpinRevolutions per minuteHolds the ball up or lets it drop
Spin axisThe tilt of the axis of rotationThe actual cause of a slice or a hook
CarryFlight distance to first contact with the groundThe only number you pick a club by
Total distanceCarry plus roll, computedDepends on the assumed ground, so handle with care
Side deviationDistance from the target line at the endYour dispersion, the number that matters on a course
Club speedThe club's speed before impactYour potential, slow to change
Attack angleUp or down through the ballDriver up, irons down
Club pathThe club's direction through the ballWith the face, this is the curve
Face angleOpen or closed to the targetSets roughly three quarters of the start direction
Smash factorBall speed divided by club speedHow centrally you strike it

Read the table once and you will not need it again: on a course, carry and side deviation are what count, and everything else is a reason.

What stands in Switzerland

Of the 110 indoor venues in our directory, 78 name TrackMan as their system (across all 126 venues it is 83; the five big makers are compared in TrackMan, Foresight, Uneekor, Full Swing and Golfzon), 71 percent. Then come Foresight Sports with 7 venues, Uneekor and Full Swing with 4 each, SkyTrak and TruGolf with 3 each. The software you play in is a separate question: TrackMan Virtual Golf comes with the system, many other venues run GSPro or E6 Connect, which hold the same courses. The technology pages list every venue by system: TrackMan, Foresight, Uneekor, Full Swing.

Why two venues show different numbers

The same swing, two venues, ten metres apart: that happens, and it is rarely the device alone.

  • The ball. A soft premium ball spins faster than a hard range ball and flies differently. If you want to compare your numbers, bring the same ball both times.
  • The environment in the software. Altitude, temperature and air pressure are settings in the program. At 1,500 metres the same ball flies further than at 400, and both can be set in the same bay.
  • The mat. A club slides across a mat instead of cutting into the ground. Attack angle therefore often comes out flatter indoors than on grass.
  • The maths after the flight. Carry is measured or closely computed; total distance assumes a ground nobody has seen. Compare carry figures, never totals.

The practical rule: compare yourself with yourself, at the same venue, with the same ball. A number is useful when it moves over weeks, not when it is higher than the one you saw somewhere else last time.

What to look for when booking

  • For fitting or club data: a camera system, or a TrackMan in a large bay. Ask whether the system delivers club data; not every entry-level device does.
  • For training with numbers: either. What matters more is that you can export or save your numbers. TrackMan keeps them in your own account, other systems depend on the software.
  • For rounds with friends: the system does not matter, the room does. A wide bay, a big screen and a good putting system make the evening.
  • For left-handers: radar behind the ball does not care, camera systems beside the ball have to be moved. Most venues can; ask beforehand.

Three numbers, one hour

Anyone practising with data for the first time drowns in it. One hour, three numbers, and the evening has a result:

  1. Carry with the 7-iron, ten balls. Write down the middle one, not the longest. That is the number you pick a club by on a course; the longest shot of the evening picks it wrong.
  2. Side deviation, the same ten balls. How wide is your pattern, in metres? Someone who knows they spread 20 metres aims differently on a course, namely away from the water.
  3. Smash factor, five balls at half a swing. It almost always goes up when you swing slower. That is the quickest lesson a launch monitor gives: struck in the middle beats hit hard.

Next time, the same three numbers at the same venue. Then you have a curve instead of a feeling. Where to find a bay for it is on the training page.

And on the most common question, whether the numbers are right: both designs measure the ball more accurately than you hit it. The dispersion you see is yours. What is measured and what is computed, and how to test a bay, is in How accurate is a golf simulator. That is why the device helps.

Which venue near you has which system is on the map; the comparison sums up the systems with their strengths.

Frequently asked questions

Is radar or camera more accurate?

Indoors both are more accurate than you hit the ball. Camera systems photograph impact and need no flight; radar sees the first metres and extrapolates, which works very well given enough room.

Which system is most common in Switzerland?

TrackMan: 78 of the 110 indoor venues name it as their system. Then come Foresight Sports with 7, Uneekor and Full Swing with 4 each.

What is smash factor?

The ratio of ball speed to club speed. A well-struck driver sits around 1.48, an iron around 1.35; a lower value shows an off-centre strike.

Does a radar really measure spin indoors?

Not the way it does outdoors. In a room the ball flies four metres, which is not enough for a radar to calculate spin and spin axis from the flight; it derives both from the club and the strike. Ball speed, launch angle and direction stay solid. A camera system reads the rotation straight off the dimple pattern.

Why does every venue show different numbers?

Mostly for four reasons: the ball (a premium ball spins differently from a range ball), the altitude and temperature set in the software, the mat, which flattens the attack angle, and total distance, which assumes a ground. So compare carry figures, and compare yourself with yourself at the same venue.

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