Full Swing KIT vs. Trackman
I recently had the opportunity to test the latest Full Swing KIT Launch Monitor in a side by side comparison with the Trackman TM4. I was initially intrigued after spending 3 days with Dave Philips at the Titleist Performance Institute. It was here that John Rahm’s coach was touting the KIT around each day where he convinced a group of golf pros that it was as good as a Trackman. Ultimately, I had to see what all the hype was about.
It’s true that Trackman is the undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World in the high-end Launch Monitor category, and I can say with confidence as a Director of Instruction and Teaching Pro with plenty of Tech experience. I have used the Big 3 extensively. This list includes FlightScope, Foresight, and Trackman. In my opinion, all the other players in the market are simply worth the price of admission. In other words, you get what you pay for.
So how on earth could a unit that is less than 1/3 the price of the cheapest of the lot possibly be as good as the Big 3? Well, that comes down to one fine team of ballistics tracking engineers who see tracking a golf ball a little less challenging than their current scope of practice.
In just 9 months since the inception of Full Swing’s KIT portable launch monitor, they are on par (sorry) to be equal to, or greater than the competition within the next 16 moths (educated guess). The parameters that they track are not only identical to what the Orange Box tracks, but the numbers are identical. I’m talking about less than 0.1% differential!! When it comes to numbers like carry distance – they are less than half a yard different. Spin rate? Less than 150rpm. Here is the list of terms used by the two companies:
Full Swing / Trackman
Carry (Yds)
Total (Yds)
Spin Rate (RPM)
Spin Axis (Degrees)
Ball Speed (MPH)
Club Speed (MPH)
Smash Factor (BS/CS)
Club Path (Degrees)
Face Angle (Degrees)
Face to Path (Path-Face)
Attack Angle (Degrees)
Apex (Feet) / Height (Feet)
Launch Angle (Degrees)
Horizontal Angle (Degrees) / Launch Direction (Degrees)
Side Carry (Feet)
Side Total (Feet)
For the most part, when measuring side by side, the two were identical. There were a couple important numbers such as Club Path and Face angle that were off on the KIT but after a lengthy discussion with one of the most insightful and knowledgeable Launch Monitor reps I’ve ever spoken with, he explained that having the ball between the target and the unit were imperative for the Full Swing unit to get precise measurements, kind of like where TM was a few years back. See image below.
While this may be good for hitting off mats, it can be tricky off turf when taking divots on every shot means varying ball positions. In turn, this affected the accuracy of other corelated numbers such as Side Carry, but in all fairness, when hitting outdoors, you can plainly see how far you are off target. With that said, there are a few other missing bells and whistles.
Impact Location in relation to impact height and offset is one that Full Swing is aware of and will be working on, so Trackman still has the upper hand in that regard but mind you, they (Trackman) have only had that option on their system for a couple years now. Other missing data points include Low Point, Dynamic Loft and Lie, Descent Angle (land angle), and a couple others but from what I understand, they are all in the works. Nine months old, remember?!
As a coach, I also look for certain functionalities for my players. One is an integrated system where I can add players to my account and send lesson plans, video recordings, etc. Currently, the KIT unit only offers individual subscriptions for its users whereby access to a student’s data will require the sharing of login credentials. Secondly, I require more cameras to be connected so that I can see various angles of a student’s movement patterns, but from what I could see, the only camera option with the KIT unit was built in without the drawing functionalities of the Heavyweight Champ. Mind you, check out the video quality from the onboard camera below which seems nearly identical to the internal Trackman camera. One perk was that I was easily able to save it to my phone in seconds without having to leave the practice session on my iOS.
Finally, there seems to be an overheating issue with the KIT at the moment and they are again, working on it. Apparently a tent or little umbrella would work well in the interim.
With that said, don’t go running to drop your $29,900 on the Heavyweight Champ just yet. After discussing these matters with the rep, these are all things that the developers know about and items that will be addressed soon. The cool thing about most of these items is that they won’t require purchasing an upgraded model of the KIT (from what I understand), but rather a firmware update that is included in the annual subscription of $124CDN or $99USD.
Another cool feature of the KIT worth mentioning is the fact that it is Tripod mountable. Currently it’s not designed to be used as such, but guess what – it’s in the works. This is GREAT as a coach to get accurate angles of your players from the “hand height” perspective, something that just doesn’t work when the unit is on the ground, pointing upwards towards the player. I put it on my Manfrotto Stand and it holds it quite nicely. I probably wouldn’t do it in heavy winds, but that’s just me.
The KIT also has a handy LED screen on the front that can be configured to display 1 to 4 numbers at a time, depending on your area of focus for the day – no iOS connection required.
On that note, the interface on the iOS screen is tidy and seamless. Changing clubs is a cinch and recommended during practice sessions, regardless of the system used. Adding or eliminating data parameters based on your practice requirements is also a breeze. They are also currently developing more and more iOS add-ons for game play purposes and will be on par (sorry) with the leaders soon.
For gameplay integration, you can easily pair the system with E6 Connect and be up and playing your favourite courses from around the world in seconds. If you are indoors and hitting into a net, you simply need to screen share with an Apple TV or Smart TV with integrated Airplay and you’re good to go! If you are fortunate enough to have a projector and a screen, you can attach your iOS to your projector with a lightning to VGA adaptor (I think that’s the right one) and you are projecting in seconds. If you’re a coach like myself and running kids programs, E6 offers an abundance of exciting games to keep your young golfers engaged in the winter months and away from all the other screens they are tempted by.
So, at the end of the day, is the KIT unit as good as a Trackman? On some levels, yes, but on some levels I’ll temporarily say, not yet. With that said, if you can essentially purchase five KIT units for the cost of one Trackman - is it as good as a Trackman? I’ll let you do the math.
If you have any questions or comments, please message me at rrinneard@madriver.ca and while I may not reply immediately, I will reply.
As a sidenote, I am not affiliated with any of the companies mentioned in this article. I am a PGA of Canada Golf Professional and the Director of Instruction at the Mad River Golf Club, one of Canada’s Top 30 Golf Courses.
Thank you for reading,
Ryan Rinneard
Director of Instruction
Mad River Golf Club
