Jennifer Gardner
Jennifer Gardner is a regular contributor to http://GolfBrief.com, specializing in equipment. She has also written for http://Golf.com, The Wire, The Tour Van, http://USGA.org, Reuters and Golfweek.
FlightScope brings accuracy, affordability
http://www.golfbrief.com/articles/553/1/FlightScope-brings-accuracy-affordability/Page1.html
By Jennifer Gardner
Published on 02/7/2008
http://www.golfbrief.com/articles/553/1/FlightScope-brings-accuracy-affordability/Page1.html
FlightScope brings accuracy, affordability to launch monitor market
Eight years ago, Henri Johnson wasn't much of a golfer.
"It did not interest me in the least — I thought it was for old people," said the creator of FlightScope, a Doppler radar-based ball-flight and launch monitor.
But a lot can change in a few years. Now playing off a single-digit handicap, the South African native is a much more avid golfer and is passionate about helping other golfers improve their games through the development of an extremely accurate system to measure ball trajectory and clubhead path.
"It's a 3-D ball and club tracking system," Johnson said. "It tracks the ball in three dimensions and the resulting accuracy in terms of carry distance is above expectations, it's really good.
"It shows you what your club is doing through the ball. That was also a world-first in terms of what FlightScope brought. It's one sensor that's striking the ball and the club simultaneously, but it processes the information independently. You don't require an additional system to measure the club."
Johnson, an electronic engineer by trade who serves as CEO and chairman for FlightScope, spent time investigating what existing launch monitors provided as he was creating his own technology-based system.
"The first thing I saw in terms of a so-called launch monitor was something called a Swing Mate, a little device that just measures clubhead speed, and everything else is calculated," he said. "I lost interest after about the third shot."
He also was disappointed with what's called speed-gun technology, a way of measuring speed that's used on lower-end launch monitors.
"What they do is measure apparent speed. It's not even velocity, it's just apparent speed,” he said. “Everything else is calculated from there, and you can get some amazing interpolations, and it can lead you to disaster. So the guidance that it gives you is misleading. When golfers are getting to a stage where they really want to improve their game, that could be exactly the wrong medicine."
Instead, Johnson wanted a system that was not terribly expensive but that provided accurate and extensive data. Packaged with a user interface that appeals to both the high-end clubfitter and the novice golfer, FlightScope does just that, recording the precise trajectory that the ball travels and giving actual (not implied) results.
"We are very proud of the fact that it has a very simple user interface," he said. "You use left and right arrows - you don't have to be computer literate to drive the system. On the downside, there's a lot of information. You can get stuck in details. I recommend normally that people start with the simple screens. We have a dashboard screen that gives you 'bubbles' with information in them — the critical factors. People like that because it's easy.
"We're trying to cater obviously to the connoisseur who wants (the information) and also for the normal guy in the street who might be a little agnostic about all the technology stuff, so there are applications for both. There are screens for both."
When Johnson first introduced the FlightScope, it had a retail price around $22,000 — usually selling, he said, for about $17,000. Now the entire system, which comes in one box, retails for $6,995 — making it much more affordable for smaller retailers and clubfitters, and even the especially avid individual golfer.
Other benefits: The system can be used anywhere with a laptop computer and a power source. As well, it works in nearly all weather and lighting conditions, indoors and out ("I've even used it in snow," Johnson said, "but it's not nice to hit balls in the snow").
FlightScope can also be connected to a second monitor and used in conjunction with many popular swing analysis video systems, so golfers can see both how they look and what results were achieved with each swing.
"I sat with Butch Harmon some time ago and I got the idea from listening to him," Johnson said. "I realized we needed to bring that to the table. Technologically speaking, it's not a big thing for us to do, but it's a big thing for the coaches. Suddenly they only have to have one piece."
As part of a campaign to promote FlightScope in the United States and Canada, Johnson said that the company is targeting a few specific markets. Besides teachers, he hopes to make the system more popular with clubfitters, tour professionals (Padraig Harrington, Bradley Dredge and other European Tour players own them) and at the college level.
To enhance the product's value to clubfitters, Johnson said he's partnering with companies like Swing Labs, which makes equipment fitting software that can be used with launch monitors to find the best equipment for an individual golfer's swing.
"We profile all the leading equipment out there, which is an ongoing task because new equipment keeps coming out," said Swing Labs co-founder and president Mark DiMare. "The customer can see side by side how the different equipment works for them."
Retailers and clubfitters pay $395 for the basic system setup and then purchase fitting credits to use with their customers. They'll also need a launch monitor, which is where FlightScope comes in. At the end of the process, the fitter can recommend the best clubs for their customers and make more sales.
More importantly, the Swing Labs system ensures that its users all have the same basic level of clubfitting training.
"We had a need for that because with our systems being in pro shops all around the world we've found that not everyone is equally trained," Johnson said. "You get very strong opinions coming through and some of them are pretty useless, to be quite honest. Now you get a consistent (fitting experience)."
As Johnson and his staff demonstrate the FlightScope system, such as at last month's 2008 PGA Merchandise Show, they generate interest based on the user interface and the value of the product. Teachers like Brad Brewer, a top-100 instructor based in Orlando, Fla., have put the system in use to benefit their students.
"We have tried and field tested every launch monitor on the market," Brewer said. "FlightScope has been our choice at the Brad Brewer Golf Academy over all others because of its amazing accuracy and simplicity of use. Our ability to fit equipment and demonstrate the importance of proper technique by showing ball-flight and club-path statistics has taken our player development services to a new level."
"It did not interest me in the least — I thought it was for old people," said the creator of FlightScope, a Doppler radar-based ball-flight and launch monitor.
But a lot can change in a few years. Now playing off a single-digit handicap, the South African native is a much more avid golfer and is passionate about helping other golfers improve their games through the development of an extremely accurate system to measure ball trajectory and clubhead path.
"It's a 3-D ball and club tracking system," Johnson said. "It tracks the ball in three dimensions and the resulting accuracy in terms of carry distance is above expectations, it's really good.
"It shows you what your club is doing through the ball. That was also a world-first in terms of what FlightScope brought. It's one sensor that's striking the ball and the club simultaneously, but it processes the information independently. You don't require an additional system to measure the club."
Johnson, an electronic engineer by trade who serves as CEO and chairman for FlightScope, spent time investigating what existing launch monitors provided as he was creating his own technology-based system.
"The first thing I saw in terms of a so-called launch monitor was something called a Swing Mate, a little device that just measures clubhead speed, and everything else is calculated," he said. "I lost interest after about the third shot."
He also was disappointed with what's called speed-gun technology, a way of measuring speed that's used on lower-end launch monitors.
"What they do is measure apparent speed. It's not even velocity, it's just apparent speed,” he said. “Everything else is calculated from there, and you can get some amazing interpolations, and it can lead you to disaster. So the guidance that it gives you is misleading. When golfers are getting to a stage where they really want to improve their game, that could be exactly the wrong medicine."
Instead, Johnson wanted a system that was not terribly expensive but that provided accurate and extensive data. Packaged with a user interface that appeals to both the high-end clubfitter and the novice golfer, FlightScope does just that, recording the precise trajectory that the ball travels and giving actual (not implied) results.
"We are very proud of the fact that it has a very simple user interface," he said. "You use left and right arrows - you don't have to be computer literate to drive the system. On the downside, there's a lot of information. You can get stuck in details. I recommend normally that people start with the simple screens. We have a dashboard screen that gives you 'bubbles' with information in them — the critical factors. People like that because it's easy.
"We're trying to cater obviously to the connoisseur who wants (the information) and also for the normal guy in the street who might be a little agnostic about all the technology stuff, so there are applications for both. There are screens for both."
When Johnson first introduced the FlightScope, it had a retail price around $22,000 — usually selling, he said, for about $17,000. Now the entire system, which comes in one box, retails for $6,995 — making it much more affordable for smaller retailers and clubfitters, and even the especially avid individual golfer.
Other benefits: The system can be used anywhere with a laptop computer and a power source. As well, it works in nearly all weather and lighting conditions, indoors and out ("I've even used it in snow," Johnson said, "but it's not nice to hit balls in the snow").
FlightScope can also be connected to a second monitor and used in conjunction with many popular swing analysis video systems, so golfers can see both how they look and what results were achieved with each swing.
"I sat with Butch Harmon some time ago and I got the idea from listening to him," Johnson said. "I realized we needed to bring that to the table. Technologically speaking, it's not a big thing for us to do, but it's a big thing for the coaches. Suddenly they only have to have one piece."
As part of a campaign to promote FlightScope in the United States and Canada, Johnson said that the company is targeting a few specific markets. Besides teachers, he hopes to make the system more popular with clubfitters, tour professionals (Padraig Harrington, Bradley Dredge and other European Tour players own them) and at the college level.
To enhance the product's value to clubfitters, Johnson said he's partnering with companies like Swing Labs, which makes equipment fitting software that can be used with launch monitors to find the best equipment for an individual golfer's swing.
"We profile all the leading equipment out there, which is an ongoing task because new equipment keeps coming out," said Swing Labs co-founder and president Mark DiMare. "The customer can see side by side how the different equipment works for them."
Retailers and clubfitters pay $395 for the basic system setup and then purchase fitting credits to use with their customers. They'll also need a launch monitor, which is where FlightScope comes in. At the end of the process, the fitter can recommend the best clubs for their customers and make more sales.
More importantly, the Swing Labs system ensures that its users all have the same basic level of clubfitting training.
"We had a need for that because with our systems being in pro shops all around the world we've found that not everyone is equally trained," Johnson said. "You get very strong opinions coming through and some of them are pretty useless, to be quite honest. Now you get a consistent (fitting experience)."
As Johnson and his staff demonstrate the FlightScope system, such as at last month's 2008 PGA Merchandise Show, they generate interest based on the user interface and the value of the product. Teachers like Brad Brewer, a top-100 instructor based in Orlando, Fla., have put the system in use to benefit their students.
"We have tried and field tested every launch monitor on the market," Brewer said. "FlightScope has been our choice at the Brad Brewer Golf Academy over all others because of its amazing accuracy and simplicity of use. Our ability to fit equipment and demonstrate the importance of proper technique by showing ball-flight and club-path statistics has taken our player development services to a new level."