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Everything you need to know about the Bushnell Launch Pro - Circle B Edition · PlayBetter's Golf Tech Weekly

• speaker-0: For five years, the Bushnell Launch Pro has been the go-to pick in the mid-tier prosumer launch monitor category. But it just jumped $500 in price and it still requires a subscription to get all of its features, including club data. Meanwhile, there are more competing options than ever. So the question we're answering today, is the Bushnell Launch Pro still the launch monitor you should buy in 2020? Are there better choices available now? speaker-1: twenty six or speaker-0: This is Golf Tech Weekly presented by Playbed. Alright, welcome back everyone. Mark Shaforgian and Daniel Fitzpatrick with you once again. Thanks for joining us and for the continued support. A quick reminder to subscribe if you haven't yet, and to head over to playbetter.com, where the exclusive GTW code gets you the best price on qualifying products. Daniel, let's get right into it. Kick us off with the background on the Launch Pro, what it is, why we sometimes call it the Circle B edition now. And how it stacks up to its twin sibling, the Foresight G C three. Take it away. speaker-1: Certainly. So it's nice to have, you know, such amazing technology at at an affordable price. I mean the the original Bushnell Launch Pro came out ⁓ quite a few years back and really kind of set a name for itself in the in the industry because before that, technology like this that was made by Foresight Sports was really not easy to obtain. ⁓ it was pretty pricey, the the subscriptions were pretty high even on top of that. And Honestly, to be able to get into this this type of accuracy, you were you were just looking to pay a premium. now they've got this G C three device, or even as we're talking about today, the Bushnell Launch Pro, which overall is the same hardware. It has a nice built in touch screen display. ⁓ and it offers what I feel and probably what you feel too, Mark, is the top accuracy of any indoor launch monitor that's really under ten thousand dollars. ⁓ You know, it it boasts the ability to capture critical data that you need. It's not as much data as maybe some of the other devices that are out there or even maybe cheaper priced. ⁓ but the way that they've positioned the Bushnell Launch Pro allows you an easier entry price, ⁓ with some subscription if you want to get more out of it, such as ⁓ you know, playing golf courses, G S pro access. ⁓ and they have a couple tiers of subscription which we'll get into as well. ⁓ But a very accurate device that you can take indoors or outdoors, use any golf ball you want, and really get reliable data that that has tour accuracy at the end of the day. I mean, this is tour trusted accuracy. It's it's actually built by Foresight Sports, like we said, and it it has just some amazing technology that has really built a a solid reputation ⁓ in in the launch monitor world in the last few years. speaker-0: Yeah, yeah. So let's kind of unpack the ⁓ the the the story of the Launch Pro and the G C three just a bit more ⁓ because there is some confusion there. Just as Daniel said, ⁓ they are identical products physically. They're literally the exact same three camera launch monitors. They track ⁓ all of the data the exact same way. They are manufactured exactly the same. Cosmetically, they're slightly different, and the LaunchPro has gone through a few different changes, whereas the G C three has stayed constant. So Foresight Sports is one company. Bushnell, of course, is another company. Those two companies were both acquired by the same parent company. And so then we're kind of ⁓ kind of an arranged marriage, if you will, ⁓ kind of forced to to play together. And so they've they've ⁓ merged in some ways and are still operating independently in other ways. And in their marketing plan after that kind of coming together, the GC3, which already existed in the Foresight camp, ⁓ was also brought over to the Bushnell side of things and rebranded as the Launch Pro. And just as Daniel said, they differentiated the two by giving you the GC3 as a pay once option. You pay you pay the the price and you get all of the data and all of the sim courses included without having to pay anything more. Then the LaunchPro gives you, just as Daniel mentioned, the option to eventually get to all of the same places but by way of subscription. ⁓ They have gone through a lot of iterations of this evolution, which has kind of contributed to some of the consumer confusion. The Launch Pro has changed in price several times. The GC3 likewise changed in price a bit. They for a while came out with the GC3S, which essentially replaced the Launch Pro and became the subscription model for this ⁓ launch monitor. Then they decided, ⁓ not a good idea. We killed the GCS. and come back GC3S and come back with the Launch Pro, reintroduced it as the Circle B edition, gave it an orange backing to kind of reclaim the Bushnell ⁓ identity ⁓ and market it as the Bushnell Circle B edition, which is the product we're talking about today. And then of course the news of the day, it just raised in price by $500. ⁓ So that's kind of what we're dealing with here and how we've arrived here. Daniel, you you hit on some of them, but let's walk through again some of the pros of this unit. Call it the GC3, call it the Launch Pro, call it the Circle B, call it the GC3S. All of these do the same thing very, very well. Accuracy, just as you said. What else? The unmarked balls, the portability, rifle through a few of those again just so we get a real handle on why this thing has been so successful. speaker-1: Sure. So honestly, one of probably one of the most portable launch monitors that's out there. Like if you want to take a device onto the golf course and see data while you play around to golf, that this is honestly probably the easiest device to do that with. ⁓ the built in descrip ⁓ display shows all the metrics right there on the screen. ⁓ you don't have to tell it what club you're using. ⁓ it has a pretty nice little alignment stick that comes with it. So if you want to align it directly to your target out on the course or on the driving range, it makes that really easy. you know, honestly, if you would just want shot by shot data, you just take it out there and you use it. Now if you want to use it and see full session data, like at the driving range and get club averages and stuff, they have a mobile app that you can use with your phone or your tablet. And you can get your full session history and and use it. Even like a golf instructor would probably use it in that way. If you want to play simulation rounds of golf, that's where you will need a gaming PC. But ⁓ the beauty the beauty of the the Bushnell Launch Pro and and being connected to Foresight is that you get the FSX ecosystem. So, you know, you're being able to play some of the best simulation software that's out there. ⁓ even the the driving range software when you're at home is one of the best to be able to see session histories and stuff like that. I mean, this is stuff that club fitters use. So that's something to keep in mind when you're like considering this this type of product is honestly the software you get is really incredible when you do want to use it. ⁓ you know, the it is limited in data, let's just be honest. ⁓ it doesn't have all of the data that maybe it could potentially be capable of. ⁓ but or or I guess data like even like other devices, which we'll compare it to later in our episode here. It it doesn't it doesn't compare really in that facet. But the data it gives you is probably what every golfer needs. Right. I mean, it's it's the core data that probably every golfer, amateur golfer should be working on. And like we said, this is something that, you know, it has tour level accuracy. This something that every golfer should be focusing on data wise. So it gives you the core of what you need. It still probably leaves a little bit more to be desired from a data standpoint. ⁓ but when you know you're getting extremely, extremely accurate data, that's when you, you know, you can at least be happy with with knowing that the data you are getting is is something you can trust. speaker-0: Yeah. speaker-1: Yeah, I that that's really all I've got as far as pros. I'm sure that you might have a couple to add to it there. speaker-0: Mark. Well, I would just I think you nailed it. I I would just add the thing is also just built like a tank. You know, the build quality on this is is always been a real ⁓ a real strong suit. And and s so just as you said, it's been very popular among the serious, the semi serious, and then the club fitters and the instructors. ⁓ you know, ⁓ for for all the reasons you just said, including the fact that it's just so reliable to use. It just works. ⁓ you can take it in multiple different settings. You don't have to baby it. ⁓ as you mentioned, very, very portable. ⁓ but never was perfect even before the price increase. There always were a couple of cons, and and I guess now you could say there's 500 more of them in the way of of dollar bills. ⁓ so let's talk about kind of what would be kind of the drawbacks ⁓ for the the Launch Pro. ⁓ You noted that ⁓ it doesn't include all of the data. ⁓ can you can you expound on that a bit and and anything else that jumps to your mind as a potential ⁓ con for the unit? speaker-1: Yeah, and this this is something that, you know, not every user may even want, but you look at devices that have come up now like ⁓ you know, Square Omni, Flightscope Mevo Gen two, you know, they have face impact location. They have full D plane club data. ⁓ and this could be strategic, ⁓ by by Foresight and Bushnell, you know, specifically that maybe they don't want this device to to take away from their G C Quad or Quad Max products, which totally makes sense. ⁓ But it just leaves a little bit more to be desired ⁓ for the data heads out there, or maybe you know, people who are using this for their business or something like that, that really want in depth data. This might be something that you'd reconsider just because it doesn't have some of those metrics that you'd see ⁓ with with some of these other devices. not only that, but it just there there's a really big friction point with with the software subscriptions and how you have to use it to if you want to use it for GS Pro. it's it's the most expensive yearly subscription total that you're gonna find out there, unfortunately. So that that is by far to me the biggest drawback. you know in comparison to any other product out there is you have to buy a gold subscription which is five hundred dollars and then you have to pay for for GS Pro on top of that. So then you're looking at basically a seven hundred and fifty dollar annual fee. ⁓ if I had to critique Bushnell on on any of of their product, it would honestly be that Now that we've raised the price that, you know, hopefully we could revisit the way that the subscriptions are laid out and maybe make the silver subscription have a little more a little more ammo to its arsenal because it just doesn't seem like, you know, much is worth it there with only five courses and access to all the data. It just feels like maybe we could get third party access in that silver subscription or so something that just makes a little bit more sense. ⁓ because there's so many devices out there that are honestly cheaper up front. similar accuracy and there's no there's no gateway to get to GS Pro or the gateway is cheaper. So that that's my biggest flaw I think with the device. And what frustrates I think a lot of users when they learn that is it immediately kind of turns them off of purchasing. And now we've got an additional 500 to start with, which almost makes you say, why don't I just go for the GC three or a CPO GC three speaker-0: Yeah. speaker-1: And not pay that annual fee on top of it. So there's just a little bit more weighing of options, I think, in comparison now than there ever was. speaker-0: Yeah, we'll get into a little bit of that math, but you identify what clearly is the biggest sticking point here. Really to call it like it is, ⁓ the Launch Pro is the only unit in this ⁓ kind of category ⁓ that charges a yearly fee to unlock club data. So with the other options, ⁓ you're not asked to pay additionally to get additional data points. So when you start wanting to get into things like path, you don't have to pay extra for it. ⁓ with the Launch Pro, Just as you mentioned, you've got the option for the silver tier, which does unlock that club data and additionally gives you five FX FSX play ⁓ simulated courses, but only five. Then and and also still freezes you out of the third-party access. So then there's the gold package for $500 a year. That gives you 25 simulated golf courses. You of course still get the club data, ⁓ and then you now have access to FSX play. And so as we'll get into the math, ⁓ you start to see that just as Daniel mentioned, it's a bit more of an expensive route to get to these things, these advanced things like club data, like more sim courses, like the opportunity to play GS Pro. ⁓ some other kind of nitpicks, I suppose, you know, and there are with every competing option, some of them the exact same ones, but ⁓ you do need club stickers required ⁓ if you want to get ⁓ club data, right? ⁓ again, not to say that that's not something you're gonna encounter with ⁓ with competing options. Another thing that I'd bring up is that the Foresight software ⁓ is very powerful, but ⁓ but does require a good amount of firepower. So this is something that's you know, to play FSX play, ⁓ or if you did want to use it to connect to GS Pro, you're gonna need a pretty robust gaming PC. Again, that's not something to single out and call ⁓ the Launch Pro as the only one facing that challenge, but it is something that ⁓ that you're gonna be dealing with. ⁓ and then as you mentioned, you know, you don't have face impact, you don't have face angle. ⁓ these are things that ⁓ as we'll get into, you know, in something like the sixteen hundred dollar square omni, ⁓ you're getting all of that and also not asked to pay a subscription and also paying half the price ⁓ for the unit itself. So those those start to be kind of hard things to argue against and makes for a difficult path for the Launch Pro and yet still I think we'll end up arriving at a place where there still is an opportunity to recommend this product to a lot of people only because it is so accurate. It is so well built. It is so trusted and now at this point has such a demonstrated track record of success that ⁓ it's just now it's ⁓ potentially a little bit more difficult to get to that point. ⁓ so let's ⁓ let's kind of walk into some of those those ⁓ comparison. ⁓ options ha as we see them, Daniel. can y you know go a little deeper on some of the ones that ⁓ that you've identified so far and ⁓ and some of the other points that come to mind as you as you see them ⁓ head to head. speaker-1: Yeah, I think the there there's two really big competitors. We we've mentioned the first one, so we can definitely start there. And I I think Square Omni was really designed to compete directly with Bushnell Launch Pro, honestly. ⁓ it's it's very, very similar and it has more data. Now the biggest drawbacks to Square Omni, in my opinion, no basically no customer service at a of any kind. ⁓ so if you have problems with the device, it's very, it's very, very difficult to get that solved. ⁓ the Bushnell team has a great customer service team that helps you. So that that is a great win for Bushnell. However, I do think, you know, you're paying a premium for the device. You should be able to get some support there. So, you know, it is a it is nice to have that comfort when you're making that purchase. The other thing is that ⁓ the native software that comes with these two devices, the Foresight software ecosystem is just night to day so much more advanced than what Square offers. Now, Square is a great basic software for most users and it's all they'll need, you know, a driving range that's virtual to track some of your data, some golf courses to play. You can use it on iPad and PC, so that's certainly a benefit. ⁓ but then you jump into like what you're using with Bushnell, and like I mentioned earlier, like this is software that like club fitters can use to fit people for golf clubs. ⁓ this is the same software you use with a with a G C quad or a Quad Max. It's just not showing as much information when you take a swing. So ⁓ The the only downfall of that software, in my opinion, is that if if you haven't used it before, it takes a little bit of while to kind of understand the navigation of it, to find things, locate things. It's not quite as user-friendly right off the right off the punch like some of the others are. But it's just because it's so complex and has so much there that it just takes a little while to get used to maybe locating everything. So it's not really a drawback. It's just more of a friction point, I guess, when you're when you're going through learning the system. But in reality, like just the powerful capability of of the Launch Pro in comparison with the software is is really really tough to beat and I think really explains why there's such a price difference between those two devices. That's just my personal opinion. So I think some people overlook the software side of things when they're going for launch monitors. And that image, that at that that visual experience, that's what everything is in a golf simulator. So it's something that you really need to consider when you're competing These products the way I feel. speaker-0: I think you make break a great, great point. ⁓ another great point in favor of the LaunchPro in that comparison to the Omni is that, you know, listen, the LaunchPro has been out for several years. We know it works. We know it still works several years later. And just as you said, we know that support is available in the unlikely event that it doesn't work. With the Square Omni, while the while the initial reports are certainly good, certainly passes the accuracy test with flying colors. We don't really know what that those cameras are going to be doing five years from now, ⁓ after sitting in sunlight on the driving range or ⁓ we don't know how it's going to ⁓ handle after you accidentally drop it on a cart path or or whatever, you know, abuses it may suffer, ⁓ you know, just through normal wear and tear. We really don't know because it's still so new. Another another thing, a knock against it is of course that it's difficult to get a hold of, you know, it's hard to get one. Whereas the LaunchPro is more readily available. ⁓ and so those are very, very big real considerations that the Omni can't compete with the LaunchPro on. That said, the Omni's sixteen sixteen hundred dollars out of the box, it gives you more club data than the three thousand dollar LaunchPro, and it doesn't require any annual fee. And just as you said, the LaunchPro software is certainly superior to the Omni's. However, the pushback to that point would be that, hey, Maybe I just want to use my Omni to play GS Pro. I don't care about the native ⁓ the native Square software. Well, now we've got a cheaper device that we know is accurate. ⁓ in fact it's four cameras versus the the LaunchPro is three, and I can plug into GS Pro and only pay the two hundred and fifty dollar GS Pro fee and no additional fee to Square. ⁓ so you know, it becomes a a a tough equation. and Maybe a tough one to ⁓ to to sort out. ⁓ certainly if you're looking for that ⁓ that easy value decision, I don't know how you argue against the sixteen hundred dollar square omni. ⁓ if you're looking for that ⁓ reliable known quantity, ⁓ I don't know how you argue against the launch pro. So there you go. ⁓ what do you what do you have? speaker-1: Kind of tough, kind of tough to pick between the two, honestly. I think it's certainly case by case and what what each customer probably wants between those two. but yeah, it's like I said, I I truly think the the team at Square kind of looked at the Launch Pro and said, Okay, we we need a device that can compete with this indoor outdoor, you know. And ⁓ build quality, I honestly think is is pretty similar. I mean, I know you've been, I believe you've been to the Foresight facility where they build. the devices so you you know first hand the quality control that goes into that. ⁓ Square's a little bit more unknown, so I think that's something that maybe you can speak on quickly too. speaker-0: Yeah, sure. ⁓ I have been to the Foresight ⁓ facility ⁓ where all of this stuff is manufactured and it it is incredibly impressive. The thing that I walked away with was the the key way process that they go through is just unbelievable. I mean they're putting these devices in heaters and freezers and they're they're under direct light. They're trying to replicate the most extreme conditions that they can. So they're really trying to see what would this ⁓ what would the positioning of the camera housing be like if this thing sat on a driving range in Phoenix all day long under direct sunlight, you know what I mean? And then they're trying to engineer it so that it can hold up to those conditions and still be operational several years later. I I haven't been to a squares facility. I would be shocked if they had anything approaching that level of attention to detail. ⁓ and so that matters. It really does matter. And it's very easy for people to be fixated on a price and just to skip over all of that and pretend as if everything is manufactured exactly the same. Now you do say the Omni is well built. I agree with you. I really do. I think it's far, far better built than their original home edition square. However, again, we just don't know how that build quality is going to hold up ⁓ several years down the road. It remains to be seen. ⁓ reason to be optimistic, certainly, but but we we can't say for certain the way that we can with the Launch Pro. If you are interested in reading about that kind of that experience, that foresight, If you go to ⁓ to playbetter dot com and search for Foresight Sports, I think you'll find it. ⁓ really, really cool ⁓ in-depth experience with just getting a peek behind the curtain and it was very, very impressive. ⁓ Daniel, what are ⁓ what are some other comparisons that that come to mind for ya? speaker-1: Yeah, I mean it's honestly very similar to the to the Bushnell Launch Pro. It's actually called the LPI, which it's another Bushnell device, believe it or not, but L it's an LPI, which stands for Launch Pro Indoor. So this device is the same tracking hardware, so it still has the came same camera measurement system. It almost looks identical to the Launch Pro, ⁓ but there's no built-in screen, there's no battery, so you do have to keep it plugged in at all times. ⁓ so if you're if you're shopping around for the Launch Pro and you're thinking, ⁓ this, you know, this is just out of my budget, but I really like the product, and you're only looking for an indoor setup for maybe personal use, the LPI is a great, great path to being able to get the same technology, the same subscription options and save a thousand dollars. ⁓ so if you don't ever see yourself taking this device outside and you want that same experience, then you know the LPI might be the perfect answer for you. And it's definitely a unique. customer that is looking for this device because might not be the best answer for someone who needs both right and left handed capability. Even with camera systems, you know, some people just like to move the device or don't mind moving the device. This one's gonna be a little tougher to move around because you always got a power cable hooked into it. So ⁓ you know that's something to consider. But if you want to save some money, get the same accuracy, same capabilities, ⁓ and you know you're never going to take it outdoors, then the LPI could be a really, really great option for you. So ⁓ I threw that into our comparisons just because honestly it's the same product, but it's it's got a unique ⁓ maybe target market in comparison. speaker-0: Yeah, I really love that. I feel like ⁓ that product is slept on maybe more than than most products, only because you said it's you know it's limited to indoor use only. And so ⁓ some I feel like it's less marketed marketed. You know, when you see the Launch Pro marketed, I I don't feel like they're we're getting the LPI kind of ⁓ justice. And so I'm really, really glad you brought that up. If you're only gonna use it indoors, ⁓ why not save the money? You know? So ⁓ yeah. ⁓ What else jumps to your mind? ⁓ Daniel? ⁓ how about the ⁓ what about the Unicore i Mini? speaker-1: Yeah, I mean honestly if if we're talking about products that are super comparable, I know we talked about Omni. ⁓ Unicore i Mini is probably right there. I mean, those three devices are honestly so, so similar. ⁓ the Unicore i Mini even looks the almost the same as a Launch Pro or a GC three. So it's a camera powered device, has a built-in display right on it. you know, p right now, pretty similarly priced. It does kind of change around a little bit based on promotions, time of the year, things like that. ⁓ but I will say one thing about Unicore is that they have many, many subscription tiers. And you're gonna kind of choose how you want to use the device. ⁓ if you want to get access to GS Pro, it's easier on your pocketbook than the Launch Pro. I mean, you have to basically get into the pro subscription tier, which is $200 a year to get access to third party softwares, and then you buy GS Pro on top of that. Now, if you're a person that Man, I want an AI coach. I want something that can see my swing videos, see my data, and coach me to be a better golfer in my garage or in my home studio. Then it's it's not even really a close comparison. The the capabilities of self coaching, self teaching and and AI help with with the stuff that Unicor has is really, really cool. ⁓ the Unicore i Mini provides more data. you even get like a video of your golf ball being struck. So it's it's a really, really cool product. It's indoor, outdoor capable. It has a built in battery. so right now, honestly, like if you're comparing these two products at the time of this recording and and when most people are probably gonna watch this, like the Unicore i Mini is honestly probably a more appealing price point. ⁓ it just depends if you wanna use their soft maybe their softwares or what their capabilities and and if you know, it kind of just depends what you prefer as the customer again. But for me personally, the way it's positioned, like the Unicore i Mini is a little bit more appealing than the than the Launch Pro. And that's that might just be me. I don't know about your thoughts, Mark. But to me, it's honestly a little bit more appealing. speaker-0: Yeah, I mean right now it's the the iMini's three thousand dollars, the same price as the ⁓ as the new price of the Launch Pro. And hard to argue against what you said, Daniel. ⁓ I guess the one thing I'd throw in there is of course with the Launch Pro or the G C three, you have that link enabled capability. So they have a built out ⁓ connected ecosystem, meaning that you can get ⁓ personalized club recommendations on the golf course in your rangefinder viewfinder based on your launch monitor data. ⁓ that you would get from your Launch Pro or GC3. You don't have that option with the Unicor. That's maybe a niche or niche use case, ⁓ but one that could apply to to certain people and would maybe swing people over to the ⁓ the Launch Pro side of things. But very, very difficult to to argue against what you just said there. as it sits right now, as the prices are right now, the i Mini is looking extremely competitive. ⁓ another one ⁓ A little bit more apples to oranges, not quite the same kind of direct comparison, but let's talk about the the Skytrack Plus ⁓ and or the newer S T Max as it maybe compares to the Launch Pro. Thoughts there? speaker-1: Sure. Yeah, I I actually get this comparison question a lot, ⁓ with customers kind of on a daily basis. And it honestly comes down a lot to maybe the pairing partner that you use to run the software. ⁓ you know, a lot of people maybe they don't want to buy a gaming PC or they don't want to buy a computer, maybe they want to run everything off of an iPad, then that's where the Sky Track really stands out. I mean, they they really do a great job of offering many pairing partners to operate your software with. ⁓ Now the Skytrack devices don't work as well outdoors. So if you're a person who wants it to be portable and use it on normal grass, then the Skytrack might be a tough decision because it just doesn't work the best off of off of natural turf. ⁓ where the the Bushnell Launch Pro that it works phenomenal on grass, on on fake turf, it it works phenomenal. So ⁓ there's certainly some comparison and and some points to be made there. ⁓ but in all honesty, like I I do find their softwares to be Pretty similar. ⁓ I mean, honestly, with the Skytrack, you can you can get the Foresight Course play and play that style of course play on a Skytrack device. So it is very similar visually, ⁓ is to like what you get with the Bushnell playing golf courses. So, ⁓ if you want to save some money, if you don't want to buy a gaming PC, then that's where maybe the Skytrack options would stick out to you. ⁓ however, I will knock Skytrack a little bit in comparison, maybe not quite as accurate. ⁓ Again, not quite as portable and I would say maybe not quite as of a premium built device. ⁓ when you hold the two in your hands you can feel the Bushnell has just a little bit more premium build quality in comparison. If I don't know if you agree with that or not. speaker-0: Absolutely agree with that one hundred percent. ⁓ certainly agree with that on the accuracy side of accuracy side of things. The Skytrack Plus and ST Max are phenomenally accurate, but they are not up to the level of a launch pro. ⁓ and you know, when you turn on the TV and you go watch the PGA tour ⁓ driving range, there's a reason you're seeing the brands are Foresight and Trackman, and those are the brands. And you're not seeing Skytrack anywhere there ⁓ in in you know That's a pretty high standard, but it just points to the fact that ⁓ that Foresight and and by extension Bushnell, the Launch Pro, ⁓ they have the track record. the Skytrack Plus does come across as a screaming deal to me. I mean, it just comes across to me like in light of all of this and you look at the competitive landscape, I agree with you. If you're a serious player, a competitive player, or you're an instructor, you're gonna go Launch Pro or GC3 over a Skytrack Plus. But man, if you're playing golf in your garage and you want to have a great time and you want gamified practice and a bunch of challenge courses and things that are specific to something you're trying to work on, learning how to hit a draw, learning how to hit a fade, learning how to hit a high one, a low one, whatever it may be, and you want to keep that stuff entertaining, there's no matching the Skytrack Plus ⁓ for the price. 1495, and that includes a free first year of the Foresight. ⁓ course play package which is a two hundred and fifty dollar value. ⁓ so gosh. ⁓ again, bit of an apples to oranges ⁓ comparison, but important to note that man, you don't have to spend all the way up to three thousand dollars to get something really, really good. And the SkyTrack Plus is maybe the shining example of that. ⁓ so yeah. ⁓ well Daniel, I guess we kind of arrive at the point of Trying to identify, or you know what? We should talk about probably the real kind of secret pick here, the one that maybe people are sleeping on. And that would be we've talked about kind of the how the GC three compares to the Launch Pro, but not everybody is aware of the certified pre-owned options that exist with the GC three. ⁓ that's where things get really interesting. talk about kind of that and and maybe we kind of dive into a little bit of that math. speaker-1: Yes, certainly. So if if for those of you who watch us, you know, weekly, you might remember a few weeks back we kind of did a shopping spree episode where we had a budget and I I actually made the debate between the Bushnell Launch Pro and a certified pre owned G C three. And for me, I wanted to avoid subscriptions. And some people they don't mind paying a little bit more just to avoid subscriptions. I'm one of those people. I hate the recurring fees that keep dinging you every single year or every month or whatever it may be. I'd rather just pay it in full and kind of be done with it. And the g the CPO GC three gives you that opportunity. ⁓ it's a it's a ⁓ discounted price in comparison to a normal GC3. It comes with a great ⁓ manufacturer's warranty. It comes unlocked, so there's no subscriptions, like we said. You can jump right into GS Pro if you want to. And now with the latest price hike of the of the Bushnell Launch Pro, I think it becomes even more appealing to go after a certified pre-on GC3 because it's only a couple of years worth of a gold subscription to be at that same price. And I tell people this all the time. You know, people always say, Well, how long am I gonna you know, how long will this device last? I I truly think that people look at new launch monitors around every five to six years. If you're using them pretty severely or pretty pretty religiously, pretty pretty pretty normally throughout the week, you're gonna probably be looking to get a new one every five years. It's kind of similar to a computer. You know, you kinda use a computer for four or five years and then you're kinda like, Okay, it's time for some new technology or something like that. So To kind of look at the dollar figure and what you're gonna get out of it. I mean, it's it's pretty easy to in my opinion to look at the CPO G C three when you know it's the same technology and you won't have to have that high annual fee, especially especially for those who wanna get into to some G S pro play. I think it's a huge win to look at the CPO. speaker-0: Yeah. Yeah. ⁓ so man, you're right. The CPO ⁓ the the product is spec'd out just as as good as new, ⁓ backed by the manufacturer as good as new. We talked earlier about what that process includes for them to put their stamp of approval on it. It's extensive. So when they say it's as good as new and they're gonna willing to back it as as good as new, you damn well better believe it's gonna last you that full five years as you're as you're mentioning, Daniel, what a typical lifespan may be. Now Where the math used to be tricky with the G C three is right. We used to have a $2,500 Launch Pro and a $7,000 GC three. And if you wanted that your Launch Pro to be everything that a GC three was out of the box, ⁓ you were looking at paying five hundred dollars a year. But it would have taken you nine years of paying five hundred dollars a year before you reached the price of the GC three. And so you talked about a Typical lifespan being maybe in that five-year range. Well, nine years is approaching double that. And that's where it became a little bit more difficult to kind of to justify a GC three versus a LaunchPro. Well, let's look at the GC three CPO option of what $4,500 or $5,000, right? That's $5,000. So help me with the math here. So the new LaunchPro price is $3,000. The new GC the GC3 certified pre-owned price is $5,000. That gap is $2,000. That now brings that math, the difference, and if you paid the gold subscription with the Launch Pro to four years. So I would have to pay, ⁓ you know, ⁓ only four years before I caught up to what I paid for a certified pre-owned GC3, just as you said, I'm coming into this expecting most likely to own it for five or more years. Well, now, why wouldn't I just? Why in unless I was tight on money up front, which of course could be a thing, but if I had the money available, why not buy it all at once? ⁓ get the connection to GS Pro, get the twenty-five courses out of the box, get all of the club data, ⁓ and be done with it, ⁓ versus kind of nickel d nickel and dime myself for the next four years before I arrived at the same place. Not to mention that ⁓ when you do buy a GC three, this is kind of jumping off course, I guess. ⁓ because this is having to do with the new, not the pre-owned. But worth mentioning when you buy a GC three, you do get that Bushnell Pro X3 Plus laser rangefinder included as well, something that you don't get with the Launch Pro. So ⁓ I think, yeah, I think it's a sneaky, not even ⁓ it's actually a fairly obvious pick to really consider that certified pre-owned GC three option. One of the reasons I loved it for when we when we did our exercise, check out a couple of episodes again. ⁓ we each spent ⁓ seventy five hundred bucks on our dream Golf Tech stacks. And one of the ways that Daniel was able to build a really, really killer stack was by leveraging that GC3 certified pre-owned option. ⁓ certainly would be something for real life users to ⁓ to consider with their own money. ⁓ so Daniel, after we ⁓ after we kind of sort it all out here, ⁓ where does that leave us? ⁓ is the Launch Pro still relevant? ⁓ ⁓ could you still recommend it and if so, to whom? speaker-1: Yeah, it's totally still relevant. I mean, obviously we we can talk about negatives. There's still a lot of positives. We didn't even mention that it has virtually no shot leg time. So it's as realistic as it gets when you're playing indoors. So ⁓ that alone will make people want to buy it. Just the fact that it's so realistic with the fact that when you hit the ball, it hits the screen, it's already moving. So ⁓ when you pair that with tour level accuracy and Even though it is a little bit more pricey, ⁓ it's still in that in that really good price range of where we're, you know, a lot of people are still gonna want this device. you know, the negatives may only be negatives for certain customers. ⁓ that goes with any device that's out there that we sell. but realistically, serious golfers who want something under $5,000, this is still probably gonna be my starting point of the conversation. And you know, like I said, even people who say, ⁓ the Omni is so appealing, I'm never gonna take it outdoors though, it's kinda like, Okay, well, why aren't you considering the LPI, you know, or something like that? So, ⁓ I think it's still super relevant. Just the way that it's positioned in the market is still pretty good. It's a little frustrating, like I said, that they've upped the price. but I would be hopeful that ⁓ You know, maybe that means that they'll change around the subscription offerings in the future too, which would make it a little bit more easy to have that upfront payment be a little more expensive. So that's not any guarantee. We don't have any inside information on that. So don't don't sit here and hope that that's some false hope of some kind. It's it's something that I personally would love to see ⁓ you know, maybe them take a look at. But overall, I still think, you know, like you said, Mark, the top level golfers, the single digit handicaps. the the players that want something that's super accurate and have the data that people really need to focus on, th this is gonna be the device for them. And it's gonna be a device that once you buy it, you're gonna love the purchase for a really long time and you're gonna be proud of it. You know, when people come to use it, you know people are going to be getting accurate data and having a good experience. speaker-0: Yeah, I I pretty much agree with everything you just said there. ⁓ Bushnell is a fantastic company. The products that they make are unbelievable, the build quality is exceptional, ⁓ the Launch Pro is an amazing product. ⁓ if you are a gambler and you're willing to take a chance on something that's slightly ⁓ less known, ⁓ it's very difficult to argue against the Square Omni for sixteen sixteen hundred dollars and all that it gives you four cameras, ⁓ I tested it, ⁓ very accurate. gosh, it's hard to argue against it. I I have to be honest. But just as you said, I don't see a somebody that's gonna ⁓ put their their business on the line as an instructor or a club feeder fitter or somebody that is really serious about improving in this game in and is relying on their launch monitor to deliver data that they're depending on. I still think they're gonna pay up and go with something like the launch pro. ⁓ because it is it has that known track record, it has the known customer support and service. ⁓ and you know, something can happen to a launch monitor and you may not even be aware that it's become defective and yet and yet you're getting dubious data. You know, you know what I mean? I mean those c things can happen and it's a lot less likely to happen with the Launch Pro. However, all of that said, if you're looking at the Launch Pro, just as Daniel said, and you're only going to use it indoors The LPI becomes a more attractive option, probably. And then if you do want to use it both indoors and outdoors, and you've got the couple of extra thousand dollars to spend, I would give serious consideration to the GC3 certified pre-owned. and ⁓ I guess that's how it shakes out. ⁓ another shout out to the Unicore i Mini, as long as it remains at the same price as you said, Daniel. Hard to argue against that one. And then just as I had mentioned earlier, ⁓ Kind of a shining star in this, not a direct comparison, but still looking very attractive in kind of the rubble and fallout of all of this is that Skytrack Plus at just such a ⁓ a sweetheart of a price. ⁓ so I guess as we always arrive at, ⁓ good news that we've got so many options, right? In 2026. ⁓ and in fact that's why we ⁓ that's why we talk about this kind of stuff every single week and why we've got ⁓ no shortage of topics to ⁓ to keep us going. ⁓ so ⁓ anything else, Danielle, before we ⁓ before we get out of here? speaker-1: Yeah, just to kind of top off on that, I know I've said it a few times at the end of some of these last episodes, but if you're watching this out there or listening to this and you're you're considering even just a launch monitor or a golf simulator setup and you're just like a lot of customers, just kind of overwhelmed, go to playbetter dot com. ⁓ at the top left corner of the page when you're on a computer, you'll see a button ⁓ that's a golf simulator advisor. It's gonna ask you some questions and it's gonna send a form and it's gonna go to me. And I'm gonna basically review your information and take a look at what you're wanting out of advice and make some recommendations for you. And we can talk through any questions you have, talk about the space you wanna use it in. it's a service that I feel that that not a lot of other people out there offer. And it it just allows you to as a as a customer to kind of get more comfortable with your purchase and and make sure that you're you're buying the right product for you. So ⁓ you know, we me and Mark, we probably have the hardest time reviewing some of these products because there's so many good ones out there right now and comparing product to product does become difficult. But they're they're just different enough that each customer kind of has a product that will work perfectly for them. And and it's not to say that we're gonna, you know, get you the most expensive product that you're willing to spend for, but we're gonna get you the best product that fits you. So ⁓ just like to say if you're if you're confused or overwhelmed or or just getting started in research. Check out that golf advisor form. We can we can certainly help make that decision easier. speaker-0: Yeah, I love that. Glad you brought that up, Daniel. ⁓ Daniel, as he said, is the one on the other end of that form. Guy knows his stuff. That's who I go to when I've got questions about this stuff. So I would encourage you to do the same. ⁓ that is a very, very powerful tool. ⁓ even if you're just kicking the tires and just kind of looking at different scenarios, ⁓ possibly considering something for down the low down the road, can make for a very fun ⁓ daydreaming exercise. So ⁓ check that out for sure. ⁓ also don't forget. To go to playbetter.com and use promo code GTW for the best prices on qualifying products. That is a discount code exclusive to our Golf Tech Weekly listeners and subscribers. ⁓ that's you out there. ⁓ please subscribe if you haven't already. And please check us out next week. Thank you so much for watching and listening. This is Golf Tech Weekly presented by Playbetter.