My problem with this whole debate for a while has been that there is no known standard that we are basing accuracy off of. I’ve got a couple “high tech” distance measuring tools. They’re great, they save time, and are usually spot on accurate… but they can and do get “off”. No problem, I’ll just pull out the measuring tape or 4’ ruler or calibration stick and check/recalibrate. To my knowledge we can’t do that with these LMs. I don’t know if it’s even possible, but I’d like to see a robotic (Pingman, Iron Byron) standard setup. Have the robot swing with a zero face, zero path, zero attack angle, specific loft, etc., and then see what these machines record. And then calibrate the machines accordingly.
I don’t think it’s that great of a test to randomly place two competing LMs side-by-side and then deem one or the other “accurate” because they do not have identical (or near identical) numbers. I have witnessed samples of both brands clearly not working correctly. There are reviews online that claim the two monitors produce near identical numbers, and then there are reviews that claim otherwise. But in either case, they are comparing a single unit against a single unit, which is hardly a valid sampling. I would like to see 20-30 of each freshly unpackaged and then compared by an unbiased 3rd party, but I won’t be holding my breath on that one.
One review that I haven’t seen is a side-by-side of the same brand monitor. I would be willing to bet that more times than not two of the “same” monitors will not produce the same numbers. I wonder which would get the nod for being accurate. I could be way off on this, but I’d like to see how identical a row of twins actually are.
I like the debate. I like that there are two major players competing in this market. I like that each is striving and investing to be as accurate as possible. I like that they are continuing to develop better products. And I really like that the guys passing out information on this forum (and at Mike’s) are at the forefront of this technology… both in understanding and hours logged. I’m fortunate to have one of these dogs in the fight, but regardless of whether it gets the blue ribbon or red ribbon, it’s had a significant influence on my game and the understanding and improvement of my own swing.
