The Covid pandemic, as bad as it has been, gave us unintended beneficiaries. Some of them, like Zoom meetings, online shopping, and home renovation, have obvious connections to the necessity to work from home. And while it's not as directly related, golf benefitted as well, with rounds of golf and participation in casual and tournament golf all skyrocketing.
And at the intersection of golf and stay-at-home technology is the launch monitor and simulator segment - particularly the products geared towards personal use. Our favorite is the Mevo+, from Flightscope. Announced in 2019, Mevo+ was so popular that it was very difficult to get one at the peak of the pandemic in 2020.
If you're interested in purchasing a Mevo+ please follow this link
this link so they know we sent you!
But that situation has changed, so I decided to get one for AmateurGolf.com's backyard studio and provide a copy of our first look review of Mevo+. In the next few months, we will be using Mevo+ in our equipment review videos, while telling you more about the device itself as we carry it to our favorite practice facilities, and play rounds of golf in simulator mode.
Here is the review and video for this best-in-class product:
We would all love to own a $10-20,000 launch monitor like the game's top teachers and Tour players. Alas, that's not in the cards for most amateur players. But with the advent of "personal launch monitors" in the last year or so, we at AmateurGolf.com have taken a keen interest. After all, cell phones of today take better pictures and video than the digital cameras of a few years ago. So shouldn't launch monitors be packing more punch into a smaller and cheaper package?
At the end of the year, we tested several personal launch monitors in the $300-500 range and
declared the Flightscope Mevo to be the best of the bunch. But the gap in accuracy and features between the Mevo and its big brother the X3 is considerable. We love the value of the Mevo, and it has been hugely successful at retail.
So successful, in fact, that it proved the market exists for something heftier. Enter the Mevo+.
At $1999, golfers are going to demand much more from Mevo+ than the Mevo. And wow, does it ever deliver. Mevo+ provides twice as many data points as Mevo (16) including key information like total distance, roll distance, spin data, and horizontal launch angle. In short, you've got a more complete picture of what's happening to every shot you hit.
Now comes the kicker. Mevo+ doubles as a game simulator -- it comes loaded E6 simulation software, which provides the ability to practice on 17 types of driving ranges, virtually play five different golf courses and various mini-games. You can play on an iPad or phone; with a projector or large monitor the experience turns into virtual golf (including putting and chipping).
I tried Mevo+ in a hitting bay - the course setup was Carlsbad's Aviara (one of the 5 preloaded courses). Since I'm very familiar with Aviara, I put it to the test on the par-3 3rd hole. The yardage, view of the hole, and shot data were extremely accurate and realistic.
Flightscope's founder, Henri Johnson, has been a pioneer in the business of tracking fast moving "stuff" since 1989 when his proprietary technology was originally used to track projectiles for the defense industry. Since then, his company has achieved many "firsts" in radar tracking in cricket, tennis, and golf.
"The Mevo+ is a game-changer for serious golfers who want to create efficient and enjoyable practice sessions," said Johnson. "It provides incredibly useful performance information and next level entertainment features."
If you're interested in purchasing a Mevo+ please follow this link
this link so they know we sent you!