Indoor vs Outdoor Launch Monitors

Which launch monitors work only indoors?

The indoor-only units are the ceiling units, which mount permanently over a simulator’s hitting area, and four camera units that sit beside the ball. The one ceiling unit that works outdoors is the Foresight Falcon, and only if fully covered.

Bushnell, Square Golf and Uneekor each sell an indoor-only unit beside a version that also works outdoors, and the indoor-only one costs less:

Each outdoor version adds a screen on the unit and a battery; the indoor-only versions have no screen, and the Bushnell Launch Pro Indoor, Uneekor Eye Mini Core and Uneekor Eye Mini Lite plug into the wall.

Owners report indoor-only camera units, the Square Golf Home Edition and the Uneekor Eye Mini Lite among them, failing to read shots in sunlight (four on r/Golfsimulator); their fixes are blocking nearly all the sunlight or buying an outdoor-rated model.

Our Square Golf Home Edition vs Omni comparison covers what else the Omni adds.

What changes when you take a launch monitor outside

A camera unit reads a shot the same way outside if the sun stays out of its cameras

A camera unit works out the whole flight from photos of the first few inches after impact, so how far the ball flies before it hits a net makes no difference to what the unit reads.

Outside, makers of most outdoor-rated camera units on the floor say to keep the sun from shining into the cameras.

Camera units beside the ball are what many owners take out to a backyard net, and they report quick setup and little space needed (thirteen owners on r/Golfsimulator, with the Square Golf Omni, Bushnell Launch Pro and SkyTrak among them). One owner’s Bushnell Launch Pro boots in about 30 seconds and lines up with an alignment stick in 10 more.

The Bushnell Launch Pro is our Best overall among the best launch monitors for outdoor practice.

A radar unit measures more at the range than into a net

A radar unit sits behind you and follows the ball after impact, and how far it can follow the ball decides what it reads. The Garmin R10 measures spin only when its radar follows the ball for at least 20 meters (about 65 feet) and the ball leaves at 90 mph or faster. Indoors, and outdoors into a net, the R10 calculates spin with a machine-learned model from the radar readings it measures, unless you hit Titleist RCT balls, which carry a metallic mark the radar reads.

FlightScope’s Mevo units need a metallic sticker on the ball or an RCT ball for accurate spin indoors or into a net, and neither outdoors with the ball flying free.

Into a backyard net, a radar unit needs the same depth as indoors: Garmin puts the R10 6 to 8 feet behind the ball with at least 8 feet from the ball to the net, and radar owners give about 8 feet behind the ball and 8 feet in front of it (seven on r/Golfsimulator).

Radar units work well at the range, say eight owners, with the FlightScope Mevo Gen 2 and Garmin R10 among their units, though three report readings that run short or off in sun, shade or poor range conditions.

Setting up and aligning a unit behind the ball each session puts seven owners off using it outside; their fixes are marking the spot where the unit goes, or switching to a camera unit beside the ball.

The Garmin R10, with a battery that runs 10 hours, is our pick for long sessions at the range among the best golf launch monitors.

Our comparison of radar and camera launch monitors covers how each reads a shot and the room each needs.

What an outdoor setup needs

Owners who hit outdoors add these to the launch monitor:

• A net cage: balls clear a single net or ricochet off its frame poles into neighbors’ yards or back at the hitter (five owners). Owners add side and overhead nets around it and cover exposed poles with pool noodles.
• Shade for your phone or tablet: phones and tablets overheat or run out of battery outdoors (three owners). A unit with its own screen or a voice readout lets you skip the phone for a quick session (five owners).
• Padding under the mat: a hitting mat on bare concrete hurt owners’ wrists, hands and elbows (four owners). Our page on hitting mats lists every model with its price.
• A unit that connects over Bluetooth: WiFi connections drop outdoors (three owners).

Our page on nets and enclosures lists every model with its price.

Can you leave a net, screen or projector outside?

A net and an impact screen can stay out for months. One owner’s net cage stood outside for about a year with no tears, and another’s impact screen held up for 3 to 4 months with two grommets popped (five owners report how theirs held up). One owner lowers the net and covers the turf with a tarp when it rains.

Daylight washes out a projector, even on an overcast day for one owner, so owners with an outdoor simulator use it at dusk or after dark; another wheels out a 50-inch TV on a trolley for afternoon sessions (four owners).

Which launch monitors work indoors and outdoors?

One more unit, the Garmin G82, is a GPS handheld with a radar inside, sold for the range and the course.

Comparisons of indoor-only and indoor-and-outdoor units

These comparisons put an indoor-only unit beside one that also works outdoors:

• Rapsodo MLM2PRO vs Square Golf: the Square Golf Home Edition is the indoor-only unit
• Square Golf Home Edition vs Square Golf Omni: the Square Golf Home Edition is the indoor-only unit
• Garmin R10 vs Rapsodo MLM2PRO vs Square Golf: the Square Golf Home Edition is the indoor-only unit