I’ve been working in golf and reviewing equipment for the best part of a decade now, and I’m struggling to think of a product that has had so much hype and anticipation before release than the new Shot Scope LM1 Launch Monitor.
Ever since it was first teased at this year’s PGA Show in January, people have been talking about it as a game-changer in the portable launch monitor market.
One of the key reasons for this is the price point: the whole launch monitor will cost you just £199, or $200, making it one of the cheapest options on the market.
But how does it really perform? I put it to the test, as well as comparing it to the market-leading Foresight GC Quad, which comes with a price tag well in excess of £15,000.
Who Is It Aimed At?
Any golfer who is on a budget, but still looking to improve their game. As I’ll expand on later, you don’t get all of the same parameters as a top-level launch monitor, but it’s ideal for getting a better idea of your yardages or clubhead speed.
This would be perfect for golfers who have some space in the garage or back garden to hit balls, or if you like going down to the practice ground at your golf club and working on your game.
If you’re looking to work on improving your swing speed, the monitor is an excellent option too as it will pick up your practice swings too, giving you feedback every time.
The Tech
The Shot Scope LM1 is built around simplicity, aiming to give golfers the key data they need without the complicated setup or premium price tag.
Using Doppler radar technology, the compact unit sits around five feet behind the ball and delivers instant feedback via a built-in 3.5-inch colour display, with no phone required during use.
It tracks five different metrics – club speed, ball speed, smash factor, carry distance and total distance. There’s also a dedicated speed training mode showing club speed for those looking to gain some distance.
Sessions can also be synced to the Shot Scope app for long-term performance tracking with no subscription fees.
Weighing just 300g, the LM1 is designed for both indoor and outdoor use, offering around five hours of battery life and IPX3 water resistance.
Shot Scope LM1 Launch Monitor Review
Looks
One area where I think Shot Scope have really improved in recent years is in the overall package of their products, and this includes both the branding and the actual box that it comes in, as well as the item itself.
The LM1 looks premium straight away, with an Apple-style white box which highlights all of the main features of the launch monitor.
The unit itself is pretty lightweight, whilst still feeling robust, and I was surprised by just how compact it was. I compared it to my own iPhone 13 and it was almost identical in terms of height, with the LM1 just being a little wider.
This really helps with the portability of it, as you could easily store this in a golf bag, trolley or even your pocket if you wanted to. Even if you’re not working with a lot of room in a home setup for example, you should always have space for the device.
I loved the fact that the LM1 comes with a screen, so you get that instant feedback on your shots without needing to download or use a mobile app if you don’t want to. At times I did find this a little hard to read when using it in bright sunlight, but if you’re going to be using it indoors or under the cover of a driving range, it should be easy enough to see.
Setup
Shot Scope say that you can switch the device on, set it up and start hitting shots in less than 30 seconds. I put that to the test and I have to say it delivered – 25 seconds after hitting the power button, I had selected the right club and I was hitting a ball down the range. That is seriously impressive.
The buttons themselves are on the side of the device, and while they are responsive, I do think they’d be much easier to use if they were on the front of the device. Then you could properly see what you are doing, and avoid pressing the wrong button at any time.
We tested the LM1 against the GCQuad, and despite the massive price tag, that is much more fiddly and time-consuming to set up.
You can also link your LM1 up to the Shot Scope app so that you can download data from your session and analyse it later on. It’s a little bit fiddly to initially setup, as you have to turn the bluetooth settings on within the device’s settings which isn’t immediately clear.
After that, you just select whether you’re on a golf course or in range mode, pick which club you’re hitting and you’re good to go.
Even for technophobes or golfers who are not too experienced with tech like this, the LM1 is pretty much a breeze – especially if you’re not bothered about connecting to the app.
Performance
I think it’s fair to say that the LM1 is slightly limited in terms of data. In an ideal world you’d want to also have spin and launch angle – maybe that’s something for the future…
You do still get ball speed, carry and total distance which are three keys for golfers trying to improve, by really learning how far they hit the ball across a larger data set.
Most impresssive for me was the speed of response after hitting a shot, and the reliability. We tested for a couple of hours and it did not miss one shot, and the numbers are displayed on the screen almost instantly – by the time you’ve turned around after striking it, they’re there.
To see how accurate the LM1 was, I tested against the Foresight GCQuad which has really become the benchmark for launch monitor performance. The GCQuad is a camera-based system, whereas the LM1 is radar-based.
I hit shots with a pitching wedge, a 6 iron and a driver, with both units collecting data at the same time, to see how the numbers differed.
Wedge – With the Quad there was a ball speed of 100.3mph, a carry distance of just over 130 yards and a total of just under 137 yards.
This was pretty similar to what I saw with the Shot Scope, with an almost identical ball speed and 134 yards carry. However there were a couple of outliers, with the Shot Scope suggesting one wedge shot that carried 141 yards which I know is further than I can realistically hit a wedge – so a bit optimistic!
6 Iron – When it came to the 6 iron, my ball speed was relatively similar at 128.4 vs 130.9, although the LM1 was suggesting about a club more in distance with an average carry of 198, whilst my longest shot with the GCQuad was just over 191 yards carry.
Driver – The driver numbers continued with the same optimistic theme from the LM1. A clubhead speed of 107mph on average sounds about right, although the ball speed was around 4mph faster than on the Quad. My fastest on the LM1 was up towards 162mph which would be pretty much my fastest ever ball speed, with an average carry of 272 yards being around 5% higher than the GCQuad was showing.
Shot Scope LM1 Launch Monitor Verdict
Overall this is a really good piece of kit for that £199 price tag – it does exactly what you’d want from a budget launch monitor.
The main thing I liked was just how easy it was to use. Just turn it on, select your club, plonk it down and you’re ready to go.
I think to be honest the comparisons with the likes of a GCQuad or a Trackman are a little unfair, and the LM1 is not at that level in terms of accuracy or the amount of data you have access to.
One thing I would say is that Shot Scope have a great track record of really improving their products from generation to generation. Their watches and rangefinders now are much better than they were when first released. So I am excited to see where the future generations will go because I’m sure they will only get better and better.
Would I Use It?
I’d like to do a bit more testing because some of the yardages didn’t seem 100% accurate, but I like the idea of a small, compact, and easy-to-use device like this for warming up on the range.
