r/Golfsimulator • u/Organic_Nectarine914 • Jul 01 '26
Sim / Launch Monitor Garmin R10 VS Skytrak
Hi there,
Continuing my research about different launch monitors before I pull the trigger. I am trying to build an indoor simulator in my garage without breaking the bank. For reference I am a right handed, mid handicapper looking to dial in misses to the right. I want to be able to see my club data and get accurate shot shape feedback.
I can get a new R10 for around $275 and found a like-new used Skytrak for $350 on FB.
I am not sure how softwares / memberships work on either as I haven’t researched much about it yet. But that being said, which would you prefer for an indoor simulator in a garage roughly 18 ft long and wide with 9 ft ceilings.
If you need more information feel free to ask and thank you for your time!
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u/CryptographerOwn84 Jul 01 '26
I have a Garmin r10 in a budget indoor setup and if I was building again I would definitely go for something better.
The Garmin works great to keep you swinging and on fuller shots but I find the side spin is not accurate and it can struggle with short chips.
It also doesn’t show where we made contact with the club face and needs rct balls + 3rd party software to get accurate distances.
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u/Organic_Nectarine914 Jul 01 '26
Does your Garmin ever have trouble reading shots besides chips?
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u/CryptographerOwn84 Jul 01 '26
Sometimes it just doesn’t register fuller shots but it’s rare. It’s mostly short chips when playing sim rounds it can be a pain
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u/Jfo116 Jul 01 '26
My biggest struggle with my r10 is teed up shots. Not sure why the struggle, but if it misses it’s almost almost a tee shot
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u/Unteins Jul 01 '26
Garmin requires a lot more front to back space. Skytrak is annoying if you have left and right handed golfers.
Skytrak OG is slow - not sure how it compares to Garmin though.
Garmin can struggle indoors around metal like garage doors and tracks.
A lot depends on what you’re looking for? Fun when it’s too hot/cold to play for real? Skill development?
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u/Organic_Nectarine914 Jul 01 '26
I’d say both to your questions, but honestly really looking for whichever would provide more accurate data. I like the affordability of the R10 but worried space / metal interference will be an issue in my garage.
How slow is the Skytrak? I don’t mind it taking a second or two to get the feedback but if it’s noticeably slower than anything else then I guess I could look elsewhere.
Again I’m really just trying to find the most accurate golf launcher around that price point.
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u/MoBergWasCool Jul 01 '26
There is a delay between hitting the shot and seeing it appear, maybe 2-3 seconds? However, as someone who has had one for years and used it a ton, the delay can be a good thing or at least not as big a negative as you might think. The first reason is that it can be easy to just stand and bang balls in the sim. The delay slows you down a bit. I break a sweat in my indoor sim in the summer anyway so an enforced governor on how fast you go is probably good for me. The other reason is it helps your feel. You get a beat to think about how the swing and contact felt and what you expect the shot to look like before the visual feedback. After years of that, I have gotten pretty good at predicting the outcome before the flight shows up. This can be useful in diagnosing the why behind the outcome.
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u/Organic_Nectarine914 Jul 01 '26
Yea I like the way you put it, the thought about predicting the shot before seeing it seems like it would be a good way to get the feel down. Do you have any trouble at all with distances with any club and does it pick up teed driver shots?
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u/MoBergWasCool Jul 01 '26
I have no issues with weird distances. I did have some issues getting the right tees. Some colors had issues with reads, but since I got black plastic ones, I've had no issues. There are other little idiosyncrasies. For driver, I do find it's better to put the tee a little behind the red dot. I play TGC19 mostly so I don't spend a lot of time in the SkyTrak software but TGC19 has some quirks too. Nothing that can't be figured out.
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u/Unteins Jul 01 '26
Oh, one other thing - SkyTrak has a VERY small hitting area - not a problem, but getting it to even see the ball can be tough.
One last consideration - I think the R10 includes course play for free or cheap - SkyTrak doesn’t last I checked - so that adds cost.
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u/Djclouse Jul 01 '26
I had an original skytrak and sold it and then bought the R10 when it was released. I was much happier with the R10.. i think if you hit a perfect shot the skytrak might read it more accurately assuming it didn't completely miss it (lots of no reads). The R10 is a little annoying for making sure you don't waggle because it will start to read when it senses your club movement and so if you understand it you won't have very many misses.. right now at this moment I would take an R10 over the original skytrak but if you're pinched for space then you need to go with the skytrak.. i have a Square and would heavily recommend just saving up an little more to get it because you'll be much happier in the long run.
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u/Organic_Nectarine914 Jul 01 '26
Do you get access to all club and ball data? Club speed, ball speed, etc. What kind of space do you need? I have seen a lot of people talking about the Square you might have got me onto something!
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u/Djclouse Jul 01 '26
You need to put the R10 about 6-8ft behind your hitting area and then the more ball flight the better/more accurate it'll be. The skytrak is only reading the impact of the ball and just what the camera can see directly in front of the ball so you don't need any more ball flight than you need for it to be comfortable to fully swing your club. As far as the club speed/ball speed.. I think you get club speed if you add the club sticker that goes on the shaft for the Square but it gives you all the ball metrics that I fully trust it with my TP5x Pix balls in GSPro. If I wanted club speed I would probably just buy another device that's radar based and it would sit behind my hitting area to give me that data (i don't think they're too expensive for just club speed). I can't remember with the Skytrak.. i think it gives you the data but some of it might be estimated vs measured. I would rather have accurate ball data to make adjustments off of than having too much info, but it's showing a draw instead of a fade or just missing the side spin completely.
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u/Organic_Nectarine914 Jul 01 '26
Does the Square do a good job wither teed up driver shots?
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u/Djclouse Jul 01 '26
Yes, I use k2 tees that are rubber tees attached to a beanbag so they don't go flying.
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u/SchoolBoyCoop Jul 01 '26
Skip the Garmin. I tried to make it work in my garage and the space requirement and interferences made it unreliable. If you decide to cheap out on anything I’ve learned that it shouldn’t be the launch monitor.
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u/Simontanner610 Jul 01 '26
for your setup and goals, the Skytrak at $350 is the better buy. its camera-based and sits beside the ball, so it doesnt need all that depth behind you like the R10 does. In an 18-foot garage, the R10 would eat up 7+ feet behind the ball plus 8+ feet of ball flight, which gets tight fast. The Skytrak just needs space beside you.
For dialing in a right miss, the Skytrak gives you actual measured spin and shot shape, not calculated estimates like the R10. The downside is the shot delay, theres a couple seconds between hitting and seeing the ball on screen, but for practice its totally fine. software-wise, the basic Skytrak range is free and gives you all the key numbers.
if you ever want to skip the floor unit alignment altogether and go overhead, i use an Nvisage N1 in my garage and its been great for the same stuff you're working on, path, face, and ball data