 Awesome product |
| Review Date: August 18, 2009 |
| Reviewer: B. Davis, Corpus Christi, TX USA |
If you are really good already and live on a golf course and have membership and play several times a week you'll probably think this product is not very interesting.. But if you are like me and only get to play 3 - 4 times a month yet want to improve you'll love this product.
Fact is I plugged this up to my computer and was using it w/out any tweaking right away. It recognizes my shots spot on.. I was seriously amazed.
The great thing about it is that it tells you exactly what you are doing wrong, outside/in swing with open club face (so that's why it sliced).. but aside from its practice app if you get bored just swinging a club over and over like at a driving range you can play the 3dd golf that comes with it. You currently get 4 courses with various difficulty levels and basically you feel like you are playing a game of golf w/out having to leave your home. And you can take muligans or go into practice mode and just practice the same shot over and over..
It reads chips and pitches spot on as well with great flight and roll dynamics.. the physics in this game is as good as what is in tiger woods golf..
The putting is a little fast in my opinion but that is because I am use to playing on slow greens. It allows you to tweak stuff like that, I have not quite got around to doing that though.
You'll want to keep using your other training aids along with this, the best part is that it tells you why your swing was wrong so you can practice and correct errors knowing what you need to correct.. Unlike a driving range where you don't always know what you are doing wrong. All the while you are playing a game of golf and actually feel like you are in the golf game instead of just aiming at targets and swinging over and over again.
Some things to be aware of,
1) This only works indoors. You need good lighting and no shadows over the sensors. Since it only works indoors you also need a lot of room.
2) from the base to the bottom of the ball is 1 3/8" so you'll need some platform to stand on. I just got a 3/4" thick board and stapled artificial turf to it and I use my golf shoes when I play it seems to be pretty perfect.
3) You'll probably want to hit a foam ball but you'll need something that it can impact against.. YOur indoor walls will bounce the balls right off.. I got an old comforter and just tack it up when i use it and put a chair under it so that it's away from the wall.. The ball hits it and rolls back to me..
4) sometimes when you hit the ball the base will move.. if it is not perfectly squared up to where you are aming/swinging you'll get the wrong read for your club and get a bad shot. So you'll have to make sure you keep it in a straight line. Dancin dog sells a mat that it can connect to, but I just eye ball it after each shot and correct it.
in summary I love this product, but if you are already super awesome and play all the time you wont find it useful.. but if you are still awesome but can't play for whatever reason you'll enjoy the simulated golf aspect of this system on days you want to play but can't... and if you suck like me you'll figure out why and be able to work on fixing it
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Best bang for the buck!
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| Review Date: October 15, 2009 |
| Reviewer: R. Robinson, |
| Having researched many competing golf simulators, I chose to take a chance on the Optishot. I am very satisified with my purchase as the accuracy, reliability, and ease of use of this product far exceeded my expectations. I use it in my garage and have a low-cost projector attached to my laptop that displays the images on the wall (no screen is needed since you can play without a ball!). The Optishot does NOT need any special tapes (like some of its competitors) and I can use my own clubs. The accuracy is dead on as I usually pull hook bad shots and within a few days of using this I have now been able to see EXACTLY why and when I make these bad shots and correct them. The 3DD software that is included has some really good graphics and is quite realistic (especially displayed using a projector). I also purchased the Tiger Woods 08 game and that has allowed my children to want to play with Dad now too! I think there was an earlier version last year that some folks may have had some trouble with lighting conditions, but the new version works with no problems at all even with some outside light coming in through the windows. I highly recommend this product as anything less than $400 is well worth it if it can help you to enjoy playing golf that much more! |
GREAT Product
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| Review Date: January 14, 2010 |
| Reviewer: F. Macioce, |
| This was voted Best NEW product of the 2009 PGA show. I was skeptical at first, but I bought it & LOVE IT ! It shows you club head path & face angle, which are the 2 most important elements in the swing. As a bonus, it also tells you your swing speed, tempo, distance, & if you hit it off the heel, center or the toe ! This simulator got my 6 year old & my wife playing it. They all really enjoy it. |
an excellent product...provided you take the time to read and follow directions
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| Review Date: February 16, 2010 |
| Reviewer: Om S, United States |
I live in montana and the winters are painfully long.
We are lucky if the course is open in mid-november and luckier still if it opens in mid-April.
As a 13hdcp who is aspiring to be single digit this season, I needed to keep my swing in shape during the winters.
Hitting balls into a net is ok but it doesn't give any feedback.
That is where the dancindogg or optishot comes in.
I got it from amazon because I find it easy to deal with them in case I didn't like the product and had to return it.
The product arrived nicely packed and was simple to open. The software installed easily and the unit was ready to go very quickly.
Finding the right lighting condition is critical if the unit is to operate effectively.
My tip is to keep a lamp lit in the room at a distance from the unit. The lamp must have a compact fluorescent bulb and not halogen. I cannot over emphasize the right lighting.
Next, make sure your feet are level with the unit because the unit's hitting pad sits an inch and a quarter above the floor. Build your stance and make sure you are square. If you compensate for a less-than-perfect stance, you will want to discredit the results and think that the unit is faulty. But the unit is a machine and it doesn't lie. Several people are disappointed because the unit tells them their swings are not as good as they believed. But I believe the unit and its feedback. It will take a little adjustment (swing speed and distance settings) to get the distance you get on the course. Once done, you can enjoy the unit and do some serious practice.
There are two modes for practice...practice zone and 3DD practice. Both have their value. The latter has on-course graphics and is a simulation. The former is geared only toward technical numbers like path angle, face angle, swing speed and tempo.
The sensors are indestructible unless you just pick up the club and bring it straight down like an axe to hit the sensors. The sensors are set deep enough in the turf to not get hit by a club moving along the turf.
Depending on the design of the sole of your driver, you may not have luck in registering driver swings. A common trick is to cover the sole with masking tape and then using a strip of reflective tape on the leading edge of the sole right along the club face. The tape will help the unit pick up the swing.
Irons are naturally reflective and should work without any tape at all even if they aren't very shiny.
Overall, I'm very pleased with my purchase. It is the best value simulator out there...do your search and you won't find anything in this price range that offers so much.
Pros: good graphics, lots of personalization possible, easy setup, unit is well constructed, practice mode allows a good review of your swing
Cons: Printed matter doesn't give you tips and tricks to make the unit work...online forums have very little discussion except for ottawa golf. personalization (listed as pro above) is also a downside. Some people may not like tinkering so much to get good results. You'll need the lengths, lofts, and offsets of your irons because the unit has room for such details. Not everyone knows the exact specs of their clubs.
Recommendation: strongly recommended. can't go wrong if you take the time to set up.
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Best Value
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| Review Date: February 18, 2010 |
| Reviewer: R. Africa, chicago |
I've had the product for a couple months now and I feel that it is a very good value. I've used the P3Pro and it is a better product, but it is also in another price tier.
I have the system set up in my basement driving range (thankfully I have high ceilings). I have only one window in the basement and the natural light does not interfere with the system. I use the recommended lighting and I use both real golf balls and the 'almost golf' foam ball. I've had five other golfers use the system in an effort to test it's accuracy. Here are our findings:
1. IRONS - Swing Path: The Optishot seems to be quite accurate with tracking the swing path, face (open/close) and impact (toe/center/heel) with irons. I even used impact tape on the club face to see if the toe/heel readings were correct and they were. One of the golfers who normally struggles with a hook was definitely still struggling with his hook and our test slicer was still slicing... pretty good. We used Callaway, Nickent, Ping and Cleveland irons on the system and they all worked well. Rating: 9/10
2. IRONS - Swing Speed: I believe this is pretty accurate. Based on what I've seen my swing speed at on the P3Pro, I think the Optishot is close. I would rate the Optishot an 8/10.
3. IRONS - Ball Distance: Not sure how accurate the distance estimation is. Some of the golfers felt that the distances estimated by the Optishot were well short of what they normally hit. I found it to be about 5-10 yards shorter that what I really hit, but I figure not all irons have the same lofts, so the Optishot just estimates based on the type of irons you tell it you're using (NOTE: b/c this thing does not have a ball sensor it cannot accurately track the ball if you hit thin or fat... however, you club head speed slows down when you hit fat, thus, limiting the distance). Rating: 7/10.
4. DRIVERS - Swing Path: The Optishot seems to be quite accurate with tracking the swing path, face angle and impact (toe/center/heel) with the driver as well. Again, we did the impact tape test and the Optishot was accurately reading toe/heel shots. I do feel that is slightly less accurate than the iron readings though. However, slicers were slicing and hookers were hooking. Rating: 8/10
5. DRIVER - Swing Speed/Ball Distance: Overall a mixed bag. It really depends on the driver you're using. I do think the Optishot does a good job with reading the swing path, but the swing speed and ball distance can very greatly depending on how reflective the club is (I guess). We've tried a Ping G10, Callaway FT-i, Nike Str8 Fit, Cleveland Launcher and Callaway Big Bertha 460. It seems like the Callaway clubs are read more accurately. I know they sell a driver that will work with the system, but who needs another driver just to use the Optishot? Rating: 6/10.
CONCLUSION: The Optishot works well with irons and not so great with the driver. We are using the Optishot mainly to give us feedback on the swing path and face at impact. It's a good tool for higher handicappers or if you're working through swing changes and want to see how the changes are affecting your swing path and impact. For me, the Optishot is almost always in practice mode using the 3DD mode (simulated courses). I've really enjoyed using it and would definitely recommend it if you can't afford the P3Pro... just make sure you have the right lighting conditions. Overall rating: 8/10
Btw, outside of all the serious stuff, it's just fun to get on this thing and whack away in winter time here in Chicago! At $26/hr at my indoor range, the Optishot will end up saving me some $$. Plus, it's nice to go and hit balls any time I want in my basement and get some feedback outside of just the feel at impact. |
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