Launch monitors are great tools — but they can be complicated to learn how to use.
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Welcome to Play Smart, a regular GOLF.com game-improvement column that will help you become a smarter, better golfer.
One of the most useful pieces of technology in golf is the launch monitor. It can give you instant data on your swing while you practice, and makes diagnosing swing flaws much easier than just searching in the dirt.
Go to any practice facility at a pro event and you’ll see just about every golfer practicing with a launch monitor by their side. The tech has become so omnipresent in the upper echelon of the game that it’s odd when you encounter a pro not relying on one during their practice sessions.
If you’ve ever used a launch monitor, you’ve likely experienced a bit of information overload. After every shot, the machine spits out dozens of numbers that correlate with various motions in your swing. If you don’t know what to look for — or how to interpret the data — it can be difficult to decipher.
Fortunately, once you know what to look for, these numbers start to make a ton of sense — and knowing how to manipulate them makes swing changes much easier. Check out the video below for a quick tutorial from GOLF Top 100 Teacher Jonathan Yarwood on the simplest way to use a launch monitor.
The simple way to use a launch monitor
Launch monitors can give you dozens of insightful numbers on your swing, but when you’re just starting out using one, it’s wise to start out small. When Yarwood teaches his students who are just beginning to use a launch monitor, he advises focusing on three key numbers.
Club path
The first key number to focus on is the club path. This number tells us the direction your club is moving as you come through impact and also how far off-line it is.
A perfectly square swing will have a club path reading of 0, but anything within a couple degrees on either side is in good shape. For swings that are more in-to-out (for right-handers), the number will be positive, while out-to-in swings with be negative.
Keep an eye on the club path number to get a sense for which direction your club is moving through the impact zone. Once you get a sense for what your typical range is, you can try making swing changes and see how it manipulates your club-path numbers.
Face angle
Another key number is the face angle, which tells us the angle of you clubface at impact. If your clubface is closed (as a right-hander), this number will be negative, while if it is open, it will be positive.
The face angle is important because it tells us how the clubface looks at impact. This, in conjunction with the club path, will determine the shape of the shot.
