Swing Caddie SC100 Golf Launch Monitor
For several years launch monitor technology has been very expensive, and launch data only available to golfers willing to spend a fair amount of dough for monitor time or analysis. As technology advances and become less expensive, we will start to see more and more “affordable” swing analyzers, stand alone or in mobile phone/tablet form.
The Swing Caddie SC100 by Voice Caddie is the first truly affordable golf launch monitor, available currently at $269. That beats $8,000 to $40,000! Let us take a look at the SC100’s features.
Practice Mode
We all need more practice. But bad practice does not help. With the help of the Swing Caddie SC100 we can view shot distance, swing speed, ball speed, and smash factor. The unit also tracks the time and number of balls hit during the practice session.
What’s great about this mode is that the golfer can work on technique and changes to setup, then see how they translate to ball speed, swing speed, and distance. Perhaps moving the ball more toward the middle of the stance produces more ball speed because the shaft is releasing better at that position?
Target Mode
Target Mode is great. The golfer punches in yardage, picks a club, then the unit records 10 shots or a “round.” Statistics are displayed and graded for distance accuracy. This is a great way of fine tuning distances for every club. The benefits in short game are huge. Think about how hard those half lob wedge shots are. With the SC100 you can groove the exact swing for those pesky distances and bring that muscle memory to the course.
Random Mode
One problem and rut golfers fall into on the practice range is hitting the same shot over and over. 20 drivers. 20 wedges. 20 7-irons… We don’t hit 20 drivers in a row on the course. We may use half the bag in the first couple of holes.
Random mode produces random yardages for each shot, asking you to change to the proper club for that distance. The unit measures shot length for each swing and gives immediate feedback as to the accuracy of the club selection and shot.
Killed it! Glad I don’t play at sea level!
Remote Control
The SC100 comes with a remote control which fits very comfortably in a shirt or pant pocket. The remote allows the golfer to conveniently change settings/modes without having to bend down and use the more difficult buttons on the unit.
Critiques
At $269, the feature set of the SC100 is not going to be the same as an expensive launch monitor like a FlightScope or Trackman.
Missing launch monitor features in the SC100 include ball spin, launch angle, and an ability to change altitude. In the photo to the right you can see I produced a driver swing of 102 miles per hour and the total distance was 245. At altitude here in my home that swing would have produced a 280-290 yard drive. Boy am I glad I don’t play at sea level very often!
Conclusion
I really love having the SC100 at my disposal to check how I’m hitting my clubs and confirm my distances. The unit is portable and easily fits in any golf bag. I have it with me all the time. Though the unit doesn’t show sidespin, I can certainly see the ball curving on the range.
At $269 the SC100 is worth its weight in gold.
Two days ago the Hooked On Golf Blog World Tour rolled into Paa-Ko Ridge Golf Course, about 45 minutes east of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The experience at Paa-Ko was splendid. The course is in a very beautiful area and the holes carved through a fabulous New Mexico mountain desert.
Paa-Ko Ridge Golf Course – click to see more photos
Click the photo above or this link to additional Paa-Ko Ridge photos.
I don’t normally post press releases here on HOG. Those go to the HOG sister site and golf newswire HOGWIRE.biz. But this time around I feel it necessary to post here. My love for Michigan golf is well documented and one of my top four favorite golf course architects is Tom Doak (the other three being Baxter Spann, Coore/Crenshaw, and Old Tom Morris).
Tom Doak is going to be designing a course at Michigan’s Forest Dunes which will be reversible. One day it might play clockwise and the next counter-clockwise. This is such a great concept, and one which makes two courses out of one layout. This concept is not new. The Old Course in St. Andrews Scotland is reversible and has played in reverse hundreds, if not thousands of times.
Here is the press release below:
For Immediate Release
August 4, 2014
Tom Doak Comes Home to Design a Golf Course for the Ages
Roscommon, MI – After two decades spanning the globe from New Zealand to China designing world-class golf courses, Traverse City resident Tom Doak, is coming home to create a course at Forest Dunes Golf Club in northern Michigan that legendary golf architects could only dream of doing.
Doak and his Renaissance Golf Design team will design and build a reversible course – two distinct layouts using the same greens but playing clockwise one way and counter clockwise the other way.
“This is a concept I have thought about for 30 years,” Doak said. “You need the right site and the right client to understand the appeal of it. At Forest Dunes we finally have both.”
Doak said when he first met Forest Dunes’ owner, Lew Thompson, an Arkansas-based trucking magnate, Thompson said he wanted a new course but it had to “wow” him.
Thompson wanted a second course that would keep golfers staying on the property an extra night or two after they had played the club’s Tom Weiskopf course, already ranked by national magazines in the Top 100 best courses in America.
The double dose of Doak should accomplish both of those goals.
“The appeal of a reversible course is people would want to play it both ways. You are getting two golf courses in one,” Doak said.
Thompson is the managing member of a partnership that owns and operates The Bridges, a Jack Nicklaus course in Montrose, on Colorado’s Western Slope, halfway between Grand Junction and Telluride.
He said with the tough competition from the great number of very good golf courses in northern Michigan he wanted a course that would stand out.
“I told Tom when I first met him that if it’s just another golf course, it’s not going to do me or Forest Dunes any good,” Thompson said. “If you can wow me then we can build it. He wowed me.”
Doak said the Forest Dunes site is perfect for the double dip course because the land has small undulations and is not hilly.
“It is not a super dramatic site, but that’s better for this concept,” he said. “If you were playing over ravines in one direction, you’d probably have to play blindly out of them the other way around. You can’t have woods behind the green, or you’d have to play over the trees from the other direction.”
Doak said the most difficult part of designing the reversible course is thinking about the greens. “They have to work from both directions,” he said. “You can’t have severe greens.” Crowned greens or ones that fall away can work, as can tiered greens that go side to side, he said. “You just have to think about all of it at the same time,” Doak said, joking about the headaches such concentration could trigger.
To avoid migraines, he will have one of his senior associates, Brian Slawnik, think about the design for one direction and he will think about the other direction.
Doak said the idea of reversible course is not as revolutionary as it sounds. Many Scottish links, including The Old Course at St. Andrews, were played in reverse in winter to spread out the wear and tear of divots. Architects including Tom Simpson and Alister MacKenzie designed private estate courses with a handful of reversible holes. But, as far as Doak is aware, there is no 18-hole course in the world today that is played in reverse on a regular basis.
Doak said he plans to begin shaping holes in late September and depending on weather he expects to have three to six holes ready for irrigation before the snow flies.
“We are just tickled to have the chance to work close to home and to do something special,” he said.
Thompson believes the reversible course will be the ultimate feather in Doak’s distinguished architectural cap.
“I think Tom will be very hands on with this course,” he said. “This is a huge deal for Tom and it’s a win for him and for Forest Dunes.”
Doak’s last northern Michigan design is the Black Forest course at the Wilderness Valley Golf Club in Gaylord that opened in 1992. He also designed the Lost Dunes course in Bridgman before going on to designing 31 courses around the globe, including five that are recognized in the Top 100 courses in the world.
About Forest Dunes
Nestled on 1,300 acres of heavily wooded land within the Huron National Forest, Forest Dunes has become one of the country’s premier golf experiences. In this pristine setting, 1973 British Open Champion Tom Weiskopf designed one of his top layouts featuring rugged native dunes, scruffy sand areas and water features. The course is consistently ranked among the best courses by the leading golf publications. Golf Digest ranks it No. 23 among the top public courses, GOLF Magazine has it No. 72 in the Top 100 and Golfweek lists it No. 97 on its modern list. Matt Ginella of Golf Channel’s Morning Drive also ranks it 10th among his favorite public courses.
In addition to the award winning Forest Dunes course, the property features the beautiful Adirondack style Lake AuSable Lodge with 14-rooms and six lakeside cottages, as well as Sangomore’s restaurant.
For more visit www.forestdunesgolf.com or follow them on Twitter @forestdunesgolf.
My Bigger Drone for Aerial Golf Photos/Video
Last October for my birthday my lovely bride bought me a little UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle), also known as a “drone.” Since then I’ve been deeply into the aerial photography/video world. So much so that sometimes I’ve wanted to work on that more than play golf. I can fly that UAV over golf courses to capture amazing photos and video. The little drone is great, but due to its limitations and the fact that I have the desire for the best quality I can get, I’ve built a much bigger one which is almost ready to fly over golf courses. See the image to the right. Stay tuned for more on the big bird.
There’s too much “drone hysteria” right now. Drones have a negative connotation because people think all that is done with them is risking people’s lives and invading their privacy. I really don’t care what you do in your bedroom and I’m not flying my drone around trying to catch a crappy, blurry photo of you in your undies. You should be much more worried about your own government spying on you than an “RC (remote control) geek” flying his toy helicopter. I’m much more interested in capturing imagery from angles and perspectives never before possible, like this one:
Aerial Photo of New Mexico’s Black Mesa Golf Club – © 2014 by Tony Korologos
Above left is the 18th hole at Black Mesa Golf Club. Black Mesa is about 30 minutes north of Santa Fe in New Mexico. Right of the mountainside is the back nine, with #10 far right and all the bunkers on #12 in the upper right third of the image. So amazing looking.
Below is a shot of the par-3 15th hole. The shot was captured with the camera about 150 feet in the air and floating above the mountains right of the par-5 16th.
Black Mesa Golf Club – Par-3 15th Hole – click for more
If you are looking for aerial photos/video for your golf course or other subject, lets talk.
There is no doubt who the #1 golfer in the world is right now, Rory McIlory. Below is the most recent official world golf ranking top 100 list. Most notably Rory McIlory moved to #1 after this past weekend’s WGC Bridgestone Invitational victory. Adam Scott dropped to #2 while surging Sergio Garcia moved up to #3.
Puzzlingly, Tiger Woods stayed at #10 after the WD at the Bridgestone. Woods is not playing top 10 or even top 100 golf right now. Also interesting to note that Tiger Woods is tied for the lowest number of competitive rounds counted for this ranking (40). What does that mean? That meaning is up for debate. For reference, McIlory’s ranking is computed based on 50 events.
| This Week |
Last week |
Name |
Avg Points |
Total Points |
Points Lost |
Points Gained |
| 1 |
2 |
Rory McIlroy |
9.4077 |
470.38 |
-211.48 |
363.42 |
| 2 |
1 |
Adam Scott |
9.2368 |
378.71 |
-188.00 |
173.28 |
| 3 |
5 |
Sergio Garcia |
7.7803 |
381.23 |
-135.79 |
251.73 |
| 4 |
3 |
Henrik Stenson |
7.6685 |
398.76 |
-190.20 |
111.47 |
| 5 |
4 |
Justin Rose |
7.4602 |
380.47 |
-192.00 |
199.97 |
| 6 |
6 |
Matt Kuchar |
6.7706 |
352.07 |
-165.55 |
197.77 |
| 7 |
7 |
Bubba Watson |
6.6678 |
313.38 |
-115.32 |
266.39 |
| 8 |
8 |
Jim Furyk |
6.4772 |
297.95 |
-117.67 |
197.43 |
| 9 |
9 |
Jason Day |
6.1919 |
247.68 |
-109.84 |
124.86 |
| 10 |
10 |
Tiger Woods |
5.9077 |
236.31 |
-249.75 |
6.57 |
| 11 |
11 |
Jordan Spieth |
5.6858 |
272.92 |
-77.69 |
184.55 |
| 12 |
12 |
Martin Kaymer |
5.3785 |
279.68 |
-72.14 |
210.93 |
| 13 |
13 |
Phil Mickelson |
5.1451 |
246.96 |
-174.27 |
75.31 |
| 14 |
14 |
Zach Johnson |
5.0157 |
260.82 |
-144.13 |
121.73 |
| 15 |
17 |
Graeme McDowell |
4.9048 |
240.33 |
-140.36 |
120.38 |
| 16 |
15 |
Hideki Matsuyama |
4.8810 |
209.88 |
-67.47 |
122.32 |
| 17 |
16 |
Dustin Johnson |
4.8328 |
241.64 |
-126.15 |
137.25 |
| 18 |
18 |
Rickie Fowler |
4.7877 |
248.96 |
-77.88 |
193.71 |
| 19 |
22 |
Charl Schwartzel |
4.1714 |
216.92 |
-123.14 |
89.85 |
| 20 |
19 |
Jimmy Walker |
4.1548 |
216.05 |
-78.03 |
164.97 |
| 21 |
23 |
Keegan Bradley |
4.1462 |
215.60 |
-131.05 |
120.25 |
| 22 |
21 |
Victor Dubuisson |
3.8801 |
170.72 |
-57.23 |
95.75 |
| 23 |
20 |
Steve Stricker |
3.8790 |
155.16 |
-116.35 |
42.57 |
| 24 |
26 |
Thomas Bjorn |
3.8414 |
195.91 |
-77.32 |
81.29 |
| 25 |
29 |
Patrick Reed |
3.7627 |
191.90 |
-48.12 |
164.63 |
| 26 |
25 |
Luke Donald |
3.7408 |
190.78 |
-137.85 |
95.15 |
| 27 |
24 |
Jason Dufner |
3.7255 |
193.73 |
-141.39 |
76.29 |
| 28 |
27 |
Miguel A Jimenez |
3.4786 |
160.02 |
-61.94 |
91.00 |
| 29 |
28 |
Ian Poulter |
3.4601 |
169.54 |
-127.76 |
40.63 |
| 30 |
30 |
Webb Simpson |
3.4043 |
177.02 |
-117.92 |
75.84 |
| 31 |
31 |
Stephen Gallacher |
3.3499 |
174.19 |
-60.99 |
136.07 |
| 32 |
32 |
Jamie Donaldson |
3.3319 |
173.26 |
-88.96 |
82.89 |
| 33 |
33 |
Thongchai Jaidee |
3.2370 |
168.32 |
-68.07 |
104.19 |
| 34 |
34 |
Lee Westwood |
3.1970 |
166.25 |
-112.35 |
87.01 |
| 35 |
36 |
Brandt Snedeker |
3.1779 |
165.25 |
-149.98 |
61.34 |
| 36 |
38 |
Kevin Na |
3.1517 |
126.07 |
-29.78 |
123.21 |
| 37 |
39 |
Ryan Moore |
3.0938 |
154.69 |
-81.37 |
75.10 |
| 38 |
37 |
Bill Haas |
3.0850 |
160.42 |
-90.71 |
77.21 |
| 39 |
51 |
Marc Leishman |
3.0598 |
159.11 |
-57.61 |
122.10 |
| 40 |
35 |
Graham Delaet |
3.0415 |
155.12 |
-72.28 |
78.76 |
| 41 |
40 |
Brendon Todd |
2.9901 |
146.51 |
-22.95 |
121.03 |
| 42 |
41 |
Kevin Streelman |
2.9174 |
151.71 |
-66.31 |
83.32 |
| 43 |
42 |
Francesco Molinari |
2.8516 |
148.28 |
-81.24 |
84.19 |
| 44 |
43 |
Chris Kirk |
2.7513 |
143.07 |
-58.13 |
93.82 |
| 45 |
44 |
Hunter Mahan |
2.7322 |
142.07 |
-94.97 |
68.51 |
| 46 |
45 |
Jonas Blixt |
2.6236 |
136.43 |
-68.42 |
72.32 |
| 47 |
46 |
Joost Luiten |
2.5943 |
132.31 |
-56.66 |
68.88 |
| 48 |
47 |
Gary Woodland |
2.5741 |
133.85 |
-47.92 |
68.51 |
| 49 |
49 |
Harris English |
2.5669 |
133.48 |
-58.06 |
73.31 |
| 50 |
48 |
Matt Every |
2.5567 |
132.95 |
-43.26 |
109.05 |
| 51 |
53 |
Matt Jones |
2.5047 |
130.25 |
-37.86 |
88.97 |
| 52 |
54 |
Kevin Stadler |
2.5042 |
130.22 |
-49.21 |
105.98 |
| 53 |
52 |
Angel Cabrera |
2.4718 |
121.12 |
-44.04 |
70.42 |
| 54 |
50 |
Mikko Ilonen |
2.4295 |
111.76 |
-40.64 |
78.30 |
| 55 |
57 |
John Senden |
2.3938 |
124.48 |
-50.93 |
97.26 |
| 56 |
54 |
Louis Oosthuizen |
2.3696 |
120.85 |
-116.89 |
83.67 |
| 57 |
56 |
Billy Horschel |
2.3340 |
121.37 |
-65.69 |
50.40 |
| 58 |
58 |
Shane Lowry |
2.2586 |
112.93 |
-48.83 |
72.11 |
| 59 |
59 |
Russell Henley |
2.2441 |
116.69 |
-54.12 |
88.77 |
| 60 |
62 |
Ernie Els |
2.2034 |
114.58 |
-115.69 |
46.31 |
| 61 |
65 |
J.B. Holmes |
2.1722 |
86.89 |
-14.69 |
88.41 |
| 62 |
60 |
Koumei Oda |
2.1691 |
108.46 |
-41.37 |
51.39 |
| 63 |
61 |
Ryan Palmer |
2.1583 |
103.60 |
-45.94 |
84.64 |
| 64 |
63 |
Pablo Larrazabal |
2.1294 |
110.73 |
-50.05 |
82.39 |
| 65 |
64 |
Gonzalo Fdez-Castano |
2.1065 |
109.54 |
-73.49 |
32.76 |
| 66 |
66 |
Brian Harman |
2.0450 |
106.34 |
-32.85 |
86.34 |
| 67 |
67 |
Matteo Manassero |
2.0306 |
105.59 |
-74.78 |
45.21 |
| 68 |
68 |
Charley Hoffman |
2.0212 |
101.06 |
-43.45 |
65.92 |
| 69 |
69 |
George Coetzee |
1.9876 |
99.38 |
-54.23 |
75.51 |
| 70 |
71 |
Bernd Wiesberger |
1.9622 |
102.03 |
-61.71 |
44.87 |
| 71 |
70 |
Richard Sterne |
1.9446 |
85.56 |
-58.98 |
27.59 |
| 72 |
72 |
K.J. Choi |
1.9082 |
97.32 |
-40.81 |
72.14 |
| 73 |
73 |
Rafael Cabrera Bello |
1.8619 |
96.82 |
-44.80 |
74.03 |
| 74 |
74 |
Erik Compton |
1.8336 |
95.35 |
-16.03 |
86.24 |
| 75 |
77 |
Brooks Koepka |
1.8194 |
87.33 |
-31.78 |
54.42 |
| 76 |
75 |
Tim Clark |
1.8164 |
89.00 |
-48.17 |
52.67 |
| 77 |
76 |
Ben Martin |
1.7965 |
93.42 |
-24.95 |
62.96 |
| 78 |
80 |
Nick Watney |
1.7909 |
93.13 |
-100.53 |
25.16 |
| 79 |
83 |
Fredrik Jacobson |
1.7677 |
77.78 |
-36.61 |
50.43 |
| 80 |
78 |
Charles Howell-III |
1.7617 |
91.61 |
-48.65 |
48.77 |
| 81 |
79 |
Ryo Ishikawa |
1.7516 |
91.08 |
-47.88 |
50.33 |
| 82 |
82 |
George McNeill |
1.7396 |
81.76 |
-20.43 |
70.11 |
| 83 |
85 |
Brendon de Jonge |
1.7348 |
90.21 |
-57.46 |
43.71 |
| 84 |
81 |
Chris Stroud |
1.7311 |
90.02 |
-39.27 |
39.55 |
| 85 |
84 |
Paul Casey |
1.7059 |
88.71 |
-37.07 |
45.74 |
| 86 |
86 |
Boo Weekley |
1.6746 |
87.08 |
-53.93 |
23.65 |
| 87 |
87 |
Anirban Lahiri |
1.6587 |
69.67 |
-27.48 |
34.76 |
| 88 |
88 |
Chesson Hadley |
1.6488 |
79.14 |
-26.49 |
45.27 |
| 89 |
89 |
Scott Stallings |
1.6446 |
85.52 |
-50.97 |
60.19 |
| 90 |
90 |
Chris Wood |
1.5639 |
75.07 |
-49.47 |
34.43 |
| 91 |
98 |
Branden Grace |
1.5589 |
81.06 |
-76.57 |
39.38 |
| 92 |
91 |
Kim Hyung-sung |
1.5395 |
80.05 |
-48.95 |
24.54 |
| 93 |
100 |
Fabrizio Zanotti |
1.5377 |
78.42 |
-11.50 |
75.12 |
| 94 |
93 |
David Hearn |
1.5246 |
79.28 |
-33.49 |
47.91 |
| 95 |
92 |
Tommy Fleetwood |
1.5230 |
79.20 |
-32.54 |
40.18 |
| 96 |
94 |
Ross Fisher |
1.5110 |
78.57 |
-47.16 |
30.99 |
| 97 |
96 |
Edoardo Molinari |
1.5070 |
61.79 |
-15.44 |
52.24 |
| 98 |
95 |
Thorbjorn Olesen |
1.5016 |
78.08 |
-67.59 |
41.35 |
| 99 |
102 |
Danny Willett |
1.4990 |
70.45 |
-41.22 |
43.87 |
| 100 |
97 |
Daniel Summerhays |
1.4967 |
77.83 |
-34.96 |
47.05 |
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