Best golf simulators: The best performing golf simulators for every budget

When it comes to finding the best golf products, every golfer needs a little guidance. Don’t sweat it, we got you covered! For our new Best of Everything series, we’ve canvassed the golf accessories, apparel and game-improvement space to identify the very best stuff for your game. Think of us as your personal shopping assistant.

BEST GOLF SIMULATORS

We are living in a Golden Age of golf simulators, sophisticated setups that let you turn your room of choice into a high-tech practice range.

Den. Office. Garage. Basement.

“No matter if you you’re trying to break 100 or win your next major, you’re getting the same technology and feedback,” says Jason Fierro, senior vice president of sales and marketing for leading simulator maker, Full Swing. “The goal is to give you the most accurate and realistic experience, so that you can play the game your way, whenever you want.”

Originally devised as a form of entertainment, golf simulators have evolved over the decades into refined tools for game improvement, their transformation pushed by technological advancements and the golf world’s growing demand for data. Though today’s simulators still allow for gaming (how about a virtual round on a digital rendition of your favorite layout?), their strongest selling point is their shot-tracking power. Launch angle. Spin rate. Club path. Carry. Name your favorite specs. They’re all tracked faithfully and furnished instantly.

In recent years, surging consumer interest has given rise to an increasingly competitive simulator market and a wide variety of products, and dizzying assortment of optional add-ons. Choosing the simulator that’s right for you is apt to boil down largely to your budget (prices start as low as $3,000 for the barest bones of home simulators and range as high as $125,000). Other factors to consider are ancillary features (how many virtual courses do you want in your archives? are you interested in simulated versions of other sports?), as well as the simulator’s footprint and the space you have for it in your office or your home.

To help narrow down your search, here’s a list of five leading players in the simulator market, along with a fly-by look at what they offer.

Foresight Sports

Every simulator in the company’s collection gathers shot data within one-and-a-half feet of impact, which makes them customizable to almost any space. If you’ve got room to swing a club, you’ve got room for a Foresight.

Full Swing

Jordan Spieth, Brandt Snedeker and Jason Day rank among the Tour pros who’ve installed a Full Swing in their homes. A large part of the allure is the company’s dual tracking system, highlighted by infrared sensors that capture ball speed, launch angle and direction at the speed of light.

TrackMan

A pioneering name in launch monitors, the company is also in the simulator game. Its reputation for reliable data is such that more than 800 Tour pros have purchased a TrackMan.

aboutGolf

One of the company’s calling cards is the flexibility of its designs, which are available in range of sizes, ringed by a soft enclosure or a customized hardball. “At this point, we feel like we’ve got that data part pretty much dialed in,” says aboutGolf CEO Randall Henry. “We’re really focused on continuing to fine-tune the user experience.”

High Definition Golf

“I’ve played most of these courses in real life, and both the realism and accuracy are amazing.” That was ’92 Masters champion Fred Couples, referring to the visual courses in the HD Golf simulator that he recently acquired for his home. For everyday golfers, the three-camera tracking system might also be of interest, to say nothing of the video swing analysis function.

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