TrackMan
A TrackMan is a radar-based launch monitor that tracks the full flight of a golf ball and the movement of the club, then turns each shot into precise performance numbers. It is widely treated as the reference standard for measuring ball flight and club delivery in golf.
What is a TrackMan?
The word names a specific brand rather than a general category. TrackMan is a Danish company, and its devices have become so common on tour ranges and television broadcasts that many golfers now use “a TrackMan” as shorthand for any serious launch monitor, the way people say “Kleenex” for tissues.
The hardware is small. A TrackMan unit is roughly the size of a laptop and sits on the ground a few feet behind the golfer. Every time a ball is struck, it records what the club did through impact and where the ball went, then shows that information on a connected phone, tablet, or computer. Instead of guessing at swing faults from video, a coach or player gets hard data on the same shot.
Two brothers, Klaus and Morten Eldrup-Jorgensen, founded the company in 2003 with radar engineer Fredrik Tuxen, per Wikipedia and TrackMan. Tuxen had spent years tracking bullets and missiles with Doppler radar. Could the same method follow a golf ball? It could. TrackMan reached the PGA Tour in 2006, and PGA.com reported that by 2016, more than 350 professional players carried one.
How a TrackMan works
The technology behind it is Doppler radar, the same principle that lets a police speed gun clock a passing car. The unit sends out radio waves, those waves bounce off the moving ball and club, and the change in frequency of the returning signal reveals how fast and in what direction everything is travelling.
The current flagship, the TrackMan 4, goes a step further with two radar systems working together. One radar watches the club through impact while the other follows the ball. TrackMan calls this combination OERT, and it pairs the dual radar with a built-in high-speed camera that pinpoints exactly where the ball met the clubface.
What separates radar from camera-only devices is how much of the shot it sees. According to TrackMan, the unit tracks the entire ball flight from impact to landing, which usually lasts about six seconds, rather than calculating the result from the first fraction of a second. That full-flight tracking is a big reason the brand built its reputation outdoors, where the ball travels its real distance.
What a TrackMan measures
A TrackMan 4 captures more than 40 parameters on every shot, per TrackMan’s product specifications. They fall into two groups: what the ball did and what the club did to cause it. The club numbers explain the cause, and the ball numbers show the effect.
Some of the most referenced metrics:
| Metric | Type | What it tells the golfer |
|---|---|---|
| Ball speed | Ball | How fast the ball leaves the face, the main driver of distance |
| Launch angle | Ball | The vertical angle the ball starts on |
| Spin rate | Ball | Backspin in rpm, which controls height and carry |
| Carry distance | Ball | How far the ball flies through the air before it lands |
| Club speed | Club | How fast the clubhead is moving at impact |
| Attack angle | Club | Whether the club is moving up or down into the ball |
| Club path | Club | The direction the club is travelling through impact |
| Smash factor | Both | Ball speed divided by club speed, a measure of strike efficiency |
The point of all this data is accuracy a player can trust. TrackMan’s radar tracks the ball to within about a foot at 100 yards, a level of precision that makes the numbers useful for club fitting and coaching rather than rough estimates.
TrackMan vs other launch monitors
Most launch monitors fall into one of two camps, and the difference comes down to how they see the shot. TrackMan and FlightScope use radar. Brands such as Foresight Sports, Uneekor, and Garmin lean on photometric technology, which uses high-speed cameras to photograph the ball and club at impact and measure the strike directly.
| Radar (TrackMan) | Photometric (camera) | |
|---|---|---|
| How it sees the shot | Tracks the ball through its whole flight | Photographs the ball and club at impact |
| Position | Behind the golfer | Beside the ball |
| Strength | Outdoors and on full shots | Tight indoor spaces, direct strike data |
| Example models | TrackMan 4, FlightScope Mevo+ | Foresight GCQuad, Uneekor EYE |
Neither approach is simply better. Radar needs room: it reads a stretch of ball flight from behind the hitter, so a cramped garage can limit what it sees. Cameras work the other way. They measure the strike directly in small indoor bays but infer the rest of the flight from that single moment. To bridge that gap, TrackMan now sells the iO, an indoor model for tight simulator rooms.
Where golfers come across a TrackMan
For most amateurs, the first encounter is on television. Broadcasters use TrackMan to draw the glowing arc of a tour player’s tee shot and flash the carry distance and ball speed on screen as it happens.
The next is at a club fitting or a lesson. Many golf shops and coaches own a unit, and a fitter will read attack angle and spin to match a driver or set of irons to a player’s swing. Indoor golf venues and driving ranges also build their bays around TrackMan technology, so a casual round on a simulator may be powered by the same device the pros use.
Owning one is another matter. A TrackMan 4 starts at around $21,995 and carries a roughly $1,100 annual software subscription, according to retailer PlayBetter, and a full simulator setup can run as high as $49,000. That price keeps it mostly in the hands of professionals, teaching pros, and serious facilities. The technology also reaches beyond golf: TrackMan radar was rolled out across all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums in 2015 to track pitches.
Related Golf Terms
- Topspin — Forward rotation on the ball causing it to roll more after landing.
- Through the green — All areas of the course except the tee, green, and hazards of the hole being played.
- Toe shot — A mishit struck near the toe (outer edge) of the clubface.
- Tight lie — A ball sitting on hard, bare ground with little grass underneath.
- Top — A mishit where the club strikes the top of the ball, causing it to roll along the ground.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a TrackMan cost?
A TrackMan 4 launch monitor starts at about $21,995 plus a $1,100 annual subscription, per PlayBetter. A complete simulator installation built around it can cost up to $49,000.
How accurate is a TrackMan?
Highly accurate. Its radar tracks the ball to within roughly a foot at 100 yards, which is why tour players, coaches, and club fitters rely on the numbers.
Can you use a TrackMan at home?
Yes. The TrackMan 4 works indoors and outdoors, and TrackMan also makes the iO model designed for indoor simulator rooms. The main barriers for home users are the price and the space radar needs behind the ball.
Is a TrackMan the same as a golf simulator?
No. A TrackMan is the launch monitor, the sensor that measures the shot. A golf simulator is the full setup, including the launch monitor, a screen, a hitting mat, and software that renders a virtual course. A TrackMan can power a simulator, but it is one part of it.
What does a TrackMan measure?
More than 40 data points per shot, split between ball data such as ball speed, launch angle, and spin rate, and club data such as club speed, attack angle, and club path.
Sources
- Wikipedia. “TrackMan.” Accessed June 2026.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TrackMan - PGA.com. “What is TrackMan and how does it work?” Accessed June 2026.
https://www.pga.com/golf-equipment/product-spotlight/what-trackman-and-how-does-it-work - TrackMan. “TrackMan 4 Launch Monitor.” trackman.com. Accessed June 2026.
https://www.trackman.com/golf/launch-monitors/trackman-4 - PlayBetter. “Foresight Sports vs TrackMan Launch Monitors.” Accessed June 2026.
https://www.playbetter.com/blogs/golf-simulator-comparisons/foresight-sports-vs-trackman-launch-monitors - The DIY Golfer. “Golf Radar vs. Photo Golf Simulator Technology.” Accessed June 2026.
https://www.thediygolfer.com/blog/golf-radar-vs-photo - Sim Shacks. “Optical vs. Radar Launch Monitors and Where TrackMan iO Fits In.” Accessed June 2026.
https://www.simshacks.com/blog/optical-vs-radar-launch-monitors-and-where-trackman-io-fits-in - Golf Masters. “The TrackMan Phenomenon: TrackMan 4 and TrackMan iO Compared.” Accessed June 2026.
https://www.golfmasters.pl/en/blog/the-trackman-phenomenon-why-it-became-the-gold-standard-in-golf-big-comparison-of-trackman-4-and-trackman-io-models - Rain or Shine Golf. “TrackMan 4 Launch Monitor.” Accessed June 2026.
https://rainorshinegolf.com/products/trackman-4-launch-monitor
