Is this the future of golf tech? Garmin launch world-first launch monitor and simulator

Say hello to the Garmin Approach R50 – the world’s first launch monitor and golf simulator in one that is going to change the way you work on your game.

The Approach R50 features a built-in, full-colour, ten-inch touchscreen with more than 43,000 golf courses from around the world preloaded into the brand’s Home Tee Hero software.

This allows up to four players to play virtual rounds and take part in live tournaments with scores posted on a global leaderboard – all of which is viewable from the Approach R50 display. For those of you who took our recent advice to build a golf den, you can also connect it to a monitor or projector and play your favourite course, or a bucket-list course, from the comfort of your own home.

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What’s even cooler is the Approach R50 can be used as a separate screen, so you can customise the settings in a way that allows you to use your projector or monitor for Home Tee Hero and the device for your launch data. The portable Approach R50, of course, can also serve as a simulator all on its own and has a battery life of up to four hours.

Want to work on your game? There’s a setting for that, too.

The training mode feature on the Approach R50 records each session and saves stats from 15 metrics for each of club in your bag, including ball speed, launch angle and face-to-path data. This, in turn, allows you to see and understand improvements over time.

There are also high-speed impact videos that provide immediate visual feedback on each shot, so anyone, regardless of their ability, can analyse their swing and work on any weaknesses in their game.

The three cutting-edge, high-speed cameras also track every movement of the ball which is captured from frame to frame to allow the Approach R50 to measure all aspects of the launch parameters, including spin rate and spin axis.

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“Leveraging our most advanced technology with an elaborate three-camera system, our Approach R50 can provide golfers of all levels with the cutting-edge metrics and analytics they need to help improve their game,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin’s vice president of global consumer sales.

“Whether you want to see specific shot metrics, see how and where the ball comes off your club, or just want to play a round on a rainy day, we’ve got your game.”

The Garmin Approach R50 Details

Available: Now
RRP: £4,299.99
More information: Garmin website

Alex Perry is the Associate Editor of bunkered. A journalist for more than 20 years, he has been a golf industry stalwart for the majority of his career and, in a five-year spell at ESPN, covered every sporting event you can think of. He completed his own Grand Slam at the 2023 Masters, having fallen in love with the sport at his hometown club of Okehampton and on the links of nearby Bude & North Cornwall.

Associate Editor