Foresight’s New GC2 Launch Monitor Has Me Totally Confused…And Excited

You couldn’t pay me to be in the launch monitor business right now.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s a great time to be a launch monitor consumer. You have more awesome choices today than you did yesterday. What’s more, we know with great certainty there’ll be more great choices coming in the next two weeks.

No, what I’m talking about is being a launch monitor manufacturer. The market is moving at warp speed and you can’t reboot your computer without three or four new LM competitors popping up before it restarts. New products, new features and new price points are enough to prompt any launch monitor executive to chomp down Rolaids like they were Tic Tacs.

It’s a scary game to play. Today’s breakthrough offering might be tomorrow’s overpriced dog. The best companies, however, can tiptoe through that minefield by knowing who they are and knowing what their customers expect.

That, friends, is what makes Foresight’s new GC2 launch monitor so fascinating. On one hand, it’s exactly what a golfer should expect from Foresight. On the other hand, it’s a sharp departure from those same expectations.

Confused? Don’t blame you. Let’s see if we can’t figure this thing out.

What is the new Foresight CG2 and why is it so confusing?

The GC2 is Foresight’s first new launch monitor in nearly three years. At a retail price of only $1,699, it’s breaking new ground in the end of the market Foresight has historically avoided.

“We’re opening the GC2 up to a new audience that we’ve never had before,” Foresight Marketing Operations Director Tim Tiel tells MyGolfSpy. “It’s for people who’ve wanted a Foresight but couldn’t afford it. This opens the door.”

As the name suggests, the new GC2 features two high-speed cameras (the GC3 has three, the GC QuadMax four) and includes a new color display screen. It can be used indoors and outdoors and, according to Foresight, has the same optical accuracy as Foresight’s professional-grade launch monitors.

“It gives you ball speed, launch angle, launch direction, total spin, side spin, tilt axis and carry and total distance,” says Tiel. “You’ll get a few more ball flight parameters in the new app.”

Curiously, or perhaps not so curiously given the price, the new GC2 does not provide club data. That’s likely a function of having only a two-camera photometric array.  Both of GC2’s cameras are optimized for accurate ball measurement so rather than infer club parameters based on ball behavior, Foresight has chosen not to offer it at all.

So why is the GC2 confusing? Foresight’s entire reason for being has been professional-grade launch monitor technology. It creates state-of-the-art stuff and is the choice of Tour pros, collegiate programs, OEMs, instructors, the USGA and the R&A.

Diving into the lower-priced consumer market is at calculated risk. What’s more, it’s going to require that Foresight and its sister company Bushnell get on the same page.

The GC2, GC3, Launch Pro and subscription model conundrum

At $1,699, the new Foresight GC2 is fully functional and ready to go. You don’t need a subscription for basic functionality (more on that in a bit). You can connect to the new Foresight app or PC software (more on those in a bit, too) or you can simply use the unit’s color display screen.

The three-camera GC3, which runs $6,999 (and provides some club data), is fully functional indoors and out and requires no subscription ever. When you buy it, you own all of its functionality forever.

Then there’s the monkey wrench in the works, the Bushnell Launch Pro, which costs $2,999.

“It’s the exact same device as the Foresight GC3,” says Tiel. “The difference is that the GC3 comes with club data. The Launch Pro comes with launch data in its subscription package.”

I know how many of you feel about subscriptions. Buying something and then paying more to actually use it to its full capabilities is a drag. Thanks to Netflix, it’s also the way of the world.

The new Foresight app and software

Separate from the GC2 launch, Foresight is introducing revamped software and an all-new app. Even Foresight itself will tell you both were badly needed.

“We’re widely known as the best launch monitor in the industry,” Tiel says. “Where we lacked was software. It’s never been the greatest.”

Foresight spent the last 18 months building its new simulator software from the ground up. It’s call Premier and, according to Foresight, it provides immersive course play, robust performance analysis and professional-grade tools for coaches and fitters. It works with all Foresight products from the new GC2 to the ceiling mounted (and $17,000) Foresight Falcon.

The star of the show is Premier’s vastly upgraded simulation graphics. Foresight’s previous-generation software had a video game vibe. Premier is next level stuff, to the point where you can see mow lines in the grass, shadows from trees and fences and more realistic golf physics.

“We were behind Trackman in that respect,” admits Tiel. “We’ve redone all of our physics, the way the ball bounces and spins on the greens. It’s all built off our accurate performance data.”

Foresight is also updating its mobile app for range use. Core features include shot analysis, drills and bag mapping. It will provide a customizable table view of shot metrics as well as a range view and dispersion view. The app can also use your device’s camera to record your swing and sync it with the range view. There’s also a function to provide AI-powered audio feedback to your earbuds.

Also, for the first time, Foresight’s software and app will be interconnected so you’ll only need one account. That may not sound like much but it was a glaring hole in Foresight’s ecosystem.

How cool is Off The Tee?

Premier includes everything you’d expect for practice, club comparison and game analysis. It also includes a new and potentially game-changing feature called Off The Tee.

Late last year, Foresight’s parent company acquired GolfLogix, a mobile GPS app that offers 3D course visualization, green mapping and course management. The platform includes detailed accurate layouts of more than 40,000 courses.

“Imagine a hole at your favorite course that you struggle with off the tee,” explains Tiel. “We could load that hole up and you can start hitting tee shots and see where your dispersion ends up.”

It’s important to note that Off The Tee gives you only an overlay of the hole, not simulation.

“You see a top-down view of the hole and your results. You’ll see a dispersion circle of all the shots you hit. You’ll see carry distance and rollout and you can compare clubs and see the difference between the two.”

Tiel says Foresight recently showed this feature to a major OEM, promoting it as a valuable tool for their fitters. The CEO was hitting shots while looking at an overlay of his favorite hole.

“We asked where he thought his shots went, and he’s like, oh, maybe 10 yards short of that bunker. Then we showed him where he really landed and he’s like, are you kidding me?”

Could this morph into a form of 3D-simulated golf on any course? Tiel wouldn’t say yes.

But he didn’t say no, either.

Foresight’s new subscription model

As mentioned, Foresight is revamping its subscription model to fit the GC2.

The free tier shows launch monitor data on both the app and through Premier, providing you with basic practice mode. You get ball and club data (provided your launch monitor can capture club data), table and range views, ball and environment normalization and bag mapping.

The Silver package, which runs $199 per year, unlocks additional features on Premier and the app. Those include dispersion view, practice drills and course play eligibility (which you’ll also have to pay extra for).

The Gold package is $599 per year and gives you complete access to a suite of performance features on Premier and the app. This is where you get swing video capture, all the training models and Off The Tee.

If you want to use the GC2 for a home simulator, you have two course play options. The basic Course Pass is $295 per year and includes 35 courses. If you want the full package, there’s Course Pass Pro at $595 per year. It includes all 111 courses in Foresight’s library including Pebble Beach, Bethpage Black and more. Both Course Pass packages require either a Silver or Gold membership.

If you’ve purchased previous course packages outright, Foresight will honor those and not make you pay for them again.

Foresight GC2: Trying to clear the confusion

Buying, we know, is emotional. It’s OK to want it all, just be prepared to open the wallet. It does pay, however, to think analytically. Data is great but unless you’re a fitter or coach, you should ask yourself what you are going to do with it all.

Once price enters the picture, you have to decide what’s negotiable and what isn’t.

If you simply want a tool to make outdoor practice more beneficial, the Foresight GC2 naked (meaning no subscriptions) will probably get the job done for $1,699. Are there cheaper options out there? Certainly. Are they Foresight-level accurate? Some, yes.

Probably.

For another $199 per year, you can get the Silver package. If I’m using this strictly outdoors, that might be as far as I’d go.

When you add indoor simulation to the equation, things get interesting. Silver plus the basic Course Pass will run a combined $494 per year. Course Pass Pro plus Silver runs $794 per year.

If you go Silver and Basic and compare it to the fully comprehensive GC3, you can use the GC2 for close to 10 years before you match the GC3’s $6,999 all-inclusive price. That’s why Tiel said going with the Launch Pro and subscription model was the logical choice.

“This is going to shake up the market a bit because of the price. We’ll have to figure out where the GC3 will stand and what we’re going to do next. We have to find a different price point for the GC3 or whatever the next product is.”

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Foresight go the subscription route. If you’re analytical about what you really need, it might work out in your favor.

Even though you hate paying the annual subscription.  

Foresight GC2: Price and availability

For the first time, Foresight is launching a full-blown consumer-focused marketing campaign for the GC2.

“We’ve never spent marketing dollars to promote the Foresight brand,” says Tiel. “Now were ready with a full go-to-market press with TV ads, retail presence and end cap displays. At this price point, it just makes sense.”

You’ll even be able to demo the GC2 at retail, just like you’d demo a golf club.

As mentioned, the Foresight GC2 will sell for $1,699. That price includes a 30-day free trial of the Golf package and Course Pass Pro. Presale starts today. The units will hit retail on Oct. 15.

For more information, visit www.foresightsports.com.