Shot Vision App Review

There is a lot of cool gear in the golf equipment world that doesn’t always fit neatly into Most Wanted Tests or Buyer’s Guides. You still want to know how it performs. In our We Tried It series, we put gear to the test and let you know if it works as advertised.

What is Shot Vision?

We get countless requests to test Personal Launch Monitor apps to see if they live up to the hype. So we’re putting Shot Vision, a new app, to the test.

Shot Vision offers a free version with limited metrics to help you dial in your game. If you want to get the full experience, it will cost $6.99 a month or a one-time annual fee. Throughout that year, you can compete against other golfers within the app. It’s a great way to improve your game but, more importantly, gain as many banter points as possible against your mates. Whether it be a target competition, long drive or a skills challenge, you will have that competitive feeling.

The big question is: Does the app actually work?

And is it accurate?

Keep reading to find out.

Product Expert

Hi, I’m Harry. I am a professional golf equipment tester. (Yes, we exist.) I test a lot of things at MyGolfSpy and play professionally when I’m not checking and comparing specs on gloves, rangefinders, bags, ball retrievers, etc. You can call me the Senior Director of Product Testing here at MGS. You can also just call me Harry. That’s fine, too.

Shot Vision Launch Monitor App

Shot Vision is a personal launch monitor built into an application on your phone. This is a category that is growing rapidly within the golfing industry. Shot Vision offers multiple modes (at an up-charge) to help you dial in your game. For example, you can hit to targets, measure club gapping or combine targets and club gapping to hit the number the app suggests, on command. You can compete against anyone around the world.

If you want work on your game, no problem. Just like a high-end launch monitor, you can hit multiple shots and look at each one after your session. You can edit your session to throw out miss hits just like you can on Foresight. Each recorded session has a multitude of data metrics that show averages, angle of attack, dynamic loft, launch angle, ball speed, clubhead speed, carry and more. For an application that is relatively cheap, you get a ton of data to analyze just like you would with a high-end launch monitor.

It can be used indoors and outdoors. However, you must have good lighting for the indoor mode to work effectively.

Using Shot Vision

First things first. Read and follow the instructions to set up the range session. You must be within four feet of your phone and one to two feet back and to the right for the shot to record. The phone must be set up behind you. After speaking to the creators of Shot Vision, it became clear, they could have positioned it in front of you but the likelihood of having four feet of space on a range is very low. So they positioned the device behind you.

A huge upside is how easy the app is to navigate and interpret. The average golfer will have no problem understanding everything. Every mode within the app provides a score out of 100 to see how much improvement you need.

Does it Work?

The big question is: How accurate is the Shot Vision app compared to a top-of-the-range Foresight GC Quad?

Indoors

If you don’t have good lighting, the Shot Vision app loses accuracy. All metrics were off by 30 to 50 percent compared to the Foresight GC Quad on a regular basis. The app did have mis-reads but so do the top performers in the launch monitor world. However, the better the light, the more accurate the numbers. For consistency, I would advise against using the application indoors.

Outdoors

You must have good lighting for the device to work. If you are trying to capture data during the “golden hour,” you might get some readings that are completely off. The app might not pick up the shot at all. When you do have good lighting and the phone/app is positioned correctly, it spits out some good data similar to the Foresight GC Quad. It doesn’t do it every time but occasionally it’s right on the money.

Final Thoughts

Would I use this for my game?

Not yet.

I want to get the most accurate and consistent data. Yes, the Shot Vision app can get the numbers spot on sometimes but it’s not frequently enough for me to trust that data. For golfers who want to compete against their mate in another country or even up the road during lockdown, it’s fantastic and I would highly recommend it.

Shot Vision is only as good as the iPhone model you have. The older the phone, the less accurate it is. If you have the most updated iPhone and software update, the accuracy increases. When I performed this test, I made sure my software was the newest version for the best readings possible. I have an iPhone 11.

I have no doubt launch monitor applications like Shot Vision will be accurate in the future. When that day comes, you will see personal launch monitors catch up to the GC Quads of the world for a fraction of the price.