What Launch Monitors Do Tour Pros Actually Use?
By Patrick Kavanagh ·
Three launch monitors dominate professional golf: the Trackman 4, the Foresight GCQuad, and the Full Swing KIT. That is not a guess — each has a documented, citable footprint on tour. Trackman’s own references page claims more than 1,000 tour players and roughly 90 of the world’s top 100 use its radar. Foresight’s tour materials describe the GCQuad becoming the most-used launch monitor at PGA Tour events in 2021. And the Full Swing KIT exists because Tiger Woods, per Full Swing’s January 2021 press release, challenged the company to build a range unit he could trust.
The fourth answer is the one most buyers never hear: the PGA Tour itself runs on Trackman. The ShotLink system that produces every broadcast shot trace and Strokes Gained statistic uses Trackman radar at every hole.
This post walks through the evidence for each, then translates “tour-level” into spec numbers you can verify in our launch monitor database — because the gap between a tour unit and a consumer unit is not marketing, it is measurable.
Trackman 4: the tour’s default radar
Trackman has the longest and best-documented tour presence. When the PGA Tour announced its expanded Trackman partnership in February 2022 (via Businesswire), the release stated that more than 1,000 tour players had invested in Trackman technology for personal use, and that over 90 of the top 100 players in the world used Trackman for club delivery analysis, ball flight analysis, shot testing, and equipment optimization. Trackman’s references page carries the same figures today. The relationship is not new, either: per pgatour.com’s August 2025 announcement of the renewed agreement, Trackman was first used on the PGA Tour in 2006, and the new deal runs through 2030.
What pros are buying with the Trackman 4 is dual-Doppler radar that measures the entire ball flight outdoors. In our spec database, the Trackman 4 records eight measured ball metrics — including spin rate, spin axis, carry, apex, and descent angle, all measured rather than modeled — plus five measured club metrics including impact location, on any ball with no stickers. Its one onboard camera runs at up to 60 frames per second for video overlay; the measurement itself is radar.
The catch is the price and the ecosystem. Across our tracked price snapshots since September 21, the Trackman 4 has sat at $25,995 through dealer channels (Trackman publishes no list price), and simulation requires Trackman’s own software at a dealer-stated $1,100 a year.
Foresight GCQuad: the range nicknamed “Quad City”
Foresight’s tour story is more recent and steeper. Per Foresight’s own account of the 2021 US Open, over a third of the field used a GCQuad that week, and tour equipment reps had taken to calling the practice range “Quad City.” Golf.com’s reporting on Foresight’s rise says the company became the most-used launch monitor at a PGA Tour event at the 2021 Palmetto Championship, with tour usage up 600 percent in a year — and notes a detail that matters for credibility: Foresight does not give tour pros free units or pay endorsements. Players named in Foresight materials and coverage as GCQuad users include Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler, Bryson DeChambeau, and Phil Mickelson.
Why did a camera unit break radar’s monopoly on tour? Because the GCQuad measures different things. Its four-camera photometric system photographs the ball and clubface at impact, so face angle, impact location, and dynamic loft are directly measured — our database records five measured ball metrics and five measured club metrics, with club data requiring small fiducial dots on the clubface. For a tour player doing equipment testing or working on strike, a direct photograph of impact is the point. Camera measurement is also identical indoors and out, which is why the GCQuad shows up in tour trucks and fitting studios alike. If club-delivery numbers are what you care about, our best launch monitors for club data ranking covers how the GCQuad compares to everything below it.
Across our tracked price snapshots since September 21, the GCQuad has held at $15,999 direct from Foresight, with no subscription — the FSX software suite ships in the box.
Full Swing KIT: the Tiger Woods unit
The Full Swing KIT has the most specific origin story in the category. Per Full Swing’s January 2021 press release, longtime ambassador and investor Tiger Woods asked the company to develop a launch monitor he could trust on the range as much as his indoor Full Swing simulator; Woods is quoted saying, “I know that Full Swing is measuring my golf ball, not guessing at it.” When Woods posted his famous “Making Progress” comeback swing video in November 2021, the KIT was in frame, and Full Swing’s follow-up release announced the unit’s public availability. The association has continued: Full Swing’s January 2025 TGL release describes Woods using the KIT and a Full Swing simulator in training.
The Full Swing KIT is a single-Doppler radar at a very different price point. Our database records seven measured ball metrics and four measured club metrics across its 16 advertised data points, none of them paywalled, with a built-in display and official GSPro support. It is honest to note the limits too: impact location and dynamic loft are not reported, indoor spin measurement calls for Titleist RCT balls, and the companion app is iOS-only. It is a prosumer unit a tour pro validates, not a tour-truck instrument.
Across our tracked price snapshots since September 21, the KIT has listed at $4,999 at PlayBetter, with one recorded dip to $3,999 on September 28 before returning to $4,999 by October 12.
What the PGA Tour’s own ShotLink uses
The shot traces on broadcast are not a graphics trick — they come from measurement hardware installed on every hole. In February 2022, the PGA Tour announced (via Businesswire) that Trackman’s radar tracking and tracing would cover nearly every shot hit at Tour events, feeding PGA Tour Live in 2022 and domestic TV from 2023. AWS’s ShotLink Pro documentation describes the current system as roughly 150 4K cameras and 36 Trackman radar units per course capturing ball-in-motion data in real time. Forbes’ December 2022 report on ShotLink 2.0 quotes PGA Tour SVP Ken Lovell describing the upgraded tee units as a “Mega Trackman.” And per pgatour.com, players now get real-time Trackman data from those course units during tournament practice rounds.
So when a Strokes Gained number or an apex height appears on screen, the measurement chain behind it is the same dual-radar approach sold in the Trackman 4.
The three tour units, side by side
All figures below come from our product spec database and our tracked price snapshots since September 21.
| Trackman 4 | Foresight GCQuad | Full Swing KIT | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tracking | Dual-Doppler radar | Four-camera photometric | Single-Doppler radar |
| Measured ball metrics | 8 | 5 | 7 |
| Measured club metrics | 5 (incl. impact location) | 5 (incl. impact location) | 4 |
| Club stickers needed | None | Fiducial dots | None |
| Tracked price | $25,995 | $15,999 | $4,999 |
| Required subscription | $1,100/yr for simulation | None | None (Premium optional, $99.99/yr) |
| Accuracy tier (our db) | Tour grade | Tour grade | Sim grade |
The pattern is worth stating plainly: “tour-level” means measured data, not calculated data. Both tour-grade units directly measure spin and club delivery rather than modeling them, and both measure impact location — the metric that separates instruments from estimators.
What this means if you are buying
Be honest about what you need. A tour player testing drivers needs measured spin axis and impact location at tour-grade tolerances; that is a $16,000–$26,000 problem. A good player who wants trustworthy range numbers is in the KIT’s territory at $4,999. And most home-simulator buyers do not need any of the three — our launch monitor guide walks the full market from $200 up, and the mid-market has closed much of the gap for simulation purposes.
Two limitations of this analysis to keep in mind. Tour usage counts come from the manufacturers themselves (Trackman’s references page, Foresight’s tour materials), and while the PGA Tour’s own announcements corroborate the big claims, there is no independent census of what sits in every player’s bag. And we have not lab-tested these units ourselves — the spec and price figures here are our recorded database and price-snapshot data plus the named published sources.
Frequently asked questions
What launch monitor does the PGA Tour itself use?
The PGA Tour's ShotLink scoring and tracing system runs on Trackman radar. Per the Tour's February 2022 announcement, Trackman radar covers nearly every shot at Tour events, and AWS's ShotLink Pro documentation describes 36 Trackman units alongside roughly 150 4K cameras per course. The Tour renewed the Trackman agreement through 2030 in August 2025.
What launch monitor does Tiger Woods use?
The Full Swing KIT. Full Swing's January 2021 press release says Woods, a Full Swing investor and ambassador, challenged the company to build a range launch monitor he could trust, and he has used the KIT publicly since his November 2021 comeback videos.
Do pros use Trackman or GCQuad more?
Both are everywhere, measuring different things well. Trackman's references page claims 1,000+ tour players and about 90 of the world's top 100. Foresight's materials say the GCQuad became the most-used launch monitor at individual Tour events starting in 2021, when tour reps nicknamed the practice range 'Quad City' at the US Open. Many players use radar outdoors for full flight and the GCQuad for club-delivery and impact work.
Can an amateur buy the same launch monitor the pros use?
Yes, if the budget allows. Across our tracked price snapshots since September 21, the Trackman 4 has held at $25,995 through dealer channels, the GCQuad at $15,999 direct from Foresight, and the Full Swing KIT at $4,999 (with a brief drop to $3,999 in late September). Nothing about these units is tour-exclusive.