Garmin R10 Launch Monitor Review

If you are used to practicing on $10,000+ units like Trackman, then you're probably not going to be that impressed with the Garmin R10. But if your new to the launch monitor world or are simply an amateur golfer, then the Garmin R10 will absolutely impress!

The bottom line is that the R10 isn't going to put launch monitors like Trackman or the GCQuad out of existence. But for what it is - a launch monitor well under $1,000 - it's amazing.

Garmin’s self-advertised accuracy ranges are +/- 3 MPH for club speed, 1 MPH for ball speed, 1 degree for launch angle and launch direction, and 5 yards for carry distance. We've found that throughout an entire range session, this holds true. 

Compared to more premium launch monitors, the R10 will produce more individual misreads. But averaged out over a bucket of balls, the Garmin will undoubtedly provide data averages that you can trust.

The R10 can be used indoors or outdoors - another great perk to the launch monitor. In our testing, we found the R10 slightly more accurate outdoors than indoors.

This is very common for launch monitors that use doppler radar. Typically the more space a radar-based launch monitor has to track the ball, the better.

However, the difference wasn't extreme. R10 was still very accurate indoors. Note, that when using a launch monitor outdoors, we have found that the devices will perform the most consistently when used on artificial turf.

The Takeaway: The R10 provides more data than any launch monitor under $1,000.

What sets the R10 Approach apart from other budget launch monitors is its club data offering. It provides extremely valuable club data metrics like Club Path, Club Face Angle, Club Face to Path, and Attack Angle.

It's rare for a launch monitor under $5,000 to provide that level of data, let alone for a unit that costs just $599.

With the data R10 provides, you'll be able to dial in your distances, you'll be able to see your spin rate and launch angle metrics (which are the most important metrics to work on if you're looking to hit the ball further), see your shot shape, and fix errors in your swing using it's advanced club metrics like club path.

Summary: An easy-to-use app with many helpful data summary views. Poor graphics are the only downside to the Garmin App.

The Garmin app consists of a driving range, weekly tournaments/events, and two golf simulation apps - Home Tee Hero (Garmin's own golf sim software) and E6 Connect (A more advanced golf simulation software). To play Home Tee Hero, play in the weekly tournaments, and store swing videos, you'll need to subscribe to the Garmin Golf App which costs $9.99/mo.

To play courses using E6 Connect you can use the free version which is only compatible on iPad and only gets you 5 courses. Or you can pay $200/yr for more courses, E6 Connect online events, as well as PC compatibility. We'll discuss the R10s simulation options in-depth later on. For now, let's discuss the Garmin R10 driving range.

One of the first things you'll notice from the Garmin Driving Range is that the graphics look like something out of an old Nintendo video game. If there is some question as to "how is the R10 so cheap", then this may be part of the answer. They obviously did not put a lot of resources into the graphics.

But aside from the graphics, it gives you everything you would want. Multiple data views, shot groupings, shot tracers, and even the ability to record swing videos.

It also features an audio component that allows you to pick one data point that will be spoken to you out loud after each shot. So if you want to hear your carry distance after every shot, for example, the Garmin app will tell you without you needing to go to your phone every time.

Golf simulation using the R10 is definitely the best perk of this unit. The fact that you can play real courses with such an in-expensive unit is mind-blowing. You're a mat and hitting bay away from having your own at-home golf simulator!

As of now, you have two options - Home Tee Hero or E6 Connect. If you plan on using this feature frequently, then we recommend E6 Connect due to its superior graphics and gameplay. But here is the low down on both.

The Good:

• You can play local courses - With home tee hero, you can possibly play your home course. Yes, the one right down your road! Home Tee Hero has over 42,000 real courses in their course library allowing you to search by location and play the courses near you.
• Pretty low lag time for a budget launch monitor - Oftentimes low-cost launch monitors will have a 1-3 second lag time between when you hit the shot and when the data is displayed on the screen. With the R10, the shots display very quickly which makes the simulation feel more realistic.
• Not bad on short shots and chips - On shots 30 yards and in, the R10 does surprisingly well!
• Play with up to 4 people - You can play a round with up to 4 players. You can also set up tournaments with friends remotely if they also have the Garmin R10.

The Bad:

• Courses look nothing like they do in real life - The graphics in Home Tee hero are, to put it bluntly, terrible. Although you can play real courses, they won't look too much like the real thing. You will get the correct distances and course layout, but don't expect much else!
• No putting - The Garmin R10 cannot measure putts. When on the green, the R10 will automatically assign you a 1 putt, 2 putt, or occasionally 3 putt depending on your distance from the hole.
• iOS or Android Only - Home Tee Hero is only compatible on iOS or Android, not PC or Mac.

The Good

• High-Quality Graphics - One of the biggest pros to E6 Connect over Home Tee Hero is the graphics. The play experience and course quality is miles ahead of home tee hero.
• Realistic Courses - Although you can play real courses on both softwares, E6 Connect actually looks real. Playing at a well-known course such as Harbor Town will look like the real thing!
• Available on PC and iOS - Although there is no Android option, the option to play with a PC is great.

The Bad:

• Slightly more expensive - Home Tee Hero will cost $99/yr while the basic version of E6 Connect will cost $300 for access to 27 courses, online events, the E6 Connect driving range, and peer-to-peer play. The expanded subscription which includes over 100 courses costs $600/yr.
• No putting - The software doesn't matter. Garmin R10 does not have the capability to measure putts.

We've tested a lot of different launch monitors so we feel that we have a pretty good understanding of how they all stack up. In the under $1,000 category, the Approach R10 is the best in its class.

But here are a few things you miss out on compared to the more expensive launch monitors:

Putting - One of the biggest downsides to golf simulation on the R10 is the fact that it cannot read putts. Although, putting can be difficult on all simulators - so some people often end up setting up gimmie rules regardless.

Better Accuracy - As you step up to launch monitors like SkyTrak or Mevo+, you will also get a step up in accuracy. Don't get us wrong, the accuracy of the R10 is not bad at all! But some numbers such as spin can be less consistent on the R10

More simulation integrations - While this could change, golf simulation with the R10 is currently limited to Home Tee Hero and E6 Connect. Units like SkyTrak have a lot more integration partners. However, the good news is the E6 Connect is one of the top options out there.