Hardly a week goes by that Carl isn't asked to do another launch monitor review, so in true Carl’s Place fashion, we tested the Foresight Sports GCQuad at the driving range to see how it performed compared to real life numbers measured by a Bushnell rangefinder.
We’ve done this type of outdoor field test with several other launch monitors, including:
GCQUAD FIELD TEST SETUP
The GCQuad is a relatively small, photometric launch monitor that sits adjacent to the ball position, making it easy to take to the driving range and set up once there. At the outdoor range, we made sure the GCQuad was on as level of a surface as we could find and did not have sunlight shining directly on the cameras to try to get the most accurate data.
Tim, a product specialist at Carl’s Place, took 20 swings each with a pitching wedge, 6 iron and driver. Mike, a content writer (and the guy who won the first matchup in the Tim vs. Mike Challenge Series on our YouTube channel), was out in the field tracking the ball. Mike marked the carry distance, then Tim used the rangefinder to measure that distance. Jon, videographer and all around good guy, was behind the camera recording all the action.
Disclaimer for the naysayers (we know you’re out there): Of course, there are factors that come into play in an uncontrolled outdoor environment, such as wind, tee box elevation and human error marking the ball out in the field. Keep those factors in mind when you check out the data.
GCQUAD FIELD TEST RESULTS
PITCHING WEDGE
Overall, the GCQuad was quite accurate reading the pitching wedge with 16 of the 20 shots being within 5 yards of the actual range finder distance.
The average difference and percentage were a little inflated due to a couple of large outliers that were pretty big misses.
“Although we only had a couple shots perfectly accurate, most of the pitching wedge shots were quite close to actual numbers,” Tim said. “I felt pretty good about the Quad’s performance with the roller coaster of numbers from my pitching wedge.”
| Pitching Wedge | Real Life Carry Distance | Simulator Carry Distance | Yardage Difference | % Difference |
| Shot 1 | 106 | 108 | 2 | 1.89% |
| Shot 2 | 102 | 106 | 4 | 3.92% |
| Shot 3 | 105 | 112 | 7 | 6.67% |
| Shot 4 | 89 | 89 | 0 | 0.00% |
| Shot 5 | 107 | 122 | 15 | 14.02% |
| Shot 6 | 102 | 110 | 8 | 7.84% |
| Shot 7 | 96 | 98 | 2 | 2.08% |
| Shot 8 | 115 | 119 | 4 | 3.48% |
| Shot 9 | 104 | 109 | 5 | 4.81% |
| Shot 10 | 101 | 113 | 12 | 11.88% |
| Shot 11 | 120 | 120 | 0 | 0.00% |
| Shot 12 | 99 | 100 | 1 | 1.01% |
| Shot 13 | 113 | 114 | 1 | 0.88% |
| Shot 14 | 102 | 103 | 1 | 0.98% |
| Shot 15 | 119 | 122 | 3 | 2.52% |
| Shot 16 | 87 | 90 | 3 | 3.45% |
| Shot 17 | 123 | 125 | 2 | 1.63% |
| Shot 18 | 114 | 117 | 3 | 2.63% |
| Shot 19 | 113 | 118 | 5 | 4.42% |
| Shot 20 | 108 | 111 | 3 | 2.78% |
| Average | 4.05 | 3.84% |
6 IRON
We were very impressed by the data the GCQuad read from the 6 iron. The first shot was the only one that was more than 10 yards off. Otherwise the GCQuad tracked 18 of the 20 shots within 7 yards of the actual distance measured by the rangefinder.
In fact, the percentage difference improved, which is not something you see all the time as you start hitting longer distanced clubs.
“Seeing the improvement compared to the pitching wedge was a pleasant surprise that we’ve rarely seen before in other tests,” Tim said.
| 6 Iron | Real Life Carry Distance | Simulator Carry Distance | Yardage Difference | % Difference |
| Shot 1 | 148 | 161 | 13 | 8.78% |
| Shot 2 | 134 | 139 | 5 | 3.73% |
| Shot 3 | 130 | 136 | 6 | 4.62% |
| Shot 4 | 118 | 114 | 4 | 3.39% |
| Shot 5 | 144 | 151 | 7 | 4.86% |
| Shot 6 | 138 | 145 | 7 | 5.07% |
| Shot 7 | 118 | 120 | 2 | 1.69% |
| Shot 8 | 142 | 146 | 4 | 2.82% |
| Shot 9 | 157 | 163 | 6 | 3.82% |
| Shot 10 | 151 | 151 | 0 | 0.00% |
| Shot 11 | 160 | 161 | 1 | 0.63% |
| Shot 12 | 140 | 145 | 5 | 3.57% |
| Shot 13 | 148 | 156 | 8 | 5.41% |
| Shot 14 | 156 | 157 | 1 | 0.64% |
| Shot 15 | 133 | 127 | 6 | 4.51% |
| Shot 16 | 150 | 153 | 3 | 2.00% |
| Shot 17 | 157 | 159 | 2 | 1.27% |
| Shot 18 | 142 | 148 | 6 | 4.23% |
| Shot 19 | 133 | 136 | 3 | 2.26% |
| Shot 20 | 144 | 147 | 3 | 2.08% |
| Average | 4.6 | 3.27% |
DRIVER
And even more interesting was that the GCQuad’s data for driver percentage difference improved even more over the 6 iron and pitching wedge.
It’s not easy for launch monitors to measure or calculate these longer numbers, especially with Tim’s inconsistent slice, because the margin of error is significantly more, but only three shots ended up being 10 or more yards different.
It even got 9 shots within 5 yards, and two exactly right.
“The GCQuad just kept getting better as I hit longer clubs,” Tim said. “I couldn't believe it. That has not been the norm for other launch monitors we’ve tested.”
| Driver | Real Life Carry Distance | Simulator Carry Distance | Yardage Difference | % Difference |
| Shot 1 | 205 | 212 | 7 | 3.41% |
| Shot 2 | 219 | 219 | 0 | 0.00% |
| Shot 3 | 200 | 197 | 3 | 1.50% |
| Shot 4 | 224 | 231 | 7 | 3.13% |
| Shot 5 | 207 | 211 | 4 | 1.93% |
| Shot 6 | 194 | 200 | 6 | 3.09% |
| Shot 7 | 207 | 213 | 6 | 2.90% |
| Shot 8 | 198 | 197 | 1 | 0.51% |
| Shot 9 | 201 | 202 | 1 | 0.50% |
| Shot 10 | 202 | 205 | 3 | 1.49% |
| Shot 11 | 190 | 197 | 7 | 3.68% |
| Shot 12 | 196 | 206 | 10 | 5.10% |
| Shot 13 | 210 | 223 | 13 | 6.19% |
| Shot 14 | 200 | 209 | 9 | 4.50% |
| Shot 15 | 209 | 215 | 6 | 2.87% |
| Shot 16 | 204 | 216 | 12 | 5.88% |
| Shot 17 | 208 | 216 | 8 | 3.85% |
| Shot 18 | 195 | 200 | 5 | 2.56% |
| Shot 19 | 204 | 201 | 3 | 1.47% |
| Shot 20 | 203 | 203 | 0 | 0.00% |
| Average | 5.55 | 2.73% |
CONCLUSION
The data accuracy from the GCQuad was impressive, especially with how it kept improving as we moved to the longer distance clubs. But is it worth the price tag? Let’s compare it to the similarly priced Uneekor EYE XO.
| Uneekor EYE XO | GCQuad | |
| Price | See Pricing | See Pricing |
| Data Parameters | Ball Speed Side Spin Back Spin Side Angle Side Total Launch Angle Angle of Descent / Land Angle Flight Time Distance to Apex Carry, Run and Total Distance Club Speed Dynamic Loft Angle of Attack Smash Factor Club Path Club Face Angle Club Face to Path Club Lie Angle Club Loft Angle Impact Point Vertical Impact Point Horizontal | Ball speed Horizontal & vertical launch angles Spin Side spin Carry distance Available with additional purchase: Club head speed Smash factor Angle of attack Club path Loft at impact Lie & face angle at impact Impact location on the club face |
| Software | Comes with View software, which is a driving range. Upgrade to Refine+ and still stay under the price of the GCQuad with the included FSX 2020 software | Includes FSX 2020, FSX Play and FSX Pro |
| Setup | Overhead mounted | Sits on the ground adjacent to the tee position |
| Multiplayer Friendliness | Center mounted overhead so no need to move it if you have righties and lefties | Must be placed adjacent to ball, which means moving the device for an opposite handed player. Foresight does offer an overhead, centrally mounted launch monitor called the GCHawk. |
| Portability | Indoors only | Indoors and Outdoors |
Let us know in the comments what you think about the GCQuad.
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