Garmin's premium photometric launch monitor and simulator. Three cameras read ball and club data, and a 10in colour touchscreen is built straight into the unit, so it runs Home Tee Hero virtual rounds and shows your numbers without any external laptop, tablet or phone. It works indoors with a net or screen and outdoors on the range, and packs into an included carry case.
Golf Tech & Gadgets
The latest and greatest in golf tech.
The latest and greatest golf tech — the gadgets a golfer could browse for hours. The all-in-one launch monitor that turns a garage into a simulator, the lasers winning 2026's tests, the cult wrist sensor that actually fixes your swing, GPS speakers for the cart, and the cheap magnetic gadgets that just make life on the course easier.
Our rule for this shelf is simple: a gadget earns its place if it changes a decision, a swing or your enjoyment of the round — and gets cut if it's a novelty that ends up in a drawer. Feedback tools clear that bar easily, because data you can act on is what actually moves your game. A personal launch monitor reshapes how you practise; a wrist sensor like HackMotion exposes faults you can't feel; a good laser saves you guessing. The magnetic accessories are the sleeper hits — a few pounds for a phone mount or rangefinder strap that quietly removes friction every round.
We keep this current as new kit lands and the test results come in, so it stays a list of toys genuinely worth owning rather than whatever's loudest in the marketing this month.
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Blue Tees' 2026 flagship laser rangefinder with built-in GPS smarts, app-based shot tracking and AI-adjusted yardages.
A compact camera-based launch monitor and simulator for indoor use, sold direct in the UK through Square Golf's own site.
A hybrid laser rangefinder with a built-in colour GPS touchscreen, the first device to properly combine both in one unit.
The Bushnell Pro X3+ is the top-of-the-range laser rangefinder, aimed at the golfer who wants every bell and whistle: slope, elevation, temperature, and now real-time wind data piped in from the app.
A portable camera-plus-radar launch monitor from Rapsodo that doubles as a home sim, aimed at golfers who want proper ball data without remortgaging the house for a Trackman or GCQuad.
The HackMotion Core is a lightweight wrist sensor that clips to (or sits under) your golf glove and feeds back your wrist angles, mainly flexion and extension, in real time via an app. It's aimed at golfers who know their ball striking is inconsistent and want to fix the actual mechanics rather than guess.
A doppler radar launch monitor with a built-in screen and remote, aimed at the average club golfer who wants real numbers at the range or in the garage without a monthly subscription.
It is a Bluetooth speaker with built-in GPS that barks out front, middle and back yardages on the cart, aimed at riders who want tunes plus distances from one gadget on the buggy rail.
The original Wingman solved the cart-speaker problem by reading your yardages aloud through a remote in your pocket, and the whole line has been iterating toward the obvious conclusion ever since: sometimes you want to look at the number. The HD is that version. A 3.5-inch touchscreen shows front, centre and back plus hazard distances, so you get the glance-and-go of a handheld GPS from the speaker already magnetically stuck to the cart frame — one fewer device, one fewer thing to charge. The audio is the reason people buy the range in the first place: 360-degree sound loud enough to carry across a fourball without being the group everyone else resents, and Concert Links pairing so two units play in sync if your playing partner has one too. It's waterproof, as anything living on a cart should be. Worth it over the cheaper Wingman 2 if you'd otherwise carry a separate GPS; if you already wear a watch, the saving is the smarter buy.
The Wingman View sits in the middle of Bushnell's speaker range and answers a specific complaint about the cheaper models: audio-only yardages are fine until you want to double-check a number without asking the speaker to say it again in front of your playing partners. Adding an LCD screen fixes that, showing distance and music information at a glance while keeping the sound quality that made the line the default cart speaker in golf. Against its stablemates the positioning is clear. The Wingman Mini is smaller, cheaper and audio-only; the Wingman HD adds a full 3.5-inch touchscreen with hazard distances and app integration for meaningfully more. The View is the sensible middle — you get the screen, you don't pay for the flagship's extra features. If you're choosing between the three, the honest question is whether you already carry a GPS watch: if you do, the Mini's saving is the smart call, and if you don't, stretching to the HD gets you a device that genuinely replaces one.
A Frogger-style magnetic rangefinder strap that velcros a magnet puck to your cart bar and another to your rangefinder, so the unit clicks on and off the cart hands-free. Aimed at cart and push-cart golfers who are sick of fishing their rangefinder out of a pocket or bag every shot.
A magnetic mount that straps to your cart frame or bag and grips your phone via MagSafe, so you can glance at yardages or film your swing without digging in your pocket. Aimed at cart-riders and range rats who use a GPS or shot app.
A GPS golf watch with proper automatic shot tracking built in, aimed at stat nerds who want to know where their game actually leaks without paying a yearly subscription. You screw the included tags into your grips and it logs every shot hands-free.
A compact waterproof Bluetooth speaker with golf GPS built in, reading out distances at the press of a button while playing your music.
A tensioned polyester impact screen that doubles as your projection surface and your ball-stopper, aimed at anyone building a home or garage golf sim instead of paying club rates to hit into a TrackMan bay.
Frequently asked
- What golf gadget is genuinely worth buying?
- A personal launch monitor like the Garmin R10 changes how you practise more than any other gadget, and a wrist sensor like HackMotion fixes real swing faults. Beyond those, a quality laser and a GPS speaker are the toys most golfers actually keep using.
- Are golf tech gadgets worth the money or just gimmicks?
- It depends on the device. Feedback tools — launch monitors, swing sensors, rangefinders — earn their place because they give data you act on. Novelty gadgets that don't change a decision or a swing tend to gather dust, so buy for the job, not the hype.
- What's the best value piece of golf tech?
- A budget launch monitor or a sub-$130 rangefinder gives the biggest jump in useful information for the money. Cheap magnetic accessories — a phone mount or rangefinder strap — are tiny spends that quietly make every round easier.
- Are budget launch monitors accurate enough to be useful?
- For tracking trends, gapping your bag and seeing carry and ball speed, yes — units like the Garmin R10 are plenty accurate to practise with. The premium photometric monitors add tighter spin and club data you'd want for serious fitting or a home simulator you fully trust, but most golfers don't need that to improve.
- Which golf gadget should a beginner buy first?
- Skip the simulators early on and start with a simple GPS for distances and, if practice is your thing, a cheap launch monitor to learn your carry numbers. Fundamentals tech that gives clear feedback beats novelty gear every time while your swing is still settling.
Related reading
More on this from the desk
Review
8.3/10Square Golf launch monitor review: the camera unit that undercuts the radar crowd
A newer camera-based monitor that reads club data the budget radar crowd can't — and never charges a subscription. Here's honestly where it fits in a home sim.
Review
8.3/10Bushnell Wingman Mini review: the speaker that made music on the course respectable
Music on the golf course went from etiquette scandal to default in about five years, and this is the device that did it — a pocket-size speaker that clips to a bag, snaps to a cart frame, and reads out your yardages on demand. For cart and buddies golf, it's the one to get.