Foresight finally made a launch monitor for $1,699, and my first question is always the same: what did they take out? So let me show you what this thing actually gives you, the one number it will never show you, and the part of the Foresight bill nobody puts on the box.
For the record, Foresight normally sells the expensive stuff most golfers never even look at, and you can order the GC2 now to reserve one.
What's new
Two cameras means this is ball data only, with no club data now or ever. There's no software tier and no subscription that switches it on later, so club path, attack angle and face angle aren't coming. If your whole practice plan is chasing a path number, stop reading here.
It helps to see where it sits. The GCQuad runs four cameras and the GC3 runs three, so the GC2 is the two-camera unit underneath both of them and the cheap door into Foresight's camera hardware.
What you do get is the shot itself: ball speed, launch angle, spin and spin axis. That's most of what a lot of guys actually stare at anyway, and it's coming off Foresight's own cameras instead of radar guessing in a garage.
The screen is 2.8 inches and it's not a touchscreen like the GC3, so you're running this off your phone most nights. Battery's five hours, which is a full range session. It's a little smaller and lighter than the GC3 too, and it works indoors and outdoors.
Here's the part I like most. It doesn't need specially marked golf balls. You can hit a normal Pro V1 off the mat or out on the grass. If you've ever stood there with a Sharpie dotting a dozen balls before you practice, you know exactly why that matters.
Now here's the catch, because there's always one. That $1,699 buys you hardware, and Foresight charges a yearly subscription if you want to play golf courses on their software. So the number on the box got cheap, but the yearly bill didn't. We broke down what those memberships cost right here, and I'd read that before you hit buy.
Who it's for
If you've always wanted Foresight ball numbers and the price stopped you cold, this is your way in. You want launch, spin and ball speed, you're not building a swing lab in the garage, and you want to take it outside and hit whatever ball is already in your bag.
If you think you'll want club data someday, don't buy this and hope, because you can't add it. Go get three cameras instead. That's the GC3, or Bushnell's Circle B, which uses the same three-camera hardware and can read club numbers.
And if you're brand new to this and the whole simulator thing is still an idea, know what you're signing up for. The box is the first payment, not the last one.
So here's the call. If you just want ball numbers off a Foresight, buy it. I haven't had one in my hands yet, but a two-camera Foresight at this price is the most interesting launch monitor news I've seen in a while. If club data is the whole reason you're shopping, go three cameras. And if the yearly subscription math makes you wince, keep your money, because that number isn't coming down.
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About the author
Paul Liberatore
Paul Liberatore is the founder of Golfers Authority and a former four-year golf gear contributor to Sports Illustrated. He tests golf equipment hands-on to help golfers make better buying decisions.