The FlightScope Mevo is now integrated with the FS Golf app and provides a number of improvements to the Mevo user experience. And the new ‘challenges’ feature stands out as a highlight.
There are three challenges on offer, including; the PGA Challenge, the Range Competition and the Long Drive Competition. I’ll be taking an in-depth look at each of these and discussing how they can be used to not only make your practice more enjoyable, but help you improve your game.
PGA Challenge
If you are chasing dreams of turning professional or are simply curious about how you would stack up against the pros, then this challenge is for you.
The PGA Challenge allows you to test yourself against the average parameters on either the LPGA Tour or the PGA Tour, with the goal of the game being to get as close as possible to the tour averages. And while trying to beat the pros adds a lot of fun to a practice session, it also provides you with some valuable insights.
Take my shot below for example:
By looking at my data above, I immediately get some interesting insights.
- Firstly, despite never thinking of myself as a ‘long hitter’, I was only eight yards off the average PGA Tour carry distance with a 6-iron.
- Secondly, I was actually swinging faster than the PGA Tour average and launching the ball higher, despite my ball speed being down.
Taking these insights into account, I get the impression that the average PGA Tour professional is compressing the ball more than I am – which gives them a flatter launch, more distance and a higher smash factor. So, perhaps compression is something I need to work on.
As golfers, we are always looking to improve. And the best thing about this challenge is that you are able to work off the base numbers and draw comparisons from the top 0.01% of golfers – which can only serve to benefit your own game and help you improve.
Range Competition
While the PGA Challenge may lean more towards lower handicap players and aspiring professionals, the range competition can be used as an invaluable tool by golfers of all skill levels to put their distance control to the test.
To start the challenge, you will need to select a target distance, which can range anywhere from 80 to 350 yards, as well as the number of points you will need to get to complete the game (either 250, 500 or 1,000 points). The more points you start off with – the more shots you are likely to hit.
Essentially, the game is all about getting your points remaining to zero in as few shots as possible. The maximum points you can be awarded on each shot is 50 points, which you get if you hit a shot within your target distance. This is displayed in the right picture above as the red zone.
To make the game fair, you are given 10-yards to work with on either side of your target distance. I chose a target distance of 195 yards – meaning that if I hit a shot that carried between 185 and 205 yards – I received 50 points.
The further away you hit it from your target distance, the less points you will receive, and as a result, it will take you more shots to reach zero.
As you can see in the photo above, each shot you hit will be marked on the grid. One of the shots I hit was a complete mishit which carried around 173 yards, and as a result I only received 25 points – meaning it took me more shots to complete the challenge.
One of the helpful things about this challenge is that there is no limit on what club you have to use. So, if I wanted to hit a shot to my target distance of 195 yards – I could use any club and hit any type of shot I want – as long as the ball is landing in the target zone.
This game serves as a challenge to golfers of all skill levels, and I found it to be an excellent way to really put your distance control and consistency to test.
Long Drive Competition
These days, distance has become such an integral part of the game of golf. Whether it’s the latest drivers or golf balls, it seems like everything is geared towards hitting the ball further.
And there’s no question that this so-called distance craze has caused a seismic shift in the game of golf, particularly in the professional ranks.
The average ball speed on the PGA Tour this year is 172.95 mph, while 10 years ago that would have been faster than 80% of the players on tour. Meanwhile, in professional long drive, the likes of Kyle Berkshire and Martin Borgmeier have clocked ball speeds upwards of 230 mph.
I doubt there’s a golfer out there that wouldn’t like to hit the ball further, and whether you’re testing your limits, working on driver technique or having a competition between friends – the Long Drive Competition is the perfect setting.
The goal of the game is simply to hit the ball as far as possible, and the player with the farthest carry distance wins.
While setting up, in addition to the standard Mevo settings (such as the ability to add other players and the type of clubs and balls being used), you will have the option to select the number of shots each player will hit (either 5, 10, 15 or 20).
Doing the challenge alone, I found five shots to be plenty, as it can get pretty tiring swinging a driver at full tilt.
Here’s how I fared:
I completed this challenge at an outdoor driving range using range balls, so I made sure to make these selections during the setup of the challenge. This way, when I went to review the data I could immediately see why there were differences when compared with the distances I get using standard golf balls.
I found that while the competition adds a lot of fun to a practice session, particularly if you do it with friends, it can also be used to hone in your driver technique.
An example of this is my data table from the challenge below:
On the last shot I hit, which ended up being the winner, I put the ball farther forward in my stance and really tried to hit up on it. I struck it well, and because I came from the inside, the ball came out as a high draw.
Although my fifth shot wasn’t the highest ball speed of the challenge, it went the highest and had the least spin – which resulted in the winning carry distance. When I compare this to the shot before, which was a spinny cut, I gained over 20 yards of carry distance.
So, after playing around a bit, I know that I can get the most out of my driver by setting up with the ball in line with my left foot and coming from the inside, which will hopefully help me achieve my ideal ball flight of a low-spinning high draw.
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