For those considering a launch monitor for both home and the driving range and are looking for something that’s affordable and high-quality, the new Omni from Square Golf might be the perfect fit.
At around $1,600, it is priced far less than many competitors’ compatible launch monitors, which can be thousands of dollars more. And unsurprisingly, the Omni delivers significantly more performance than most launch monitors that cost less.
Our resident expert on such matters, Jon Sherman, says that the Square Golf Omni launch monitor is a compelling and cost-effective choice for anyone looking to build a simulator-first setup. Plus, it’s great for practice, providing a wealth of data from its four-camera system. That data includes the basics like carry distance, total distance, and smash factor, but adds path, spin rates, trajectories, height, clubhead speed, ball speed, etc. It also comes standard with four different game modes, and it has an impressive on-screen display.
“I was very impressed with the accuracy,” says Sherman, the founder of Practical Golf, whose newsletters, website, and podcasts are all about helping golfers get better through technology. He is also a valued consultant for the Celina, Texas-based Indoor Golf Shop, which includes a full selection of launch monitors and simulators from companies like Trackman, Uneekor, Garmin, Bushnell, Flightscope, ProTee, Full Swing, and Tru Golf. The company also offers projectors, wall padding, golf mats, and many other products to help you set up your own sim at home.
“In my testing, the Omni was almost identical to my Foresight GC3 on many shots,” he added. “The original Square was accurate when it worked, but you would get misreads at times. The newer one, because it has extra cameras, I don’t think I got one misread, except maybe on the driver a couple of times. But it was pretty spot on.”
The Square Omni represents an upgrade from the original Square Golf Home launch monitor, which itself is a bargain at just $700. The Omni has four high-speed infrared cameras instead of the two that are used by the Square Golf monitor, which is billed as “entry level.”
Neither requires subscriptions to operate — the Omni includes some simulated courses with 1,000 free credits, but Sherman does recommend adding a third-party integration like GSPro, which is next-generation simulation software and graphics, to get the full experience and more golf courses to play. It also includes a tripod and removable and rechargeable battery that’s good for up to six hours of use. And the Square Golf Omni is also compatible with both Android and Apple devices.
While the Square Home edition offers club and ball data, the Omni ramps up to what Square Golf calls “tour accuracy,” meaning that it is comparable in many ways to what the tour players use on the range before their competitive rounds and during practice on the range.
Another improvement over the Home is that the Omni doesn’t require specially marked golf balls, which Sherman says is a big improvement. You do, however, have to place two stickers on the clubhead for club data, which is a bit of a nuisance, he says, but certainly not a deal breaker by any means.
Additionally, Sherman says the on-screen data display is a really nice feature. And being able to see numbers like carry distance and launch angle directly on the device is very useful, especially outdoors on the range. It is, however, a bit bulky to take out on the range, compared to other units, but not too difficult.
“Personally, would I take that to the range with me all the time? Probably not. I still see it primarily as an indoor unit,” Sherman says. “But I think this is going to be a home run for golfers who want a strong simulator performance without spending $5,000-plus.”
