Garmin Approach R50 vs Full Swing KIT: Battle for the Best $5,000 Golf Launch Monitor

Same price.

Same main feature.

Same super-charged hype.

Both the now-established Full Swing KIT and the brand new Garmin Approach R50 sell for $4,999 (and 99 cents in the case of the R50).

Both of these golf launch monitors attract attention first and foremost because of their beautiful built-in screens. It’s the most obvious feature and a huge selling point for each.

And both of these launch monitors debuted with incredible fanfare. For the Full Swing KIT, it was the Tiger Woods endorsement that got everyone talking. For the R50, it was the hype of a first-of-its-kind golf launch monitor with built-in golf simulator capabilities that still has the internet buzzing with excitement.

But for as key as each of those similarities are, there’s a lot that’s entirely different about the Garmin Approach R50 and Full Swing KIT.

Most obvious is the fact that they read golf shots using distinctly different technologies. The R50 is an optical device that sits to the side of the ball. The Full Swing KIT is a radar unit that sits behind the ball.

How does that fundamental difference affect performance?

And what else about these two popular golf launch monitors is different?

Most importantly, if you have $5,000 to spend on a golf launch monitor and simulator, should you buy the R50 or the Full Swing KIT?

Let’s sort it out. I’ll assign a score of 0 to 5 for each launch monitor in each of the following categories:

• Price
• First Impressions Upon Unboxing
• Setup Process
• Portability
• Data
• Outdoor Use
• Indoor Use
• Features
• Simulator Use
• Annual Subscriptions Cost

Here we go!

Golf Launch Monitor and Simulator Price

Garmin Approach R50 = 4; Full Swing KIT = 4

This is as direct a comparison as it can get. The Full Swing KIT retails for $4,999.00, and the Garmin Approach R50 goes for $4,999.99.

Certainly $5K is going to be a little rich for plenty of people, but I actually think both of these products provide very good value.

When you consider that each of these golf launch monitors include best-in-class built-in color displays and all the ball and club data you could want right out of the box, the prices relative to what you’d find in competing products are very fair.

First Impressions Upon Unboxing

Garmin Approach R50 = 5; Full Swing KIT = 5

The Garmin Approach R50 is such a stunning attention-grabber for two reasons: The size of the launch monitor and the 10-inch screen.

As soon as you pull the R50 out of the box, you can’t help but to recognize that it’s larger than every other golf launch monitor available. At 17 inches tall, 12 inches wide, 7 inches deep, and weighing 9 pounds, it dwarfs something like the Foresight Sports GC3 or Bushnell Launch Pro.

That size may be an initial turnoff until you realize that it has to be this big to accommodate the built-in 10-inch, color, touchscreen display. This screen is absolutely amazing. It’s totally responsive and the color graphics are incredible. It’s like having an iPad built into a golf launch monitor. Trust me, you wouldn’t want to sacrifice any of this screen just to save on dimensions.

We’ve never seen anything like the R50 before. So while, yes, it’s very large, I can’t imagine anyone opening this product and not uttering some version of, “wow!” 

The Full Swing KIT, on the other hand, is all about elegance, classiness, and quality. Everything about the packaging and the build quality of the device itself is completely first-rate. It all looks and feels very professional.

And while the Full Swing KIT’s screen might not be quite the head-turner that the R50’s is, it does grab your attention, especially once you turn it on. It’s a beautiful, color OLED display that, until the R50 came along, was much nicer looking than any other golf launch monitor with a built-in screen.

You don’t buy a golf launch monitor for its looks. But if you’re going to spend $5,000, it’s definitely nice to get something easy on the eyes. Both the R50 and Full Swing KIT make perfect first and lasting impressions.

Ease of Setup

Garmin Approach R50 = 5; Full Swing KIT = 5

I promise, not every category is going to be a tie.

But for ease of setup, there’s no way not to give each of these products the highest mark.

Actually, the R50 could win the highest score no matter how high the scale went. One of the most amazing things about it is how easy it is to use. And that includes multiple different ways of using it.

If you just want to get shot data, you can be operational in seconds.

And, thanks to built-in Home Tee Hero golf simulator software, it also takes less than a minute to be standing on the first tee box of one of 43,000 simulated golf courses.

Also, if you want to connect your R50 to a projector or a TV, you can do it with a single HDMI cable. No other golf launch monitor affords this kind of simple interface. With every other product, to connect to a projector or TV, you have to include a computer or mobile device as a go-between.

Like I said, the R50 really deserves even higher than a 5, but we’ll stick to our scale.

The Full Swing KIT gets the max score here because it’s the easiest radar golf launch monitor I’ve ever set up.

Every other radar launch monitor that reads shots from behind the ball requires at least several minutes of precise alignment. It can be a bit of a pain, and it’s generally one of the downsides about using a radar golf launch monitor.

But Full Swing makes that process incredibly simple. Alignment is made easy thanks to a tool in the app that uses the KIT’s built-in 4K camera to show you exactly where the device is pointing.

In the app, you’ll see a solid center vertical line and then two dotted lines on each side. You’ll position your golf ball so that it is anywhere in between those dotted lines, ideally in line with the center line.

The ease of setup is a huge selling point for the Full Swing KIT. The only golf launch monitors that are as easy to set up are optical units. Including, of course, the Garmin Approach R50.

Portability

Garmin Approach R50 = 3; Full Swing KIT = 4 

Here’s where the size of the R50 becomes a deterrent. It’s just too big to be considered portable.

That said, Garmin does provide an incredibly robust, well-padded, beautiful carrying case. It’s like a large YETI cooler, with an emphasis on the word “large.” There’s a shoulder strap to make carrying it easy, but there’s no getting around that this thing is big.

On the other hand, because the R50 can be used for practice or simulator golf without the need to connect to any additional devices, it’s extremely portable in the sense that you can bring it anywhere where there’s room to swing a golf club and be up and running in less than a minute.

The Full Swing KIT, as a much smaller golf launch monitor, is the more traditionally portable of these two products. And it also includes a very nice, hardy, high-quality carrying case.

But I stopped short of the highest mark for the Swing KIT only because, with the case, it’s too large to fit into a golf bag. Let’s say you were heading out to the range with the Full Swing KIT before playing a round. You’d have to bring your golf launch monitor back to your car or locker before you teed off, especially if you were walking.

Garmin Approach R50 vs Full Swing KIT: The Data

Garmin Approach R50 = 5; Full Swing KIT = 5

Both of these golf launch monitors deliver the very best when it comes to ball and club data!

And the best part is that you don’t need to pay extra to get all of the data. Every metric these devices are capable of reading, which is pretty much everything you need, is included in the purchase price.

For the Garmin Approach R50, that’s:

• Ball Speed
• Launch Angle
• Launch Direction
• Spin Rate
• Spin Axis
• Sidespin
• Smash Factor
• Total Distance
• Carry Distance
• Carry Deviation (in both yards and degrees)
• Total Deviation (in both yards and degrees)
• Apex Height

• Clubhead Speed
• Path Angle
• Angle of Attack
• Face Angle
• Face to Path

And for the Full Swing KIT, it’s:

• Ball Speed
• Launch Angle
• Horizontal Angle
• Spin Rate
• Spin Axis
• Smash Factor
• Total Distance
• Carry Distance
• Side Carry Distance
• Side Total Distance
• Apex Height
• Face Angle
• Face to Path
• Angle of Attack
• Clubhead Speed
• Club Path

With either of these golf launch monitors, you can get every piece of information that you’d need to learn everything you could want to know about your golf swing.

Outdoor Use

Garmin Approach R50 = 5; Full Swing KIT = 5 

The Approach R50 is a completely unique product. Never before have we had a golf launch monitor that could be used as a simulator without needing to hook up to any additional hardware or software.

That means that you can play or practice anywhere, including anywhere outdoors. With the R50, it’s as simple as turning the device on and swiping through the menu of options between virtual ranges, target practice games, and built-in Home Tee Hero courses.

Most importantly, the R50 is dead-on accurate. And that includes shots hit off of real grass or artificial turf.

The Full Swing KIT can likewise operate outdoors as a standalone unit. You can’t play simulator golf on the device itself (the R50 is the only option for that), but because of its built-in display, you can get all of your data without needing to pair it with anything else.

When you do want to store and review your shot data, you will need to connect to the Full Swing app, but that typically takes only several seconds.

Another plus for the Full Swing KIT is that, like the R50, it can accurately read shots hit off of natural grass. Some golf launch monitors, like the SkyTrak+, are only reliable when hitting off of mats. The Full Swing KIT and R50 are both much more versatile.

And, at least outdoors, I found the Full Swing KIT to also be extremely accurate. I’ll cover the couple of hiccups I encountered indoors, but for outdoor use, the Swing KIT was spot on. As a radar unit, it is reading the entire flight of the golf ball, so this type of technology always performs best outdoors where there’s room to track the whole path of the ball.

Indoor Use

Garmin Approach R50 = 5; Full Swing KIT = 3

No matter where you put it, the R50 works flawlessly. It’s accurate. It’s versatile. It’s fun. It’s incredibly simple to operate. So indoors, outdoors, and probably even in outer space, the R50 is always going to get the highest score.

One of the coolest things about the R50 is when you want to use it in a golf simulator studio with an impact screen. With every other kind of golf launch monitor, that means connecting the launch monitor to a computer and then the computer to a projector. But the R50 eliminates the middle man. It’s just a direct HDMI connection from the R50 to the projector. Brilliant!

Still another plus for the R50 is that because it’s capturing shot data using three high-speed cameras positioned to the side of the golf ball, it requires so much less room depth than a radar golf launch monitor. You really only need enough room to swing a golf club freely and to not get hit with a ricocheting ball.

The Full Swing KIT, on the other hand, needs to sit 8 to 10 feet behind the golf ball. When you add in the additional 8 to 10 feet between the ball and your impact screen or net, you’re talking about quite a lot of room depth. Not everybody has that kind of space.

But the bigger issue, to me, is that in my indoor testing, accuracy was a tad off with the Full Swing KIT. Specifically, I was consistently getting under-readings on distance numbers. It wasn’t a huge discrepancy, but I was regularly seeing distances at least a handful of yards less on the Full Swing KIT than on the Foresight GC3 I was using to confirm my numbers.

This isn’t necessarily surprising as radar units regularly struggle indoors for the same reason that they shine outdoors. Indoors, there simply is not as much room for the launch monitor to accurately track the ball flight. In fact, to get the most accurate indoor readings using the Full Swing KIT, it’s recommended that you use special Titleist RCT golf balls that are designed for golf launch monitor use.

On the plus side for radar units like the Full Swing KIT, if you play regularly with both righties and lefties, a unit like this that sits behind the golf ball will mean that you won’t need to move the golf launch monitor back and forth for the different-handed golfers.

Golf Launch Monitor and Simulator Features

Garmin Approach R50 = 5; Full Swing KIT = 5

Just like with data, neither of these devices hold anything back when it comes to features. Impressive is a wild understatement!

As I said earlier, before the R50 came out, the Full Swing KIT had the best-looking screen of any golf launch monitor that included an onboard display. That means it’s still the second best. And it still is positively beautiful.

And the Full Swing display is customizable, allowing you to choose which data metrics you want to see on the screen. You can select just one metric or up to four at a time.

Another incredible Full Swing KIT feature is a built-in 4K camera that automatically captures video of each one of your swings. In the app, you can then see beautifully captured swing videos, and you can control the speed, meaning you can slow it down to focus on the parts of your swing that you really want to study.

Then there’s the Garmin Approach R50. And, yes, it is positively loaded. Among the goodies:

• A 10-inch, color, responsive touchscreen display
• Built-in golf simulator capabilities
• Direct HDMI connection to a projector or television
• Full suite of ball and club data right out of the box
• Automatic slow motion impact videos after each shot
• Option to organize your display to see whatever information you want, including with a splitscreen

It goes on from there. There’s never been a golf launch monitor like the Approach R50.

Can You Use the R50 or Full Swing KIT as a Golf Simulator?

Garmin Approach R50 = 5; Full Swing KIT = 3

Before the Garmin Approach R50, there was never a golf launch monitor with built-in golf simulator capabilities.

With other golf launch monitors, you need to interface with a computer or mobile device that is running golf simulator software.

With the R50, if you want to play Home Tee Hero, which is so, so much improved over the version available with the Garmin Approach R10, you don't need anything more than the R50 itself.

It’s also a plus that the R50 is compatible with multiple third-party golf simulator software options like GSPro, E6 Connect, and Awesome Golf. Those simulated courses won’t be visible on the R50 screen the way they are with Home Tee Hero, but it’s still nice to have the option to choose from different third-party providers. 

The issue I have with the Full Swing KIT regarding using it as a golf simulator is that it can get quite expensive.

The Full Swing KIT does come with the E6 Connect Perpetual Package that includes five simulator golf courses and 15 virtual practice ranges. That’s actually a really nice out-of-the-box value.

Another nice and recent plus is that the Full Swing KIT is finally compatible with the popular GSPro third-party simulator software. That was not the case for a long time, so that’s a very welcome addition.

Now, Full Swing does have its own proprietary golf simulator software. And it’s actually quite outstanding with incredibly realistic graphics and mapping for some of the best courses in the world, including Spyglass Hill and PGA tour stops from the TPC network of courses.

The issue is that to play those really nice Full Swing sim courses, you’ve got to buy a turnkey studio package from Full Swing. They’ll send you everything you need, including a laptop that has the golf simulator software preloaded. But those packages that include a projector and impact screen start at $9,500. Yikes!

Do the R50 or Full Swing KIT Require Subscriptions?

Garmin Approach R50 = 4; Full Swing KIT = 4

The good news about both of these golf launch monitors is that you can get all of your shot data without having to pay any kind of subscription. And that includes club data, which costs extra with some golf launch monitors.

As discussed, one of the best things about the Garmin Approach R50 is that you can play Home Tee Hero simulator golf right on the R50 itself. It’s so, so cool! But it does require a $9.99 per month or $99 per year subscription. To me, that’s a good price for such an awesome feature.

Of course, if you want to use your R50 to play simulator golf using a third-party provider, there will be additional costs.

With the Full Swing KIT, if you want access to your historic shot data, unlimited video storage, improvement tracking and analysis, and the ability to share data, you’ve got to upgrade to the $99.99 per year premium plan.

One key limiting factor with the Full Swing KIT app, regardless of if you go for the premium version or not, is that it is only compatible with iOS devices. That’s a serious non-starer for many users.

For either the R50 or the Full Swing KIT, I think the subscription cost is reasonable. It’s nice that so much is included out of the box with both golf launch monitors. And while I do think most users will want to upgrade via the subscription, doing so is more affordable than with several other golf launch monitors.

R50 vs Full Swing KIT: Two Good Choices, but We Do Have a Clear-Cut Winner

After we add ‘em all up, we get a total score of:

Garmin Approach R50: 46

Full Swing KIT: 43

For the most number of users, I think the best way to spend $5,000 on a golf launch monitor is to buy the Garmin Approach R50. It’s such a special product that’s really rewritten all the rules of how golfers can expect to enjoy virtual practice and play.

But that doesn’t mean some people won’t be better off with the Full Swing KIT. For one thing, it too is an outstanding product. Just because the R50 is so innovative doesn’t disqualify the Full Swing KIT from still being relevant. There’s a lot to love about this golf launch monitor. The built-in screen, the 4K camera, the outdoor accuracy, the really nice carrying case, the build quality, and the full suite of ball and club data right out of the box are just a handful of this device’s virtues.

Also, if you’re looking for a radar golf launch monitor that works well for a sim studio setup that includes both righty and lefty golfers, the Full Swing KIT is a better choice than the R50.

Or if the swing replay video is going to be particularly helpful for your improvement, the Full Swing KIT’s full-swing color video is much better than the R50’s impact-only black-and-white video.

So, again, it isn’t as if the Full Swing KIT is a bad choice at the $5,000 price point.

It’s just that, at least in my opinion, the Garmin Approach R50 is the best golf launch monitor for $5,000.

About PlayBetter Golf Reviewer Marc Sheforgen

Marc Sheforgen is a golf writer whose passion for the game far exceeds his ability to play it well. Marc covers all things golf, from product reviews and equipment recommendations to event coverage and tournament analysis. When he’s not playing, watching, or writing about golf, he enjoys traveling (often golf-related), youth sports coaching, volunteering, and record collecting.