How to Analyze Your TrackMan Data

What TrackMan Measures

TrackMan uses dual radar technology to capture over 50 data points per shot, covering both ball flight and club delivery. The ball data includes carry distance, total distance, ball speed, launch angle, spin rate, spin axis, and landing angle. The club data includes club speed, attack angle, club path, face angle, face to path, dynamic loft, and low point.

The Problem with Raw Numbers

A 2023 National Golf Foundation study found that 73% of golfers with launch monitor access don't know how to interpret their data beyond basic distance numbers. Knowing your 7-iron carries 165 yards is useful. Knowing whether that 165 is costing you strokes compared to your handicap peers is the difference between data and insight. Raw numbers lack context. Is a 2,800 RPM spin rate on your 7-iron good or bad? It depends on your launch angle, ball speed, and how those numbers compare to what a golfer of your level typically produces.

How Strokes Gained Turns Data into Priorities

Strokes gained analysis, originally developed by Columbia professor Mark Broadie and adopted by the PGA Tour in 2011, measures every aspect of your game against a benchmark. Instead of asking "is this number good," it asks "how many strokes is this metric costing or saving me?"

When applied to launch monitor data, strokes gained ranks your performance across five areas - Direction, Low Point, Contact, Speed, and Launch - so you can see exactly where to spend your practice time. A golfer losing 0.8 strokes to direction but only 0.1 to speed knows precisely where to focus, even if their club speed "feels" like the bigger issue.

Analyzing a Session in Dialed

Dialed connects directly to TrackMan Performance Studio. Here is how a typical analysis works:

1. 1Hit your session in Shot Analysis mode. Dialed reads TrackMan's Shot Analysis data format. Other modes use different structures.
2. 2Import via Chrome extension or CSV. The extension pulls data in one click. CSV works too - export from TrackMan and drag the file in. See the import guide for details.
3. 3Review your strokes gained breakdown. Dialed evaluates every shot against handicap-specific benchmarks and ranks your five performance areas by stroke impact.
4. 4Focus your practice. The worst-performing area and club combination tells you exactly where your biggest scoring opportunity lives.

What to Look for First

When you open your first analysis, start with these three areas:

• Direction - face angle and club path combine to determine where the ball starts and curves. For most amateurs, direction is the single largest source of lost strokes.
• Contact - smash factor and consistency reveal how well you are striking the ball. Poor contact compounds every other issue.
• Speed - club speed and ball speed determine your distance potential. But speed only matters if direction and contact are under control.

Research from Broadie's "Every Shot Counts" found that the average 20-handicap golfer loses approximately 4.2 strokes per round to approach shots alone - exactly the kind of insight launch monitor analysis reveals.

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