TrackMan vs GSPro: which bay should you book?
We run both. One bay is TrackMan iO hardware with TrackMan software, two are ProTee VX hardware running GSPro, and they cost the same. Here's what each one does best, and how to pick.
The numbers are the same. Choose on courses or the app.
Virtual Fairways in Darlington has three bays: one on a TrackMan iO running TrackMan's own software, two on ProTee VX launch monitors running GSPro. Every bay measures the same things — full ball and club data on every shot, so speed, spin, launch, carry, club path, face angle and attack angle wherever you're standing.
Book the TrackMan bay if you want your session saved to the TrackMan app on your phone, so you can go back over your numbers after you leave. Book a ProTee VX bay if you want the biggest course library and a relaxed round with friends. Both cost £27/hour per bay*. The TrackMan bay is on request, so tell us when you book.
A note on the names, because they get mixed up. Every bay is a launch monitor plus the software it draws the course with. TrackMan makes both halves, so one name covers the bay. On the other two, ProTee VX is the launch monitor and GSPro is the software. GSPro doesn't track anything; the ProTee VX does.
Most golfers can't go wrong either way. The rest of this page is for the ones who'd like to choose on purpose.
What's actually in each bay.
They get lumped together as "golf simulators", but the tracking hardware and the software on the screen are different in each.
The TrackMan iO bay
Our TrackMan bay runs TrackMan's own software on a TrackMan iO launch monitor, mounted overhead. It tracks each shot using radar and a high-speed camera together — the radar picks up speed and flight, the camera reads the club through impact and measures your spin directly. TrackMan is the name club fitters and tour players know, and the iO is its indoor unit.
The thing you only get here is the TrackMan app. Your shots go to your TrackMan account, so the session is still on your phone on the drive home and the next time you come in. If you're tracking progress week to week, that's the reason to ask for this bay.
The ProTee VX bays
Our other two bays run GSPro simulator software on ProTee VX launch monitors, also mounted overhead. GSPro is the software; the ProTee VX is the hardware doing the tracking, using twin high-speed cameras. Same split as the other bay, where the TrackMan iO is the hardware and TrackMan is the software.
GSPro is known for its course library, built by its own community and growing all the time. And because the ProTee VX measures your club as well as the ball, you're not giving up any numbers to get the bigger course list. There's no companion app, so what you see on the screen stays in the bay.
What's the same
Every bay hits real balls with your own clubs (or ours), and every bay reports full ball and club data. Across the three bays there are 2000+ courses to play, and the bar, the games and the booking process are identical whichever screen you're standing in front of.
TrackMan iO and ProTee VX, side by side.
| What matters | TrackMan iO bay | ProTee VX bays |
|---|---|---|
| Shot data | Full ball and club data on every shot | Full ball and club data on every shot |
| Software on screen | TrackMan | GSPro |
| Hardware tracking it | TrackMan iO: radar plus high-speed camera | ProTee VX: twin high-speed cameras |
| App afterwards | Yes: shots saved to your TrackMan account | No: data stays on the screen in the bay |
| Course library | A curated set of real courses | The biggest library, community-built and growing |
| Availability | One bay, on request | Two bays |
| Price | £27/hour per bay | £27/hour per bay |
Who should book which bay.
Practising, gapping your clubs, or working with a coach? Either bay will give you the numbers. Attack angle, face to path, club path, spin — that's the bit that explains why a shot did what it did, and you get it on all three. Ask for TrackMan if you want the session kept in the app, or if your coach works in TrackMan numbers. Otherwise a ProTee VX bay does the same job on the screen in front of you. Our guide to what your numbers mean will make either screen a lot less intimidating.
A group, a party, or your first time? A ProTee VX bay on GSPro. There are two of them, so a bigger group can play side by side, the course list is enormous, and the party games keep non-golfers involved. Nobody needs to understand spin rate to enjoy it. If it's your first visit, the first-visit guide covers how a session runs and how to claim 10% off.
Leagues and competitions? Either. A competition night for your own group works across all three bays. TrackMan keeps everyone's rounds in the app afterwards; GSPro on the ProTee VX bays gives you the widest choice of course to play it on.
Wondering whether any of it can be trusted? Read how accurate golf simulators are, which explains how the tracking works indoors.
How to book the one you want.
Ask for TrackMan
The TrackMan bay is available on request. Message us on WhatsApp with the day and time and say you'd like TrackMan, or mention it when you book online. If it's already taken we'll tell you straight away and offer the nearest slot.
The ProTee VX bays are the default
Book a bay without specifying and you'll be on a ProTee VX bay running GSPro, which is the right answer for most social bookings anyway. Groups who want two bays side by side should say so, and we'll put you next to each other.
Same price, whichever you pick
Bay hire is £27/hour and it's priced per bay, so four of you splitting an hour pays the same on TrackMan as on ProTee VX. Memberships and packages are on the pricing page, and both bay types count.
Pick a bay and get in.
Three bays in Darlington from £27/hour. Want TrackMan? Say so when you message and we'll hold it for you. Not fussed? Book any bay and we'll sort the rest.
Book the TrackMan bay Book a bay
Message on Facebook
Message on Instagram