GSA Golf develop and manufacture the world's most affordable, yet most advanced and comprehensive
hi-speed camera golf simulator tracking systems on the market today
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Technical News
System Updates & Development News
GSA Golf daily updates and news
Hi! I'm Martin Paul Gardiner
Electronics and software development engineer and founder of GSA Golf
Regularly check out my tech news page for all our latest developments and free updates
GSA Golf tech news is updated almost daily!
so make sure to check in for all the latest updates and news regularly
If you have any questions
please feel free to contact me personally anytime from M to F - 12noon to 3pm US ET via e-mail at
Please Note: We're closed on weekends and all US national holidays
If you are contacting us on the weekends or on national holidays,
then we'll make best effort to get back to you within 24 hours of the next working day.
Did you get a response to your e-mail?
We get really busy at times and e-mail responses can be late or even forgotten at times.
Please remind us again if you didn't get a response to your e-mail.
Note: we are not receiving or responding to emails
on weekends or on national holidays.
Weekends at GSAgolf are used solely for system development and product assembly
Emails sent to us after 3pm Friday will get answered to the following Monday
Emails sent to us after 3pm on work days are not read until the next day
Email responses are usually only made between 12 noon and 3 pm
GSA Golf Control Panel (CP) Updates
V 9.9.9.8 November 30 2023
Click the above green button to download the latest CP update.
This is a fast download and installation,
suitable for most users that have done updates and initial installations within the last year or so.
Click the pink button to install a previous back-dated older version.
(Only do this if the current green button update is not working for you)
Please note that if you using the older Flir or Point Grey cameras, then these new CP updates are not guaranteed to work
as these updates are generally specific to the functionality of the new SSi cameras.
Contact us if you require a full version update
How to install the CP (Control Panel) update
Double click on the downloaded CPupdate file in the Downloads folder on your PC
Even though Windows will complain about it, rest assured that the download presents no threat
And off you go
Browser blocking the download?
After the download, best to switch back to at least Standard Protection
From what we gather, Google's new policy is to block all exe file downloads from websites that are not on their trusted "White List".
So until then, all users wishing to download the latest CP updates may have to go through the above shown process.
Note: do the above procedure after the download has completed and you get the "blocked" message from Google Chrome
Even then, your Virus Protection software will probably be complaining about it too.
Click the "Trust Now" in this case.
Note that you can also try the zipped download links as zipped files should be able to avoid any virus protection blocks
Please note: We guarantee there is no Virus in our software downloads what-so-ever.
We are an honest and trustworthy company and our only aim is to provide great software for use in your golf simulator.
Download VC redistributables hereHere
Download latest Camera DLL hereHere
Don't forget to run the download after it's downloaded!
A number of customers don't realize that a CP update is a dual process
i.e first download and then run the download
Note that anti-virus programs will probably try to block the GSA Golf CP update download but - be assured - there's no malicious software in the download update
so just ignore any warnings from your anti-virus programs and choose the "More options" and "Run anyway" option.
Click above button to read more...
Technical Support
Paid Remote access support sessions are available 5 days a week at 2pm ET
Remote access support requires that you have "TeamViewer" installed on your PC
Go to www.teamviewer.com to get your free team viewer installed
November 30 3:33 pm
V 9.9.9.8
Calibrated camera perspective correction.
Switch on/off in the Video panel. Default is ON
November 28 12:10 am
V 9.9.9.7
New 1: Improved camera perspective correction
Overhead camera perspective correction when mounting the camera behind and not in front of the ball launch position
Coming in next update: Side Spin rotation shown
November 26 2:10 pm
V 9.9.9.6
New 1: Improved ball spin detection with SCX and Eagle ceiling mounted camera systems
Note that only well defined and spaced spin dot balls can be used ( as hown above).
A maximum of 4 dots should only be visible within the center area of the ball.
Also note that camera exposure time (i.e. shutter speed) has to be set at or below 150 micro seconds and frame set to 1500 fps.
November 25 2:10 pm
V 9.9.9.5
New 1: Many smaller features and cosmetic updates
Fix 1: Shot video playback overlay not working when putting or chipping
November 24 11:48 am
V 9.9.9.4
New 1: Overhead camera perspective correction
The perspective correction is currently user definable in the Video panel.
Set the slider bar to zero for no correction.
November 22 1:59 pm
V 9.9.9.2
New 1: New customer camera registrations
New 2: Improved ball spin image
Fix : System not saving shot videos when using color cameras and frame rate set to 1500fps
November 21 3:42 pm
V 9.9.9.1
New 1: Improved ball spin detection
New 2: measured frame is now stored in the shot video files so that when loading a previous shot, the system frame rate will match the frame rate in the video
Fix : Error in chipping and putting modes causing measured ball speed to be halved
November 2011:22 am
V 9.9.8.9
New 1: Improved club detection -
IBS club detection method de-activated as this is proving to be too complicated for users to setup.
New 2: Improved ball detection when club under and ahead of ball with wedges
November 20 3:42 pm
V 9.9.8.8
New 1: Update for customers using 2 color cameras
New 2: Auto color shot video detection when cameras not plugged in
Note: Frame rate will be around 260 fps lower if using 2 color cameras instead of 1 color and 1 mono.
When using 2 color cameras in 800 fps mode, frame rate is reduced to 540 fps
When using 2 color cameras in 1500 fps mode, frame rate is reduced to 1000 fps
New 3: Max shot video files
Currently the max number of shot files that are saved before looping back to 1, is 512
If using 2 color cameras with all the color frames, you will eat up over 200 gigabyte of disc space.
This new option will allow you to limit the video file count down to 8 video files
New 4: Measured frame rate now used in speed calculations
All speed calculations are now based on the real captured camera FPS and not just the hard coded 800 and 1500 fps
While the difference is minimal when not using color cameras, it can be substantial when using color cameras or the users PC can't handle the regular frame rate
November 18 11:43 am
V 9.9.8.6
New 1: Improved auto connection to E6, GSpro and TGC.
New 2: Easier minimized CP positioning on screen with mouse
New 3: Auto camera FPS speed checks re-introduced when using E6, GSpro and TGC (i.e. Connection not attempted until speed checks complete)
November 17 3:21 pm
V 9.9.8.5
Fix for Color Camera systems:
Shot replay videos not being shown in color and data not being re-calcutated
November 16 12:54 pm
V 9.9.8.3
New: Update for users wanting to use 2 color cameras instead of the recommended 1 color and 1 mono camera
November 15 3:03 pm
V 9.9.8.2
New: Warning messages are now shown if users set camera gains too low and shutter speeds either too low or too high
Fix: Color cameras not detecting shots with single camera VisTrak Eagle systems
November 14 3:37 am
More Fault Finding and Issue Solving in the Step by Step installation instructions page
November 13 1:26 pm
Same as the regular LX2 except without casing
November 12 3:29 pm
V 9.9.8.1
Improved ball spin detection when using spin dot balls with side mounted cameras as in the LX, EV and Vcam systems
Amount of rotation also shown now.
GSA Golf business news
GSA Golf on Facebook
I'm totally new to social media but did make a first attempt to make a Facebook presence today (It being a nice quiet Sunday and all)
I'm not really sure what I'm doing at this stage and not sure if the above URL link works. If I click on it, it just takes me to my business page profile but you might get to the page.
Let me know if it works for you.
The page is really just a test page at the moment but will be expanded later to allow users to post their comments. (at least it will be if I can figure it out).
Google Analytics show the GSA Golf web site's organic listing gets around 200 clicks a day - which isn't too bad I guess - especially as it's free.
The GSA Golf Google adwords campaign gets around 30 clicks a day and costs me around $900 a month. Not sure if it's worth it at present
The GSA Golf Google shopping campaign gets around the same and costs just as much. I've paused it now as I've never actually seen it displayed. Looks like waste of money.
Golf Simulator Forum as soon as I get a moment, I'll setup a GSA Golf section on this too.
November 11 1:46 pm
V 9.9.8.0
New 1: Improved spin dot matching and pairing
Main pair trace now shown in green
New 2: Spin Axis now shown in the Side Spin box
November 10 9:14 am
New Fault Finding section in the Step by Step installation instructions page
November 8 11:31 am
V 9.9.7.8
Fix: ball centering (ROI) not functioning correctly with color cameras
November 7 12:56 pm
V 9.9.7.7
New 1 : SCX, Eagle, LX and EV system updates for ball spin detection using spin dot balls
LX/EV systems view ball from the side. Rotation is calculated around the center of the ball between frames
SCX systems view ball from above. Rotation and spin axis is calculated by comparing x and y spin dot deviation positions between frames
New 2 : New customer camera registrations
November 5 1:26 pm
New 1. New Improved step by step installation instructions for SCX, LX2, Eagle and EVi systems on this website.
Also coming this next week:
Ball spin methods explained (with real ball spin photos) and user ball spin verification instructions.
November 4 9:39 am
V 9.9.7.6
New 1 : SCX, Eagle, LX and EV system updates for ball spin detection using spin dot balls
New 2 : SSi cameras are now default cameras for all systems (i.e. if no valid cameras are detected, then the system will switch to the newer SSi cameras automatically)
October 31 4:50 pm
V 9.9.7.3
New 1 : New customer camera registrations
New 2 : EV/LX ball spin detection updates using spin dot balls
October 29 3:15 pm
Measured ball spin
Intensive bench testing of the new measured ball spin detection methods using spin dot balls are currently underway.
Free measured ball spin software update release for EV and LX systems are due later this week
Free measured ball spin software update release for SCX systems due a couple of weeks later.
Note that using the ball logo as ball markings in side mounted camera systems (as in the LX and EV systems ) has 2 major number of disadvantages:
1. the user is required to bend down and place the ball on the mat with the logo facing the camera for every shot. (i.e. most will soon get tired of doing that for every shot)
2. Most ball logos are too small and faint to be detected with high speed cameras without additional Xenon flash lighting.
October 26 4:40 pm
V 9.9.7.2
New 1: Factory preset camera function assignments
This has been an issue for new users for some time now.
i.e. which camera in an SCX stereo system is the left camera and which is the right camera
or in an EV or LX system, which camera is the vertical camera and which is the horizontal camera.
This issue is now fixed. New users thus don't have to now test which is which and have to manually re-assign the cameras
New 2: Double frame capture
This feature is primarily only required when bench testing ball spin with a stationary spinning ball on a variable speed motor.
When selected, and a soft trigger is made, 2 frames will be captured (instead of one) at the real frame rate (i.e. either 800 or 1520 fps).
Testers can then see and measure the amount of rotation between frames and compare the spin rate results with those derived from tachometer readings
October 25 12:00 pm
V 9.9.7.1
New: Updates for LX2 and EVi users
Fix: Camera 1 frames not being completely captured when in 800 fps mode
Fix: Green light strip and / or laser not turning off after exiting the CP
October 24 2:47 pm
V 9.9.7.0
Fix: Ball LA sometimes not being detected in EV/LX systems.
Fix: Green light strip not turning off after shot.
October 22 11:34 am
V 9.9.6.9
If using GSpro, TGC or E6 Connect, then an automatic connection to the game software will be made 8 seconds after the intial start of the CP (i.e. after all camera checks are made).
October 21 12:03 pm
V 9.9.6.8
New 1. Vastly improved camera ROI (Ball centering and positioning) methods
New 2. Error messages being shown if connection to game software (E6, GSPro, TGC etc) is not established
This has been done because some customers are not aware that the system won't function if the connection to the selected game software is not established
and thus unnecessary time consuming support is being provided.
October 19 4:14 pm
V 9.9.6.7
Fix: Ball LA sometimes not being correctly measured in the Vcam with EVi, KX and LX2 systems after shot but shows correctly after shot video re-load.
Auto camera FPS speed checks
New: Camera FPS speed checks are now performed when starting the CP.
If camera frame rate is below the minimum of 700 fps (regular fps is 800 to 1500 fps) then a large error message is displayed indicating a major error and that the system will not function correctly.
October 18 1:38 pm
V 9.9.6.5
Fix: Ball sometimes not being positioned correctly in the Vcam with EVi, KX and LX2 systems
October 15 1:45 pm
V 9.9.6.4
Switching camera frame rate from 800 fps to 1500 fps
You can now switch the camera frame from 800 fps to 1500 fps in each camera for a combined frame rate of over 3000 fps !
Benefits: You'll see double the number of frames of the ball in flight in the shot video playback and ball spin can be measured.
Free SCX measured ball spin software update
Tests today revealed that camera exposure can be reduced to just 75 micro seconds without the requirement to use Xenon flashes.
i.e. just using the new LED visible light lighting.
The measured ball spin software update will be available later this year free of charge for all regular SCX unit users.
Frame rate is increased to 1500 fps too.
As such, the SCX Xenon is only for those that don't want to use visible light lighting.
October 11 3:16 pm
V 9.9.6.3
New 1: New customer camera registrations
New 2: SCX Xenon updates
Fix 1: Possible issue with CG3D game software interface
October 2 4:48 pm
V 9.9.6.2
Fix 1: Possible issue with SCX chipping discovered
October 1 4:45 pm
V 9.9.6.1
Fix 1: Occasional incorrect ball speeds being measured when one of the ball speed frames is frame 0
Fix 2: Occasional incorrect ball strike frame being detected if ball moves slightly before actual ball strike (i.e. due to air pressure of club approaching ball or hitting fat)
September 30 1:25 pm
V 9.9.6.0
New : For SCX users:
You can now see the effect the ball launch angle has on ball speed by L/R clicking on the Ball LA button in the Video panel. L click increases LA, R click decreases LA
Change :
Max frame white pixel count increased to 20,000 for users using large white woods and drivers
September 22 3:05 pm
V 9.9.5.8
Fix 1: Inability to switch off carry factors
Fix 2: Carry factors not functioning correctly for certain clubs
September 17 1:58 pm
SCX Xenon flash control circuit board
completed and tested
Nice to get down to some nice hardware development for a change today
This circuit board controls 2 Xenon flash units for the SCX dual ball spin frames
The SCX right camera will send out a strobe signal for each frame. The first strobe fires flash 1, and then (via a flip flop circuit) fires flash 2.
September 16 3:45 pm
V 9.9.5.7
New 1: More dynamic carry factor control for wedges.
New 2: Improved SCX stereo table default values
September 14 5:45 pm
Business news
Golf Simulator Manufacturer's Google Organic Ranking using the Keyword "Golf Simulators" on 9/14/2023
1. TrackMan
2. ForesightSports
3..SkyTrak
4. Full Swing
5. TruGolf
6. GolfZone
7. GSA Golf
8. AboutGolf
9. HD Golf
10. OptiShot
11. Uneekor
12. X Golf
Surprisingly, other well known companies like Flight Scope or ProTee didn't even appear in my search in after 10 pages
The reason I did this ranking search is because I'm being constantly bombarded with (so called) SEO experts that want to sell me their SEO services for an arm and leg, promising great returns.
While GSA Golf is not number one, it isn't at the bottom of the list either, so I very much doubt that adding any additional SEO to my website is going to produce any better results.
Note that the search list only included real golf simulator manufactures organic ranking and not resellers or sponsored ads.
When it comes to increasing sales volume, one thing above all will effect this : Advertising - serious big time advertising costing serious money.
In contrast to the others, I don't have a multi-million dollar advertising budget on hand (like Full Swing that can afford to pay Tiger Woods millions to use his name and images) ,
so have to live with a smaller sales volume. Fine with me though.
BTW I have no doubt that the above listed companies can afford the very best and most expensive SEO services available in order to achieve such high Google organic rankings.
Whereas, GSA Golf achieves almost equally good ranking with next to zero SEO.
September 8 4:45 pm
V 9.9.5.6
Fix 1: SCX Issue with ball centering in camera 2
New: More SCX Xenon updates
September 4 5:30 pm
V 9.9.5.4
New: Image Brightness control de-activated as this was causing too many issues. Replaced with Contrast setting only now with SCX users.
Fix 1: Possible issue when clicking the OK button in the overlay playback window causing the next window to be showed too small.
New: More SCX Xenon updates
September 2 1:00 pm
V 9.9.5.2
Fix 1: Issue when in zoom mode in camera panel
Fix 2: Possible issue when system is looking for ball when Contrast Setting > 0 - e.g. ball sometimes a ball is detected without a ball being there
New: SCX Xenon flash frame grab completed
September 1 7:00 pm
SCX Xenon development
Tests today showed spectacular clear images of the ball at high speed.
Even dimples can be clearly seen.
This will allow us to develop the next SCX derivative
VisTrak SCX Xenon DP
System measures ball spin and spin axis using Dimple Patterns instead of ball markings
$3,199
The SCX Xenon DP uses a hi-resolution camera with a 25mm zoom lens to capture hi-res images of the spinning ball in flight
This camera captures clear images of the ball dimple patterns (hence the name "DP")
so that ball spin and spin axis cam be measured without the requirement to use markings on the ball
Expected release date: 2nd quarter 2024
Note: the regular SCX Xenon can be upgraded to DP specs for just $200
August 26 1:30 pm
V 9.9.5.0
New SCX calibration default settings.
Calibration tests today showed accurate results with the cameras mounted at 9ft high.
As all SCX systems are now using the same calibration table. there shouldn't be any further adjustments necessary.
Default adjustments are: Page 1 adjust : 0.4200, all other page height adjustments set to 0.3200. Global and Individual height adjusts set to 0.0
August 24 4:30 pm
GSA Golf's Google ranking moving up
Even above Uneekor today with the search phrase "Golf Simulators".
I'll be starting a Google Shopping campaign soon too.
August 23 1:30 pm
V 9.9.4.9
Various smaller updates.
Less obtrusive invalid shot sound.
August 20 2:30 pm
V 9.9.4.7
Color camera updates - New naming convention for color shot video files.
Color video files are now only a 3rd of the size then they were before
A number of smaller cosmetic updates.
Video shot video playback is automatically stopped when manually opening the video panel.
August 18 10:00 am
V 9.9.4.6
Fix: Only one putt being detected when in putting mode
August 17 1:15 pm
V 9.9.4.5
Fix 1: The second camera in SCX systems not always waiting for the ball on mat to be detected
This is a very important fix as if the ball is not detected in camera 2, then the system would have used the ball position from the previous shot. In this case, ball LA and speed would probably not be correct.
Fix 2: Pulsing ball placement Laser not switching off when ball on mat is detected.
August 16 2:00 pm
V 9.9.4.4
New 1: In order to achieve more consistency with the systems sent out to customers, all SCX systems now use just one single stereo disparity calibration table.
New 2: After a shot and the user goes into the camera panels, data from that last shot is still shown.
New 3: Max Chipping mode delay frames increased from 8 to 16.
New 4: New quick update installation.
Use the green button (or the button on the top left here) to just update the current version without having to download all the other files (i.e. images, DLLs, sounds etc)
Fix 1: Irrelevant error and warning messages being displayed
August 14 6:05 pm
V 9.9.4.1
New : Page height adjust for the stereo disparity table
In contrast to the Global Height adjust that affects all 150 table entries, the page height adjust only affects the 25 entries in the table's page
August 13 1:45 pm
V 9.9.4.0
New 1: An error message is now shown in both the CP's main panel and camera panel if the dark ball strike trigger pixel is brighter than the user defined floor GS level.
System is unplayable in this case as the ball will launch immediately after placing it on the mat.
August 12 4:15 pm
V 9.9.3.9
New 1: Update for SCXi users
Fix: Stereo right camera not always centering the ball correctly after the "Looking For Ball" process
This was a difficult one to find. Took me over 8 hours of debugging work to find this sporadic bug in fact.
It's an important fix though as without correct ball centering in both cameras, stereo disparity values won't be correct and thus ball vertical height, LA and speed will be off.
New 2:
The ball strike trigger pixel positions are now shown with orange cross hairs in camera 1.
It's important to know that the forward pixel (i.e. the pixel in front of the ball) must be darker than the "Floor GS" and that the
Trig Light pixel (i.e. the pixel in the center of the ball) be brighter than 150 GS (Gray Scale) otherwise a ball launch will immediately occur.
A ball strike is detected when either the dark pixel goes light (i.e. the ball flies or rolls over it) or when the Light pixel goes dark (i.e. because the ball is suddenly not there anymore).
If you find that a ball launch occurs immediately after placing the ball on the mat, ensure the dark GS pixel is shown darker that the Floor GS. If not, increase the Floor GS so that it is lighter than the dark pixel.
In the above example, the Trig Light pixel shows a GS of 183 (i.e. over 150) and the dark pixel GS is 10 (i.e. darker that the Floor GS of 104)
New 3:
Fix: Color cameras not showing color images correctly after cameras are started and user goes back into the Camera panel
August 10 3:45 pm
New easier to follow camera installation instructions
LX2 gets a laser ball placement guide as standard now
August 9 3:30 pm
V 9.9.3.8
New 1: Update for LX2i users
New 2: SCX incorrect scaling warning message made brighter
August 7 3:30 pm
V 9.9.3.7
New 1: After starting the cameras from the CP's main panel and then clicking on the Cameras tab, the current frame now shows the ball located with stereo Disparity and ball Height is set to 0.
New calibration instructions
1. Place a ball on the hitting mat and click the "Start/Stop Vistrak" button from the CP's main panel.
You should see that ball is located in both the Right and Left cams after a couple of seconds
2. Go to the "Cameras" panel
This will set the measured ball height to zero cm and disparity to zero
3. Place the ball on a dark non reflective object of a known height (anywhere from 4 to 20 cm high) and click the Soft Trigger button in both cameras 1 and 2.
You should now see a new ball height shown at the top of the screen.
In the above example, the ball was placed on a rubber stand 4.3 mm high.
If the ball height shown does not correspond to the actual height of the ball,
then the stereo "disparity to height" table has to be adjusted.
Go to the SCXi Installation page for further calibration instructions
August 6 1:30 pm
SCX Cased track lighting version
You now have the option of a cased track lighting version of the SCX
July 27 12:00 pm
New track light lens
Price $39 each
July 26 4:00 pm
New SCX lighting comparisons
To my surprise, these new lower wattage (10watt) LED track lights produce better and brighter images than the 20watt versions of the lights.
Camera exposure can now be set at just 100 micro seconds (or even less) so that motion blur is essentially eliminated.
July 26 12:55 pm
V 9.9.3.2
A couple of SCX shot videos were sent in recently that showed that the ball was not correctly centered in the image (caused by head or hands in the frames)
which resulted in incorrect ball path and LA measurements.
A ball center check is now made on SCX stereo systems to correct this.
July 25 4:40 pm
V 9.9.3.1
You can now designate multiple clubs as chipping mode clubs (usually just wedges)
In chipping mode, the camera's frame rate is slowed down to allow the ball to be detected outside the launch zone area with slower shots.
Note that if the ball has not been detected to exit the launch zone area, then the shot won't be recognized.
July 23 5:30 pm
GSA Golf LX2 vs Bushnell / FS GC3
While running tests on my new LX2 launch monitor this weekend, I noticed that accurate club face angle detection isn't easy to accomplish.
So I thought I'd do some basic Google research on how the competitors solve this issue. Especially the GC3 that states to measure club data with just one dot on the club.
Well guess what?
At least according to all the research I've done, the GC3 doesn't even capture club face angle!
Club face angle at impact to the ball is arguably the most important of all club data points but this is just left out with them.
I know from many that contact me about floor mounted launch monitors that captured club data is of paramount importance to them
but it would seem that most are not aware that the GC3 doesn't inform purchasers that the (in our opinion) most important club data point (i.e. club face angle) is not captured.
(at least as far as we can tell from their websites)
I find this rather misleading to say the least.
Another issue I'm having with other LM manufactures that require club markings to be applied to the front face of the club, is that what happens if the player strikes the ball with a closed club face?
In such a case, (and from all the tests I've done) the dots wouldn't even be visible to the side mounted cameras.
If you ask me - somethings fishy going on with the marketing claims of some of these launch monitor manufacturers.
BTW The LX2 captures and measures club face angle, path and speed
(using a white reflective strip applied to the top of the club)
and does this for less than half the price of its main competitors
(without any subscriptions) -
plus it functions with TGC, GSpro CG3D and E6 straight out of the box.
VisTrak LX2 is the world's first and only floor mounted launch monitor that features a true horizontal camera
To the best of my knowledge, all others offer only systems with vertically mounted cameras so they can't see the club face angle.
And, to the best of my knowledge, no other floor mounted launch monitor on the market offers dual shot video playback from both top and side view cameras.
July 21 3:00 pm
V 9.9.3.0
A couple of small bug and cosmetic fixes
July 20 5:00 pm
SCX lighting comparisons
Currently all cased SCX systems are being supplied with both IR LED and Track lights
While all track systems are being supplied with track lights only
V 9.9.2.9
New
1. Stereo LA adjust feature in the Camera panel for SCX users. LA updated result is immediately displayed.
Feature saves having to open the Stereo Calibration panel.
2. A couple of small bug fixes
July 15 4:50 pm
ProTee Launch Monitors
GSA Golf have now joined forces with ProTee to promote and distribute the new ProTee Launch Monitor series in the US.
Priced from $6,000, these ceiling mounted systems have a significant price advantage over its main competitors (namely Uneekor EYE XO and TruGolf's APOGEE)
while matching (or even exceeding) features and performance.
Not least of which is the ability to measure ball spin and club data without the requirement to use special ball and club markings.
To the best of our knowledge, only the TruGolf APOGEE (priced at $11,500) can do this.
July 11 2:50 pm
V 9.9.2.8
New customer camera registrations
LED Line indicator on/off control in the setup panel
June 22 4:17 pm
New KX systems
The KX now uses the new LX2 as tracking system allowing a price drop to $1,999
June 18 3:35 pm
New LX2
Complete re-design for the LX2 with new slim line casing.
Click above images to read more
The VisTrak LX2 is the world's first and only launch monitor offering post shot video replay of your shot from both side and top cameras
You won't find this feature on any other floor mounted launch monitor on the market today no matter what the price.
Nearest competitor: GC3 at well over double the price
The GSA Golf LX functions with E6, GS Pro, CG3 and TGC (and more) game software packages
without any additional GSA Golf subscription costs.
June 6 8:10 pm
SCX Xenon
Major progress made today on the development of the new SCX Xenon system
June 6 3:00 pm
V 9.9.2.5
Creative Golf 3D
New 1: Interface to Creative Golf 3D golf simulator game software is now active in this release of the CP
New 2: putting mode or chipping mode now stored in the shot video
New 3: First beta test release of the new SCX Xenon now active
June 2 3:05 pm
SCX Xenon
The SCX Xenon development is nearing completion now.
Priced from just $2,199.
Nearest competitor: Uneekor EYE XO at $10,000
Ball spin measured with or without ball markings
When without ball markings, a 25mm lens is used to capture close up images of the ball with detailed ball dimple patterns
May 28 2:05 pm
New super cool looking light bar indicator
All systems now include a blue light bar indicator.
Light bar pulses if system is looking for a ball on the mat.
Light bar stays ON when ball is detected and system is ready for swing.
Other colors available too (Green, Red, Blue etc)
May 25 4:25 pm
V 9.9.2.4
New backup and restore settings options
Even though settings are stored after every session, you can use these new backup and restore options in case of issues.
Once you are happy with your settings, click the Backup Settings option. Should - for some reason - you lose your settings or they are get corrupted, just click on the restore button.
In order to prevent inadvertent clicking on these options, you have to hold the shift key down to use them.
New lasor controls
$199
Optional extra Laser ball placement guide
Indicates to user that the ball has been detected in the launch zone area on the mat and ready for swing
Laser automatically switches off when ball is located.
May 22 1:45 pm
V 9.9.2.3
Fix : Occasional incorrect ball speed frame count resulting in low ball speeds
May 19 4:52 pm
V 9.9.2.2
New 1: Faster shot calculations to reduce the ball strike to launch lag time.
Previous versions where running 2 pass data calculation routines which resulted in all calculations being run twice.
This version uses a single pass data calculation routine.
New 2: shot video playback overlay position out of bounds check
Fix 1: bug in ball strike frame detection
Fix 2: shot data sent to game not always the same as displayed data
May 18 5:30 pm
GSA Golf business news
The below images are of my new VisTrak LED track light systems.
Extremely competitively priced from just $899 to $1,699 (no one else even comes close) ,
these systems - with all their super hi-speed camera features - far surpass any of the competition in this price class and
will undoubtedly be a major player in the golf simulator tracking market very soon.
Available on Amazon soon too.
Click above image to read more ...
Click above image to read more ...
Click above image to read more ...
Click above image to read more ...
May 17 1:50 pm
V 9.9.2.0
Improved club path, speed and face detection.
May 12 2:00 pm
New LED track lighting test results
I'm pleased to say that the tests using the new zoom-able 4 10w LED track lights showed excellent results.
All new systems will thus be supplied with this new LED light track from now on instead of Halogen light tracks.
4 hi-power LED zoom-able track light system with 800 Lumens per light
Choose between color or monochrome cameras
May 11 11:30 am
V 9.9.1.9
Fix: issue causing ball strike frame not to be detected correctly that resulted in incorrect launch data.
New: Number of smaller improvements
May 7 1:15 pm
IR LED vs Halogen lights
Ball images using 3 24 IR LED lights
Ball images using 2 24 IR LED lights
Ball images using 1 24 IR LED light
Ball images using 2 50w 12 degree spot halogen lights
As can be seen, just 2 50 watt halogen lights easily out perform the 24 IR LED lights - even without having to increase the contrast settings
May 6 1:30 pm
V 9.9.1.8
Video frames
This major CP update reduces the ball strike to ball launch lag time.
Currently, the system is capturing 32 frames per shot, whereby only a fraction of these frames are actually being used.
Most shots only capture a max of 4 to 8 frames before club impact to the ball and another 4 to 8 frames after that.
The current longer lag time is due to the system looking for a ball that has long past the FOV of the camera. i.e. the system is looking for a ball that is not there.
Reducing the total frame count from 32 frames per shot (i.e. 16 frames before impact and another 16 frames after ball impact )
to 16 or 12 frames per shot ( i.e. 8 or 6 frames before impact and 8 or 6 frames after impact) should significantly reduce the ball strike to launch lag time.
Select the number of ball / club frames the system should capture for a shot in the Setup window.
May 5 2:30 pm
V 9.9.1.7
Color cameras
The new color camera software updates are now completed
New:
Improved ball strike frame detection
May 3 3:45 pm
Color cameras
The new color camera software updates are nearing completion and should be ready sometime this weekend.
Business news
Application for the trade mark "VisTrak" has been successfully submitted to the US patent Office 3 weeks ago.
While the application has been officially approved by the USPTO, (and to the best of our knowledge no one else has applied for this trade mark name before us),
final trade mark approval won't be given for another 6 months or so.
One of the main reasons to apply for a trade mark license is because Amazon require this before named products can be advertised on their platform.
Amazon doesn't require that the trade mark to have actually been approved, they just want to see that it has been officially applied for and not rejected,
which usually means the name is still available and trade mark approval is likely.
May 1 4:50 pm
Color camera systems
All the work done recently on the monochrome camera systems has now to be applied to all the color camera systems.
This work should be completed within the next few days
Business news
Cased system prices have been increased to allow for better dealer markups
Halogen track system prices have been lowered for those customers purchasing direct from us
April 30 2:30 pm
V 9.9.1.6
SCX camera alignment via frame image rotation
The camera alignment image rotation software is now complete and the first Beta release of this feature is now ready.
Many other improvements also in this update including:
Improved ball detection and faster shot calculation speed.
Note that this update required a large number of modifications and additions, and deveopment took the best part of 10 days.
In case of issues, re-install the previous CP version V 9.9.1.5 from April 23 2023
April 24 2:00 pm
SCX camera alignment via frame image rotation
SCX Camera alignment can now soon be obtained with the new frame image rotation feature.
Current CP versions only rotate the co-ordinates so the user doesn't see the actual rotation.
This feature is 99% complete and should be available tomorrow.
April 23 2:00 pm
V 9.9.1.5
Horizontal correction angle now shown with yellow line from ball launch position
SCX Horizontal tilt correction software completed
Setup instructions to correct camera tilt alignment
1. Place ball on the usual place on the hitting mat.
2. from the Control Panel's main window, click the "Start / Stop VisTrak" button so that the ball is detected on its launch position.
You should see that ball is located in both the Right and Left cams after a couple of seconds
3. Go to the "Cameras" panel and select camera 1 (the left camera) and click the "Soft Trigger" button to see the ball.
4 . Using a straight edge (or line laser) that is pointing straight ahead towards the center of the screen and lined up against the ball on the hitting position,
move the ball around 12 inches forward in a straight line.
5 .Click the "Soft Trigger" button again to grab a new frame of the ball in its new position.
Ideally you should see that the ball is still exactly on the center line and the "Alignment Correction Angle is 0".
6. If not, then click the "Set L Angle to ..." button in order to correct the mis-alignment.
7 . Do the same for camera 2 ( the right camera )
April 21 2:00 pm
V 9.9.1.2
A couple of small cosmetic errors corrected
SCX Vertical Launch Angle calculation
In order to measure accurate ball vertical launch angles (LA), it's imperative that the cameras are mounted square to the ground.
Any horizontal tilt will result in erroneous LA measurements.
In order to check for horizontal tilt, place any straight edge or pole on the hitting mat from the ball launch position, pointing (as near as possible) perfectly straight forward and
grab a new frame with the "Soft Trigger" button in the camera panel.
The above image shows that the straight edge pole is in line.
In this image, the pole appears tilted.
In order to correct the problem, you will find that there is no direct easy method to horizontally adjust the tilt as the low cost plastic mounts only feature vertical tilt and rotation.
One simple temporary solution for the moment is to place a small shim or piece of thick tape under one side of the mount base to correct the tilt.
Do this check and adjustment for both left and right cameras.
The more elegant solution is to correct the tilt mathematically with image rotation in the Control Panel's image processing software.
This "tilt correction" software should be available this coming week.
April 20 1:45 pm
V 9.9.1.1
Fix: Ball Strike frame not always being detected correctly
April 19 1:40 pm
www.golf-simulators.com now back online
Due to an administration error with the website hosting company, this web-site URL was down for the last 3 days.
Of course, everyone thought that GSA Golf was out of business during that time.
As you can see, the problem is now resolved though.
All other GSA Golf related URLs and web sites (i.e. www.gsagolf.com and www.vistrak.com) are also up and running as usual
as are the Google Adwords advertising campaign and the all important Google search ranking.
V 9.9.1.0
New hi-precision SCX calibration tables
The "disparity - to - height" tables are made by increasing the ball height in single 0.3 cm steps for a given camera mount height and camera separation distance
and entering the disparity value in the calibration table.
First table in this update is for an 8 ft mounting height and a camera separation distance of 20"
Second table in this update is for an 9 ft mounting height and a camera separation distance of 28"
To activate: go to the camera panel, select calibration mode and - depending on your camera mounting height and seperation width -
click either the new "Using 8ft x 20 inch" or "Using 9ft x 28 inch" table.
April 17 12:35 pm
V 9.9.0.8
Basic SCX Stereo camera calibration
Fix: Disparity shown in calibration panel not always correct.
Fix: ball path not calculated in calibration panel.
New recommendation: Min distance the stereo cameras should be apart is now 20 inches as any less is not producing sufficient disparity values to calculate LA accurately.
April 15 2:30 pm
GSA Golf Business news
Amazon GSA Golf product listing
Finally, the long and winding road to get our products listed on Amazon is nearing an end.
The required trade mark registrations with the US Patent Office have been completed, so it should only be a few days now before our products are being listed on Amazon.
Website Online credit card payments
While the website online credit card authorization process issue is still not resolved, we do a have temporary work-around that allows to customers to purchase products with credit cards as before.
Only difference is that we have to manually authorize the payments at this end with our merchant account provider.
A new feature allows customers to select Invoice payment methods that give a 6% price discount
March 28 3:30 pm
V 9.8.9.6
Fix: top of white clubs occasionally being detected as a ball.
Improved IBS club detection
New: Ability to switch off ROI for EV vcams
V 9.8.8.6
EVi Vcam vertical launch angle detection without side illumination
The floor mounted Vcam camera was around 7ft away using a 6mm lens
Numerous other smaller updates and modifications
February 24 2:00 pm
V 9.8.7.9
New: Shot Video file numbering method updated
The last shot video file number and bank number is stored so that your shot videos will always start from the last video number stored.
A new "Reset Video Count" button in the Video panel will allow you start storing videos from video 1.
Otherwise videos will automatically loop back to 1 after the last video stored exceeds 512.
February 22 3:15 pm
New monitor stands now available
January 8 11:05 am
V 9.8.6.3
Putting issue resolved
When using GSpro, the GSpro open API must remain open.
The GSA CP communicates with GS Pro via this openAPI (Application Interface).
January 7 2:45 pm
Putting issue has turned up in latest versions of the CP. Fix is due tomorrow
Customer has reported that ball strikes are not being detected with GS Pro. We'll be looking into this tomorrow too.
Centered stereo calibration is also set for tomorrow's CP update.
September 13 6:10 pm
Looks like our modular and multiple configuration hi-speed camera tracking systems are a world's first.
Not to mention our super low prices.
September 11 12:18 pm
New Ball Spin YouTube video
The new VisTrak ball spin video is now completed and online
September 8 5:15 pm
V 9.8.2.4
Updates for VisTrak EVi and KX2i systems
August 23 6:30 pm
Worlds first?
GSA Golf Launch monitors with Dual camera angle 32 frame shot videos
To the best of my knowledge, the VisTrak EVi and KX2i launch monitor systems are the only LM systems on the market today
that feature dual 32 frame shot videos from both the top and side view cameras after every shot.
Prices start at $1,299
August 18 1:00 pm
V 9.8.1.4
Updates for SCX and Eagle systems
Click above for all your accessory requirements
Factory
Based in Naples, Florida,
all GSA Golf products are meticulously assembled and tested by hand to meet the highest industry standards
GSA Golf golf simulator components and kits
CX and Vistrak system components can be used to build the complete GSA Golf golf simulator camera tracking system
at a far lower price than the ready made system prices
Click above to read more about GSA Golf components and kits
The GSA Golf camera tracking software is available to
all OEM golf simulator manufacturers
and/or DIY enthusiasts for just
$ 399.00
Just purchase your own cameras and lighting
Click above image to read more
GSA Golf Investment and Reseller Opportunities
Recent customer comments
Hi Martin, I just wanted to drop you a note to say how amazing the new VisTrak camera is.
I am still playing around with the settings and learning but the video capture and being able to see the frame by frame impact is awesome!
I also really like the way you show the ball ready/playback buttons as an overlay on the TGC.
The best part of my day is going to the tech page and seeing your latest updates - keep up the good work!
Richard L. Illinois 12/17/2020
Hi Martin- I wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your efforts.
I could have bought any of the expensive and well-known golf simulators, but I’m glad I ultimately took the chance and bought your products.
It wasn’t an easy decision, as it takes a leap of faith to take the road less traveled, but it has made all the difference.
I love that your products are not perfect (no one's are) but that you strive for perfection while pushing innovation.
You’re clearly never satisfied. As soon as you develop a new software feature, or build a new camera system, you're immediately back at it working on the next iteration.
You’re a true inventor and engineer. Almost every day I download the latest beta and see how it enhances the simulation.
It's like Christmas morning everyday.
Sometimes there’s a marked improvement. Sometimes the new feature “breaks” something else.
But over days and weeks, I feel how the collective innovations are improving the overall experience.
Your products aren’t for everyone but they are a clear alternative to the high-margin corporate products that have an arm's length association with their user base.
Buying a GSA product is buying into you and becoming part of your user community.
You listen, you care, and you explore. I know many of us appreciate it but perhaps not enough of us say thanks.
Martin, thank you for an enjoyable and rewarding journey with your products in 2020.
You’ve made a COVID 19 year more endurable.
Eric P. Burien, WA 12/25/2020
Matt P. 1/15/2021
Hello Martin, I have had 2 weeks of excellent play and stability in Eagle Mode! This has been very enjoyable! Matt T.
Matt T. 1/14/2021
Hi Martin, I see your daily updates on the Tech News page and I just want to say thank you for all your hard work and dedication.
Your passion for golf and engineering clearly shows and thank you!
Mike B. 05/03/2021
Thanks Martin……..
I appreciate the excellent customer service and fair pricing! And the very informative website!
Have a great day!
Mike.
Note that all GSA Golf software is written in the C++ programming language, which isn't particularly easy.
As they say, while it's easy to shoot yourself in the foot with the standard C language,
you can blow your whole leg off in C++. : )
Martin Gardiner
Founder of GSA Golf
These days, when I'm not developing golf simulators, you'll find me in my keyboard music studio
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