Review · OptiShot Golf
OptiShot 2 review
It's the cheapest way to try simulator golf, but it reads the club, not the ball, and the maker's website is no longer active.
Carry & Spin is reader-supported. If you buy through links on this page I may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never decides what I recommend, and no brand pays to be included. Affiliate disclosure
Club sensor (no ball tracking)
- Price
- $299
- Plan / yr
- $0
- 3-yr cost
- $299
Price seen Oct 27, 2026; prices change.
I'd buy it if
Trying simulator golf for a few hundred dollars.
I'd skip it if
You care about accurate ball data.
My take on the OptiShot 2
OptiShot 2 is an infrared pad that reads the club passing over it. It's cheap, portable and needs no subscription.
Ball flight is a guess, and owners report sensors failing over time and missed swings. When I checked, OptiShot's own domains redirected to a parked page, which makes support and replacement parts a real question.
I'd only consider it second-hand, as a toy. For a real start, a Garmin R10 or Square Golf is worth the extra money.
What I'd check before buying
- Manufacturer support
- Sensor failures
- No ball tracking
How I put this review together: I haven't had this unit in my own bay. It's built from OptiShot Golf's own pages, retailer listings, published reviews and owner reports, each linked below. My research method.
The real cost of the OptiShot 2
I saw it at $299.00. No subscription.
| Plan or add-on | Per year | Required? | What it unlocks |
|---|---|---|---|
| None mandatory | $0 | Optional | 15 courses included; optional one-time course packs |
- Year one
- $299
- Three years
- $299
- Five years
- $299
My math: price + the yearly plan a typical owner needs to play full courses (none). Excludes net, mat, screen and projector. Compare every plan.
The room it needs
The OptiShot 2 is a club sensor (no ball tracking) unit (in-mat (club passes over sensor pad)).
| Unit behind the ball | Not published |
|---|---|
| Ball to screen (minimum) | Not published |
| Room depth (minimum) | 12 ft |
| Room width (minimum) | 10 ft |
| Ceiling (minimum) | 8 ft |
| Indoor / outdoor | Indoor only |
| Special balls or stickers | none; real or foam balls |
Golfer's Authority: min 10 ft wide x 12-15 ft deep x 8 ft ceiling; comfortable 16x12 ft with 9 ft ceiling; same page elsewhere says 9 ft ceiling. Not a manufacturer figure. Outdoor not documented (unverified).
Check your room with our calculator →
What it measures (and what it estimates)
Makers rarely label which numbers are measured and which are calculated. Where the sources split them, I show it. A calculated value isn't useless, but it's more likely to drift indoors.
Measured
- club speed
- face angle
- swing path
- tempo
Calculated / estimated
- carry distance
- spin rate
- launch angle
- smash factor
Ball data cannot be measured because the pad only tracks the club; classified as calculated by inference from the sensor design (Golfer's Authority describes sensors tracking club movement).
Software and compatibility
Native app: OptiShot software. Runs on PC, Mac.
| Simulator software | Works? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| GSPro / E6 | No | unverified |
What owners say
Recurring points from owner forums, verified-buyer reviews and retailer Q&A. Each links to where I read it. "Several sources" means at least two independent owners said it.
Praise
- Cheapest way to try simulator golf; portablesingle source · thegolfnewsnet.com
- No subscription; courses can be unlocked through in-game playseveral sources · golfersauthority.com, golfsimulatorforum.com
- Owners can repair failed IR sensors cheaply with ~$5 partsseveral forum owners · golfsimulatorforum.com
Complaints
- IR sensors fail over time (rows of sensors out)several owners report · golfsimulatorforum.com, golfsimulatorforum.com, golfsimulatorforum.com
- Missed swings - one owner had 3-4 per nine holessingle owner · golfsimulatorforum.com
- No manufacturer support visible on sensor-failure threadssingle thread · golfsimulatorforum.com
- Needs extra gear (net, mat, projector) to be a real simsingle source · thegolfnewsnet.com
What published reviews found
These outlets published their own reviews. I summarize their headline verdict; read the full review for their testing details.
Lowest-priced mass-produced simulator; a practical entry point (affiliate article).
Where the sources disagree
I show the conflict and which figure I used, rather than quietly picking one.
price
$299-499 (Golfer's Authority, Oct 2025); $449 (2021); marketplace listings $300-$749.99
I use: $299-499 (Most recent review-site figure; marketplace listings looked unreliable)
Alternatives to consider
Shot Scope
Shot Scope LM1
Radar · speed + distance only · no sim
Garmin
Garmin R10
Radar behind the ball · 4 measured values · works outdoors
Rapsodo
Rapsodo MLM2PRO
Radar + 2 cameras behind the ball · measured spin with RPT balls
Questions people ask
How much does the OptiShot 2 really cost?
$299 at the street price I saw on 2026-10-27. No subscription. By my math that's about $299 over three years and $299 over five.
Does the OptiShot 2 need a subscription?
No plan is required for the core features. No subscription.
Can you use the OptiShot 2 outdoors?
No. It's an indoor unit.
How much space does the OptiShot 2 need?
It doesn't track the ball, so it only needs room for a safe swing.
Keep reading
What I couldn't verify (6)
- manufacturer price and current status (site did not render)
- release year
- outdoor use
- third-party sim support
- OptiShot Nova and Orbit specs/prices
- no recent expert review found
Sources
Every number on this page comes from one of these 5 pages. We checked them on Oct 27, 2026. Prices change often, so confirm before you buy.
About the author
Nouman SabirFounder & Editor
Nouman Sabir founded Carry & Spin and edits every page. Nouman reads the makers' manuals and plan pages, retailer listings and owner forums, works out what each setup really costs, and keeps every claim linked to its source. Nouman is a researcher, not a golf pro, and says so.
Expert review panel: PGA professionals and launch monitor testers who advise on the technical side of these guides.
