OptiShot is the top all-in-one golf simulator that builds its launch monitor right into the hitting pad and the OptiShot 2 is one of the top selling simulators of all time. However, the team has now come out with the new OptiShot Orbit simulator, which builds on all of the great features in the 2 and more. In this guide, we compare the OptiShot 2 vs Orbit to help you determine which simulator is worth purchasing today.
Specifically, we’ll go over:
- An overview of each simulator by OptiShot
- Key features and improvements in the new OptiShot Orbit
- A full detailed comparison between the OptiShot 2 vs Orbit
- How to buy each indoor golf simulator today.
If you decide to buy either of these options, comment down below and let us know what you went with between the OptiShot 2 vs Orbit.
What is the OptiShot 2?
The Optishot 2 Golf Simulator is one of the affordable golf simulators on the market. Most other systems require more hardware in order to get yourself a functioning system.
The OptiShot 2 builds its launch monitor directly into the included turf hitting pad. An included USB cable connects to your computer, where the included software lets you play real life golf courses instantly. The only thing you need is a golf hitting net to hit your shots into.
Whether you’re a low or high handicap, this simulator is designed for all types of players. You can choose to play from 15 popular golf courses in the world including the famous courses in the United States. With multiple camera views and weather conditions that can be simulated, you will enjoy playing indoor simulator golf with your friends and family.
You can play up to 4 players and compete with other golfers too.
Click here to read our full OptiShot 2 review.
How to Buy the OptiShot 2
The two most common ways to purchase the simulator is through the official website or on Amazon. Both methods work great.
Click here to visit the official website.
Click here to buy off of Amazon (you can also click below).
What is the OptiShot Orbit?
The OptiShot Orbit is a brand new 2022 product from OptiShot. Just like the 2, the Orbit contains the launch monitor built right into your hitting pad. The similarities between the two products mostly end there though. The Orbit features a number of obvious improvements:
- The ability to track your measured ball speed and launch direction
- Enhanced club speed and club path measurements
- Improved simulated total distance calculation
- 48 infrared sensors for tracking vs 32 found in the OptiShot 2
- Completely redesigned simulator software
- More included golf courses to play in the simulator
Between the 2 vs Orbit, it seems like a slam dunk on which golf simulator you should buy. However, things aren’t always that straightforward. Below, we go through a detailed comparison between the OptiShot 2 and the OptiShot Orbit.
How to Buy the OptiShot Orbit
So far, the only way to buy the Orbit is from the official website. We expect the Orbit to be available on Amazon worldwide once it is officially released and stock levels are good.
For now, click here to buy the OptiShot Orbit from the official website.
Optishot 2 vs Orbit: Detailed Comparison
Similar in design, the OptiShot Orbit and 2 simulators are different in nearly every other way. For the most part, you have to decide whether the improvements to the Orbit are worth the added code.
Let’s get into the details.
Price
The OptiShot 2 costs $399. For this price, you get the simulator in the box, two tees, two foam golf balls, a USB cable for attaching to your computer, and the manual. The only thing extra you need to buy is a golf hitting net to swing into.
The OptiShot Orbit costs $899 and comes in very similar packaging. The biggest difference is that the Orbit does not contain a foam or plastic ball, but 3 Callaway golf balls instead (more on that below). You also need your own net to hit into with this option too.
So at face value, the Orbit costs $500 more in price.
Winner: OptiShot 2
Golf Balls
As I said above, the OptiShot 2 comes with two yellow foam balls which work just fine. This is because this simulator’s job is to measure your club path only. The launch and direction of the ball has no effect on your simulated hit.
Some buyers have gotten clever by hanging up oversized blankets in their house to hit the foam balls into.
By comparison, the OptiShot Orbit only works with real balls. The simulator takes golf ball speed and launch into account during simulation, making real world accuracy important. Overall, this makes for a more realistic experience. It will however, take away the option to hit real golf balls into a flimsy blanket for the most part.
Still, OptiShot 2 vs Orbit, the golf ball setup is much better for simulation.
Winner: OptiShot Orbit
Measurements
As sophisticated as the 2 appears, it actually only measures a few specific things on each of your swings:
- Club Speed
- Face Angle
- Club Path
- Impact Location
From this data, the 2 calculates the total distance it thinks your golf balls travels and the direction it takes. The process works fairly well, though some hardcore enthusiasts complain about the lack of accuracy compared to more sophisticated golf launch monitors.
The OptiShot Orbit aims to win over these enthusiasts by tracking both club AND ball measurements in order to calculate distance and flight path. The Orbit measures the following on each swing:
- Club Speed
- Face Angle
- Club Path
- Impact Location
- Ball Speed
- Smash Factor
- Launch Direction
- Spin
- Face to Path
- Dynamic Range
Overall, more data points means higher accuracy. If you want to make sure your simulator swings match real life, then between the OptiShot 2 vs Orbit you will want to go for the newer model.
Winner: OptiShot Orbit
Infrared Sensors
Both OptiShot simulators utilize infrared sensors behind and in front of your golf ball that measure your stats live during each swing. The main reason why the Orbit can measure more data points is that it contains more infrared sensors on its pad.
The OptiShot 2 comes with 32 sensors, 16 on each side of your ball. By contrast, the Orbit comes with 48 sensors. These are split into 6 different rows – 2 x 16, 2 x 6, and 2 x 2 sensors. These extra sensors on the Orbit allow it to not only measure swing path, but movement of your golf ball (launch angle, direction, etc) as well.
Overall, these extra sensors should make the Orbit a better golf simulator setup with higher accuracy.
Winner: OptiShot Orbit
Enclosure
The OptiShot 2 enclosure is made with realistic hitting turf on top and recessed infrared sensors in the mat. The overall enclosure is made from hard plastic and is mostly durable – until you hit a bad shot and slam your golf club into the side of it. At that point, the enclosure will have a nice dent in it forever.
OptiShot has improved the enclosure on the Orbit with a new rugged style one that promises it is more durable. You might also think that the frame would be a lot larger with the added sensors, but this isn’t true. The Orbit mat’s dimensions are more rectangle in shape, but the overall size is roughly the same.
Where the Orbit is different is the hitting location where your golf ball sit. It is much more defined to sit in a single spot in the center of the mat. By comparison, the OptiShot 2 had a little bigger zone where your ball could sit. It’s not a concern for us, but worth noting.
Overall between the OptiShot 2 vs Orbit, if the enclosure is more rugged on the Orbit then it gets our pick.
Winner: OptiShot Orbit
Software
One of the biggest changes between the OptiShot 2 vs Orbit simulators is the software. Instead of allowing the software to be backwards compatible for both devices, OptiShot decided to build everything new from the ground up.
The original software for the 2 was not bad by any means. It offered a variety of game modes, including a driving range for practice, and online play for up to 4 people. The graphics were a pass – slightly more cartoonish than premier options like WGC and E6 Connect but at much less of a cost. After each hit, the software nicely shows all of the stats about your hit including club head speed and other shot metrics.
The new OptiShot Orbit takes a step forward in nearly every area with its software. One big changes is for online play. If you have other friends with the Orbit, you can play with up to 7 of them at one time. This is an awesome perk for playing a virtual golf game with friends.
The other big advantage to the new Orbit software are the graphics. Trees, grass, and sky are more photo-realistic and high quality. The analytics screen that shows you information about your shot is redesigned to fit the additional information. Overall, the new software looks awesome on your projector screen.
The only disadvantage is that the OptiShot still does not have great software integration with E6 Connect or WGC but if the company is committed to their own software, we won’t mind.
Winner: OptiShot Orbit
Courses
New software is nice, but what about the number of playable courses?
The 2 comes with 15 pre-loaded golf course simulations. The full list of included courses and the real life ones they are based on that are found in OptiShot 2 are:
- The Golf Club Scottsdale (TPC Scottsdale)
- Long Island Black (Bethpage Black)
- Torrey White (Torrey Pines North)
- Torrey Black (Torrey Pines South)
- West Maui Plantation (Kapalua, The Plantation Course)
- Palm Desert Mountains (Bighorn Mountains)
- Palm Desert Canyons (Bighorn Canyons)
- Cogs Corner (Cog Hill Golf & Country Club)
- Twisted Twig Golf Club (Crooked Stick Golf Club)
- Fylde Links (Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club)
- The Canadian Club (St. George’s Golf & Country Club)
- Warwick Hills Golf And Country Club (Michigan)
- Barsebäck Barseback Golf & Country Club (Sweden)
- Black Mountain Golf Club (Thailand)
- Österåkers Golf Club (Sweden)
To improve user experience, the courses features a realistic feel, ambient sounds, and even the option to change the weather to enhance immersion during the game.
For an extra $30 per course, the following additional courses are available:
- St. Andrews
- Pinehurst #2
- Pebble Beach
- TPC Sawgrass
- Kiawah Island (Ocean Course)
- Valhalla
- Whistling Straits
- Gleneagles
- Royal Liverpool
- Riviera Country Club
- East Lake Golf Club
- Merion Golf Club
- Atlanta Athletic Club
- Congressional Country Club
- Medinah #3
- Royal Melbourne
- Muirfield
- Royal St. George’s
- Olympic Club
You can play each of the courses above 3 separate times before you are forced to purchase the license for it.
The Orbit comes with 20 renowned courses by default with the package, 5 more than the last generation. The 20 courses are:
- Bay Hill
- Brandon Dunes
- Bro Hof Castle
- Bro Hof Stadium
- Chambers Bay
- Cog Hill
- Colonial
- Congressional
- Crooked Stick
- Firestone
- Kapalua
- London Heritage
- London International
- Oakmont
- Olympic Club
- Oster by Stension
- Pebble Beach
- Riviera
- Royal Liverpool
- Royal Portrush
- Shinnecock Hills
- Spanish Bay
- Spyglass Hills
- Torrey Pines
- Ullna GC
- Valhalla
- Warwick Hills
Peculiarly, there is 27 courses listed above. We aren’t sure which 20 come with the Orbit as advertised and which are an additional price. As soon as we know, we will let you know.
Additionally, OptiShot lists 4 more courses for the Orbit as coming soon:
- Bethpage Black
- Hazeltine
- Muirfield
- Pine Valley
It’s a bit odd that OptiShot would not upgrade all existing courses into the new software, but things aren’t always that straightforward.
Overall, we need to see more information before we outright declare the Orbit the winner. It sounds like it will offer more courses for the price you pay, but some confusion over the listed courses and the comment about “20” included has us confused.
Winner: To Be Determined
What About the OptiShot Vision?
OptiShot sells a third golf simulator called the Vision. Unlike the 2 and the Orbit, the Vision is an overhead tracking simulator that watches your swing and golf path from above. It is meant for commercial and retail environments and not so much for home use.
The OptiShot Vision costs about $9,000 to implement, so it’s not an apples-to-apples comparison. For personal at-home use, compare the OptiShot 2 vs Orbit instead.
OptiShot 2 vs Orbit Conclusion
Overall, these two devices are quality golf simulators in their own way. The OptiShot 2 offers an unbeatable price for what you get. For less than $500, you are a net or impact screen away from a full at-home simulator. The biggest drawback has always been that no golf ball measurements are taken during each hit. This is okay for recreational golfers, but more avid golfers have long complained about this feature.
The OptiShot Orbit improved on nearly everything. More advanced sensors allow for proper ball flight tracking while still keeping a low profile. The new simulator software features higher quality 3D graphics and more courses included by default. Overall, the additional costs on the Orbit are mostly worth it.
The other factor is that the Orbit is three years newer simulator technology than the 2 and long-term support for the 2 is unknown.
If you can get your hands on the Orbit, I would recommend going for it. The feature set looks to be improved all around and I have no doubts that it will quickly become one of the most popular golf simulator brands.
Last update on 2024-12-30 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
The review did not have the opportunity to play at least one course?