Setup guide
Set up HitSum
Most bad readings come from one of three things: where the phone is, which ball it's watching, or the light. Get those right and the numbers follow.
Launch monitor
1. Set up directly behind the ball
Default distance is 7.5 ft (2.3 m), which is two driver lengths. Shade your phone for best performance and battery life.
2. Select your hitting area
Tap the ball you'll hit. Only balls inside the circle are tracked. Tap Start, then hit when it says Ready.
3. Lime is measured. Grey is estimated.
Ball speed, launch and direction come from the arc the camera saw. Carry and apex assume a typical spin for your club, so they carry a grey tag.
Get the distance right
Every speed and carry is scaled by this distance. A foot off at 7.5 ft puts every number off by about an eighth.
Measure it: 7.5 ft is two driver lengths laid on the ground. Left unmeasured, the numbers are only as good as the guess.
Light and heat
- Bright, even light works best. When it's too dark, expect missed shots until the light improves.
- Shade the phone. A phone that gets too hot drops frames, and speeds may read low.
Indoors
Hitting into a net or screen works. Set up 8 to 10 ft from it, in bright light.
Shot tracer
- Hold still. Film down the line with the ball low in the frame, and don't follow the ball with the camera.
- Record, then mark. Slide the ball under the crosshair so it's ringed.
- Check, then trace. HitSum draws the flight line over your video.
- Share it. Add your carry and total, then save or send the clip.
Watching a friend (Join)
While you hit, a friend's phone or iPad can show your shots live. Hosting a Join session is part of Premium. Watching one is free on iPads and older iPhones running iOS 17.2 or later, which makes an old device a great second screen.
Troubleshooting
- "Too dark"
- Find brighter, even light. Shade lengthens the camera's exposure and the ball blurs.
- "Not the ball" or "No ball found where you marked"
- Check the marker is on the ball, not the tee.
- "The picture is sideways"
- Turn rotation lock off.
- "Phone is too hot" or "Dropping frames"
- Shade the phone and give it a minute to cool.
- "Missed that one"
- HitSum lost the ball or couldn't measure it. Check the phone is directly behind the ball and the ball sits inside the circle. See launch monitor setup.
- Numbers look off
- Measure your distance to the ball. Every number is scaled by it.