OpenFlight (open-flight): open-source golf launch monitor, tagged "defense"
Skoor 55 · n = 4 signals · confidence 0.8
What they built
A DIY golf launch monitor built around the OPS243-A Doppler radar, with an optional TI IWR6843 angle radar [source]. It reports ball speed (15–200 mph, ±0.5% stated accuracy), club speed, smash factor and carry. Spin and club path are labeled experimental [source]. The base build costs about $534, and about $684 with the angle radar [source]. The org description is "Golf tech belongs to the golfers" [source].
Inference: the "defense" sector tag looks like a misclassification. The product is consumer golf hardware, and nothing in the evidence points to a defense use.
Record
Measured signals (n = 4):
Inference: the repo predates the org by about nine months, so it was likely moved from a personal account. The "young company" signal dates the org, not the project.
Funding is not in the evidence. Founders and team are not in the evidence. Location, hiring and commits in the last 90 days are not in the evidence. Monetization runs through a "Buy Me a Coffee" link under the handle "colemangolfs" and a Discord community [source].
Why now
Not in the evidence.
Inference: the build uses off-the-shelf radar modules and a Raspberry Pi 5 [source]. Low-cost radar parts may be what makes a sub-$700 build workable.
Unknowns
- Whether this is a company or a hobby project. The README warns that the project is "in active development" [source].
- Who writes the code, and how many contributors there are.
- Whether the ±0.5% figure was measured on this build or taken from the radar's spec sheet.
- Any connection to defense, sensing or dual-use radar work.
Questions for the room
- The README states ±0.5% ball-speed accuracy. Was that validated against a reference launch monitor, and on how many shots?
- The repo dates from 2025-12 but the org from 2026-08. Who started it, who commits today, and is there an entity or full-time team?
- The project is tagged "defense," but the evidence shows only golf. Is there any intent to apply the radar signal-processing work beyond golf, or is this staying a consumer golf product?
What would move the Skoor
Evidence of a formed company would raise it, as would full-time technical founders or a radar/sensing roadmap tied to defense or robotics. Confirmation that this is a single-maintainer golf hobby project would lower it or remove it from the thesis.