In 2003, Trackman technology hit the market to offer golfers a fun and more effective means to practice their game and get better at their craft. Using the same military Doppler radar technology that tracks an airborne missile, Trackman is the most accurate radar technology in the world to analyze a golf ball’s flight. 

Twenty years later, Trackman has taken over the golf world and improved its analytics and a golfer’s overall understanding of the game to a whole new level. 

Since opening in 2022, Steamboat Springs’ M3 Golf LAB has used Trackman technology to enhance the games of golfers in and around the Yampa Valley through the lens of the three Ms — Motion, Mechanics and Mindset. 

On Dec. 1, M3 Golf LAB opened a second location at the Steamboat Basecamp residential development on the west side of town to further its reach and advance its coaching practice. Luke Brosterhous, the company’s founder, said the main focus is on teaching, coaching and club fitting, and this new space gives the M3 staff every opportunity to achieve that. 

The new LAB features two Trackman simulator bays as well as a small bar for beverage services, which will begin in January. The LAB also offers club fittings with Ping, Mizuno and Titleist, accounting for over 100 different shaft and head combinations to ensure a golfer’s best fit. 

The LAB expansion is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 12-5 p.m. on Sunday. 

Bays are available to the general public for rentals on an hour basis and can be increased for more time. Membership passes are also available for 10, 20, 40 or 80 one-hour sessions at a reduced per-hour rate. 

While the LAB’s main focus is on coaching and golf improvement, there are opportunities each day for visitors to enjoy an afternoon hitting balls at the simulator and playing rounds or games using the technology in a low-stakes environment. 

“Typically for four players, we found two hours works pretty well if they want to play 18 holes,” Brosterhous said. “For two players, an hour works great.” 

While the new location has become the primary base for golf instruction, the original location at Riverside Plaza will be used for the physical part of the program, focusing on members’ initial assessments on body motion. 

M3 is partnered with Four Points Physical Therapy and its owner Finn Gerstell to ensure proper movement to avoid injury and promote efficient golf.

“We feel the physical therapy component is a differentiator for us in the space and in the market,” Brosterhous said. 

Using Titleist Performance Institute ideology, M3 coaches can test a client’s mobility and body control to see what each individual is capable of. There is no universal swing — each golfer’s swing is and should be different based on their mobility. 

“Every golfer has different abilities,” M3 coach Tatiana McCalla said. “Their bodies are different, what they are capable of and their movements are different. I have a high school girl and I have an 80-year-old woman client. They are not going to hit the golf ball the same way; I can’t teach them the same way.”  

At the simulator, each stroke will receive 25 different data points to gauge the golfer’s swing. Brosterhous explained the coaches focus primarily on impact numbers like club path, face angle, club speed and more. Helping clients understand these numbers is key to improving their game. 

“It is a whole different way to teach,” M3 Golf LAB coach Tom Taylor said. “Once you get used to teaching on a Trackman, you and the student get so much information, it really helps them learn.” 

The final component, mindset, is a personal favorite of Brosterhous. He has found a lot of golfers go to the driving range and hit the same club over and over again, but his belief is to simulate play in your practice. 

The indoor simulator experience offers golfers a way to practice while getting a feel for the consistent change of golf play. According to Brosterhous, a lot of people practice so they can go on a course and not mess up, but M3’s training teaches golfers to play to their strengths. 

“That is where you get better, getting comfortable with that variation in golf,” Brosterhous said. “I think that is the key to the mindset piece. Knowing you can hit different shots with different clubs back-to-back and you know what to do.” 

The M3 team believes Trackman and the three Ms are the future of golf instruction. Brosterhous said by hitting balls once a week in the winter with no coaching, it will benefit the ability to golf in June. Hitting balls with specific golf knowledge and analytics in mind will make those gains even more impactful. 

“What most of us need if we really want to improve long-term is we need a plan, we need some structure and we need to commit to it,” Brosterhous said. “We need to stay at it through those winter months. That is our belief here and that is where we have seen people make the most gains over the last year and a half of us doing this.”