Best GSPro Courses to Play (and How Lidar Courses Work)

Every Birdie House bay runs GSPro on a ProTee VX launch monitor, which means you have hundreds of GSPro courses to choose from every time you book. This guide skips the “top 10” lists and gives you a simple way to pick the right course for what you actually want out of the session.

What GSPro is

GSPro is golf simulation software. The launch monitor reads each shot (ball speed, launch angle, spin, club path, face angle and more) and GSPro flies that ball through a 3D course, then plays out the bounce, roll and putt. At Birdie House you hit into an impact screen with a projector.

GSPro also includes a driving range and practice modes, so a bay works for warming up and grinding on one club, not just playing rounds. If you are weighing a bay against a bucket of balls, see our guide on golf simulator vs. driving range.

How the GSPro course library works

The course library in GSPro is largely community-built. Independent designers create and update courses, and the set on any given system changes over time as courses are added, updated or removed. Availability and licensing vary, so the course list on a bay is the only list that matters for your round.

On Birdie House bays, that library includes 500+ courses, with 100+ of them lidar-scanned. The rest are a mix of designer-built recreations and fully fictional layouts.

Lidar-scanned vs. designer and fictional courses

Lidar-scanned courses are built from laser elevation data. A scan measures the shape of the ground, and the designer builds the course on top of that measured terrain. The practical result: slopes, fairway tilts, mounds and green contours reflect the real ground instead of someone’s best guess. Putts break the way the land falls, and uneven lies feel like uneven lies.

Designer and fictional courses are shaped by hand. Some are inspired by a style or region, some are pure invention. Many are excellent and tuned to be fun, not just realistic.

If realism is the point, filter for lidar. If you just want a good walk with friends, any well-reviewed course is fair game.

How to pick the best GSPro courses for your goal

“Best” depends on what you want from the hour. Here are the categories worth knowing and what to look for in each.

Championship-length tests

Pick these when you want to know how your game really holds up. Look for long back tees, narrow landing areas, real hazards in play off the tee and firm, quick greens. Use the course’s listed yardage and rating info if the menu shows it, and favor lidar courses so the greens are honest.

Links-style and firm ground

Look for treeless, rolling layouts with fescue-style rough, pot bunkers and wide approaches that invite ground shots. These reward low, controlled ball flight and a good bump-and-run, and they punish anything that balloons. Set the fairways and greens firm if your bay’s settings allow it.

Short courses and quick 9s

For a lunch-hour round, look for par-3 courses, executive layouts or any course you can start on the back nine.

Courses for beginners

Search for wide fairways, few forced carries, gentle green contours and forward tees. A course that keeps the ball in play keeps the round moving, and that matters more than prestige when you are learning.

Texas- and Oklahoma-style layouts

If you want something that plays like home, look for open, wind-exposed parkland, tree-lined creek holes, bermuda-style fairways and plenty of roll on the firm ground. Browse by region or description in the course menu and read the course notes. Treat any real-world name you see as something to confirm on the bay, not a given.

Range and practice modes

Not every session needs a scorecard. The range and practice modes are the right call when you are working on a single change, dialing in gapping or warming up before a round. The winter golf practice guide has session plans that work well on a bay.

Settings that make a round fun or realistic

Most simulator software offers a similar set of round options. Exact names and locations vary, so check the bay’s settings menu before you tee off.

• Tees: Play the tees that match your carry distance, not your ego. Forward tees speed up the round and keep approach shots in a realistic range.
• Green speed and firmness: Slower, softer greens are friendlier. Faster, firmer greens reward precise approach shots and real lag putting.
• Gimmes and putting mode: A gimme distance or auto-putt option removes the most time-consuming part of simulator golf. Turn it off when you want to practice putting.
• Mulligans: Great for casual rounds and new golfers. Turn them off when you are keeping a real score.
• Wind and conditions: Calm is a good default. Add wind when you want to practice flighting the ball.

How long does a simulator round take?

With no walking, ball searching or waiting on the group ahead, a simulator round is much quicker than the same round outdoors. The big variables are how many players are in the group, whether gimmes or auto-putt are on and how many mulligans get used.

A solo player or a twosome with gimmes on can move through holes quickly. A foursome putting everything out will take a lot longer. If your time is limited, play nine, start on the back nine or pick a short course. On the Birdie plan, the free daily hour of bay time is often enough for a quick nine on a short or medium-length course, depending on your group and settings.

Quick reference: goal, course type and settings

Your goal	Course type to look for	Settings tip
Test your full game	Championship-length, lidar-scanned	Back tees, firm greens, no mulligans, putt everything
Learn to flight the ball	Links-style, open and firm	Add wind, firm fairways
Fit a round into lunch	Par-3 or executive course, or a quick 9	Gimmes on, auto-putt if available
Play with a new golfer	Wide fairways, few forced carries	Forward tees, mulligans on, slower greens
Get a feel for home	Open, windy, tree-and-creek layouts	Moderate wind, firm conditions
Work on one skill	Range or practice mode	Pick a target and one club, track results

Try GSPro at Birdie House

Every bay at Birdie House runs GSPro on a ProTee VX, with private bays you book online and guests who always play free with a member. Try a golf simulator in Dallas for your first week for $1, or try indoor golf in OKC or a golf simulator in Houston for your first month for $1, and pick your course once you are on the mat.