Questions and answers
Frequently asked questions
Short answers, with links to more detail. Pick a topic, or scroll through them all. Can't find it? Ask on our Discord.
Getting started
What are the system requirements?
Home Nine runs on 64-bit Windows 10 or 11, macOS 12 or later, and 64-bit Linux. You need a computer that can run a modern 3D game. On our RTX 3080 test PC, it runs smoothly at 1080p. We haven't set a minimum spec yet.
There's no phone or tablet version.
How do I install it?
- Windows: run the installer from the download page.
- Mac: unzip it and move Home Nine to Applications. The first time, right-click it and choose Open. If macOS still blocks it, click Open Anyway in System Settings > Privacy & Security.
- Linux: unpack the archive and run HomeNine.x86_64.
Then sign in with your Home Nine account to start your free trial.
Do I need the internet or an account?
You need an account and the internet once, to sign in and start your free trial. After that, the game plays offline and checks its license now and then. Importing a real course and live weather also need the internet.
The full game adds online play and leaderboards. Your rounds, profile, practice stats, courses and friends follow you to any computer you sign in on. The privacy policy explains what the server keeps.
Launch monitors
Which launch monitors work?
Home Nine connects directly to a FlightScope Mevo, Garmin R10, Square Golf Omni or Open Launch Nova. Any other monitor works if its software or a connector sends GSPro Open Connect v1. Some major brands only connect to GSPro's own software, so they can't reach Home Nine yet. See every monitor and its status.
The game knows these models by name. Each round records your model, and leaderboards group players by monitor.
FlightScope Mevo+ · FlightScope Mevo Gen2 · FlightScope X3 · Foresight GCQuad · Foresight GC3 · Foresight GCHawk · Foresight Falcon · Bushnell Launch Pro · Bushnell LPi · SkyTrak · SkyTrak+ · SkyTrak ST MAX · Uneekor EYE XO · Uneekor EYE XO2 · Uneekor EYE MINI · Uneekor EYE MINI LITE · Uneekor QED · Garmin Approach R10 · Garmin Approach R50 · Rapsodo MLM2PRO · ProTee VX · Open Launch Nova · Full Swing KIT · Trackman · Ernest Sports ES Tour Plus · Square Golf · Square Golf Omni
A monitor that isn't listed still works. Its rounds are saved as Other, with the name its software reports.
How do I connect my Mevo?
Close FS Golf, then join your computer to the Mevo's Wi-Fi. In Home Nine, open SETTINGS > LAUNCH MONITOR and choose DIRECT LINK: MEVO. Select CONFIGURE MEVO to set your distance, heights and ball, then save.
While you're on the Mevo's Wi-Fi, the game can't reach the internet. You can still play. Switch back to your home network to check your license or play online.
Can I putt with a webcam?
Yes. Use the open-source MLM2PRO-GSPro-Connector for Windows. It runs cam-putting-py, a webcam app that measures ball speed and direction off the putter, or reads an ExPutt. Putts reach the game over Open Connect like any other shot.
Your launch monitor stays connected for full shots. The game tells both programs which club you're using, and the connector turns the camera on only for the putter. On the green, the game selects the putter for you. Off the green, select it yourself.
Putts roll at the green's speed and follow its slope. The hole strip shows how long the putt plays, where to start it and how hard to hit it. A putt over 30 mph is ignored as a hand or practice swing.
My monitor won't connect. What should I check?
For a direct link, follow the steps for your model on the launch monitors page. For Open Connect, check that the monitor's software is running with Open Connect on, and that it sends to 127.0.0.1:921. Close any other simulator software using that port.
MONITOR TEST under SETTINGS > LAUNCH MONITOR shows everything the game receives. If shots still don't arrive, press REPORT A PROBLEM there. It sends us what the game heard, so we can fix it.
Playing
How many people can play together?
One to four golfers can take turns in the same hitting bay. Each player has their own name, handedness, tees and carry distances, and the caddie picks clubs from those distances. Everyone tees off first, then the player farthest from the hole plays next. On the range, players take turns on the mat.
Each player can sign in to their own account or play as a guest. Along with stroke play, you can play skins, Stableford, two-player match play or a scramble. These formats are for local play and are never ranked.
You can also add a computer player, from tour level to a 28 handicap. It plays its own shots on the course.
Where do real courses come from?
Players import them from public data. Search for a course by name or town, and the game builds it from public map data, including OpenStreetMap.
Each course is one player's import of public map data. No golf club has licensed, approved, surveyed or checked it, and it's only as accurate as that data. A published course carries its OpenStreetMap credit under the Open Database License, and we won't publish one without it.
Can I design my own courses?
Yes. Draw a course in the course designer, then change any hole's par, length, dogleg, bunkers, water, trees and hills. A hole map updates as you go. You can also have the game make a course from a few choices.
A course you make is yours, with no outside data in it. With the full game, you can save it online, open it on another computer and publish it for other players.
Can I watch a round again?
Yes. Press V to replay your last shot. Rounds saved to your account can be replayed shot by shot, including your own, your friends', rounds in your matches and any Tour Week entry.
Practice and games
What can I practice?
On the range, you see dispersion and gapping by club, and you can export each session to a spreadsheet. Short game practice sets up putts, chips and bunker shots from any distance. Drills cover approach shots, up-and-downs and putting.
Skills challenges, like closest to the pin and a carry ladder, keep your best score.
Are there games besides golf?
Yes. Play skee-ball on a pier, darts in a pub garden and battleship at sea. Kids can aim at big inflatable targets. In Block Blast, you knock down block towers and the creatures on them across eight islands.
Every game uses a real swing and your launch monitor's data.
Can I record my swing?
Yes. Set up one or two webcams in the game's settings, and each swing is saved as a clip. Review it in slow motion with body tracking.
What are achievements?
They're goals like breaking 90 or making three birdies in a round. Rounds saved to your account earn them. Some unlock a ball color, tracer color, bag or title. Rewards are cosmetic only.
Online
Can I play against friends online?
Yes. Add each other with friend codes on the game's FRIENDS screen. Then play an online lobby with up to three friends at their own simulators, or set up a private match where everyone plays one round in the same conditions. Everyone playing online needs the full game.
What is Tour Week?
A weekly event on one course, with the same conditions for everyone. Play your round any time that week, and see where you stand on this site's leaderboards. Tour Week comes with the full game.
Is there a handicap or ranked competition?
Ranked play and the handicap index are switched off for now. Until the server can verify that a launch monitor measured each shot, rounds don't count toward a handicap and tournament entries are refused. Tour Week's open division is the exception, and its board marks rounds as unverified.
Every number the server receives comes from the game on your computer. Nothing proves that a real launch monitor measured a shot, that every attempt was sent or that the ball went in the hole. We'd rather say so than pretend otherwise.
Pricing and the beta
Is there a free trial? What does the full game add?
Yes. Everything offline is free for 7 days, starting the first time you sign in to the game. After that, the practice range and your shot data stay open. Buy the full game once to keep everything and play online:
- Rounds saved online on every computer you sign in to, with the achievements they earn
- Your profile and practice stats follow you to every computer you sign in on
- A handicap index calculated from your saved rounds
- Save courses online, open them anywhere, and download courses other players publish
- Publish your courses for other players
- Online play with friends, Tour Week, tournaments, leaderboards and private matches
It's a one-time purchase with no subscription, and you can get a full refund within 14 days.
How many computers can I use it on?
Two at a time, on Windows, Mac or Linux. That's the same during the free trial. Each extra computer is $49.99, bought once from your account page.
Moving to a new computer? Remove the old one on your account page, then sign in on the new one. You can remove two computers every 30 days. A friend signing in at your simulator doesn't use one of their computers.
Can I join the beta?
Yes. Until December 31, 2026, testers play the full game free. Join our Discord, make a Home Nine account, then send us your Discord username on the beta page. We'll email you when your account has the full game.
On January 1, 2027, the free copies end. Testers who've helped in the Discord keep the full game.
Help
I found a bug. How do I report it?
In the game, press REPORT A PROBLEM in the menu's HELP section. It sends us what the game heard from your monitor along with your note. You can also use the bug report form on this site, or post in #bug-reports on our Discord.
Where can I get help from other players?
Join the Home Nine Discord. Players share their setups, help each other get launch monitors connected, and talk about courses and games. We're there too, and new versions are announced there first.
Found a bug? Post it in the #bug-reports forum. It's logged for us, and you'll get a reply in the thread when it's fixed.
What changed in the latest version?
Every version's changes are on the What's new page, newest first. The game tells you on its title screen when a new version is ready.