Lobster Tennis Ball Machine Review (Top-Rated 2020)

Lobster is known for producing reliable Tennis ball machine.

It was founded in America, New Jersey in the year 1970. It currently carries out production activities in North Hollywood.

The Lobster tennis ball machine is an excellent training tool. 

According to the manual, the features of the Lobster tennis ball machine include remote control, battery life, spin, etc. 

Features of Lobster Tennis Ball Machine

These features are further discussed below. 

Remote Control

The lobster machine comes with a remote control. With this device, you can control the various features of the machine.

The Lobster grand 4 and 5 LE comes with an app that will allow you to control the machine directly from your phone. 

With a remote control, you can adjust every detail of the shots.

Battery Life

The battery life varies for each version of the Lobster tennis ball machine. If completely drained, it can take an average of twenty-four hours to get the machine to full charge.

Hence, it is important that you completely drain the device battery while training.

Feeding Rate and Spin

The mechanics of the tennis ball machine ensures that the balls do not get jammed.

While feeding balls into the ball bin, it is important that you do not fill the bin to capacity. If the bin is filled to capacity, some of the balls might fall to the ground. 

Furthermore, the machine does not just feed you balls but spins them. The machine can deliver balls with different spin types.

This will help you better your weaknesses or improve in your areas of strength.

The machine does not just fire shots in one direction but oscillates.

This added feature will make your training closely imitate a life – game. The machine also alternates the heights at which tennis balls are served.

Pros of the Lobster Tennis Ball Machine

  • The machine is a very reliable training tool
  • The outer body of the machine is made of plastic which prevents rusting
  • The machine is compact, light-weight, and comes with attached tires which make mobility easy.
  • The machine offers varied speed, elevation, frequency and spin of shots.
  • The machine serves better balls than tennis trainers

Cons of the Lobster Tennis Ball Machine

  • The machine parts are made of plastic which can be easily destroyed.
  • The remote control for the machine does not work sub-par. In reality, you will have to be within a few feet from the machine for the remote controller to work efficiently.
  • The company supports repairs and maintenance but the machine will have to be transported to the company warehouse for maintenance. This will result in added cost that might be greater than the equipment cost depending on your location.
  • Although the company assures repairs of faulty equipment, your right to repairs will be lost if you work on the equipment yourself.

Types of Lobster Tennis Ball Machine

1. Lobster Elite Liberty Machine

This is the entry level ball machine. It is battery operated and can work for an average of two to four hours on the court.

The machine is fitted with a number of knobs and switches which help adjust the performance of the machine feed to suit your training needs. 

There are three knobs on this machine: One for speed, one for spin, and one for feed control. 

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Using the speed knob, you can adjust the speed of the ball. the machine can serve balls between a speed of 30km/s and 115 km/s.

It has a ball capacity of 150 and can shoot balls straight at you at a feed rate of two to ten seconds.The feed rate can be adjusted using the feed knob. 

Fitted on the machine are five switches. They include; an elevation switch, a vertical switch, a horizontal switch, a 2 – line switch and a remote switch.

By flipping on any of these switches, you can vary the direction of the balls served by the machine.

By turning on the horizontal switch, each ball will be served at different ends of the court.

You can also change the spin of the ball using the spin knob. It will vary the ball spin between top-spin and back-spin for every shot. 

You can also change the elevation of the shots using the elevation switch. Balls can be served at an elevated angle of 50 degrees.

For ease of mobility, the machine comes with little tires fitted at its bottom. The machine is very compact and weighs only 15 kg.

The Elite liberty lobster machine is suited for beginners and intermediate players. it will help players improve their overall skill and performance on the court.

2. Lobster Elite 2 Ball Machine

This machine possesses similar qualities to the elite liberty. Major differences are apparent in the battery life and the ball delivery speed. 

The battery for the Elite 2 Lobster Ball Machine lasts for 4 – 8 hours and the ball delivery speed is 130 km/second.

The machine also comes with a triple oscillation feature which can be activated by turning on the horizontal and vertical switches. 

The knobs and switches for Elite 2 are similar to that of the Elite Lobster Machine.

The ball delivery for this machine is not limited to just alternate sides but also goes short and deep. This creates a better simulation training suited for match practice. 

This machine is suited for beginners, intermediate, and advanced players. It is a better suited trainer. It will make you move to all locations on the tennis court.

3. Lobster Grand 4 Ball Machine

The dials for this machine are different from that of the Elite Liberty and Elite 2 Lobster Ball Machines. It introduces a new feature – test calibration

if you can calibrate the machine correctly, it will alternate between different speeds and elevation levels as balls are served.

When the ball speed is increased, the machine automatically drops the ball elevation and vice versa. 

This ball machine is the most user friendly because it will continuously keep the ball in play at all times. 

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The test calibration feature is unique to Lobster Grand 4 Ball Machine

To calibrate the Grand 4 ball machine correctly, you first have to press the test button on the control panel.

Ensure that the machine sits on the baseline while shooting the ball. It will alternately feed balls at the opposite sides of the service court. 

If this does not work as you desire, you can easily press the plus or minus button on the control panel to ensure that the feed alternation suits your needs.

This model also comes with pre-loaded training drills. These drills are designed to work you out on the tennis court. They include; the grinder, the power baseliner and the all courtier. 

The two-line drill feature of the machine will cause it to feed one ball to your fore-hand and then one ball to your back-hand.

This helps when you need to get ready for an actual match. This machine is designed for intermediate and advanced players. 

4. Lobster Grand 5 LE Ball Machine

This machine comes with all the features of the grand 4 and a couple added features.

The best modification of the Grand 5 LE is it will allow you program drills.

This flexibility will help fix any weaknesses you may experience and also help improve on your strengths. 

This great feature can easily be programmed on the control settings.

It will avail you the opportunity to choose 18 possible points of the court where you want the ball to land. You can adjust the speed, spin and fade settings of each ball. 

With this machine, you can fully customize your training regime. You can customize and save a maximum of 12 programmable drills. 

The best feature of this machine is its ability to randomize shots.

It can serve tennis balls at its own speed, spin, and feed rate. This will keep you on your toes. It is suitable for all types of tennis players.  

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The Best Way to Use the Lobster Tennis Machine

Based on the review given above, it is clear that the Lobster Tennis Ball Machine is an extremely helpful training tool.

However, there are issues you must consider to ensure that you use the ball machine in the right way.

The lobster tennis ball machine can supply balls at a feed rate and speed that is hardly possible for any tennis players.

When training with the machine, you must ensure the machine feeds you shots at a rate similar to what is obtainable on the playing court. 

Despite the fact that the machine can feed you tennis balls at a high speed and frequency, your focus should not be on playing at the highest speed or feed rate.

To make the best of your training, you have to calibrate the machine to imitate a real life tennis game.

The lobster machine can feed balls at up to 115 km per second but you don’t need to play at this speed.

For best results while training with the lobster machine, always simulate real life game play.

Conclusion

The Lobster tennis ball machine is an excellent training tool. It can deliver shots at varied speeds and elevation levels.

If you want to improve your performance on the court, this machine will be an excellent choice.