Well a flash is required in mine and most clubs. It's difficult to put the emitter in the barrel with a flash. This info came from a long time battler so I was just wondering. It could help with the shape of the beam if the emitter is in the mantle. The new TBU systems come with a holder just for the purpose of mounting them in the mantlet, so I'm thinking there may be some truth too this. My Tiger does seem to be slightly more accurate than my Panther, which has the emitter mounted on the barrel.