Need help with Skytrak and Qolf balls

[Jeff Tilley]

Finally got to hit balls for the first time today on my Skytrak. I'm using Qolf balls because I don't want to take a chance of a real ball ricocheting inside my garage and taking out the boys, if you know what I mean. I've seen several threads on here where fellow members using Qolf balls got near real ball distances. I am getting distances 25-30 yards short of what I normally see with my 7-iron. I'm seeing ball speeds around 100 mph, but only getting 110-115 carry. Also, I can't seem to adjust the humidity setting.

[Lgnir]

Well I have never heard of Qolf balls, but I know from my research, to get the most accurate readings, use a premium golf ball. Some people have said that the MG golf balls ($20 a dozen) are the one "cheap" brand that matches up to Pro V1's. I myself use Callaway Diablo Tour's and Srixon Q-Star balls, as they are the same balls I play with on the course.

As far as the humidity setting goes, I know on my SkyTrak, if you click on the humidity setting, you get a selection from 10% up to 100%. You cannot type in something like 82%. You would just have to choose 80%.

I play in my garage too, but I have a Net Return net, and I purchased the side nets that are extra.

[Jeff Tilley]

Well I have never heard of Qolf balls, but I know from my research, to get the most accurate readings, use a premium golf ball. Some people have said that the MG golf balls ($20 a dozen) are the one "cheap" brand that matches up to Pro V1's. I myself use Callaway Diablo Tour's and Srixon Q-Star balls, as they are the same balls I play with on the course.

As far as the humidity setting goes, I know on my SkyTrak, if you click on the humidity setting, you get a selection from 10% up to 100%. You cannot type in something like 82%. You would just have to choose 80%.

I play in my garage too, but I have a Net Return net, and I purchased the side nets that are extra.

Real balls are out of the question. Qolf balls are hard plastic golf balls that weigh roughly half of what a real ball weighs. Others here have posted success stories using Qolf balls, with distances rivaling and sometimes exceeding real balls. I tried adjusting the humidity, but it seems to be stuck on 50%. I did adjust temp and altitude, but no help there. My club speed and ball speeds were in line with what I have seen on other launch monitors, but launch angle was low as expected with practice balls. Maybe I need to reload the app?

[jut111]

No offense, but if you bought a skytrak with no intent to hit real balls, you probably wasted your money.

[CintiGolfer]

I have used Qolf balls in the past. While the ball speed was similar to real balls, the spin rate can be very different. What spin rate are you seeing with your 7 iron?

[Jeff Tilley]

No offense, but if you bought a skytrak with no intent to hit real balls, you probably wasted your money.

It will see range time every so often to validate what I'm seeing in the garage.

[Jeff Tilley]

I have used Qolf balls in the past. While the ball speed was similar to real balls, the spin rate can be very different. What spin rate are you seeing with your 7 iron?

Around 3500-4000 rpm. Launch angle is low at 10-11 degrees. Do I need to pull that thin plastic wrap off the unit? Will that affect the numbers?

[DirtyGarry24]

Yes!!! There is a thin plastic screen protector that needs be removed. There's also a hard thicker plastic protector that doesn't need to be removed.

[erikh5014]

I dont think launch angle should be affected. At least it shouldn't miss read launch angle not saying those balls wont come out lower. I removed the thin plastic with the tab on it and Skytrak told me to leave the thicker protective plastic in place. You may see similar numbers to real ball don't let people discourage you.

The key is making sure the mat and Skytrak are perfectly level.

[SomaPLR]

It is effected, yes

[erikh5014]

Maybe a qolf balls come out lower, but the skytrak shouldn't read a lower la than what the real la is.

[Jeff Tilley]

I dont think launch angle should be affected. At least it shouldn't miss read launch angle not saying those balls wont come out lower. I removed the thin plastic with the tab on it and Skytrak told me to leave the thicker protective plastic in place. You may see similar numbers to real ball don't let people discourage you.

The key is making sure the mat and Skytrak are perfectly level.

I do have a very slight slope in my garage floor because it used to be a carport. I'll try to rectify that soon, along with taking that thin plastic off the unit and reloading the software. Hopefully reloading will let me adjust the humidity, tho I doubt moving the humidity off the current 50% has much effect. My monster mat probably comes into play, too. I'm working nites this weekend, so it may be Monday or Tuesday before my next opportunity to make adjustments.

[erikh5014]

Yeah everything def needs to be perfectly level. With your mat on a downward slope toward the hitting area is going to make the launch lower on skytrak. I would just use something to shim it up a touch.

[Jeff Tilley]

Yeah everything def needs to be perfectly level. With your mat on a downward slope toward the hitting area is going to make the launch lower on skytrak. I would just use something to shim it up a touch.

Feet are slightly below the ball and Skytrak unit. That may also contribute to a bigger than normal draw, lol. Maybe.........

[Jeff Tilley]

OK, woke up a little early, and after grabbing a bite to eat, I set out to find distance. I tried hitting off a thinner "rug", I deleted and reloaded the program, still can't adjust humidity, tried a real ball, got the same results. I raised altitude to 10,000 feet just for fun and hit a couple weird moon shots that carried farther than the total distance. I moved the ball all around the dot and found the most consistent spot was about 3 inched behind the dot and in line with the target. I adjusted the level of the unit to one side, then the other, one end then the other. I tried my sand wedge and got fairly accurate results, but the 7-iron is still coming up roughly 30 yards short on carry, even with a real ball. EVEN ON WELL STRUCK BALLS. I'm gonna pick up an HDMI adapter for my Ipad in the morning and see if I get different results than my laptop, hopefully be able to adjust humidity. If that doesn't help, then I'll take it to the range to see if it registers what I normally get there. That way I'll be able to see if I do indeed suffer from indoor distance loss in my garage.

[StanMI]

Might try using the leveling feature in the lower right corner of the first screen to make sure your unit is level in both directions .

[robpf]

I have been using qolf balls for over a year and find the distance compares very well to a Titleist V1X or Callaway chrome soft. In the winter I hit in my sunroom and have to use the qolf balls. In the summer I can hit real balls in my barn. My spin numbers are down a little at times, you have to keep your club faces clean they do leave a little debris. You can also put a straight line on them with an industrial sharpie to get better spin readings. Depending on what surface you are hitting off of it can definitely rob some distance and a lot of people not used to hitting indoors do not have IRL distances. After using them for so long I now prefer the qolf ball. They are less fatiguing if you are hitting a lot of balls and I actually find my distances a little longer probably because I am so relaxed hitting them. I highly recommend them, I have tried all of the other indoor balls and nothing else comes close. If you are unable to get IRL distances with them TGC has a boost function that you can use to increase your distances. I find I don't need to use it.

[jjkoolman]

robpf do you find that the qolf balls get chewed up at all?? I ordered a box of I think 60 and after a few hits with my wedges and 8-9 irons they were getting very scuffed and I was nervous that they would chew up my screen. Just wondering if you've notice any durability issues.

[robpf]

Maybe I got a good set of balls. I hit the same ball for 100's of shots and I see no significant wear or decrease in range. I hit all of my clubs including an occasional 280 yard drive if I am lucky and no wear. In general I think the spin is a little less which probably results in a little longer distance than a real ball. The only problem I have had is that if I leave one lying on the floor and my dog gets it.:-)

[Jeff Tilley]

Update-tried it on my IPad with similar results. Still can't adjust humidity or wind speed. Tried hitting balls off a tee, same result. I get excellent results with PW and shorter irons, but.9-iron and longer give short distance readings by 25-30 yards. I'm taking the Skytrak and my IPad to the range Friday.