Its 2024 and an old Title-X

[Chuck]

Something got me the other night as I was watching a YouTube, and I asked; "I wonder if the old Tittle-X would work with "the game that shall not be spoken of here' (it begins with a 'G' BTW) and it lead me on a search. (From now on, let me just call it "The Game" to be brief). The old Tittle-X brand from (Ulike.co.kr) is now sold under the SwingLogic Brand (SLX for short) and has been for several years now. A website indicated that yes there was something to that. So this afternoon I had a little time to investigate further. All the indications were to go to the SwingLogic website; https://www.swinglogic.us/ select <SUPPORT> and dig in. Thinking to myself, I have an old Tittle-X (the green one with three LEDs and a touch-sensitive screen) in the garage. I wonder if I can revive it. So expecting all kinds of Bluetooth madness or battery problems, I jumped in.

To start, you need the 'The Game' with the OpenAPI interface and you need that old Tittle-X (the one that still works). Mine charged right up and had no problem with the battery. I'm on the third one that I ordered a couple of years ago directly from South Korea before SLX; Amazing it came via UPS Quantum Express (3-Day international). So anyway, go to the SwingLogic website under <SUPPORT> select 'GetStarted' and "Pick For Windows/PC Users: Download from the SwingLogic website or the Windows Store". That will jump you to the website to download the new Windows-only drivers. So following that I downloaded and installed the SwingLogic SLX-Connect_installer_1.1.8.exe. Now like a lot of software, you need to create an account; email, password, user name, (and all of the kind of info that should be optional only.) So once you finally have your account set up and are logged in; you have 3 panels; the middle being "Simulator". Selecting that gives you a couple of options one being E6, and the other being the 'The Game'. I picked the latter and it immediately told me I needed to upgrade the firmware. Now comes the Bluetooth madness. I followed the on-screen prompts about upgrading the firmware which led me back to the SLX website. Eventually, it dawned on me that maybe like the old Tittle-X, SLX used my Android to update firmware, so searching Google Play, there t was the Android "SLX Firmware Update App"! So after downloading that to my Android, I gave it a try. The first was to select a device. Mine was the 'tittle-t' at the very bottom of the list off-screen. Believe it or not, it took me several tries before I finally got the SLX Firmware App to pair with the 'tittle-t'. but eventually, I did and made it to the latest version of the firmware '0.5.7'. So now ... off the Android and back to the PC!

So I fired up the SLX Connect, signed in, and jumped to the 'Simulator' panel in the middle. I select "The Game" and launch... Nothing. All I have is a blinking red LED on my freshly charged-up new firmware Tittle-X. The SLX-Connect gave me a hint with a prompt "Is your BLE connected?" BLE means the Bluetooth Low Energy device (ie tittle_t). So I'm running Windows 10, right? And so I select PC-Settings and go to Bluetooth, and do a scan. Sure enough, I see a new device called SLX-Mirosim (4DFF). The Firmware change modified the Bluetooth name from 'tittle-t'.to the 'SLX-Microsim (4DFF)'. So with the pairing, it was back to the task at hand. Getting "The Game" working with my old Ttttle-X. So it was back to the SLX-Connect on Windows, selected "Simulator" middle panel, and the blue ICON for "The Game"'. This time (and it's now about 1hr into this) it finally sees my old 'tittle-t' device as "SLX-Microsim (4DFF)" and syncs up. It launches a connector program Widget that shows up as a graphical pop-over on top of the game on the lower right side. Saying "Connecting...". I didn't know at the time if I was going to need to call the 'G-team' support for a new license, but as it turned out, I already had "The Game" up and running with the openAPI window open, and it magically connected directly to the openAPI interface flipping it instantly from red to green! Bingo "Connected". This is cool as beans man! So I can now run my ES16 Tour Plus 2.0, my goto R10 and Allexx putt rig, and now the old Tittle-X all on the openAPI!

Performance-wise, it plays like how I remember it. The ball speed and yardage were pretty darn good and in fact, most of the numbers were what you would expect out of a good simulator. The only one that was trimmed was the side-spin which because it's based only on face-angle can be inaccurate. In simulation, a lot of shots look straighter than they should. Distance and carry all looked good to my eye. Same with most of the measures that can be derived from a 6-DOF (Degree-Of-Freedom) club tracking device. And damn if putting is nearly spot-on except for the odd way you have to introduce HLA (Horizontal Launch Angle) into it (if you want it). Recall that Tittle-X has to establish a coordinate system by looking for your address. On putting that will always be lined up with your target, so to introduce HLA, you need to line up to your angle opposite to the HLA you want but swing and adjust the putter to target (straight). The club tracker will then add the opposite HLA to the ball and give the putt angle you want. Physics damn it! It's a move hard to work with. That is the flaw with the club trackers, your swing is all based on your address. Anyway, after having a blast for a couple of hours of chips, putts, irons, and woods it's a pretty cool combo working with the clean OpenAPI interface, the SLX-Connector, and "the game that shall not be spoken of here".

Oh, this was all using real balls, a 12ft W impact screen, a 4k projector, and full-power swings. So wow!

[Hannaford]

"the game that shall not be spoken of here" ??? Are you referring to GSPro ???

[Chuck]

Yes. The last time I used that game's name here, I was suspended and my account locked (and it was based on a keyword in the post and was automatic). Just like you might get using certain four-letter words. It took me a week or more to get the account unfrozen. It wasn't until I saw someone else on Reddit complaining about his account that I figured out the magic word to get banned.

[GSF_Admin]

No you got banned because your were posting links to hacked/illegal software. Please respect our forum rules.

[Chuck]

Yeah, after a few holes, I'm reminded of exactly why I moved on from the club-attached units to a full-on Launch monitor. I was AIM. The club-attached units have no idea what you're aiming at. There is nothing to indicate screen coordinates to swing coordinates so the assumption is made that your setup is laser-focused on the target. That all works fine unless you're not trying to be a laser and want to fade or draw. Then you have the oddness of setting up to do the opposite! But if you're a beginner, a device like Tittle-X (SLX) or Phi can be amazing. Same for the folks that just don't have the space for full sim capabilities.

So I gave the old Tittle-X a try on "the Game" and did OK.

[Joe_S]

Thanks for this very interesting report Chuck!

I also come from Optishot, now playing R-Motion. But without support for T2019 I miss the online tournament competition. But i like the capability of R-Motion to play with Almost Golf Balls, so I don't have to secure my sim room for real balls.

I'm watching TittleX (now SLX Micro Sim) with the option to play "The Game", because then I can continue playing without real balls. Alternatively I have to secure my room and switch to Skytrak or Garmin R10 (now with camera putting).

Is there any need of E6 to connect to "The Game" or is there a direct connect?
And is this also possible with a new SLX Micro Sim? This would be awesome to play online tournament with the SLX and "The Game".

[Hannaford]

No need to talk in code people. There is a whole category on this board now mentioning GSPro. Also, Swing Logic is no less an arcade type option for "virtual golf" than the Optishot and not any way a sim.

[Chuck]

You know, I wouldn't equate the SLX-Micro with an arcade game. It actually might surprise you how good it is. I'm used to my R10 which I use with the Allexx putting add-on (I'm using an IR cam that is dead accurate.) It really does give good numbers consistently and provides club data with ball data. When I compare the two, it is surprising how close they are. Not always obviously. But considering that the SLX-Microsim (tittle) works with all clubs even putter it's worth having even if it's just a fallback. Since it works with the OpenAPI, it gives you options. Is the SLX-Microsim a GC-QUAD? No, obviously. However, you do get very good club and swing data, swing path, and so on. On the driving range, it's the club data that I would trust. They also had something I haven't tried. That is GPS golf for on-course use using the Tittle. I'll have to try that sometime.

[Hannaford]

You know, I wouldn't equate the SLX-Micro with an arcade game. It actually might surprise you how good it is. I'm used to my R10 which I use with the Allexx putting add-on (I'm using an IR cam that is dead accurate.) It really does give good numbers consistently and provides club data with ball data. When I compare the two, it is surprising how close they are. Not always obviously. But considering that the SLX-Microsim (tittle) works with all clubs even putter it's worth having even if it's just a fallback. Since it works with the OpenAPI, it gives you options. Is the SLX-Microsim a GC-QUAD? No, obviously. However, you do get very good club and swing data, swing path, and so on. On the driving range, it's the club data that I would trust. They also had something I haven't tried. That is GPS golf for on-course use using the Tittle. I'll have to try that sometime.

Data generated by the sensor is not influenced by contact with a ball. The swing logic sensor does not produce any different feedback than phi golf or the e6 swing stick or Mario golf on the Nintendo Wii. At least the Garmin attempts to record data from the ball flight.

What swing data does the slx capture apart from swing speed?

[Chuck]

I've used the old Tittle-X since it was a go-fund-me project way back and that was the original. The SLX took over the Tittle-X and it's now rebranded the SLX-Microsim (and it's just one of many products those guys are making). I've taken a peak inside the device and it is really a well-made piece of electronics. Basically, it's a full ARM processor SOC 6-DOF (degrees of freedom) device with a 3D accelerometer and 3D gyroscope. So you have acceleration from gravity that gives the club position with respect to 'down'. The 3D gyroscope provides the club Yawn, Pitch, and Roll. The Phi Club device gives you 9-DOF with a positional delta X, delta Y, and delta Z from a magnetometer but it's not much help. Simply, the SLX is a full 3D motion capture chip attached to your golf club just below the grip. It records all 6D and provides you with a full detailed motion of that club and provides club head speed, club face, tempo, vertical and horizontal launch angles, angle of attack, club face orientation at impact... etc. So you have that. A lot of the data is estimated, like ball speed, smash factor, ball spin, spin-axis, and others but they do make reasonably realistic assumptions to derive those calculations. It plays a pretty good game if you accept the limitations and the lack of aim. The fact that the new SLX-Connect software works with the OpenAPI just makes it that much more awesome!

[Hannaford]

I've used the old Tittle-X since it was a go-fund-me project way back and that was the original. The SLX took over the Tittle-X and it's now rebranded the SLX-Microsim (and it's just one of many products those guys are making). I've taken a peak inside the device and it is really a well-made piece of electronics. Basically, it's a full ARM processor SOC 6-DOF (degrees of freedom) device with a 3D accelerometer and 3D gyroscope. So you have acceleration from gravity that gives the club position with respect to 'down'. The 3D gyroscope provides the club Yawn, Pitch, and Roll. The Phi Club device gives you 9-DOF with a positional delta X, delta Y, and delta Z from a magnetometer but it's not much help. Simply, the SLX is a full 3D motion capture chip attached to your golf club just below the grip. It records all 6D and provides you with a full detailed motion of that club and provides club head speed, club face, tempo, vertical and horizontal launch angles, angle of attack, club face orientation at impact... etc. So you have that. A lot of the data is estimated, like ball speed, smash factor, ball spin, spin-axis, and others but they do make reasonably realistic assumptions to derive those calculations. It plays a pretty good game if you accept the limitations and the lack of aim. The fact that the new SLX-Connect software works with the OpenAPI just makes it that much more awesome!

The only measured data is speed and orientation of the sensor location. This device does NOT read club head speed, club face, tempo, vertical and horizontal launch angles, angle of attack, club face orientation at impact that you mentioned. Essentially all data is estimated from hand speed and not dependent on club or ball in any way.

The Optishot may reads more club data than this and so many people consider that an arcade and not sim experience.

[Chuck]

Obviously, the tracker only knows its coordinates. It doesn't know the actual club length, face angle, club weight, or shaft stiffness... etc. All it does is use a standard reference to regular clubs, club length, and face angles for a model set of clubs. After that, everything else is geometry, math, and mechanics. So while the ball flight is based on those generalities, it still gives a model ball flight that is shaped by your input (and initial setup). So if I'm set up with this unit in the simulator, real ball, and real clubs, then I can expect a reasonable simulation of ball flight as if I were using a set of rental clubs. I was thrilled to see it play "The Game" using the OpenAPI and be able to play DSP-Sawgrass with reasonably realistic ball flights and distances, It also responds very quickly, unlike some LMs I've used. Considering the SLX-microsim1.0 (ie Tittle-X green) is $99 if you're not using a swing club, it is a low entry point. The Optishot does provide true club speed, true face angle, and club path in real-time. If there was a connector that could process the math for ball speed, ball spin, and spin-angle, and link it to the OpenAPI it might be a reasonably good sim experience.

We could use this simple formula to get ball speed; BS = CHS * 1.5. This is typical but not very satisfying. This is where a good AI engine could come in handy. With a lot of data, a neural network could be trained that models everything (which is what Garmin claims to have done with the R10). For a club-attached device, there is a lot going on in the 6-DOF sensors, just before and after impact. But that is getting into the weeds.

One aspect that I found really interesting with the SLX-Microsim1.0 in "The Game", was getting on the Practice Field and putting. Putting doesn't involve much, just Ball-Speed and HLA. VLA maybe? It was surprisingly well done. Very well done in fact. It might even be an interesting alternative to Allexx's camera putting add-on if the SLX could pull out just the putting code. Just saying.

[Hannaford]

Obviously, the tracker only knows its coordinates. It doesn't know the actual club length, face angle, club weight, or shaft stiffness... etc. All it does is use a standard reference to regular clubs, club length, and face angles for a model set of clubs. After that, everything else is geometry, math, and mechanics. So while the ball flight is based on those generalities, it still gives a model ball flight that is shaped by your input (and initial setup). So if I'm set up with this unit in the simulator, real ball, and real clubs, then I can expect a reasonable simulation of ball flight as if I were using a set of rental clubs. I was thrilled to see it play "The Game" using the OpenAPI and be able to play DSP-Sawgrass with reasonably realistic ball flights and distances, It also responds very quickly, unlike some LMs I've used. Considering the SLX-microsim1.0 (ie Tittle-X green) is $99 if you're not using a swing club, it is a low entry point. The Optishot does provide true club speed, true face angle, and club path in real-time. If there was a connector that could process the math for ball speed, ball spin, and spin-angle, and link it to the OpenAPI it might be a reasonably good sim experience.

We could use this simple formula to get ball speed; BS = CHS * 1.5. This is typical but not very satisfying. This is where a good AI engine could come in handy. With a lot of data, a neural network could be trained that models everything (which is what Garmin claims to have done with the R10). For a club-attached device, there is a lot going on in the 6-DOF sensors, just before and after impact. But that is getting into the weeds.

One aspect that I found really interesting with the SLX-Microsim1.0 in "The Game", was getting on the Practice Field and putting. Putting doesn't involve much, just Ball-Speed and HLA. VLA maybe? It was surprisingly well done. Very well done in fact. It might even be an interesting alternative to Allexx's camera putting add-on if the SLX could pull out just the putting code. Just saying.

There is nothing wrong with this setup for an arcade round of golf. The use of a swing stick removes the need for a ball altogether, but most people playing GSPro are wanting more realistic sim experience. Hooking up a 3D sensor to sim software is more entertaining than speed training without a ball, but provides nothing more than an arcade experience. NBA jam was fun for a reason.

[Chuck]

Yes sir. I understand what you are saying. It's just not the same experience as an LM of the caliber of a GC3 or a GC-quad. I would stand it up against a Skytrak if you could ignore the issue of aim. I mean, it's a club tracker after all. You know the Rapsodo club tracker had the same issue but it was loved by the golf community. One refinement that Rapsodo included was that you could finetune the calculations by adding club length and specifying the face angle for each club. I think Phi Golf and SLX realized that those additional parameters do not affect the distance outside of a 5% margin of error. But one glaring issue with club trackers is the total lack of aim. (Humm idea; Have a software option to reverse aim? If that doesn't work, then how about just putting? Listening SLX? Phi?)

You know, maybe that is "Arcade" like but then these toys do produce pretty realistic numbers even with a swingstick.

There is nothing wrong with this setup for an arcade round of golf. The use of a swing stick removes the need for a ball altogether, but most people playing GSPro are wanting more realistic sim experience. Hooking up a 3D sensor to sim software is more entertaining than speed training without a ball, but provides nothing more than an arcade experience. NBA jam was fun for a reason.

[Hannaford]

Yes sir. I understand what you are saying. It's just not the same experience as an LM of the caliber of a GC3 or a GC-quad. I would stand it up against a Skytrak if you could ignore the issue of aim. I mean, it's a club tracker after all. You know the Rapsodo club tracker had the same issue but it was loved by the golf community. One refinement that Rapsodo included was that you could finetune the calculations by adding club length and specifying the face angle for each club. I think Phi Golf and SLX realized that those additional parameters do not affect the distance outside of a 5% margin of error. But one glaring issue with club trackers is the total lack of aim. (Humm idea; Have a software option to reverse aim? If that doesn't work, then how about just putting? Listening SLX? Phi?)

You know, maybe that is "Arcade" like but then these toys do produce pretty realistic numbers even with a swingstick.

No, the Skytrak measures ball data. Any of these accelerometer units that you can check on a swing stick or sorts is only good to get an idea of consistent swing. All ball flight is calculated. They may be a step above a Nintendo Wii for entertainment value, but nothing more.

Skytraks may be had for as low as $600 nowadays. That should be the bare minimum for practice IMO. Otherwise, just speed train with a swing stick.

[Chuck]

Skytrak sucked... I mean really? $600 nowadays? The sky had no side spin that meant anything, and not much different from a Tittle-x, personal observation here. I always thought Skytrak charged to much for what it was. Also, flight is calculated by the GAME, not the input device. Well sort of, is some devices you take the raw data and process the metrics the software wants. So a club-attached device will have that. But what's the difference, between a good tracked swing and an optically tracked ball? One is tracked club data, the other is tracked ball data. I fail to see the difference.