Skytrak or Mevo+?

[bubbtubbs]

Greetings all. Longtime lurker, first time poster here.

I've been meaning to set up a hitting bay for a while now and this virus quarantine has just given me the impetus to actually do something about it.

The setup will be in the garage, but I intend to build everything so I can fold, move or pull the various parts so they're out of the way when not in use. Space is 20' wide, 18' deep, 12' high and I'll be replacing the door tracks to make them a high bay style for maximum headroom.

I've read the other threads debating the merits of both the Skytrak and the Mevo+, as well as Gunghogolf's excellent comparison, but I'm still having a bit of difficulty deciding. I have an opportunity to purchase a new Skytrak unit for $1500 CDN from my golf pro, since he started a teaching facility and bought three units in bulk, but only set up two once he got into the space, so there's a significant discount. The price difference narrows a fair bit though, when you consider the mandatory subscription fees over 7-8 years.

I'm going to be setting up and taking down a fair bit, so I'm also concerned about having to spend too much time messing around with alignment. I have two kids under 20mo at the moment (part of the reason I want a sim) and need to milk every free second given to me! I've also gotten my fair share of misreads with the Skytrak units - my 5w in particular just flat refuses to be read more than half the time - and the ball speed issue gives me pause (113mph CHS with driver). Additionally, it would be nice to take the unit to the cottage, where I have a fishing pole rigged up with a ball on the end to blast shots off the dock, but Skytrak needs to phone home and there's no internet or cell coverage until you get closer to civilization.

Is 20' wall to wall enough for Mevo+ to accurately read? How much space should I leave between the wall and net/screen in the impact area? Which unit would you guys pick, given the above? Or is there a third option I've overlooked?

Thanks.

Edit: I should mention that putting accuracy is of little to no importance to me since I tend to use gimmes or distance-based score entry on green and have a rather extensive adjustable putting green in the basement. I just can't fit the sim down there because of 8' ceilings.

[Dax]

20 feet should be enough based on the results GungHo and others have posted. You will want about a foot between wall to screen. Some have got away with less, but you should read how they have done this. I am of the view you should watch out for metallic garage doors, but there has been posts by some that it may not be an issue with Mevo+ (suggest finding that and reading it if it is an issue). That will leave you a little under 19 feet to play with. If I recall Mevo wants 7 feet to tee and so it will leave over ten feet of flight. Depending on driver ball speed, this should be good. GungHo found better results for his driver when he squeezed out to ten feet.

Seems a like a good price on that Skytrack.

Good luck with the build.

[Wizard of Coz]

Buy that skytrak and sell it for 2000 or more today then wait and find a GC2. ???

[bubbtubbs]

I appreciate your input, but I really don't see much of a need to invest in obsolete technology.

Used GC2 are still around 5-6k Canadian (which is likely more than the entire sim setup will cost with ST or Mevo+, including software), you still don't have any measured club data and I'm not sure about warranty support if your new-to-you unit develops sensor or battery issues. Maybe somebody who has experience with the CPO program from Foresight can comment?

Anyways if I were looking into the 8-10k range for setup, I'd probably just get a Uneekor system, since 95% of the use will be in the garage.

Thanks again.

[Dax]

I think the obsolete technology still works pretty good for what people are looking for, although I really agree with you on the used price, but I guess you can't mess with economics and there are still a lot of people looking for used GC2's. Lack of club data aside, it is an accurate machine that has proved reliable for many (I don't know, but suspect some have 1000's and 1000's of shots on their units and they still keep on ticking).

[bubbtubbs]

Oh, totally. I didn't mean it wasn't still a perfectly good machine and it's still better than Skytrak, but it's also nearly 3x the cost in pre-owned condition. Just depends on what you're after. I could afford Quad if I wanted to, but I'm just after a cheap practice option I can use in the winter or when it's raining.

[wbond]

bubbtubbs what are you referring to here? What is obsolete?

I appreciate your input, but I really don't see much of a need to invest in obsolete technology.

[bubbtubbs]

bubbtubbs what are you referring to here? What is obsolete?

I appreciate your input, but I really don't see much of a need to invest in obsolete technology.

I was under the impression they no longer make GC2 and have outright replaced it with Quad. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[wbond]

New GC2's still being sold by foresight.

https://shop.foresightsports.com/collections/new-gc-launch-monitors

I was under the impression they no longer make GC2 and have outright replaced it with Quad. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[bubbtubbs]

New GC2's still being sold by foresight.

https://shop.foresightsports.com/collections/new-gc-launch-monitors

Fair enough. The HMT being sold out seems to me as though the new units are just unsold stock but, since I can't prove it, I'll retract my previous statement regarding the obsolescence of GC2.

Might still pass on buying one, though. It's too expensive for adding minor conveniences over the other two units unless I can find a really good deal. Haven't seen one for sale in Canada for almost a year, so it may be unlikely.

[pwade3]

I’m not sure what to add. You seem to have covered all the bases. If you have seen Gunghogolf’ s comparison then that puts a lot in to perspective. I can’t figure from what you have said, what are the important requirements.
To set them up or align are the same time, give or take a few seconds.
I will add, that you can use your skytrak at the lake without internet. It has its own wifi (direct mode) if needed. Mevo+ plus has it own wifi so use it there also.
I own both units, so if you have more specific questions, I would be happy to try and answer them. I have had the ST for 5 years. I have had the Mevo+ a short time and had to send it back for repairs. M+ outdoors was great. Indoors, it had zero no reads. ST will have no reads. I hate that when playing TGC. M+ has some issues with ball spin sometimes just as ST has issues with HLA sometimes. M+ is very early in its launch and I’m sure they will refine the units to make them even better.
Your not getting a Mevo+ for a while. Probably July(I’m guessing). $1500 cdn for a ST is a steal. I paid $3000 cdn. Why would you not buy it. You could sell it for more if you don’t like it.

[bubbtubbs]

Thanks a lot for taking the time to write such a detailed response.

I'll probably buy the Skytrak and just rent the software for the first year while I decide whether I'm keeping or upgrading it to something better.

[Gresh12]

I owned a SkyTrak for 2 years and now a Mevo+. For my purposes the Mevo+ has been better. I can’t do a permanent setup so my price limit is around $2k US (I’m in Canada but used to speaking in USD here) until there’s a Mevo++ type device that has full club data at $5k or less that’s accurate. Personally for me going from $2k to $5k for a GC2 isn’t worth it but others will disagree.

I find Mevo+ substantially easier to set up before each use. The built in camera makes alignment take seconds whereas with the SkyTrak I’d be fiddling with it hitting shots at a string until getting one to read straight and hit the string. HLA on SkyTrak is its biggest weakness by far so between me missing the string and me hitting the string twice in a row and getting very different HLAs on SkyTrak it took awhile and mid session I would almost always question it.

I found SkyTrak over exaggerated all shapes. There is comments on lack of spin decay and I’m not an engineer/physicists but the shapes always felt further off than even that would account for. I have 8’ Mevo+ to ball then 9’ to net. No issues with reads as long as Mevo+ at same height as mat (I had some issues at first with setup). I will note I can’t hit driver in my garage but I’ve hit driver outdoors on both units (ball speed was low on SkyTrak but I sold mine before the recent upgrade).

Skytrak is spotty outside whereas Mevo+ is as good or better outside vs inside (better if you gain more ball flight). I don’t go to the range often but I never took my SkyTrak (it didn’t like yellow balls ever and any sun it would misread) but the Mevo+ is so light and easy to setup I’ve brought it out on the course To try on random tee shots for the group.

I can’t stand sim putting but my SkyTrak I could putt where I can’t on my Mevo+ as my non permanent setup isn’t flat mat to net. Doesn’t bother me but could be a huge issue for some.

The free 5 courses of E6 is nice but I’m finding I prefer having my software run on a PC. If you’re willing to pay something for sim software I think they both have same options.

The only thing I miss about SkyTrak is the range software. I liked that everything was in one app. I liked the app could be PC or iOS. It had better features like bag mapping, randomized targets etc. You can fake some of these things in FS apps but they just don’t feel polished. I’m not optimistic this will change a lot as FS has high end models using these same apps I believe so I don’t think it’s a matter of a new app lacking features I think this is just their apps. Maybe moving heavier in to consumer devices they’ll make more user friendly apps but they aren’t charging an annual fee so no revenue to necessarily support big upgrades. I was actually never against paying a fee for SkyTrak when they were bringing out a great range with updates (once the updates stopped for about a year I stopped saying that).

Folks above are correct though in that you have little risk on that SkyTrak price. I paid retail (during one of the sales) and after 2 years I think I sold it for about $300 US less than I paid which is less than I would have paid in range balls had I not had it (and I hit balls every day almost instead of occasionally). You could use the Skytrack until a Mevo+ arrives in a few months and probably make money on the resale.

[pwade3]

Good write up Gresh. I guess it depends on your sim for setting up LM. I have a large turf that is rolled out and is always true to the screen. It is marked where the ST sits and I don’t bother with any more alignment as HLA is to inconsistent anyway, so in my sim, it actually takes longer to set up the M+. I could see for some, taking longer with ST as its a pain to have to align.

[Gresh12]

That’s fair. I think I always tried super hard to get it set up to read straight but it was probably a fools errand as the variability in HLA was probably negating my efforts.

[bubbtubbs]

Thanks for the replies.

I was planning on running everything through PC because I already have a gaming tower that will run either E6 or TGC 2019 in 1080p. Besides, I hated my iPhone 3G years ago and have been Android ever since, so there's no IOS devices in the house except my wife's phone. I guess that's probably a strike against the Mevo+ unless they add software options later.

In any case, it seems from the replies that you guys are confident I'll be able to resell the Skytrak for at least what I purchase it for and I can rent the software for now, so I'll go that route until I have a better idea if the misreads and shot delay grate on me enough long-term to warrant getting something better.

Thanks for the input, you guys have been really helpful.

[pwade3]

FS app works on Android

[bubbtubbs]

Good to know. I hadn't read that in any of the reviews I'd seen, but it's entirely possible I just missed it.