Skytrak vs. Protee: value of club data vs. practice software

[myrison]

Hello everyone, new user here. There is so much great info here on these forums, and I've enjoyed reading a lot of the other threads on this same topic but I'm looking for fresh perspectives on a couple of specific areas please.

Background: I'm in the early stages of a sim build. I've got a dedicated space (15' deep, 10' wide, 10' height) that I'll leave installed through the Winter, but in Summers, the garage in question has another purpose (and I play more real golf when it's nice so it's ok to pack it up when it's nice outside). I'll just need to pick up the mat and backdrop, cameras, etc. could stay mounted (if the setup I buy requires cameras).

Objectives: My main objective with my sim is to improve my game (19 handicap), but simulator play with friends is a very close second.

Budget: I've got a net/enclosure and nice hitting mat in the garage already, max I want to spend for the rest is ~$10k. Very happy to spend less if I can.

Main Question:

• I'm weighing the value of simulators like Protee (and others) with club head data to help me improve my swing versus something like a Skytrak that doesn't have club head data but whose software gets great reviews for it's practice features. It seems like club head data would be super important to identify and improve swing problems and my bias is to prioritize this in my search. Am I looking at this correctly, or is it more of a nice to have where the simulation and practice is actually as important as the club data?
• Example: Skytrak gets praise in reviews like this one from RainorShineGolf for it's practice features (screenshot below). The conclusion of this article (below) was surprising to me as to me it seems like the club head data in the ProTee would be far more valuable for game improvement, but it could be that the additional software features actually trump the club head data for game improvement.

RainOrShineGolf: "All in all, if you plan on using your launch monitor to dial in your numbers, keep track of miss tendencies and club gaps, then you probably want to lean towards SkyTrak."

Advice is very much appreciated from those of you who have used various sim types. Thanks in advance!

[3on3putt]

Rain or Shine sells Skytraks. They do not sell ProTees. So of course any comparison article on their site that involves one of their products vs. a competitor is going to be tilted in their favor. That's not a neutral or objective review. That's marketing. I do the exact same thing for a living.

Some of the features that Skytrak has are pretty cool like the long drive competition and the closest to the pin. Do those things really help with practicing and getting better? Meh. It's not like you can't do the same or similar thing with just a driving range.

As far as club data goes ...... it's all personal preference. I don't care much for it because I can tell what the club face is doing at impact based on feel and the flight of the ball. I can't tell you how many degrees the face was closed, but I can tell you that it was closed. The shot tracer tells you a lot about the club face and path, as does the data about side spin and horizontal launch. You can use all that data to get a pretty good idea of what the club was doing through impact. It's obviously not going to be as exact as actually capturing the data, but you'll get the general idea.

If you plan on pairing the Skytrak with TGC2019 for sim play, you can get some club data there. It shows you the shot data after every shot (you can turn that feature on or off) and you can go to the TGC driving range and get ball and club data during a range session. Granted, the club data on TGC is calculated and not measured. (Basically it's taking the ball data I mentioned above and doing the translation for you).

I think you'll find that you'll improve a ton simply by playing and hitting balls on a regular basis regardless of how granular you're getting with data. As a higher handicapper, the thing that's likely to make the most significant improvement in your game right now is distance control and overall consistency of ball-striking, neither of which really require club data.

[myrison]

Super helpful feedback, thank you for taking the time to reply.

[keither5150]

If you are over a 10 handicap..... club data should trump all. Oh wait, club data is not on the list.

[kellybshelton]

Club head data is invaluable if used properly.. I have obsessed over it, which doesn't really help your game, but it absolutely can help you identify where you are making mistakes and ways that you can improve. For example, I was able to add a substantial amount of distance off the tee with my driver because i wasn't hitting up on the ball enough. I felt like i was, but the data showed a fairly flat angle of attack. So pairing the data with some video, I could see and understand what I was doing to create a neutral AOT. Now, having said that, i've only used a GCquad and Trackman, and i trust their club head data. If that data isn't accurate, then I feel like it could cause more problems. I ultimately ended up getting the Quad because I wanted to know the clubhead data was accurate, but based on all the research I did, and in that mid level price range, I think I would have sacrificed the club data as long as the ball data was accurate, which apparently the Skytrak is. Not sure if thats helpful or not.

[myrison]

Yep, very helpful, thanks for taking the time to respond!