SkyTrak vs. Mevo+ Crazy Question

[Love2Golf]

Question - DOES ANYONE KNOW IF YOU CAN RUN CREATIVE GOLF 3D FOR SKYTRAK AND FLIGHTSCOPE AT THE SAME TIME, ON THE SAME PC?

Here's the scenario-

I just built an indoor simulator in my garage and I bought a Mevo+ and a SkyTrak, pitting them against each other,. Will keep one and sell the other. Had the Flightscope for about 3 weeks and just got the SkyTrak this weekend.

My initial impressions are both are close enough to be good, but the Skytrak definitely has more lateral dispersion than the Mevo+. I predominantly hit a draw and they're more pronounced on the SkyTrak. I hit with both at the same time, SkyTrak range on PC and Mevo+ range on iPad and while the numbers were different, they were close enough that either one probably would suffice in the long run. Except the Mevo+ shots were definitely closer to the target line. (Short Indoor mode - 10 feet ball to screen and 8 feet ball to Mevo+)

I wanted to play a couple holes or a course with both units at the same time, to get a real comparison in playing scenarios.
Can't do this with E6 as I haven't paid for a sub with SkyTrak - in case I decide to sell it.

I have Creative Golf 3D for both units installed on my PC. - Thus the question - can 2 instances of Creative Golf run at the same time (one for SkyTrak and one for Creative Golf)? I'd love to see how both units react to the same ball, in the same game.

I tried and can't run 2, but thought I'd ask if anyone else has tried/figured it out.

[Love2Golf]

So the folks over at Creative Golf did me a solid and created an update that would allow me to run both the SkyTrak and Flightscope instance at the same time. So I played a round using one ball and put the SkyTrak vs. the Mevo+ over 18 holes.

(TL;DR - The units struggled to produce the same shots, from the same ball in the same game. Ultimately, I trust what SkyTrak is telling me more than Mevo+.)

Quick note on setup:
Simulator is in the garage, plenty of vertical space and about 18 feet from screen to the back of the room. Mevo is 10 feet from ball to screen and 7.9 feet ball to Mevo unit. The unit is level to the hitting surface and in short indoor mode. I set elevation to 1500 in both devices. Hitting on Fiberbuilt 7x4 Studio mat. I've hit balls indoors for years (GolfTec and other lessons) and am very used to it.

• About 60% of the time the shots were similar in nature. The balls never ended up in the same spot but both launch monitors picked up the same club direction and spin axis. The other key metrics were within tolerances that I've seen others who've compared head to head post. Except distance.
• In carry distance, the Mevo+ always plays a club longer than the SkyTrak in the irons. Longer carry with little rollout (too little I feel). SkyTrak carries less but rolls out more so the total distance ends up being close. On more than one hole from a very similar approach distance, the Mevo+ put me well on the green and SkyTrak would put me short, in a bunker or water. When I get to longer clubs like 3 wood and driver, the SkyTrak is longer. This distance difference was consistent throughout the entire game. On very few occasions were the distances close to each other.
  • I've noticed this when hitting one ball on both ranges at the same time, so it's not a Creative Golf thing.
  • After testing this quite a while I feel trust the SkyTrak distances more than I trust Mevo+. I know what I play into holes in real life and it's not the distances the Mevo+ is giving me. Irons show too long and woods are too short.
• On the 40% of shots (reflecting back to the first bullet) the monitors were very different. The SkyTrak was more consistently showing a very strong draw and the Mevo was much straighter and often showing a fade.
  • There were many times where I had to pause one screen and chip close to the other ball so I could have the same distance into the green.
  • I couldn't tell what was causing the difference when this happened.
  • More times than not, I felt like the SkyTrak was showing what I felt the club do in my hands, and found myself trusting it more.
  • Occasionally the SkyTrak would have an obvious misread. A shot that felt flushed and reflected that on Mevo would show a crazy push draw at significantly less yardage. And I'm sure on those shots I wasn't in rough or having the shot power penalized.
    • incidentally, the Flightscope and SkyTrak penalty % for rough, sand, etc. are different. SkyTrak penalty % are lower.
• I only played to the green and didn't test putting head to head. I have extreme challenges getting Mevo+ to read putts and there was no easy way to have the same putts from the same ball.
• In all cases, measuring the distance from center line, the SkyTrak always put more spin axis and curve on the ball. Hits start on the center line and move with a lot of draw/hook. The Mevo is much straighter (notice this on the ranges too) - but as much as I feel that SkyTrak over curves the ball, the Mevo feels a little too straight to me. I typically play a draw and my miss is mostly over drawing it left or a push right. The Mevo flight looks great but when I know I miss it, I'm used to seeing my ball move more in real life.
• SkyTrak gave me about 5 no reads and 2 or 3 obvious misreads over the 18 holes. Mevo+ was flawless - it captured everything and was consistent.

In summary, I think both units are good, actually they're really good at the entry-level price point they're at. I have a feeling my short-indoor setup and overall space I have may be influencing some of the distance issues I'm experiencing with the Mevo+ (I have not called tech support to work through anything yet). And the chipping and putting on Mevo+ are still more difficult for me than the SkyTrak. The SkyTrak seems to give me a few more no-reads and mis-reads than the Mevo+ but I trust the distances more. I wish it didn't put so much relentless curve on the ball, but I guess it will challenge me to improve my impact and hit straighter shots.

I'm also running Kinovea with a FO and DTL camera, so I built the simulator to both work on the swing and play simulator golf.

Let me know if you've got questions on anything I said or didn't say.

[3on3putt]

It sounds like your findings were pretty consistent with the general Skytrak vs. Mevo consensus.

-- Mevo should produce fewer no-reads / mis-reads (although 5 no-reads in 18 holes is high. 1-2 should be the expected norm on a Skytrak. May have some ball position or other setup issues to address).

-- Skytrak is better with chipping and putting. (You mentioned you didn't putt; did you chip during the round?)

-- Skytrak does not take spin decay into account, which is why curvature of the ball can be a little more pronounced. Some software uses its own ball flight algorithm. For example, TGC uses its own ball flight algorithm and it takes spin decay into account so curvature on there is less than what you get on the Skytrak range because the TGC algorithm overrides the Skytrak algorithm. Not sure if Creative Golf uses its own algorithm or if it just uses Skytrak's. But lack of spin decay is what you're likely seeing there with the excess hooking. If your normal shot shape is a draw, that draw will get a little more hooky with no spin decay.

[jmeshowsay]

It sounds like your findings were pretty consistent with the general Skytrak vs. Mevo consensus.

-- Mevo should produce fewer no-reads / mis-reads (although 5 no-reads in 18 holes is high. 1-2 should be the expected norm on a Skytrak. May have some ball position or other setup issues to address).

-- Skytrak is better with chipping and putting. (You mentioned you didn't putt; did you chip during the round?)

-- Skytrak does not take spin decay into account, which is why curvature of the ball can be a little more pronounced. Some software uses its own ball flight algorithm. For example, TGC uses its own ball flight algorithm and it takes spin decay into account so curvature on there is less than what you get on the Skytrak range because the TGC algorithm overrides the Skytrak algorithm. Not sure if Creative Golf uses its own algorithm or if it just uses Skytrak's. But lack of spin decay is what you're likely seeing there with the excess hooking. If your normal shot shape is a draw, that draw will get a little more hooky with no spin decay.

Wow great information about the Skytrak and TGC.

[tinker812]

Great, honest comparison. i think the real benefit to either unit is to easily, quickly, and relatively cheaply practice year round. i found that i needed a couple outdoor range sessions to get swing/ball flight acclimated to outdoors again. But my last 2 rounds driving, ball striking, and chipping outdoors are all as good or better than ever. i'm sure the results would be the same with skytrak (have mevo+). So, my advice to those (other than scratch golfers, i guess) considering either unit - it's not that big of a deal if the skytrak over-draws or the mevo+ under-spins, your game will undoubtedly improve with regular practice. Also, don't worry about exact distances - who cares if 7 iron should travel 175 yds, but only travels 165, driver is too short, etc. Just work on finding the center of the face and hitting on-line with all your clubs. Check in at the range and chipping green every once in a while.