Random high ball speeds

[Clevited]

Does anyone get occasional really high ball speeds when hitting driver? I have been getting them here and there. They are always on solid strikes and sometimes I will rattle off more than a couple in a row.

To clarify, I see 15 to 20 mph ball speed increases over the norm on occasion.

[Clevited]

I guess before anyone says I am just hitting sweet spot on those shots......... I don't think so.....

[Ronsc1985]

Move the LM slightly. You are probably not capturing good pictures for both ball images. This was a common problem with a Vector pro which uses the same two ball image method. On the Vector Pro you could display the captured images and see what the problem was.

Ball speed is computed using the distance between the centroids of the captured images divided by the time between exposures. If one or the other image is screwed up the centroid computation is incorrect.

[Clevited]

This is a legitimate question as I highly doubt I am ever coming close to 190 mph ball speed. If anyone that is a really consistent striker with the driver would be willing to test this and hit a bunch of balls and see if they get any out there numbers I would appreciate it. Otherwise I guess I will just assume it produces bogus numbers sometimes times and I am not superman lol.

[Clevited]

Move the LM slightly. You are probably not capturing good pictures for both ball images. This was a common problem with a Vector pro which uses the same two ball image method. On the Vector Pro you could display the captured images and see what the problem was.

Ball speed is computed using the distance between the centroids of the captured images divided by the time between exposures. If one or the other image is screwed up the centroid computation is incorrect.

Thanks for the response. I always hit driver with ball tee'd up and inch right behind the laser dot. Leveled as perfect as I can get it. I do use that full metal jacket cage, not sure if that can cause any issues but I am pretty sure I had this problem before I got that.

[Clevited]

I hate to have to respond to my own thread, but this issue is really bugging me. It happens to me quite frequently. I would love it if someone that has a nice consistent swing with their driver, could go do a nice long session on their skytrak and see if they get any oddly high ball speed numbers. The reason this bugs me so much is that I have been working on my swing for years, hit thousands of balls hard to try and build my over all swing speed capablity. I love to hit the long ball and it would be exciting if when utilizing great mechanics, I can touch the speeds I am seeing. It is not out of the realm of possibilities as I have been clocked over 120 mph clubspeed on Trackman without breaking a sweat, all depends on my mechanics that given day.

I am skeptical obviously, engineer by profession so I like accurate numbers and I throw out anomolies but these are frequent, roughly every 10 driver swings I will touch mid to high 180s ball speed. I am not entirely sure how the skytrak measures ball speed, but if it really is two images captured and the centers of the balls are easily measured center to center, I would say it would only give me odd numbers if....

A) it doesn't see the balls entirly (low or high in the field of view) and guesses....or
B) its shutter speed isn't fast enough and the ball blurs
C) its shutter speed isn't fast enough and causes too much error meaning.....travel distance/time between pictures can be off big time at higher ball speeds...or
D) ball speed is measure some other way and cameras are only used for spin, could be a dirty ball issue or what have you.

If anyone that is tech savy regarding skytrak can chime in and put this to rest for me I would appreciate it. Not being able to trouble shoot things like this (ball images etc) really makes this tough on me. Perhaps Skytrak themselves could answer this? Not sure how to call this to their attention, I am sure they have bigger fish to fry.

Btw, don't look at this as a toot my own horn thread, I may be able to swing fast but I suck at golf. My mechanics are too inconsistent and I am still trying to "find" my swing, which is one reason I bought the Skytrak. Oh and before anyone says slow it down and you will play better, I say to you, what fun is that?????? Go big or go home is my motto!

[FaultyClubs]

I'd rule out swing variables before trying to reverse engineer the Skytrak.

Try impact powder to see if it correlated with impact location. I'd guess yes.

A iPhone at 240 fps with a yard stick in view works well enough for checking if your club or ball speed is really jumping.

If you want to measure something then hit with a trackman and see if it agrees. Or ball speed only radars are cheap for comparison at home. If they correlate a jump in speed then not the skytrak. If the ball speed is indeed jumping and impact location doesn't explain it then dual ball and club speed radars are cheap enough if you want to correlate with swing speed.

[Clevited]

I have strike tape, and I do tend to hit the heal area badly, and when I do get center hits it can be 160mph all the way to the crazy 185+ ones hitting pretty much the same spot. Could those hits be off the "hot spot", possibly but I vary so incredibly much I just want to know what my real max potential is and that will tell me that once I have my mechanics as efficient as I can get them, I can possibly achieve that consistently and possibly with good control.

I might try and get on trackman for a while with skytrak and try and get one of those magical numbers, that would indeed give me my answer, that just costs money unfortunately.

[DirtyGarry24]

Just a quick look, you'd need closer to 130 mph swing speed to produce that ball speed. 1.5 (smash) x 130 (ss) = 195 ball speed.

I'm no long hitter by a long shot, but I can produce a carry of around 260ish with ball speed closer to 168 when I swing all out, get lucky, hump the goat a bit, and catch it just shallow enough. With that I can get it to trickle out across 300 yds. Optimum flight characteristics though.

SomaPLR

I would never say a guy can't do it, you guys are out there. It's rare though. What you show in the caption is exceptional clubhead speed with less than ideal flight characteristics. Ball speed is wayyy up there though. I'm no expert by a mile, but maybe Soma can shed some light...

[Clevited]

I am experimenting with my swing and trying to determine what I can "hit" so to speak. It kind of keeps me going if you know what I mean. I don't want false hope, I have hit over 120 swing speed on trackman on more than one occasion and with varying swing quality and amounts of effort. Its not surprising when I carry a ball beyond 300, whats surprising is that it hits the right fairway lol. I just want to know if I actually have that potential or if Skytrak just decides to be kind to me.

[Miura Mario]

Your not breaking a sweat swinging 120?? Thats the answer to your question.. 1/10 swings get you to your speed potential.. keep working! (And lower that spin and raise that launch)

i feel ya man. Im working on firing levers against eachother at the moment.

can get 120 bs out of a blade 8 - but getting driver over 160 is proving to be imposible. Ikeep telling myself the 2 must correlate somehow and that ill get there..

good luck!

[Clevited]

I can also swing 105 with everything I have got on occasion. Its all technique and firing muscles in the right sequence I feel. I was told a few years ago its not possible to swing as fast as pros without having the talent and a ripped body, well I proved him wrong just by hard work hitting thousands of balls. But I am still trying to "discover" the swing I want to keep, so constantly experimenting with technique.

[Clevited]

Keep working at it! Your mid, low iron ball speed can definitely be an indication of what you could be capable of with the bigger sticks. I can touch 125 bs with 9 iron on Skytrak, 24 degree la. But I can't be sure thats not the same problem as the odd driver bs I am having. I just want truth is all. Keep rippin them.

[DougieMn]

I get some wild readings and ballflight from time to time. For example I've had some wedges fly straight up in the air and only go about 50 yards when hit purely and the data will show a swing speed of like 110mph or something crazy and ball speed off the charts. I never had any issues in the past prior to the new version?

[Clevited]

That is interesting, I generally never get really out there numbers with any wedges other than occaisional odd spin. Odd spin makes sense to me, as markings on ball can cause the software confusion, but ball speed should always be accurate or not shown at all. I pay no attention to the club speed Skytrak spits out, that is only ever correct it seems when you hit the ball on the screws, and have ideal launch perameters for a given club. So that 137mph it shows for my driver I know is completely wrong.

Do you know if that ever happened with a dirty golf ball, or a colored ball?

[DirtyGarry24]

You've got some real speed clevited. I have a swing speed radar. I get 110 with my regular playing driver swing. I can max out at 117, but my swing is trash when I do that and I can hit it anywhere. I took the ssr to my local range one day and a buddy met me out there. He's a big guy, played football at one of our state colleges. He's an occasional golfer and a higher handicap. He showed up in steel toe work boots, a heavy sweatshirt, and hadn't swung a club in 2 months. He warmed up with 3 eight iron shots and his first driver swing registered 120 on the ssr. Every swing was between 120 and 126. Some people just have a high swing speed ceiling.

Here's another interesting thing. I can barely break 100 on the ssr when I swing with no ball. It's the weirdest thing. My same buddy still swings 120+ with no ball. Head scratcher...

[Clevited]

I have ssr too and it can be all over the place depending on how I place it and whether or not I closed the face quickly etc. I have made that thing say over 130 many times but then the skytrak ball speed does not correspond. I also probably did not hit sweet spot real well on those shots. I don't swing well regardless of how hard I swing. I just have the philosophy that most golfers never get fast swing speeds not because they can't, but because they don't try. You have to work at it and learn to control it. If you get one of those accelerometer devices for your glove or club, those I think will tell you ball park of your peak swing speed, then its just a matter of getting that peak to be right at ball contact.

When I am on, I can swing fast and accurately, but that is usually only when I get my early extension (goat hump) timed just right.

I have a similar problem with no ball when swinging with the radar on. Your low point, or peak speed point just happens early I think because you don't have a ball to focus your release point at. Some people can still make release at the same spot, some people have more speed in reserve that was released early like your abnormally large/strong friend maybe.

[DirtyGarry24]

I have seen my SSR give bad readings at times and it's usually pretty easy for me to tell. I won't say it's accurate because I've not done any testing, but I can say that it's consistent. I don't use it much anymore because I think the ball launch conditions are more important for me. Mostly backspin and ball speed is what I pay attention to. I swing better when ball speed stays around 150. I start getting "wayward" when ball speed is 160.

[Clevited]

SkyTrak_Seth

Can you comment on whether or not there are circumstances which can cause abnormaly high ball speed reading? Things like a colored golf ball, dirty golf ball, lighting, etc. I would like to eliminate my high readings if they are in fact caused by tricking the Skytrak. It would be very much appreciated, thank you.

[SkyTrak_Seth]

There's not really a blanket case in which the unit reads high ball speeds. There are a number of factors that can cause the unit to "misread" though. Is it a white-headed driver? Are you using a white rubber tee? If so, with your swing speed, I'd move back (to the right) another inch to make sure those stay out of the picture. It also sounds like maybe there is some serious, um, inconsistency going on It makes it hard to tell what's really happening. Besides eliminating the white head or tee, make sure you are using clean, fresh, and white golf balls. I can hit around 162 ball speed and have never had a jump like you are describing. You may just be swinging out of your shoes

[Clevited]

Thank you very much for the fast reply. Black driver head, yellow brush tee, and I play an inch to two inches behind the laser dot. Yes I am very inconsistent and I sometimes use my wifes colored balls as they are softer when a mis-hit occurs. I do clean the golf balls after a while because they pick up residue from the net I hit into, so they are dirty for some of the time before I do so and seem to read fine. I haven't determined if the high speeds have occurred exclusively with a dirty ball or not.

I guess until someone more consistent than I has the same issue come up, I'll consider it an occasional hulk smash....now to figure out how I do that and how i can get them to go straight lol.

[SomaPLR]

I've never had a misfire like that before - it's interesting and the numbers it's producing - I'll say it - are humanly impossible with that Launch Angle and spin numbers. There's something going on there, where it's ball position or alignment OR the mat is moving while you are making contact or directly before contact. Is this something that happens a lot or is a one-off like every 10 shots? The reason it's kicking off 137 Swing Speed is that it's reading the ball going 309 yards while producing 4200 rpm of backspin at a 7* launch angle (again, basically impossible by physics). 137 mile an hour swing speed would put you up there with some of the longest drivers in the world - so we can ex that out (again, it's just a calculation based upon ball speed and the measurable data).

194mph ball speed doesn't really happen by luck or accident - I would do a hard reset of the machine first.

Second, tee the ball back about an inch of the red dot. I've had to go back as much as 2 inches on days.

Third, I would post a 10 shot average of your shots with driver, that would give me a ton more data to look at

Fourth, make sure you're mat is SECURELY stable to the ground (this would actually be my guess, is that the mat is moving while you're striking the ball causing misreads)

Again, 194 mph ball speed isn't impossible - but people that have 194mph ball speed are hitting 360 yard drives easy and carrying it up to 330+. Just to put that in reference, Tony Finau topped out at 189 mph last year on the PGA tour. I've had ball speeds in the mid/high 170's pretty consistently on SkyTrack that carry into the 310 yard range with calculated SS by SkyTrack at 123-125 mph @ 1800-2000rpm spin

[Clevited]

This phenomenon happens roughly every 10 swings, and the high numbers I get are 180-194 (the highest) while most of my other best hits are 165-179. I do tee the ball very high, swing in to out big time and currently I had been experimenting with an extremely strong grip. My low point and max speed and contact varies a ton mostly due to my early extension. When I have that timed right, I frequently hit high draws that carry 295-310 (on skytrak) with 2k ish spin and 12-16 degrees launch. These high ball speeds always occur on a premium hit, and with a great feeling swing, its just instead of 175ish or maybe a tad higher Ill see 180s plus.

But yeah, it is odd, I have no clue what causes it. Almost always coincide with high spin readings, I have never had one of those with optimal launch numbers. I will hop on skytrak this week or weekend and put together a list of readings from 10 swings that are well struck. In the mean time, I can post some of the other oddball speeds I have seen, maybe there will be a correlation you can spot.

[Clevited]

Also, mat is separate from the surface i stand on, these numbers never happen on swings where I have skimmed the mat at all, that takes too much off the clubhead speed and they always suck worse.

[Clevited]

Here are some other wacky ones...

I have had more than these few but these were only ones I thought to snap pics of.