Distances shorter than real life

[MainStGolf]

I used to tee it up behind the ball because that was the only place I could get it to register. Seems like I can put it in front, on or behind now and get it to read.

As far as the indoor swing goes, that is probably decent advice for some, but for some of us that's no longer an issue, because we've been at it for so long. For me, I've been playing indoor golf for almost 1.5 years and my sim room is HUGE. It is in our newspaper office and in the part where the press use to be :-).

[inorkuo]

MainStGolf how does your skytrak compare to your es16 in terms of carry and ball speed for different clubs? my numbers on skytrak and gc2 were similar. i never did get a good read on the es16 as it was early on and i was having trouble getting accurate readings.

[MainStGolf]

I'm longer on the ES16, especially with the driver. Didn't hit a fairway wood. About 10 yards longer on my 8 iron. Those are the only two clubs that I have hit on the ES16.

[Mandragora]

I just completed some testing and here is what I found....

When I teed up the irons slightly there was a very slight improvement to distance but nothing significant. This would appear to rule out the mat itself.

I tried positioning the ball in different locations from the laser dot. I found that if I position the ball about 1 inch behind the dot, My distances got much closer to real life. More than that though, the separation between clubs was much clearer. Instead of 5 yds between clubs it was closer to 10 yds which is much more realistic for me.

It these cases, at least with roll-out I was getting distances close to my normal carry.


I also put the laser about 1 inch ahead of the tee for my driver and that finally gave me the carry number (just over 200) that I was seeing at Golfsmith when I bought it. 200 - 205 with roll-out to 220-240.

I think if I secure my mat better or put the mat on the tile floor I may get the last little adjustment I need.

So this was much better. Maybe indoors, the skytrak was needing a fraction of a second more?

Had anyone else tried different positions with the ball in relation to the dot?

[keithpbz]

So you hit your driver 205 and your 7 iron 150??? I carry my 7 iron 155 and have spent a lot of time on yardage gaps between clubs and tweaking iron lofts so I know exactly what I carry it. But I also carry my driver 265.

[jb15]

I just completed some testing and here is what I found....

When I teed up the irons slightly there was a very slight improvement to distance but nothing significant. This would appear to rule out the mat itself.

I tried positioning the ball in different locations from the laser dot. I found that if I position the ball about 1 inch behind the dot, My distances got much closer to real life. More than that though, the separation between clubs was much clearer. Instead of 5 yds between clubs it was closer to 10 yds which is much more realistic for me.

It these cases, at least with roll-out I was getting distances close to my normal carry.


I also put the laser about 1 inch ahead of the tee for my driver and that finally gave me the carry number (just over 200) that I was seeing at Golfsmith when I bought it. 200 - 205 with roll-out to 220-240.

I think if I secure my mat better or put the mat on the tile floor I may get the last little adjustment I need.

So this was much better. Maybe indoors, the skytrak was needing a fraction of a second more?

Had anyone else tried different positions with the ball in relation to the dot?

Thank you for updating some things you have tried. I look forward to trying some of these things when I get home!

[Mandragora]

Where to place the ball is not consistent. I have found that for my wedges I want the ball slightly in front of the laser dot. 9 iron on the dot. 8/7 about 1 inch behind, 6-4 about 1 1/2 inch behind. To me it appears as if the skytrak picks up the launch angle better on low irons if the ball is higher by the time it reaches the cameras, so moving it back helps. For the wedges (especially my 58 degree), if I start on the dot, it seems like the launch angle is so steep that sometimes it does not pick it up, or maybe it is leaving the camera area to soon, so having it a little forward works better.

Driver I have the dot 1/2 inch before the tee. (This actually corresponds to what I am saying as since the ball is teed up, the cameras already have it in the center of vision when the ball comes into view. If you place the tee on the dot or behind, it is possible that it will be at the top of the camera view as it passes.)

Disclaimer: I am just speculating here of course. I have absolutely no idea how this is working. This is just anecdotal..

[jut111]

Where you place the ball in relation to the laser dot is totally dependent on how high you launch the ball. It needs to pass thru the cameras window to read. Like you said, high loft wedges are best a bit in front of the dot, drivers a bit behind.

That said, I've seen no pattern that where you place the ball affects the numbers you get. (I'm assuming a properly set up leveled skytrak). Ball placement is important to guarantee reads, but basically, if it reads numbers are consistent.

I'm going to sound like a jerk here, but I don't mean it that way. I spent a lot of time this winter at an indoor facility that uses Skytraks. I saw a lot of people there question the validity of the numbers produced and come up with many theories for why. The consistent fact about these people was that they were wildly inconsistent ball strikers. Every single good ball striker that used it had no qualms with the numbers and consistency produced.

[Mandragora]

Where you place the ball in relation to the laser dot is totally dependent on how high you launch the ball. It needs to pass thru the cameras window to read. Like you said, high loft wedges are best a bit in front of the dot, drivers a bit behind.

That said, I've seen no pattern that where you place the ball affects the numbers you get. (I'm assuming a properly set up leveled skytrak). Ball placement is important to guarantee reads, but basically, if it reads numbers are consistent.

I'm going to sound like a jerk here, but I don't mean it that way. I spent a lot of time this winter at an indoor facility that uses Skytraks. I saw a lot of people there question the validity of the numbers produced and come up with many theories for why. The consistent fact about these people was that they were wildly inconsistent ball strikers. Every single good ball striker that used it had no qualms with the numbers and consistency produced.

As I said, my evidence is anecdotal. I am not the best golfer but I can feel when I have a good center strike, Those are the only ones I am using in my analysis. What I am seeing is that when I have a good center strike and I know I hit the ball well, when I have the ball a little behind the dot, the launch angle is a little higher and I get that extra 5 - 10 yds of distance. Not being a machine, there is no way for me to test this scientifically. But at least I can now practice knowing where to put the ball and having the numbers be more consistent with real life "for me".

[Dave Lee]

Just throwing in my own experiences here. I have a tandem (single car width) garage that I set up a net and mat with the skytrak. I had tried it outdoors and the numbers matched where the ball was landing. When I brought it indoors, my distances were shorter than expected..and spin numbers were weird. Went to PGA superstore and got the same numbers as what I got on my skytrak. Turns out i really did have a different indoor swing. Just last week, I got a Flightscope Mevo. I ran it at the same time as my skytrak and they were pretty close. Granted the flightscope isn't a proven accuracy standard but two completely separate methods of measurement getting the same numbers kinda indicates the numbers are real. (I know you believe the numbers and are trying to figure out why they're coming out that way...my experience is just supporting you may be swinging differently)

Did you check if your ground is level? I don't see why the numbers would change behind or infront of the dot unless your ground angle is actually changing.

[Mandragora]

How do you confirm that your carrying the ball 150 yards at the driving range.

At the range I use my scope. I have also measured on the course hitting to the flag (which I also measured with my scope.

[Mandragora]

So you hit your driver 205 and your 7 iron 150??? I carry my 7 iron 155 and have spent a lot of time on yardage gaps between clubs and tweaking iron lofts so I know exactly what I carry it. But I also carry my driver 265.

I have spent a lot of time eliminating the slice on my driver. Unfortunately to do this I end up casting to get the club square. This has helped a lot but I lose the lag. If I really rip it and do not care where it goes I can carry to about 230. I try not to swing that hard because I prefer to not play from the woods or the other fairway. I do not have that problem with the irons.

[James James]

Can you post your data for peer review where you think it is short?

[Mandragora]

Just got back from vacation. I will do that.

[FACE]

I have tried to place the tee in different areas but mine is much more drastic than most of your. I can usually always get 260 or better on drives and the SkyTrac seems to have almost all of my drives barely getting any height and maybe 160 yrds but mostly less than my wedges. It has been so frustrating. I want to enjoy it but I have tried all of the advice as far as positioning of the tee. I have a very thick mat which is 4ft by 9 ft. I do have to tee irons because hitting that matt losses club speed. Could there by an issues with my SkyTrac or maybe interface with TGC?

[Dave Lee]

Did you try placing the skytrak on a box so that the bottom is the same level as the ball on a tee? To separate it from TGC, try hitting balls on the skytrak app driving range.

[ste1010]

As others have said, I think its all down to swinging indoors.
My first time on an indoor simulator was on GC2 in a mates garage. I was a club shorter.

Now I have my own Skytrak used indoors it took me a month or so to actually swing freely. My distances are now the same indoors as opposed to outdoors on the course or range

[James James]

You are also hitting from a mat/tee indoors in pristine conditions (no water etc). This results in more spin which also reduces distance.