I've had my ST since January and I've been using it in the Garage hitting it into a net. I was finally able to take it out to the range to hit some shots and see how well it worked in accuracy of distance, direction and ball shape.
Equipment:
SkTrak
Iphone 6 (up to date operating system)
SkyTrak app (newest version)
Bushnell Rangefinder
Golf clubs
1/8 plywood pieces
Location:
Covered driving range
Good mats but unsure of what make
Conditions:
Sunny
Slight wind from behind.
Me:
Past Middle age :-)
15 Handicap
Right handed
Not a long hitter for example... Gap wedge 95-100 yds for example to driver about 220-240 yds
I normally hit a slight draw unless I try to overpower the ball then I hook it. The harder I swing the more I hook it.
A little about hitting in the garage.
I was using the same equipment in the garage and was over all pleased with the outcome and information I was getting. Generally though, hitting into a net, I was having trouble with slight pulls and slight pull draws and I could never seem to hit it on line down the center of the range. Distances seemed to be off as well. Irons I that would have a high launch angle, like my gap wedge, seemed pretty close distance wise but as launch angle decreased so to did distance by about 10-15 %. I could get it there by swinging all out but you guessed as per above it would hook. I needed to see actual ball flight to see.
The Range.
I tested the set up before I left to make sure I had it ready for direct mode, to confirm all was working.
When I got to the range I set up in a bay, aligned it at a target and had everything up and running in no time at all. Connected right away no problems at all, other than the laser dot was a little hard to see especially in the sun light. The front part of the mat was in bright sunlight the back half in shade. I set the ST up in the shade but close to the sunlight so I would room for my rear foot. Hit a shot and....nothing didn't register. I then moved the unit completely in the sunlight and it was fine, I then tried it farther back in the shade and fine. So I guess having close to the sunlight made it hard for the ball to get picked up by the cameras as passed from shade into sunlight (again just a guess).
I took out my range finder and shot the distance for the flag right in from of me and aligned to the ST. I started hitting balls and the first thing I noticed, was that the alignment and direction was spot on for me. I was hitting the ball well and on target using my gap wedge, no problems at all every thing was registering perfectly. A thing of beauty.
I started to go through my bag, setting up the alignment at different flags and shooting them with my rangefinder for accuracy. Once again the alignment and shot shape was really good distance was a problem though I was hitting my nine Iron there about 130-140 yds but it was consistently coming up short both on carry and roll. I wasn't worried about the roll but if the carry was off that wasn't good.
Being an older fella I use a lot of hybrids. Starting with a 7 iron equivalent, I normally hit about 140 to 150+ yrds. The trajectory is high for these clubs and once I started hitting them my distances returned to being accurate.
I then took the ST and raised it up 1/8" at a time, leveling as I went, until I was about 1/4 above the hitting mat. Bingo, everything was spot on or very close.
So what have I learned about my ST...some thoughts and discoveries:
Having the unit level is very important, but having just a little higher above the hitting area might be a good idea as well.
Taking the ST out to a range on a clear sunny day with little or no wind, and see if you're swing is being tracked well by the unit, is a great help for when your inside and doubt the readings. It helped correct some of the unit set up issues I was having.
I think it showed me some things to about hitting into a net with no visuals to aim at, no target to go down the line at. I'll fix that.
In the end, I was extremely pleased with the unit. It performed well and validated its worth.
Hope this wasn't to long a story. :-)
Equipment:
SkTrak
Iphone 6 (up to date operating system)
SkyTrak app (newest version)
Bushnell Rangefinder
Golf clubs
1/8 plywood pieces
Location:
Covered driving range
Good mats but unsure of what make
Conditions:
Sunny
Slight wind from behind.
Me:
Past Middle age :-)
15 Handicap
Right handed
Not a long hitter for example... Gap wedge 95-100 yds for example to driver about 220-240 yds
I normally hit a slight draw unless I try to overpower the ball then I hook it. The harder I swing the more I hook it.
A little about hitting in the garage.
I was using the same equipment in the garage and was over all pleased with the outcome and information I was getting. Generally though, hitting into a net, I was having trouble with slight pulls and slight pull draws and I could never seem to hit it on line down the center of the range. Distances seemed to be off as well. Irons I that would have a high launch angle, like my gap wedge, seemed pretty close distance wise but as launch angle decreased so to did distance by about 10-15 %. I could get it there by swinging all out but you guessed as per above it would hook. I needed to see actual ball flight to see.
The Range.
I tested the set up before I left to make sure I had it ready for direct mode, to confirm all was working.
When I got to the range I set up in a bay, aligned it at a target and had everything up and running in no time at all. Connected right away no problems at all, other than the laser dot was a little hard to see especially in the sun light. The front part of the mat was in bright sunlight the back half in shade. I set the ST up in the shade but close to the sunlight so I would room for my rear foot. Hit a shot and....nothing didn't register. I then moved the unit completely in the sunlight and it was fine, I then tried it farther back in the shade and fine. So I guess having close to the sunlight made it hard for the ball to get picked up by the cameras as passed from shade into sunlight (again just a guess).
I took out my range finder and shot the distance for the flag right in from of me and aligned to the ST. I started hitting balls and the first thing I noticed, was that the alignment and direction was spot on for me. I was hitting the ball well and on target using my gap wedge, no problems at all every thing was registering perfectly. A thing of beauty.
I started to go through my bag, setting up the alignment at different flags and shooting them with my rangefinder for accuracy. Once again the alignment and shot shape was really good distance was a problem though I was hitting my nine Iron there about 130-140 yds but it was consistently coming up short both on carry and roll. I wasn't worried about the roll but if the carry was off that wasn't good.
Being an older fella I use a lot of hybrids. Starting with a 7 iron equivalent, I normally hit about 140 to 150+ yrds. The trajectory is high for these clubs and once I started hitting them my distances returned to being accurate.
I then took the ST and raised it up 1/8" at a time, leveling as I went, until I was about 1/4 above the hitting mat. Bingo, everything was spot on or very close.
So what have I learned about my ST...some thoughts and discoveries:
Having the unit level is very important, but having just a little higher above the hitting area might be a good idea as well.
Taking the ST out to a range on a clear sunny day with little or no wind, and see if you're swing is being tracked well by the unit, is a great help for when your inside and doubt the readings. It helped correct some of the unit set up issues I was having.
I think it showed me some things to about hitting into a net with no visuals to aim at, no target to go down the line at. I'll fix that.
In the end, I was extremely pleased with the unit. It performed well and validated its worth.
Hope this wasn't to long a story. :-)
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