Skytrak will not read driver accurately

[DocW]

I'm a new skytrak user. Overall I am happy with it. However I am having major issues with the driver. I can not get it to ready accurately. I have read all the posts on what could be causing the issue. I have not had the skytrak outdoors but I am very familiar with my numbers on Flightscope and Trackman. My typical clubhead speed its 115+ with carry around 280+. My Skytack is reading my SS around 104-105 and I cant get it to carry much more than 240-250. Sometimes I will get a crazy week slice that travels about 220 when it feels solid. I'm a scratch golfer and have a pretty good feel for a solid shot vs. a skank slice that goes 220. This happen on both practice mode and TGC.
My irons seems to be fairly accurate. For reference my reading with the 9 iron on skytrack are 90-91mph ss and carry between 150 and 155. Seems like I would be able to get the driver up a little faster than 104, even being indoors.
Any suggestions on what could be the cause? My unit is new and came with the label not to remove the protective cover on the sensor but I think I read on another forum that there may be a think plastic cover that is to be removed and then another protector under that that stays---true? Could that have anything to do with it. I also have not figured out a good way to keep my mat from sliding yet but I can't imagine that as being the cause.
Just to add more info three wood and hybrid read a little short also but I don't get the crazy shot flights. SS with my 3 wood also reads 104 and is closer to 114-115 on trackman at my club

All help is appreciated

[JB3]

This is still an issue, almost a year later. I have no real issue on 3 Wood down but the drive is just not usable for a round.

[HappyGilmore102]

HI

I just finished hitting 20 drivers, all my numbers were spot on to real life. At first my ball speeds looked low, change to a new ball, numbers and ball speeds were bang on.

Usually I find that the user rather than skytrak is doing something wrong, be it setup, using white tees, wrong height setup, mat shifting around, the human side of things, like not swing well somedays, area setup, indoor swing syndrome, everything i've been through and sorted out. Skytrak never was the problem, i thought it was, the problem was me.

[JB3]

I have just bought 2 brand new boxes of PV1's that I am hitting 3 days ago so I know the balls are OK. My issue is alignment but I was not going to get into it on the forum until I had a little more data. I am taking the Unit to the range today to test and also will be hitting many different shots including small shots and a quarter swing. My issue is its mega slicing the ball on the longer shots. Anything over 2 hundred i can not get a draw or even straight shot and this is not my tendency at all. I can literally hit 30 drives and its the same result no matter what i do. I've moved the unit around, I can close my club face, open, square doesn't matter just the same thing. The only thing more I could try from reading on here is that I have not covered my garage door in the back ground which is white. But like I said today I will try all this and take it to the range. I love this unit and its taking my ball striking to another level but I cant play TGC outside of some smaller courses because I can not drive. I also play a lot of golf and go to the range often so I am pretty aware of my shot ability and I have a very good feel for what the ball is doing off the face and where what vicinity it hit like toe, high, low or heel. I want to absolutely love the ST so I really hope this is resolved for me.

[Sascha1818]

I had kind of the same problem. Let us know how your range session turned out. I found out that my problem with the shorter slice drives was my indoor swing. Bad thing is I took the indoor swing outdoor after a while. Trying to get back on track now.

[caldiver]

I'm a recent ST owner as well and have also seen inconsistent driver carry / total distances. I have access to an indoor hitting stall with an overhead spotlight (shining down on the entire hitting area). Would this potentially cause reading issues (e.g., if the ST and/or ball is under the light?)? Or are reading issues related to light only from natural sunlight?

I need to do more testing, but I saw fairly accurate readings in Challenge modes but not in the Practice mode (different days / sessions). The stall I have access to is pretty huge - so I don't think I'm having issues with indoor swing.

In general I'm using new Kirkland Signature 4-piece or new ProV1 balls.

Will also test again at the range w/ range balls and a laser rangefinder to confirm carry distances.

[shank12u]

I went thru all the same problems when I first got my ST. Wedges and irons on target and duck hook the $@&? out of the driver every shot??? Between different balls, height adj of the ST, and using a CHEAP LASER to align my unit perfectly to my screen I finally got my ST to work perfectly. Don't give up-- you'll get it!

[caldiver]

Thanks - so what are the biggest factors in your opinion? Where / how are you aligning the tee+ball vs. the skytrak / laser dot? I've generally been placing the tomahawk tee 1-2inches to the right of the laser sight (e.g., further away from the screen). I saw another thread that says to also place the tee 1-2 inches closer towards the SkyTrak...

[HappyGilmore102]

HI

I use Tomahawk tees my ball speed is about 160mph,

I find that when my distances are off (which they are NOT) its usually because the tomahawk tee isnt high enough to get my strike location on the clubface perfectly above the equator of the center of the driver. So i don't get maximum launch with low spin to get my best numbers.

On the golf course i can tee the ball better and do get a better strike more often. On a mat, i have to be very accurate with tee height and strike location to get the right numbers. With the tomahawks i get center strikes easy with driver, but center strikes do not give the best numbers, as i need to get slightly above the center line of the driver to get the best launch and spin for max distance.

I dont know what level of golfer you are, but if you're a higher handicap, this might not make sense to you right now, sorry.

I place the tee directly on the red dot, not anywhere else.

[JB3]

I am really frustrated with this. I am not just losing distance on the Driver but i can not hit a draw shot no matter what I do. I can move the unit out and close my club face were it will show a huge inside to out swing and still i will read 1300 spin the wrong way. I am almost positive at this point something is wrong. I will now contact them go through what process is to come and see what happens but if something does not change then the unit is no fun. If i can not drive I can not play the courses. Right now I am only driving with my 2 iron when i play which caps me around 240 - 255, this has a small cut on it and when I play IRL its 99.9% draw. If anyone want to help I am as of now open to suggestion and I can post video or pictures if needed.

Real Feel Golf mat
I have all different types of tees as I am trying to find a solution
useing alignment rods
aligned skytrak with laser lvl
I have the case with adjustable feet, this puts the unit level to the mat and against the mat so I am hitting square to that line

[Morini]

Just to eliminate the possibility, is your driver head or shaft white or otherwise reflective?

[JB3]

My Driver head is dark color, Titleist 917 D3, I went out and bought some Bridgestone balls this weekend. The B on the side is very dark, I think it actually helped. I have also hard reset the ST and reinstalled all the software. I was able to draw the ball and hit some straight shots last night for the first time with the driver. It still does not feel correct though, does anyone else get the occasional perfect shot with a 8 or 7 iron and the balls goes 220 or more. This happened 3 times last night while playing but had not happened before that. so many little things like this just very frustrating. My drive distances are still short but I tried to set the boost for TGC to 10% and it very overcompensated so I will have to try with 5% today.

[Clevited]

If you can post some screen shots of these shots you hit where it gave you bogus distances, several of us on here can determine whether the Skytrak had a hiccup or your measured numbers are reasonable and likey it was your strike that did it.

Just from personal experience ( I am not the most consistent golfer), I can hit one shot with pga like spin numbers and distance one swing, then the next hit a weak high spinner that goes very short. Then the next swing I can get a low spin rocket that travels very far. It all depends on strike location, and spin loft. For me it also depends on how dirty the golf ball has gotten or my club face (I hit into a net that leaves a slippery residue on the ball and then the club, acts like silicone spray after a few shots and I need to clean things).

[JB3]

I will get some numbers I have been to lazy cant stop playing or working to get some screen shots

[trumb1mj]

I am really frustrated with this. I am not just losing distance on the Driver but i can not hit a draw shot no matter what I do. I can move the unit out and close my club face were it will show a huge inside to out swing and still i will read 1300 spin the wrong way. I am almost positive at this point something is wrong. I will now contact them go through what process is to come and see what happens but if something does not change then the unit is no fun. If i can not drive I can not play the courses. Right now I am only driving with my 2 iron when i play which caps me around 240 - 255, this has a small cut on it and when I play IRL its 99.9% draw. If anyone want to help I am as of now open to suggestion and I can post video or pictures if needed.

Real Feel Golf mat
I have all different types of tees as I am trying to find a solution
useing alignment rods
aligned skytrak with laser lvl
I have the case with adjustable feet, this puts the unit level to the mat and against the mat so I am hitting square to that line

Outdoor use under the sun?

[JB3]

No, nothing outdoors as of yet, I was going to go a couple of weekends ago to the range to test what I get IRL vs the ST but i never made it out. I have played 3 9 hole rounds this week and I have to say my driver is good so the sim is not hurting my driving but just not reading the same. Today I shot 38 and my other two were 39 and 40. I have a solid drive and a high swing speed so this could be the culprit with Skytrak. I did some testing last night with the driver and noticed there seems to be a slice Bias when the driver is very shallow but i need to test more. I did how ever make swings very not shallow (dont know the correct terminology) and was able to finally hit straight and even draw some. This is not my swing though and I do not desire to change what is not broken (not saying my swing is perfect golf but it works for me).

I would like to add this, I have had ST for about 5 weeks now i think and I can not tell you how many balls I have hit. I work from home and I have played a freaking ton. My ball striking and scoring irons are getting very strong and I have not felt so comfortable over the ball sens I really played golf a long time ago. This is what I really bought it for and I have to say its working. I do not have any issues with my unit, alignment, missed shots, or connectivity. I also hit very far and can play most any course with a 3 wood, its mainly the 450+ par 4s that stress the longer irons. I do like hitting the 5,3, and 2 but they dont help the score. (i do not carry a 4 as I have a 48,54,58,60. Well just rambeling now so I will contact ST with what I got and see what they think or if this is just the way it is.

[mrlexojon]

the best advice i can give is to take the skytrak to the range to see if the numbers are the same as you visually see and then take into effect you are uusing range balls....when im at the range with my unit it is scary how accuarate this thing is. especially in regards to shop shape and height. of course distace might be a little be off but hey even gc quad and trakman are a little off too. Remember in life you get what you paid for. So not really fair to compare $2000 equipment to $15000 equipment..... My thing is next time you are at a course by yourself drop a few balls to guage your distances with your clubs. Then you can use your skytrak to work on shot shape and consistancy

[trumb1mj]

Remember in life you get what you paid for. So not really fair to compare $2000 equipment to $15000 equipment.....

It's all relative but $2k is ton of money to pay (for most golfers) for a device that cannot read his driver correctly.

[Jeff Homsher]

I'm new to the group and would love some help as I'm extremely frustrated with my skytrack system.. I purchased a very expensive skytrack system (nearly $9,000!). It was a big deal that my wife and I decided to do together for our Christmas present in 2022. The disappointment started with the delivery. Pieces of the system arrived over a 4 month period and the only instructions I received were for the cage. Nothing else. Fortunately a friend is in IT and he just set up his brothers system and he came over and figured it all out. Oddly we found that when I would hit the ball it would register, but it would only register my wife's every 4th or so shot. Extremely frustrating. I would read my chips but not my wife's. Crazy frustrating as it makes her not want to participate. Then the HUGE disappointment. The machine will not register drivers. Every now and then it will read 4 or 5 in a row, then it stops working all together and wont register any. I've tried everything (much of which I got off of this site...thank you).. Skytrack has been zero help. Not one suggestion and I've given up trying to talk to them.. I've tried further distance from machine to the ball, raising the machine, different color balls, less light....more light.....there doesn't appear to be any correlation as to when it registers. I only hit about 130mph. Any suggestions. I don't want this to turn into a big paper weight. Thanks in advance. Very sad..

[wbond]

1-Is it sitting on the mat you are hitting from? If so, move it off and give it a try to see if it improves. The bottom of the unit itself should be at the same height of the mat.
2-Start with putting the tee right on the laser dot. If you launch the driver low, then move it back away from the screen/net in small increments. If you launch it high, move it slightly closer to your screen/net. The ball has to pass through a "window" so the unit can capture the images.
3-If you have the room, stand on the target line behind the person and see if the laser is going off prior to the swing. They could be giving it a false trigger and then swinging before the unit re-arms causing people to believe it was a missed read. I had a friend who waggled a lot and it would cause this.
4-On the shots that it doesn't register, are they low/High, big pushes or pulls?

[OttawaP]

Posting a few pics of your setup with ball in place as well as the surroundings may help.

[Jeff Homsher]

I will gladly do that. I've never entered data into a forum before so the picture thing may be a challenge but I'll try.

[jpotas]

SkyTrak_Jordan can most likely help.

Like OttawaP said, post a pic of your set up. Lots of people on here can/will help.

Number one thing that you can do is make sure that the bottom of the unit is the same height as your hitting surface. That is the bottom of the unit itself, not the bottom of the protective case .

[Jeff Homsher]

The "tech experts" from Skytrack said the unit should be elevated; however, I've tried every height. It worked a touch for a short while and I thought the issue was that the ball was not far enough away; however, shortly after it quit working in that mode. It will work occasionally for a few hits, but then back to nothing.

[jpotas]

It definitely should not be elevated. It should be the exact same height as your hitting surface.

[Jeff Homsher]

It was elevated for a short time and it appeared to finally work. My thought was that it provided more distance from the machine to the ball. Regardless, I've tried every height and very little change. Just will not read the driver. Works almost every time for the irons which is even more odd.