Best Device To Use Along Side Skytrak

[Clevited]

So I like to know my smash factor with all of my clubs. The problem, as we all know, is that Skytrak rarely gets the swing speed right and therefore smash factor.

I have attempted to solve this by creating an excel calculator and as far as I can tell, it is quite accurate. That is great but I have to back calculate after each shot to see my smash factor. This takes too long.

For those of you that this applies to, can you post what affordable devices you use along slide Skytrak, and your percieved or tested accuracy of said device?

I have or had a swing speed radar, medicus power meter, skypro and zepp.

Swing speed radar: Seems quite accurate raw numbers wise but I really dislike the not knowing what part of the club it reads (toe, heal, or center). Seems to completely depend on swing path and release point. If very inside out it will seemingly read slow, but could read high if flip club closed. Its Inconsistent.

Medicus Power Meter: Oddly, this is the most consistent of my devices. Whether its accurate or not idk, but I know I can't make it read anything unrealistic like I can the radar.

Skypro: Sorry Skygolf, I didn't like it at all. Android app is missing important club selection custom options (club length for example), and possibly as a result, I would end up with 1.6+ smash factors with driver. Also, it required a completely neutral setup, no foward press, closed face, open face etc. Swing path looks really goofy for those with a non traditional setup.

Zepp: It sucked, all over the place in my experience. Hence why I also had a Skypro.

I am curious about voice caddie, flightscope mevo, beltronics swingmate and any other affordable options. Especially interested in anyones experience with them that have swing speeds 120 mph and up as some devices seem to behave differently at higher than typical swing speeds.

If you have had a better experience than I have with the devices I have tried, please feel free to talk about those too.

[BadEddieKit]

R-motion is what you want. Is like $300 and gives you your swing speed, path, and face angle. It works very well.

[Clevited]

Can you comment on the pros and cons of it? Im skeptical of these accelerometer based devices.

[shimonko]

I suspect R-motion won't be accurate enough for your needs, Clevited. I have seen no accuracy specs published for this device - just claims like "Accurate", "Get the best numbers available from a golf simulator". Accelerometers with low sampling rates are dirt cheap and at the most basic level, there is a non-insignificant error introduced when integrating acceleration to get a speed. How much effort has been put in correcting for drift, temperature, shaft torque, shaft deflection, closing rate,.. , So accuracy specs are important.There's definitely a market for them and many will be happy with them, it's just more lounge room golf entertainment more than analysis of game.

[Clevited]

Thanks, I have always suspected that accelerometer bases devices just really aren't great for being accurate. I had Skypro and unfortunately it was all kinds of wrong due to how I grip the club. Showed a very wacky swing plane. The speed was also very wrong, but surprisingly consistent.

[Lgnir]

I purchased a Swing Caddie (http://www.voicecaddie.com/en-us/34/SC200-Swing-Caddie) before I knew about SkyTraks, and have used it many times during a SkyTrak session. I was surprised at how close the SkyTrak gets to actual club speed and smash factor. It's also great for confirming SkyTrak carry distances.

[Clevited]

Does the ball speed it shows jive with Skytrak too? Would you say its consistent and accurate?

[Lgnir]

Yes I would say it is!

[NVONEPUTT]

I have a Swingbyte 2....think that might work too.

[Clevited]

I am quite scared of accelerometer based devices, but I will look into that one thanks.

[bbjr]

I have a Skytrak, Skypro, and Voice Caddie. I compared all three at the same time one evening, and the Skypro was consistently ~5% slower than the Voice Caddie. I felt fairly confident in the readings the Voice Caddie was giving, and surprisingly, about 50% of the time I would have the exact same club speed (or within 1 mph) on the Skytrak. It seems that when the Skytrak was off, it would be considerably slower by as much as 20-30%.

[Clevited]

Good to know. My experience with the skypro was similar. I got numbers that were even lower than expected though (10% or so) and they didn't jive at all with Skytrak ball speed numbers, which themselves are 4-8 mph slow with my driver (compared it to Trackman a while back). I'd have smash factors over 1.6 if I used the swing speed Skypro showed me. Part of the problem was I was using the android app which doesn't allow you to edit club info. I did try my wifes ipad app for skypro, edited club length but it was only up to your 5% low then.

[Par2Pro]

R-motion is what you want. Is like $300 and gives you your swing speed, path, and face angle. It works very well.

We have done some testing with it and found it to be a decent solution for the price:
https://youtu.be/G_lK7ttOxZQ

[Clevited]

The clubpath stuff looks great. Can you tell me if its accurate with swing speed and if it struggles when perhaps the user utilizes a very strong grip, or sets up with a forward press etc? Thanks.

[Shardak]

I have used Skypro and have had 2 of them fail on me after a couple months of use. They refuse to charge. I think they cant stand up to the impact forces and just die after a while.

I am hoping that Skytrak releases something like the GC2 HMT device that measures club path and impact.

Skypro didnt work for me, and everything similar on the market seems like its not really that great. Too many compromises and too little measured data points.

[Jtangm04]

I still have my optishot but haven't used it shortly after buying a skytrak. That honestly would provide you the best idea on club head speed versus the above options. Also have Zepp 2 and agree that its measurements are all over the place.

[Clevited]

Really? I never thought optishot would be that great measuring club speed. Good to know, thank you.

[Jtangm04]

Since Optishot relied on the IR sensors on the club head, I always felt it was right on. The problem with it is hitting thin shots would be the same as hitting flush shots. Also had to tape up my driver for it to register so it was a pain. When I first bought the skytrak, I compared it along side the optishot and with well struck balls both optishot and skytrack showed similar ball flights. Thin shots were way off with the optishot. Fats shots were so-so. I wasn't paying attention to the club head speed much so I can try it out again this week and let you know of the results.

[Jtangm04]

Tried the optishot and it was all over the place with the measurements. Main issue is my garage floor is a little slick and the optishot is held in place by an insert mat that I stored up in the garage attic. The optishot was moving every time I swung the club so both the skytrak and optishot were showing erratic ball flights.

[Clevited]

I am leaning towards voice caddie as a companion to Skytrak for now. I am just concerned it will have a hard time picking up middle of the club vs toe.

Those with voice caddies, any comparisons to trackman? I only care about clubspeed and ballspeed, not the distance it tells me.

[Par2Pro]

We have done some testing with it and found it to be a decent solution for the price:
https://youtu.be/G_lK7ttOxZQ

Clevited commented
10-02-2017, 05:53 PM
The clubpath stuff looks great. Can you tell me if its accurate with swing speed and if it struggles when perhaps the user utilizes a very strong grip, or sets up with a forward press etc? Thanks.

Like any gyro, the movement of the club can cause some mis-reads. The swing speed radar seems to do a better job (at least in the budget analyzers).

[ProTee United]

Swing speed radars do not read club face and swing path. The R-Motion picks up club speed, face angle and swing path.

[KerrHughes]

I have a Garmin Truswing, used to have a Zepp.

Will be purchasing a Skypro once the integration with SkyTrak is live.

[Clevited]

Not to scare you away from Skypro, but the Android app was lacking ability to change club length and I think loft. The numbers I found to also be off due to how one grips the club at address. Forward press or strong grip seems go make it show a really wonky swing path. Also, the swing speed for me was extremely low and I proved that with ball speed on Skytrak that it was. I would have had 1.6+ smash factors if the swing speed it showed was used with the corresponding ballspeed from the Skytrak. If you have a very standard setup, and an ipad or iphone, you might not have the same issues.

[teamacacia]

I was about to post a similar question as the OP so thought I would jump in here for information.

I’d like to directly monitor swing speed v the back calculation in the skytrak device. R-motion is out for me at this time given that I do not have a PC and only run ST and WGT via my ipad. Swing Caddie is an option, but is fairly pricey at $269. Is there a recommended/accurate swing speed montior for less out there? I’m sure there are tons, but looking to see what others here have found to be on the better end of the spectrum.

[inorkuo]

a used older version sc100 can be had on ebay for under $150. I have a white one which seems to work well but it will not record swing speed unless you actually hit a ball.

[Clevited]

I have pretty much decided that I will save up and get a used voice caddie. From what I can find, it is the most accurate for the money, especially if buy it used. It is set up behind the ball so it should be reading middle of club depending on how narrow its beam is, and it gives simultaneous ball speed so one can easily see smash factor. You will know if its a bad read if it doesn't also jive with what Skytrak is telling you or if the smash factor is rediculous.

[Clevited]

Just an fyi for anyone interested in a companion device like I am. Best Buy has a deal of Swing Caddie SC100s right now. 150 bucks brand new, which is a decent deal as used ones have been going for sometimes more than that on ebay, and for now, it seems impossible to find a new one for that on ebay. I am hoping it solves my problem with smash factor and that it reveals how off Skytrak can be ball speed wise at higher speeds so I can better understand my swing tweaks and strike quality.

[teamacacia]

Shoulda bought it yesterday, price went up to $209 today

[Clevited]

Oh snap, that was a quick sale. I am sorry you missed out, guess I was lucky I found it when I did.

[Clevited]

I got my swing caddie sc100 and tried it out. Very awesome. It is extremely consistent with swing and ball speeds. I havne't compared to Skytrak yet, but it will be good to have what seems to be, very accurate swing speed numbers, and something to compare with Skytrak so I can weed out some of the odd ball speed numbers I get.