Mouse use with SkytraK & Simulation?

[Duckhook]

Hello all -

This is my first post and I have almost zero experience with simulators - so please excuse any wayward thinking :-).

I've been researching SkyTrak and simulation software for a few weeks - but one thing has me a bit more confused than usual... In some videos I watch featuring SkyTrak/TGC, etc. users are setting their target line with a mouse click prior to swinging and in others they are not. Having to use a mouse between shots is something I really want to avoid. I would prefer to actually aim the shot naturally at the appropriate portion of the projected image and hopefully have the system do the calculations to produce an accurate outcome without requiring mouse-clicks and keyboard interaction between shots. Is this wishful thinking on my part or is there a SkyTrak/sim software combo that can deliver this result?

Thanks for your time!

[Llamma]

From my experience you can Aim with the way you setup to the ball, however there are instances where utilising the mouse/keyboard are unavoidable, especially when it come to putting and the notorious skytrak +/- 3* issue, we actually installed a 3 peddle usb controller that is setup for left, right, and enter, it works very well, this is also similar to the setups i have experienced in commercial offerings from XGolf

[Duckhook]

Thanks Llamma,

I appreciate the feedback!

[shimonko]

From my experience you can Aim with the way you setup to the ball, however there are instances where utilising the mouse/keyboard are unavoidable, especially when it come to putting and the notorious skytrak +/- 3* issue, we actually installed a 3 peddle usb controller that is setup for left, right, and enter, it works very well, this is also similar to the setups i have experienced in commercial offerings from XGolf

What's the SkyTrak +/- 3* issue, Llamma?

[Llamma]

+/- 3* issue is to do with putting, specifically short putts, altho i have seen it on short chips too, where randomly the skytrak unit will say the ball started 3* left or right of the target line, there is a patch available to fix this, but what that basically does is anything under 3* automatically gets set to 0*, so you can't just aim for the right edge of the cup, you have to move the aiming pointer manually,

if you want more info on it, do a search for Skytrak Putting TGC should come up with some more info, and a link to the patches.

[shimonko]

Thanks - I just did a search and a bit shocked that anything under 3° gets set to zero.

Sure I see SkyTrak reports putts I thought I hit straight sometimes as much as ±1.5° off line (within spec) but I wouldn't want putts I did hit 1.5° offline to be made 0°. Scaling it down to cater for SkyTrak's accuracy is fine though, as that simply replicates the uncertainty of real greens. But not zero, especially for 3° - I always check SkyTrak when something feels amiss and it very, very rare do I see 3° for a putt I thought I hit straight.

[wbond]

You can't avoid the mouse/keyboard or something to replicate it. Many times TGC picks directions that aren't even close to where you want to aim and moving the alignment stick on the green is pretty much a must. Also, ST reads incorrectly far too many times on short putts. You can easily test and prove this yourself.

[shimonko]

You can't avoid the mouse/keyboard or something to replicate it. Many times TGC picks directions that aren't even close to where you want to aim and moving the alignment stick on the green is pretty much a must. Also, ST reads incorrectly far too many times on short putts. You can easily test and prove this yourself.

What sort of errors are you seeing, wbond?

[wbond]

If you don't use the patch to zero out the HLA, skytrak will not consistently read a putt as straight. It appears it gets worse the slower the putt. It's been tested and proven. Go to a putting green, get a couple alignment sticks and put them next to each other. Then set the ball on the alignment sticks, hit a putt and review the HLA reading. The ball is going dead straight but the ST spits out something different for HLA. This is assuming you have the alignment sticks aligned with the ST.

[shimonko]

I've hit hundreds of putts and watch the (unprocessed) HLA coming back from SkyTrak religiously - agree, a putt that looks like it goes dead straight won't read 0° that often, but it's not far off and within SkyTrak's spec. JNPG will then process it and make it fairer on average - but won't give it to you. I'll have a look for such tests but if they're alignment stick based I wouldn't trust them - ball could easily momentarily ride up one of the sticks if not hit dead parallel to them, hence putting robots control the club rather than the ball. Only needs to ride up the stick 1/16" to add another degree to the already existing 2° error.