Sky Trak Excessive Side Spin - Especially Hooks

[billyb]

Hi,

I've recently bought a used Sky Trak. I feel all the data is correct and very close to my normal swing except the side spin.

I've never hit so many consecutive hooks of 12-30 yards before. I typically have a straight shot with a little baby draw. I've been playing for many years and hold an index of 7.9 and have been as low as 5.3.

Doesn't seem to matter if I level the unit and align myself perfectly. I can start to get some push fades but most of the time it ends up starting straight on and then some kind of a draw to massive hook.

I also just went to Golf town and tried some clubs. I hit many slight fades and some draws. It's very rare for me to hit fades and I think it's because I'm compensating from the Sky Trak so I can get a push draw.

Has anybody encountered this with their unit? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[scottiedawg66]

I also noticed this. I was able to get more realistic results by setting my ball about 1" away from where the lazer dot (towards me, or away from my ST unit) is on my hitting mat.

[DirtyGarry24]

Rather than the excessive spin, I do agree that it's a little excessive. But, I think it's hardest for me to start the ball right of the target and then draw. So many square lines doesn't help this in my opinion. If I get the ball starting a little right 2/3 degrees then the shots are usually good.

[billyb]

Thank you for all the help. Here's where I am after a few more days and tons of shots.

Part 1: SkyTrak, club lies and golf mat

1. Alignment. Make sure you are aligned. I used alignment sticks at the SkyTrak and at my feet.
2. Practice like you play. I wasn't wearing shoes so my lie angle changed on my clubs and the shorter the club the worst the pull was. Lesson here is to wear your shoes.
3. Hit the ball first and all the stats line up properly and you get better results.


Part 2: My Swing Tweaks

1. Back swing takeaway is now wider and not so much inside which caused lots of my issues with the ball flight.
2. Staying centered throughout the swing.
3. Stay vertical near the end of my back swing. I always seem to get flat and around.

Overall I am now trusting the SkyTrak and starting to improve very quickly. I've already gained 10-15 on most clubs and starting to gap my clubs evenly. Simply amazing. Still lots of work to do but this is great!

[pwade3]

Just to add to this, I also felt that ST was slightly draw/fade dominant, depending on spin. It was not much I thought, but after 2 years have found as many that it was my sim set up and my indoor swing. I recently adjusted my sim to try and square everything up as I had guests notice that it was not square to the bay which at the time of the build was done on purpose. I have now squared up the screen and side curtains which allowed me to square up the mat to the whole bay. Had a better feel to it now. I also relocated the garage door opener to one side as I actually hit the bracket twice in two years. Subconsciously it was in the back of my mind which I'm sure affected my swing. I also adjusted the horizontal camera offset which I had not been using. My shots have a much less draw and am now hitting almost all straight as normally do. My swing feels more free and this is because I was guarding a bit from the thought of hitting garage door opener. It instantly made a difference. Alignment seems easier now. Not sure exactly if there is a scientific way to set up the offset? I am 18" off center and 10' from the screen. Do I use alignment rods or is there a mathematical way to approach this? Could not find anything on this when I searched. I have eyeballed it for now.

[billyb]

I placed one alignment stick at the base, touching both feet of the unit. Then I measured a distance from the front of the alignment stick to where I want to place my feet. Did the same for the back of the alignment stick. I also have a laser level to double check and marked my mat with white chalk where the sticks go in case they get moved.

[butette]

I placed one alignment stick at the base, touching both feet of the unit. Then I measured a distance from the front of the alignment stick to where I want to place my feet. Did the same for the back of the alignment stick. I also have a laser level to double check and marked my mat with white chalk where the sticks go in case they get moved.

What is the length of that mat in the direction that you are standing? Do you have enough room to hit driver with the Skytrak sitting on the mat like that?

[billyb]

Standard mat. I can hit up to a 4 iron comfortably, almost on the edge of the mat, but I'm short. Just got the Skytrak a month ago and hopefully will be building a sun room in the spring so I can swing a driver. I'm calling the guy who I bought the mat from to order an extension then I should be fine.

[skytrakali]

I have hit thousands of shots in my cave with ST and I still seem to suffer from indoor swing with Driver and 3 Wood. At the start this disease affected every club - then it was slowly cured for wedges, then short irons, then hybrids. It's odd how one is "cured" slowly and in little steps.

[billyb]

I feel the same way and I've only had the unit for a little less than a month. I'm an 8 index and felt like a 35 index last month until I fixed some main issues. SK really brings out the worst in you and you have to trust it and tame it. It will make you better.

[Boerdoc]

Are you hitting off a tee or a mat ????? Off a tee, I never have any issue seeing the same kind of flight I get IRL. From my mat, which is a very short nap, if I hit even just a little bit fat it shows up on Skytark as a hook. I'm assuming since I'm contacting the mat first and not the ball I'm twisting the face of the club as it bounces of the mat.

Are you sure that your lie angles are set correctly. You may be too upright and hitting the heel of the club on the mat. If your lie angle is set correctly it should not twist the face and cause a hook. I had the same problem and after getting fitted my “fat shots” go straight, just not as far.

[StanMI]

You could very well be correct.... I have a crappy swing AND my clubs don't fit !!!! Love this game....lol

[billyb]

When my shoes are on the lie is perfect. Without the shoes the toe points up a little.

[David Williams 'Chips']

That makes perfect sense. I'm already hitting straighter shots and getting more square to the target. Can't wait for the spring.

Thank you everyone who has helped me in the forum.

Hi billyb, can I just check what you actually did to fix your problem? I'm getting big unrealistic hooks caused by a false left sidespin? I took advice from another user and hit a 7i 20 yards straight punch and was getting 500 rpm left spin. The more distance, the more left side spin. Getting 1,500 left spin with a punched 7i that weny 100 yds and full 7i (155 yds) 2,500 left side spin. Thanks

[Dan McWhirter]

SkyTrak itself cannot deliver a false spin angle (sidespin)...the pictures capture the ball's spin and the software takes those images through several mathematical transformations to determine the axis of spin, and, that, with the measured spin rpm, determines the draw or fade off the impact line. All we get to see in the cave is the impact line, six to ten feet, where it hit the screen. Merry Christmas all!

[David Williams 'Chips']

How much are skytrak paying you to say that Dan? . Are you getting the same results as you get on the course? Merry xmas mate.

[Dan McWhirter]

Ha ha...no they didn't pay me...I was looking at their (Rapsodo) patents long ago, one that showed a likeness of the pictures (blurry movement of dimples), so that you could tell, if the movement was purely backwards spin (tending toward circular about a horizontal axis) then no side spin, or, if movement was also upwards (tending toward vertically oblong dimple traces about a left leaning axis), left spin, or downwards (tending toward horizontally oblong dimple traces about a right leaning axis), right spin. Then the patent indicated the application of processing the pictures (simplifying the blur into values) and applying mathematical transformations, out of which a spin axis was determined relative to horizontal. When I saw all that, I went ahead and ordered me a SkyTrak in early 2016. This story is just getting started: Now getting hooked big time, I realized I wanted it all, not just an iPad but a dedicated computer and big monitor...not enough yet, I needed to get this inside with a projector and hitting bay with screen...still not yet enough, I needed some simulator software which just at that moment was starting to show up for Windows computers (about July 2016). But the big problem was my big finished storeroom was full to near the ceiling with twenty-eight years of collected crap plus tons of stuff from my mother's house...well damn, it's about time I did something about that mess, so I bought tons of storage shelving, putting it everywhere and anywhere to clear a space. My wife asked, do you intend to have a man cave?, and I sorta answered uh yeah something like that...still hiding my true intention to blow some dough on a nice workable golf sim. I ended up renting all three sims...TGC, JNPG and e6, for one year each...as they became available. The last to expire was e6 and, as it became the only one I still had and also proved itself for playing options, I renewed it. This year, when it became available, I also rented Creative Golf 3D, with European courses and a bunch of silly games (like putt putt). Well, a foursome of us couldn't get through two holes without being totally frustrated by the rough for which the sim would not let us escape (like rich twelve inch deep thick green fescue grass)...never played it again! Our weather here is so good (south Texas, San Antonio) that we get in two rounds of real golf most all weeks, even through the winter (although this coming Saturday I expect to wear my ski bib and I hope to get into it. Ha ha). So I mostly use my sim to practice. I get pretty much the same results as real life, except for the feeling that SkyTrak screws me on driver distance. I looked into that and came to feel that the difference was mostly in my roll-out and the "indoor swing" effect. I'm happy because I no longer worry that the SkyTrak will crap out on me (other than a loose USB connector, for which I simply never disconnect except at the computer).

[billyb]

Hi,

Sorry for the late reply on this. It was me for the most part and I've learned to hit shots more down the middle. I still find the big hooks and slices to be excessive and the ones hit down the line are fairly accurate. I've had the unit for just over a year and pretty much get the same results outside. Need a good mat.

[Dr1v4sh0w]

Just got new ST and setup, and a newbie here. Thanks to all for info here, it has been amazingly helpful. Read in a post somewhere that they disarmed the alignment dot at some point and then added it back with a software update. I have checked and I have the latest version of software, but the ST app on my pc will not let me turn the alignment dot on. Is there something obvious I am missing? Thanks in advance for the intel.