SkyTrak distances are shorter for longer clubs

[SkyTrakSpiderman]

I'm a relatively new users to SkyTrak. At two different driving ranges with Srixon range balls I'm finding that for my longer clubs the carry distance is much shorter than what I believe I get on the course:

58 degree wedge - 64 yard carry
7 iron - 136 yard carry - a bit shorter than I'd hope/expect but in ball park

...but

3 wood - 180 yard carry / total = 189
Drivers 199 yard carry / total = 208

The 3 wood and driver are ~20 to 30 yards shorter than I'd expect.

I hit my 3 wood on average 220 yards total...and my driver on average 250 yards total

Is the much shorter distance for the longer clubs due to them being range balls? If so why are the distances for my shorter clubs more closely aligned to what I would expect?

[southpaw7]

Do you have a range finder? This would be helpful in determining if what you are seeing from the SkyTrak is accurate or not.

Sometimes range balls go about 10% less distance than your actual ball and this gets accentuated at further distances. Those balls get beat up pretty heavily and the wear takes its toll. Additionally was there any wind? What was the temperature outside?

I think once you eliminate factors you will see the SkyTrak is pretty darn accurate. You could have a defective unit but I would bet that it is one of the things I listed above.

[Clevited]

Welcome to the Skytrak community.

Your problem could be a couple things

First, range balls can certainly be the problem. Srixon ones especially are known to be lower distance balls. Also, range ball condition will play a big role.

Second, carry distance should be all you pay attention to as sims can't really predict roll accurately.

Best bet, bring Skytrak to range with you, laser some of you shots landing spots and compare to what Skytrak shows.

Oh and the shorter distance with longer clubs and those range balls is usually a spin issue. Shorter club distances are less effected by that.

Edit: Are you hitting indoors on your Skytrak? It is common knowledge on these forums that we hold back when swinging longer clubs indoors. Mental block thing, everyone has it, only gets better with lots of practice.

[SkyTrakSpiderman]

Yes got a range finder thanks and will try that next time cheers. There are not many driving ranges around that do non-range balls so it sounds like I'll not be able to get much benefit in terms of understanding my carry distances at the range. Temp outside was pretty chilli as I'm in the UK...so probably about 7 degrees Celsius.

Do people change the temperature and/or the altitude each time they use theirs outside?

[GolfSimUN]

Many ranges use limited flight range balls. Distances can also be influenced by the wetness of the balls, grass and mats. Maybe take a couple of old regular golf balls with you next time and see if there is a big difference there.

[SkyTrakSpiderman]

Thinking about temp...mine is currently set to about 7 degrees celsius...does it make sense for me to set it to a summer temperature of say 18 degrees for consistency, or should I be changing it every time I'm at the range?

[dagratest816]

I dont know if changing the temperature has to do with as much as altitude would. Google your altitude (if you dont know it already) and make sure you have it correct in skytrak and not just the default of 0 or 500 that it sets you for and that might make a difference for you depending on what your actual altitude variance is. Other than that...all the suggestions above are pretty much it, I hit indoors in my garage and my numbers are pretty spot on...on good hits HAHA

[skytrakali]

I played golf on our home course in the hail and intermittent snow yesterday. I hit driver on the first - I don't know how far it carried but it shot forward, took a bit of a downslope and went a total of 256 yds. On the 7th I carried the ball 196 yds for a total drive of 197 yards (I know the carry because I found the pitch mark) - it rolled a grand total of 4 feet after landing. No trajectory model can predict roll after carry as it depends hugely on uncertain and changing conditions.

After initially thinking that ST underestimates longer clubs I now believe that it is accurate and it's the unpredictable roll problem that made me think that it was giving shorter distances than I'm used to seeing. As a result I only really bother about carry distances now.

Clevited is also right - "indoor swing disease" was only cured slowly for me - it took maybe 2000 shots to cure it for most clubs, but I still have a weak dose of it for Driver and 3 wood.

[scottiedawg66]

best way to get confidence in the accuracy of sky trak is taking it to the range and see how it performs. I was very impressed when I did a range test session.

[SkyTrakSpiderman]

I've looked at the manual but it does not say what the altitude and temperature are measured in...I take it that altitude is feet and temperature in fahrenheit?

[msg]

It took me 3 months to be able to swing my driver and three wood properly indoors. But I do feel the distances my ST give me on AVERAGE on my woods and driver are shorter in real life. I use Game Golf and I have more than 100 games saved there. My average is 230 - 240 for the driver and 220 - 210 for my three wood. On ST, I only average 220 at best. Same with my buddies who I play with a lot and constantly check their drives. They are short by 10 or 20 yards.

[Morini]

You could "borrow" a few range balls and bring them home to try with ST.

The best option is as stated, bringing st to range. And as others have stated, only compare carry to carry. Roll out is far too dependent on local conditions.

[mdniBruce]

Shouldn't old worn range balls read longer carry on the ST than reality due to the increased drag in real life vs the modeled standard ball?

[SkyTrakSpiderman]

I've looked at the manual but it does not say what the altitude and temperature are measured in...I take it that altitude is feet and temperature in fahrenheit?

[SkyTrakSpiderman]

...can anyone confirm the measurements for temp and altitude pls!

[GolfSimUN]

I assume Fahrenheit since the default setting of 70 would equate to 158 degrees Fahrenheit if the measurement were Celsius. The User Guide shows the altitude as feet - https://www.skytrakgolf.com/sites/de...uide_12_15.pdf