SkyTrak "Ofline" measure appears to be left-biased

[SkyTrakSpiderman]

I bought my SkyTrak in January this year and after using it at the driving range a couple of times was finding that when I was hitting shots that were on target that the ST was reporting that they were "offline" by ~10 to 20 yards to the LEFT of target...and shots that went ~10 to 15 yards to the right of target were being reported as on target...so consistently a left bias.

I raised this with SkyTrak and they collected and tested the device, it passed all of their tests and they advised that the device was working correctly. However they tested this indoors and not at a range where you can see the ball land.

Since my SkyTrak was returned I've found the same problem even at a different range with decent Srixon golf balls.

This morning I was getting a lesson off my Pro and he confirmed that despite using alignment sticks to confirm where we were aiming that the readings were still offline.

Has anyone else experienced this issue when using the SkyTrak outside as its one of the key metrix and I don't have confidence with the numbers as a result?

[Trickle007]

25 degrees offline is way too much. How could the unit be misaligned that much?

i may be exaggerating I will take a pick next time I play.

[SkyTrakSpiderman]

I'm still seeing spurious 'offline' data with my SkyTrak. Over the weekend I compared it with a Trakman using a 7 iron, results as per the spreadsheet attached.

I've contacted SkyTrak support for guidance as I'm clearly doing something wrong but none of the golf pros that I've tested this with can see what I'd doing wrong!

[Ryan_luan@yahoo.com]

Interesting comparison. Obviously something is not quite right. Do you typically play a draw in real play?

[N54TT]

I'm still seeing spurious 'offline' data with my SkyTrak. Over the weekend I compared it with a Trakman using a 7 iron, results as per the spreadsheet attached.

I've contacted SkyTrak support for guidance as I'm clearly doing something wrong but none of the golf pros that I've tested this with can see what I'd doing wrong!

Skytrak showed shots ending up left and trackman right of center....were the shot shapes different between skytrak and trackman? Have you ever taken the skytrak to outdoor range and confirm shot shapes on skytrak were same as actual shots? At least ONE peice of your data that throws things off is the side launch angle skytrak is showing....up to 6deg off to the left. It’s been known that the further you push/pull shots relative to skytrak’s alignment the more INACCURATE the data is. Alignment of the skytrak could be an issue. As mentioned before skytrak’s stance is to align to the body of the unit....which it sounds like you did. BUT i and others have verified that its not the case with all units. I have to point mine to the right a few degrees of target to have center shots portrayed as “0” launch side angle. And for the sake of narrowing things down. Have you tried hitting without the FMJ? In the development of metal cases....there had been versions that for some reason skewed ball data.

[Morini]

1. Ball speed and launch angle are close. The unit is clearly functioning well in that regard.
2. Thisis indoors, and it looks as if Trackman is not picking up sidespin and is estimating backspin (spin numbers are reported in italics when this happens).most likely, the balls don't have the metallic stickers required for accurate spin measurement.
3. The HLA is consistently 5 degrees left. could be the golfer, or it could be misaligned by this amount. 5 degrees is about 15 yards offline over this distance.
4. The other golfer has hook spin, sending the ball even further left. Every 10 degrees of spin axis moves the ball 7 yards per hundred offline.
5. Trackman is clearly grossly misaligned to the right. According to skytrak, shot #9 launched straight, and had 8 yards of fade which jives with the 5 degree of right spin axis. Trackman had a 150 yard shot go 47 yards right. Which one makes more sense?

I know that you were looking for verification, but a grossly misaligned Trackman that doesnt read spin axis is not going to help. The answer is much closer to home ... Literally. Just do as suggested. Mark your screen/net with string/tape. Hit 30 yard "chip" type shots and adjust unit until shots that hit target go straight. Then swing away. Any left bias is likely on you.