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?

[jut111]

Is the "left bias" you're seeing the result of curvature, or are you talking about straight shots that start left and stay left?

[BogesMalone]

What case are you referring to? Armour, FMJ, officially skytrak metal?

the Armour lets you mount the body of the skytrak flush with the top half of the metal case....and then both as a unit can be mounted off parallel with the Base of the Armour. That way there is no way for the case to impact the cameras FOV

I have the skytrak case, I apologize I was not aware there were other kinds out there. New Skytrak owner here.

[N54TT]

I have the skytrak case, I apologize I was not aware there were other kinds out there. New Skytrak owner here.

No problem!!
The only option we originally had was the flimsy skytrak plastic clamshell case. And then forum members manufactured their own...and eventually skytrak came out with theirs....which was based off the FMJ (full metal jacket) that another forum member actually designed and manufactured.

[JJ62]

I have always noticed mine is not aligned parallel. If I measure mine perfectly - all my straight shots go right. my skytrak is noticeably aligned right of my target line - but that doesn't bother me because it doesn't matter. We're looking for it to read parallel and if that means putting it on it's side - then do that and it has no ill effects. I am currently using the fmj and took out the big screw in the bottom that holds it in left the smaller one in fairly loose. I start each round just hitting short chips straight into the center of the screen - I turn my skytrak barely until it's reading what I'm seeing and then I'm done!

[JRachner]

Glad to hear I'm not alone! How long have you had your ST? Do you use the metal protective case? What are you planning on doing to sort out your issue?

What I've taken from the advise above is that we need to align the SkyTrak based upon where you see the ball landing. This means that you don't need to use alignment sticks or the laser dots...but my worry about this approach is you fix one issue and so surely skews results for other measures!

Bought it through these forums a few months back, mainly to use indoors with TGC/JNPG.

took it to the range to test its accuracy and it was clear pretty quick that it had the left bias. It also has the original FMJ case, but the bias exists with or w/out the case in place.

Im not entirely trusting of aligning it indoors, I’m going to take it back to the range and get it so it reads straight. From there I’ll measure the distance of each corner (of the two edges closest to the ball/parallel) from parallel to see exactly what angle I need to place it at when I use it for Sim use indoors.

[Morini]

I haven’t tried outdoors, but indoors is easy because you can hit into something where the ball leaves a mark.

[Morini]

Here is some alignment math. People report being out by 15 yards or so. Assuming this is from 150 yards. That makes 10% “left bias”. 10% is roughly 6 degrees. 6 degrees is one minute on a clock. Perceptible, but not glaringly so.

For owners with this issue, it would make sense to create markers or even a jig to speed up alignment. It could be as simple as a piece of tape up top with a line on it. I am tempted to design a custom clip that can snap on top of unit, and has slots for an alignment rod. Easy to print in my 3D printer. Indoors I do fine by just nudging the unit until shots are on line, but outdoors an alignment aid would come in handy.

[SkyTrakSpiderman]

I'm still getting left biased despite having a replacement SkyTrak . Below is a screenshot at the range today. The left alignment stick is in line with the two red dots. The right is aligned with the SkyTrak. As you can see they are not parallel. So whether I align with the dots or parallel alignment sticks, where the ball lands differs by 10+ yards to what the SkyTrak reports...not sure what to do next?!

[BadEddieKit]

Actually I mispoke, you should have to "close" it some if its left biased... move leading edge of the skytrak to the left in small increments and test that..

[wbond]

Correct. Some people have to do this.

[JJ62]

YES - just move that bad boy a fraction until it starts reading what is actually happening and it will be perfect!!!! I wish the skytrak was a round device..... Then people would not obsess over what is 'straight'.

[Dan McWhirter]

Look at your sidespin or spin angle readings. The SkyTrak flight model supposedly does not provide for spin decay (someone said the "decay" is roughly 1% per second). So, at the range, you could be hitting a baby draw to the target and the SkyTrak would say you hit more draw. I'd look at your initial ball flight path as measured by SkyTrak for a shot that is going to the target...is that online or off? If off, then it's alignment. If on, look at the SkyTrak total shot shape and spin.

[Morini]

Agreed jj62. All readings are relative to the camera unit. In an ideal world, the camera unit is perfectly aligned with the edge of the case. Clearly in some cases it is not. The simple solution is to just to keep nudging the unit until straigh shots read straight. Have no fear, this does not affect your numbers other than correct alignment.

Somewhat inconvenient, and as I suggested earlier, markings or a jig could speed things up. The "bias" should be consistent, so once it is marked up properly, it can be trusted.

It would be nice if the bias could be offset by tuning via software compensation. I dont think this will happen for a number of reasons.

[SkyTrakSpiderman]

Hi Folks,

I'm still struggling with shots reporting to be ~15 yards further left than they actually are when I'm at a couple of different outdoor golf ranges. Today I took my SkyTrak to my local indoor golf centre. They have a fancy/expensive photometric based system (sorry don't know the make).

The exciting news is that most of the measures were very close...except for "offline". The ST gave reading saying that shots were almost consistently 14 yards further to the left than the indoor launch monitor. This fits with my experiences at the range.

I did try to move the ST slightly to manually calibrate but I was not having much success. I still don't feel that I should need to do this manual calibration as I'm going to be regular user of ST at this range and calibration will take time to guestimate. Appreciate its easier and a one-off to calibrate at home but there must be an easy and accurate way to do this when at the range. Does anyone have any suggestions please?

[wbond]

If it's consistently off by 14-15 yds, can you not just fix this will aligning the unit more to the right? Assuming a right handed player.

[Dan McWhirter]

Again...are your SkyTrak shots starting at the target and then drawing left? If your golf ball at the range is going at the target but SkyTrak says it started out left of target...your SkyTrak is aligned right of target!

[Whiskeyjack]

When I take my Skytrak to an outside range I usually just set it up going down the center if my hitting map and never move it. I hit balls at all the different targets and mostly us it for distance and spin etc. It measures my shot shape of course and I look at it but I don worry about alignment there.
I have to toe mine in slightly at home and have a pattern screwed down where the unit goes that I place it in. That being said 15 yards sound like a lot to adjust for.

[Morini]

I did try to move the ST slightly to manually calibrate but I was not having much success. I still don't feel that I should need to do this manual calibration as I'm going to be regular user of ST at this range and calibration will take time to guestimate. Appreciate its easier and a one-off to calibrate at home but there must be an easy and accurate way to do this when at the range. Does anyone have any suggestions please?

You seem to be about 5 degrees off the target line. something like this:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-5-...822H/206007248

Or could create a jig, start with a twelve inch by one twelve inch square piece of plywood, and then cut one side to 5 degrees. Place one side flush against the skytrack. The other is your target line.

[SkyTrakSpiderman]

Cheers for the comments. I've finished comparing the numbers from both the SkyTrak and the indoor golf centres kit. Although I'd not class this as a scientific experiment as it was in my lunch break with a work shirt on, no warm up and using Slazenger 7 iron from the golf centre...but that aside the numbers are very close which is reassuring...bar offline! I'll get to the range tomorrow and experiment!

[N54TT]

Hi Folks,

I'm still struggling with shots reporting to be ~15 yards further left than they actually are when I'm at a couple of different outdoor golf ranges. Today I took my SkyTrak to my local indoor golf centre. They have a fancy/expensive photometric based system (sorry don't know the make).

The exciting news is that most of the measures were very close...except for "offline". The ST gave reading saying that shots were almost consistently 14 yards further to the left than the indoor launch monitor. This fits with my experiences at the range.

I did try to move the ST slightly to manually calibrate but I was not having much success. I still don't feel that I should need to do this manual calibration as I'm going to be regular user of ST at this range and calibration will take time to guestimate. Appreciate its easier and a one-off to calibrate at home but there must be an easy and accurate way to do this when at the range. Does anyone have any suggestions please?

Are they starting on target, curving and landing 15yrds left of target? Or are they starting left from the get go? You turned the skytrak counter clockwise (assuming right handed) and it didn’t help at all?

edit: after looking at the table you just posted....weird that the first and last shot actually showed the opposite....everything else STARTED off left from the launch. I’ll reiterate again. If you turn the skytrak counter clockwise about 7deg maybe? displayed shots will better match actual shots. The body of the Skytrak will point left and look closed to target.

[Trickle007]

New to skytrak but I am having the same issue with the unit being left biased. I turn the unit counter clockwise until my ball flight is straight and seems to work. I just posted a new topic on this issue but you all covered everything in this thread that I am experiencing. The last session I had on Skytrak I turned the unit counterclockwise (possibly as much as 25 degrees) on driving range then loaded up TGC and played an ok round. I think I am going to make a template to speed up the set up time. I called skytrak this afternoon and they really did not have an answer and basically told me they never heard of the device displaying this type of action.

If turning the device is the fix then I am ok with that.

[Morini]

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