Has Skytrak Improved Your Game?

[Bcalli90]

Just wondering what people thought of the Skytrak in terms of their game improvement.

This is my first winter having the Skytrak and the driving ranges have just opened in town.

Seeing my ball in action for the first time since September was extremely satisfying as my ball striking and accuracy was a lot better.

Last year on the range I would spend half hour and hit some good shots and if I stayed out too long I would start shanking, get too tired, and completely lose my swing.

Yesterday I hit 4 buckets of balls when there is no way last year I would have had the golf stamina or consistency to get through 4 buckets of balls. (I am still sore as hell today)

I couldn't be happier to start this golf season with some stamina and improved consistency. Also, I have finally learned my distances with my clubs.

I could barely hit my 3-hybrid, 4 iron, 5 iron, 56, and 60 degree last year and I feel comfortable hitting all of those clubs now and know the distance they should hit.

My 3-hybrid has become my favorite club and I can't wait to crush it on the course this year without the savage hook

I was shooting in the low 90's for the most part with the odd high 80's last year while playing half the clubs in my bag lol. I have high hopes this year playing with my full set to go a lot lower.

How have you guys benefited from your simulator?

[shank12u]

I feel like my ball striking and my course management skillz have both gotten much better through this winter. Knowing exactly how far the ball will carry throughout the bag has taken pressure off my poor aim...that has taken several strokes off my card by itself.

[sqgabriel]

yes..I have been using skytrak and skypro together throughout the winter for practise. I have been working on shot shaping and trajectory, as well as reducing my dispersions lengthwise. Continuous practise when it is dark and wet outside has made a huge difference to my game. I didnt get to try the beta with club data as i use an ipad, however, i am really looking forward to seeing more integration between skytrak and skypro with the inclusion of club data. At this point in time, i feel i am getting 100% from skytrak and 100% of skypro, but only about 70% of what i could in total, it would be even more useful to be able to tie the data up afterwards, or even better, at the time and make immediate changes, i am waiting on this and trying to hold off on a GC2 with HMT (its a lot of money) as i feel this is what i need to go to the next level. Scores have improved, although my weakness is now awkward lies, which of course i cant practise from a flat mat, my winters practise has really shown how much my shots have improved from flat lies, just got to get back into being able to play from real lies now. I was just about a 6 (CONGU) handicap at the end of last year and felt i could not go much further, i feel that using skytrak has opened up a new target, which i have now set at 2 for the end of this season, it seems more than possible, which it did not pre skytrak..way to go skytrak!!! help me out and get the club data and more skypro integration!

[Bcalli90]

yes..I have been using skytrak and skypro together throughout the winter for practise. I have been working on shot shaping and trajectory, as well as reducing my dispersions lengthwise. Continuous practise when it is dark and wet outside has made a huge difference to my game. I didnt get to try the beta with club data as i use an ipad, however, i am really looking forward to seeing more integration between skytrak and skypro with the inclusion of club data. At this point in time, i feel i am getting 100% from skytrak and 100% of skypro, but only about 70% of what i could in total, it would be even more useful to be able to tie the data up afterwards, or even better, at the time and make immediate changes, i am waiting on this and trying to hold off on a GC2 with HMT (its a lot of money) as i feel this is what i need to go to the next level. Scores have improved, although my weakness is now awkward lies, which of course i cant practise from a flat mat, my winters practise has really shown how much my shots have improved from flat lies, just got to get back into being able to play from real lies now. I was just about a 6 (CONGU) handicap at the end of last year and felt i could not go much further, i feel that using skytrak has opened up a new target, which i have now set at 2 for the end of this season, it seems more than possible, which it did not pre skytrak..way to go skytrak!!! help me out and get the club data and more skypro integration!

Congrats on the progress!

I really think the club data is where I could really take things to the next level.

I think I could make swing improvements a bit easier with that information.

Great point on the awkward lies lol

Not looking forward to having to hit from so weird lies when i'm used to a flat shot every time now lol

[munihack]

Shot 80 for the first time in my life after using it for the winter.
i usually play a lot even in the winter. My ball striking is so much better with using skytrak.

Last summer i was shooting around 120. My putting is still my weak link. That’s usually what I work on before a round, due to the fact I am always hitting on the skytrak.

120 to 80 in a year thats awesome congrats! hope my sky trak helps as much!

[triplebogeysrbetter]

It’s helped me so much.

[Lgnir]

For me, knowing how far my irons carry (to the exact number and not just a guess) has been the easiest thing that gave me the quickest improvement in my game. I started hitting more greens in regulation, and those I missed, I was normally pin high.

From the amount of time you tend to spend on the SkyTrak, your ball striking will eventually improve. I have WAY less mishits than I did before I had my SkyTrak! The mishits I do have seem to be less sever than before as well.

The best thing? Your confidence improves, and when your confidence improves, you just seem to play better golf. I think it's the fact that you hit so many balls on the SkyTrak, that your swing becomes more automatic, and you have less negative swing thoughts during your round. At least that's been my experience, and I'll take that! Honestly, during a round of real golf, I picture hitting a lot of shots as if I was hitting them on the SkyTrak. It really seems to help me!

[Gresh12]

After just 2 weeks of owning a Skytrak I can comfortably say it will improve my game.

I was a low single digit handicap as a kid but over the last 20 years work and family has limited my golfing time (playing 150+ rounds a year then dropping to under 10 has a big impact on scores) and I only recently rejoined a course and made it a bigger priority again. I can already tell that hitting balls every second night is going to have a huge impact relative to playing golf 1-2 times per week with only a few minutes of warmup at the range beforehand (let alone being able to practice through the winter when it rains almost every day). Even when I was at my peak my game from 30-80 yards was awful (i.e., once I couldn't hit full lob wedge or chip) and being able to spend time figuring out distances of various clubs and clock positions is already helping. Finally, knowing I can tune my ball striking at home means my limited practice time at the course is spent chipping/putting instead of trying to figure out swing faults.

Once I figured out the setup I find the accuracy to be bang on and I have had almost zero misreads (I have had 2 no reads and one I think a waggle turned off the laser and the other was a brief disconnect from Wifi which required a restart of the unit and iPad).

I only have 2 negatives on the whole thing:

1. I wish I could aim on the Skytrak range. I'm hitting in to a net with an iPad off to the side (my setup needs to be temporary) and everything points me square to the centre of my net so I find it hard to align to the right to allow for my draw. I find I tend to pull a lot of shots back towards the centre of my net then my draw takes over and I miss left. I want to put an aimer down in the software or rotate the view about 10 yards right then I can hit to the centre of my net. I think some of the other software may allow for this but I do like some of the features in the Skytrak range and point 2 is about sim play.

2. I only have the space for 4-iron down (not Skytrak's fault obviously) so I am not sure I will commit to buying sim software as the money seems like a lot when I can't really play a real round hitting 4-iron off the tee. This means I can't use other software to fix concern 1 above. I considered getting TGC and setting driver boost to the point where my 4-iron goes as far as my driver and doing the same with woods for 3-wood. This may work for normal play but obviously won't let me play on the tour which I think would be fun. I'm also a bit concerned paying for TGC counting on this ability until the 2019 version comes out because if they change how boost works then I may not be able to take this approach.

In any case, I am super happy with the purchase so far and like others have said on this forum I would definitely buy an add on for accurate club data if Skytrak built something like the HMT. Not sure I trust the shaft attachment approach as I have a Swingbyte and the only thing I ever felt was accurate was clubbed speed.

[ProTee United]

We will not remove the boost feature. We will probably force a boost limit on tour events.

[Morini]

Finally, knowing I can tune my ball striking at home means my limited practice time at the course is spent chipping/putting instead of trying to figure out swing faults.

This. I don't even bother with the range anymore other than warm-up if I didn't get a chance to do it at home first. I find the ST more accurate than range balls at the range, and I get actionable numbers for feedback. I regret buying an unlimited range ball pass this year. Our grass tees are closed right now, but there is of course huge benefit to hit off grass. The benefit of spending more time in the short game practice area is huge.

With regards to the HMT, I don't think it is going to happen. From what I understand, the ST has such a low price point compared to GC2 because it uses very inexpensive camera sensor. It can use a cheap camera because it uses a laser that the ball passes first to calculate exactly when to fire the sensor as the ball passes.

I don't think this method will work for HMT purposes because impact is an exact moment rather than a window. If fact, it is so exact that the HMT/Quad and Trackman often gives somewhat different numbers for club data due to millisecond differences determining the exact moment. I am not optical engineer, but I think it would be extremely difficult to accurately capture the club head at impact using cheap sensors. And if it can't be done with cheap sensors, then you are paying HMT like prices.

[triplebogeysrbetter]

Amen to " I find the ST more accurate than range balls at the range, and I get actionable numbers for feedback."

I almost purchased the range option at the local course. This is the reason I went down the skytrak rabbit hole. The membership is 650 per year. Most of the time you cant find a spot and the balls are horrible. Its like buying term life insurance you put money in and its just thrown away.

I figured at least Skytrak is something I own. Plus I can go to the garage at anytime.

[FaultyClubs]

...I'm also a bit concerned paying for TGC counting on this ability until the 2019 version comes out because if they change how boost works then I may not be able to take this approach.

Why not ask Protee directly and get the answer? They probably know now on something like this.

[Morini]

and everything points me square to the centre of my net so I find it hard to align to the right to allow for my draw.

Hmm. Couldn't you align mat//alignment aids etc to the right and have skytrak square to the net? Or the opposite, mat square, ST to the right. I guess the HLA measurement works best when ball direction is parallel to ST, so there may be limits to how far off line you can go when shaping shots.

You are right, it would be nice to be able to set target off center in software for those who shape shots so that the HLA RELATIVE to ST is parallel, but target is not.

[Gresh12]

I tried this today and it helps somewhat. The part I left out is my net is also right along a wall on the right side so I am aiming at the top right corner of my net that’s maybe 2 feet from the wall. I have the side barriers so in practice it’s almost impossible to hit the wall but visually it’s intimidating compared to hitting at centre of net. I may get over this with more time but I rarely hit pulls on the course but doing it a lot at home. My space is not ideal for this but “works”.

It would be 100% fixable with a software change but guessing I’m in the minority asking for it if it hasn’t been done yet.

[triplebogeysrbetter]

On skytrak I’ve been practicing a cut or fade. Never had that option in my bag. Since owning the skytrak I can hit it on demand at the course.

[PunchoutPro]

Just finished a few rounds this spring and after owning SkyTrak over the winter, my long game has greatly improved! My ability to work the ball left and right was something I could never do before. My ball striking is vastly improved as well, but the biggest improvement is the distance across my bag. I’m driving it to places on the golf course I never thought possible. A couple yesterday ended up close to 300 with a little wind help. That was 60 yards farther than my brothers! That right their was worth the price for me! Haha

All of that practice has increased club head speed and strength. Short game still needs tuning, but for me, that is more about feel and practice at the course.

[mpendle]

Let me add to the positive vibes above. I've only had my SkyTrak for 2 months, been practicing on the ST range and playing on TGC quite a bit. Also had some lessons at the tail end of last summer, but was unable to action what was learnt too often.
Now having practiced more, my consistency and contract is dramatically improved.
I was a 21.5 handicapper last year, shooting anything from 90-110. Since getting ST, i've played 2 rounds IRL and chopped 2 shots off my handicap, shooting 88 and 89 in the process. As with a number of people above, I let myself down chipping and putting - if I were a bit sharper in this area I possibly could have broken 80. The biggest improvement is the consistency I am getting, I am a lot straighter off the tee and as a result have a lot less blowouts, which were previously killing my stroke play scores.
Hard to say how much lessons or SkyTrak helped, but I would guess that the combination of both is important. No point having lessons if you can't practice what you learn and no point aimlessly hitting on ST without being given some idea of what to do.
I'm hoping to finish the season with a handicap of 5-6 shot lower.

[mpendle]

Also wanted to add (similar to others) that my course management has dramatically improved, largely due to knowing how far I hit each club.

[Msmith6208]

I have moved from an 8-9 index to a 5 since regularly practicing and playing TGC. Last summer I carded a 72 (par) in a City Tournament. This was after years of hacking away with no real goals or feedback. I can honestly say the data is as accurate as one could expect given you are hitting in controlled conditions from flat lies. I know my distances, ball shapes and tendencies. I can now focus on honing my game instead of looking for a set of "magic swords" - I truly believe it is the best value in the sport (coupled with some occasional instruction). The bag mapping feature is a must, you will learn that you have YOUR stock distances and not gamble on that one in ten shot to make the carry! The confidence I have in knowing which club to pull has made a tremendous difference in competitions. I honestly feel there is a reasonable path for me to reach "scratch" - Thanks Skytrak! I enjoy the game so much more after this purchase!!

[ejb]

Just to chime in with my 2 cents. I've owned my SkyTrak for a little over 2 months. Longtime SkyPro owner. I went from an avid (3 range sessions a week and play every weekend) golfer to trying to play once a month due to a very advanced case of Facet Syndrome (arthritis of the spine). With the help of numbers from the SkyPro (club angles, paths and rotation) and the validation of the ball flight from the SkyTrak, I have been able to change my swing to a consistent limited rotation and finish 18 without needing opiates and 1-2 days of recovery. Could any of the other launch monitor do the same thing, yes, but not at the price point I was willing to pay to find out. I have gone thru multiple versions of the SkyCaddie which is the reason I gave SkyTrak a try, I'm glad I did. It has it's idiosyncrasies that you must get thru but overall a very good product if you take the time to sort out the bugs.

[Morini]

Great to hear that you found a way to overcome your health challenges and get out there on the course. Very inspirational. I am in reasonable health, but I need to stop taking that for granted, and to seize the moment to get out there more often.

[ejb]

Just a side note, because of my particular ailment, I was able to get my doctor to write a prescription with the specific purpose of maintaining range of motion and flexibility making my Skytrak a medical deduction similar to a gym membership. Your mileage may vary.

[Mandragora]

Another note about skytrak which I realized is extremely helpful. When I use to hit at the driving range and I hit bad shots, After the ball landed it was gone from my mind and I went on to the next shot. Now when I hit a bad shot, I have the screen showing me all of the data and I can look at the path and launch angle etc, and try to figure out why I hit the bad shot. To me this has been very helpful.