Considering getting a ST for use at the driving range - will ST fit for my purpose?

[sirish19]

Hi All,

New member and first post. I am considering the purchase of the SkyTrak and I wanted to get everyone's opinion on if it will fit my purpose for use. I live in Japan and I don't have space in my house for an indoor setup so I plan to use primarily outdoors at my local driving range. I do have space on my rooftop balcony so may eventually set up a net. I would primarily be looking to use ST for game improvement and get more accurate understanding of distances with each club. Being in Japan, playing golf at the course runs $200+ so I can generally only get out for 1-2 rounds per month. As such, I think it would also be fun to play in simulator mode (even at the range), in order to make things a little more interesting at the range, use all of the clubs in a round-simulated situation.

My question, is anyone else using for this purpose and does it make sense given the expense? Or does it really make most sense if you have your own setup at home?

Also, my wife and son play a little, but really only practice at the driving range. Would it be possible to play multiple players for game simulation at the driving range? I am left-handed and my wife and son are right-handed so would it be a real hassle (and negatively affect performance and accuracy) to have to keep moving the unit around?

Appreciate everyone's input.

Cheers.

[Clevited]

Just my opinion. Using Skytrak outdoors can be a frustrating experience. You would need a reliable way to block direct sunlight from hitting the cameras and even then, I find illuminated background objects can give Skytrak a hard time picking up the ball correctly or at all. I also have had times where Skytrak show I hit a ball when I didn't at all. It catches things in the background at least when I had it at a driving range. No matter what, unless you opt for a less portable radar unit, you will have the pain of switching around Skytrak when you play with anyone right handed. You will have to find a way to align it each time. Imo, Skytrak is best suited for an indoor simulation bay if you want the best and most accurate performance it can deliver. I am not very familiar with any others, I think GC2 has some issues outside as well but I could be wrong.

There are sim offerings that allow multiplayer yes.

[cmckelvmi]

Depending on how much space you have on your rooftop balcony, that would be the way to go. You will have more options to make sure your set-up works with your lighting and make adjustments as needed. Also, you will save enough money from the range fees to pay for your Skytrak in less than a year. Driving range balls are notorious for being inaccurate as far as distance and ball flight. You can use premium balls at home and see what your golf shot actually does. There are some on here that have left the SkyTrak set-up in right hand mode for their family or friends and then had the left handed player swing over the top of the Skytrak.

Good luck, I hope you figure something out!

[HappyGilmore102]

HI Sirish19

Go for it,

I live in ireland and the weather is terrible so we have a very short golf season from May to Sept each year.

Golf is expensive and it doesnt pay to get a full yearly membership when you can only play for 5 months of the year and it can and does rain during those 5 months too.

My buddy pays over 1K a year membership and gets really annoyed when i tee it up and win gross prizes at his club since he knows i only play skytrak range and sim golf (CG3D has irish courses).

I got a skytrak to solve this problem, which it has, my game is the best its ever been and i consistently shoot in the 70's in real life, even though i only play about 30 real competitive rounds per year.

I haven't been to my local driving range in over 2 years since skytrak does everything i want, and its nice to belt the same pro v1 over and over and get real numbers and shapes rather than using range balls which are usually a mess.

I think the future of golf is going to be all about sim play, since the cost and time real golf takes is huge.

I play a sim round of 18 holes with auto putt in 1h 15mins, usually spend about 1 hour on the skytrak range during a session.

I use my skytrak outside, works no problem, when i have direct sunlight shining into the unit I just put an empty dozen golf ball box on top to act as a visor to keep sun off the lenses.

SKytrak is ideal for someone like you in Japan with no space, and very expensive golf, it really is the solution for most golf lovers who dont have the TIME or MONEY that golf demands.

My SKytrak paid for it's self in about 1 year, the money i saved this year i spent on new equipment. Next year i'll look at more sim options. I currently use CG3D and WGT dont think i'll bother with WGT next year though.

Good luck
Happy G

[trumb1mj]

Do not buy SkyTrak for outdoor use. It does not measure spin nor ball speed accurately if your primary lighting source is the sun.

[Ronsc1985]

J I think GC2 has some issues outside as well but I could be wrong.

.

The GC2 has no problems outdoors that I have experienced. It can give a screwed reading if you hit behind the ball and the divot gets mixed up with the ball. Other than that it does just fine and adjusts rapidly to changing light conditions such as mixed clouds and sun moving rapidly overhead.

[HappyGilmore102]

HI

I only use my skytrak outdoors, have ZERO problems, had it for 2 years.

Skytrak costs 2K in euro and GC2 8K in euro without software.

GC2 is great, the best, yada yada yada, 8K with no software just to hit a few balls on your roof top is ridiculous even if you're loaded in my opinion.
We don't all live in the USA and get the deals US consumers get.

If you can afford GC2 great, if not Skytrak is fantastic........just look at the size of this forum, a ton of skytrak owners, 99% very please & happy with it.

HappyG

[rmyoung88]

Going to agree.. skytrak is great for what its worth. All the above on outdoors is correct, have had mines for 2 years and use it only outside. Will confirm you do need to find a way to block direct sunlight, but the unit works perfect in the dark.

HOWEVER, I will admit, using it in a residential neighborhood (as I do) on top of a roof adds to the worry for me. I've hit a couple of zingers off the post of my net return, luckily only one has went into my neighbors backyard and wasn't home when I went to retrieve it.

Also, I stay away from drivers incase I get the occasional high ball that sails over my net return.

All in all, one of the better investments I've made on Golf.

[Igor-247-golf]

I used SkyTrak outdoors a lot and have a client who is a pro who teaches outdoors with it. As long as sun is not directly hitting the camera unit it is great. there are ways to get around that (I use the top of a box of balls over the plastic case and it covers it like a cap.

[sirish19]

Thanks all for your valuable comments. One thing that I forgot to mention, in Japan, all of the driving ranges are covered and hit off of mats so there would be no issues of direct sunlight or hitting off of natural grass.

rmyoung88, you mentioned about hitting a few stray balls out of your yard, can I ask what kind of net you use? I would consider getting the Net Return net, does anyone else have an issue with stray balls every once in a while if using this net? I would be hitting towards an office building though so it would be a bit of a problem if any balls went astray off the balcony.

[HappyGilmore102]

HI

I would get an archery net 3m high x 3,4,5 or 6m wide (depending on how much space you have) and hang the net using some galvinised wire rope.

You could leave this up permanently or just hook your net onto the two hooks when needed.

The height and width of the net will definately keep the ball inbounds, and it is very quite, just the driver impact noise is loud.
Archery netting is very strong and heavy, stops the ball in its tracks.

Net return is supposed to be good, but in my experience that kind of netting doesnt last if you have a high ball speed, plus the size and height would make me nervous about hitting lob wedges etc....

ARchery netting which is high and as wide as you can possibly fit in your allocated space, will give you peace of mind.

Its about €200 for 3m x 6m, so not expensive at all.

Good luck

[Gresh12]

I took my unit to the range for the first time recently and the shot shape was pretty far off on a number of shots (generally offline was actually ok but a draw registered as a pull fade both ending roughly 10 yards left). The range had yellow balls which I’ve read may be an issue so I “borrowed” one to test at home against my normal balls. I only add this as you may not be able to control what colour the range balls are if it does matter.

I will note ive never doubted my unit in doors as my ball flight is close to what I see on the course and my misses by feel match the Skytrak shape on the screen (Skytrak May exaggerate big misses a bit more but that could also be extra spin from mat).

[sirish19]

I took my unit to the range for the first time recently and the shot shape was pretty far off on a number of shots (generally offline was actually ok but a draw registered as a pull fade both ending roughly 10 yards left). The range had yellow balls which I’ve read may be an issue so I “borrowed” one to test at home against my normal balls. I only add this as you may not be able to control what colour the range balls are if it does matter.

I will note ive never doubted my unit in doors as my ball flight is close to what I see on the course and my misses by feel match the Skytrak shape on the screen (Skytrak May exaggerate big misses a bit more but that could also be extra spin from mat).

Thanks, that is good information. The ranges here usually use white balls that are stamped with their logo or some other markings, so I assume that would make things a little more accurate. All of these comments make me really wish there was a way to test a unit before going all-in to purchase.

[SkyTrak_Seth]

Yeah, yellow balls often don't provide enough contrast with whatever mark we end up using to measure the spin. As others have mentioned, SkyTrak outdoors can be a mixed bag in intense sunlight. I'd hate for it to be a frustrating experience for you - is your roof top balcony covered? That'd be the best bet, as you'd save a ton on range balls and could control the sun.

[Dave Lee]

I actually had some issues where the sun was directly behind the skytrak. Only explanation I could think of was it was sunset so really glaring yellow light reflecting off the ground and ball.

If it's just off range lights, it works fine for me. It's actually pretty neat to see your actual shot shape and it matches what showed up on the screen.

[sirish19]

Hi All,

Another quick quesion. I am looking at the ST online here in Japan and they seem to be selling two versions, a mobile version, which works with an iPad or mobile phone, and a PC Version, which looks like it comes with a PC and monitor. The PC version is around $2500 more expensive and I expect only to use it with the iPad anyway. Are these two different pieces of hardware or are they the same base unit? Also, the only simulation software that seems to be available here is E6 but it is saying that the PC version is required. Does anyone know whether or not this will work on ipad