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Is SkyTrak distance accurate?

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  • Is SkyTrak distance accurate?

    Does anyone have issues with SkyTrak distance accuracy, especially with long irons? I've struggled to reproduce what I hit with SkyTrak on the course with my 4-6 irons. Attached are some of the shots I hit with 4 and 6 irons this morning and what Arccos calculated average. Please note that this is not an issue of good shots vs average because I pretty much never hit 170 yards carry with 6 iron and 180+ carry with 4 iron on the course but it happens often with SkyTrak. One possible explanation is that I'm fine tuning my swing so I haven't been able to take my swing to the course yet, which is kinda what I'm hoping is the truth. Does anyone have similar experiences?

  • #2
    My experience is irons are within +/- 5 yards against my actual ball flight and indoor Trackman when I’ve tested (assuming you’ve adjusted for elevation and temperature in the app).

    Mat can make a big difference though. Your launch angles look on the high side and spin a little low (not a lot low) which could be producing more carry than if you launch it lower with a bit more spin off grass.

    I also have have no idea how Arcoss works in terms of excluding outliers in your predicted yardages (I.e., if you hit 5 shots with the same club and 4 go 150 but you top the fifth and it goes 30 yards does it show 150 or 126 as your distance). Also presumably you hit “a little 4 iron” on the course some times whereas you are comparing against full shots at the range.

    If if you’ve got the right elevation and temperature and understand your mat I believe the Skytrak distances.

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    • #3
      I also have Arccos and Skttrak. My distances are close between both devices. As Alex said above may be an average issue with punchouts etc. or u have not played enough with Arccos to give u a good average. Assuming u hit mostly full swing shots with Arccos, the average should eventually normalize. It's just statistics.

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      • #4
        On the other hand,your Arccos distances r very consistent. Maybe a setup issue with yr skytrak. Most complain Skytrak is short not long

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        • #5
          It might be my swing but I tend to get less spin hitting off mats versus grass so my irons on skytrak do go a little further than IRL, but not much. Your distance increase is probably valid since ball striking with irons significantly improves when you practice with a skytrak.
          My courses:
          Aldeen
          Butler National
          Cantigny
          Canyata
          Cog Hill #4
          Harbor Shores
          Harborside
          Naperville Country Club
          Prairie Landing
          Rich Harvest Farms
          Ruffled Feathers
          Shoreacres

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          • #6
            Yeah looks like it comes down to spins. I have very high spin rate on the course. I often times have 5 iron going backwards after landing. I didn’t really know it might be caused grass though.

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            • Morini
              Morini commented
              Editing a comment
              From the fairway there is significant friction between the ball and the grass, which results in high spin vs. a mat. And some mats create more friction than others.

          • #7
            Some other suggestions / things to consider besides ball spin rate differences of grass vs. mats:
            • Check your environmental settings in the SkyTrak app. Elevation and temperature (and obviously wind) can make a big difference.
            • Assuming you're hitting a bunch of shots during your SkyTrak sessions with the same clubs for several shots, you're going to groove a swing. And seeing you tend to draw the ball, that is also going to give you added distance vs. a fades
            • Lie / elevation differences and changes IRL - do you tend to play courses that go uphill a lot? That will obviously lower your IRL average.
            In the first few months I had my SkyTrak, I thought my SkyTrak readings were lower compared to real life, but now I find them to be very accurate. In retrospect, a lot of issues I had in the beginning were due to placement / alignment of my SkyTrak relative to my hitting surface. Good luck!

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            • #8
              If you happen to be using Impact tape stickers on the club face, they reduce spin rate and in turn increase distance readings. I often practice with masking tape which doesn't seem to be much of an issue.

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              • #9
                I feel that my ST distances are very accurate and repeatable with my irons. When I get into 3 wood or driver, I feel like the ST is 5-10% short. Outdoors without much effort I can hit driver all day long 280-300 yards. That same swing on my skytrak is 260-280. I have to over swing to get one over 300 yards on my ST. I went to an x golf location the other day and my drives were 280-310 without over swinging. Very much like what I see outdoors. That's just what I see on my ST. I'm not sure if that's consistent across the board with other ST users.
                My wedges and irons are spot on. That's where my outdoor golf has improved immensely.

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                • #10
                  Sounds like it could be part of that issue with ball speeds above 150. I think skytrak said they were going to work on this, but haven’t seen any update

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                  • #11
                    Check your elevation that will affect the length I believe the default is 500 ft above sea level. Check where you are and match it up that may be the only thing that could be wrong.
                    My Courses: all are LiDAR
                    Wilkshire LiDAR
                    Glenmoor
                    Brookside LiDAR
                    Shady Hollow CC​

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                    • #12
                      Temperatures in the settings can effect distance too. Higher temps in the session settings= longer shots.

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                      • #13
                        Guys, to provide some update. I continue to see low spin results. My 6 irons will genera less than 6000 or even less than 5000 spins often times recently, which is completely opposite of what I see on the course. On the course I definitely spin it too much. Even my 5 iron pretty much doesn't roll. I've tried Kirkland, Chromesoft and Z star balls. Chrome soft and Z star both generate lower spin than Kirkland. I dont really think it's a temperature or altitude thing because the spin difference is more than 1000 I think. also, shots that hit the center of the club spin a lot less than off center shots, which is understandable as center shots compress the ball more but off center hits usually doesn't wrap the ball as well, which should offset the effect.

                        Does anyone have similar experiences at all?

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                        • #14
                          It's normal and expected to have higher spin out on the course on grass vs. hitting on a mat. Resulting in shorter yardage on the course vs. on the SkyTrak. (As long as you aren't one of the guys with really high swing speeds which have reported issues with SkyTrak tending to underestimate.)

                          What mat do you have? What iron heads / shafts do you have? Some shafts are made specifically for high launch / spin.

                          Try taking your SkyTrak to a GolfGalaxy and a few different ranges to see if you see any differences with the various hitting surfaces.
                          Last edited by caldiver; 01-10-2019, 12:23 AM.

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                          • #15
                            I agree. If it comes down to spin rates off mat vs on the course, then my first thought is the mat. If you tend to take a divot on the course, then a mat will negate that and produce less back spin.

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