Chip Shot and Wedge distance - way short compared to GC2 or Golfzon

[crono7x]

Last Sunday I spent a good hour practicing 20 to 30 yard chips on my Skytrak. I was getting very consistent and felt really confident by the end, especially in the 20 to 25 yard range. It felt like I had to hit the chips harder than normal, but I'm confident with my skytrak. Its very accurate with my full irons and woods.

I ended up going to a golf simulator that has golfzon. The unit seems very accurate (as it should, considering what they paid) I had multiple chips in the 20 to 27 yard range. I felt confident when stepping up, but without fail, I ended up 10 to 15 yards long at the very least.

I was using the same club that I used at home, with the same swing. I feel confident about that because I was judging distance by how far I took the club back.

I figured it was user error, so I went home to chip again. I was swinging harder than I did at golfzon, and the ball still went between 20 to 25 yards (at golfzon it was going 35 to 40 yards)

So, I went to my local Golf store to try their GC2. Once again, my 20 yard swing was going 30+ yards. I plan on bringing my skytrak to compare directly to the GC2 this week.

Anyone else have this problem? I figure part of it has to be that I'm swinging slightly different but at the same time, the distance is drastically different. Any ideas?

[jut111]

same balls? that's the biggest factor as the shots get shorter and shorter.

[Dave Lee]

Also when you say chipping, do you mean total run out or the just the carry distance? I would imagine the run out is probably going to be impacted by ball and simulation surface.

[gkkling]

Could it be a difference in the Mat affecting spin or something? Might be helpful to compare those stats along with the distances you are looking at. Some of the guys around here are pretty darn smart at reading that data to troubleshoot stuff like this.

[Morini]

If you are talking about a traditional chip shot (short, low running), I just don't think launch monitors are very accurate in generaly. Small errors in ball speed, VLA and spin has huge impact, and the roll out is not modeled well. Besides, roll out depends on so many factors in real life that there is no point grooving a shot in the range.

If you are talking about carry distance for a short pitch with medium/high trajectory, it is probably not to far off on most shots. I did some real world testing on a windless day, and above 30 yard carry it was within a yard or two most of the time. Between 20 and 30, it read about two yards long on average, with some shots way off. Below 20 yards, I wouldn't trust it at all.

I would just test it in real life. All you really need is a large backyard or similar. Make sure to use the same mat as you do indoors.

[colinjm18]

You could be swinging a little harder at golfzon vs at home or they could be boosting their settings. Is your full swing showing the same increase in distance at golfzon vs home?