Is Skytrac so bad ?

[cchitanu]

Hello,
I am planning to buy a Skytrac in order to build a personal home simulator and I am not sure if I make the right decision. After reading all the posts related to Skytrac/GC2 on this forum looks like there is a compromise that people are ready to make in order to pay less for a Skytrac(vs GC2). My question: is it so bad that you cannot use it to enjoy a game or practice or is just bad reviews from people that compare it with GC2/other simulators ?

Thanks

[trhuke]

I think the Skytrak is one of the best purchases I've ever made.
Regarding misreads, I've noticed something as far as missed reads go, at least in my case. I have a tendency to take a few practice swings right before I hit the ball. I think sometimes my SkyTrak (which I LOVE). reads the practice swings and doesn't have time to reset before I take the actual swing. I found that remembering to step back a bit to take my practice swings and then getting in place and hitting the shot helped cut down on misreads a lot. There appears to be a lot of "operator error" in misread/no reads.
Also the couple second delay, again in my case, is probably good for me, I have a tendency to take swings more quickly than I probably should. Work myself into a lather instead of thinking about what I'm doing wrong (or right sometimes!) substituting quantity of shots for quality.
Amazing device!

[Michael M.]

I am loving my Skytrak. Feels very accurate when in the Skytrak application. Does not strike me as accurate (with drives) in TGC (much shorter) and rough extremely punishing. But maybe that is changing with TGC 2019?
Bottom line, no regrets.

[thorin33]

I am loving my Skytrak. Feels very accurate when in the Skytrak application. Does not strike me as accurate (with drives) in TGC (much shorter) and rough extremely punishing. But maybe that is changing with TGC 2019?
Bottom line, no regrets.

The main difference between the Skytrak range and TGC I believe is because there is no altitude adjustment in TGC.

[Michael M.]

You may be correct as I do have my Skytrak range set at my local 2,700.
But there is a big difference between 200-220 on TGC and 235-265, sometimes 280ish on Skytrak. I obviously have some work to do with my driver with that inconsistency in length but bottom line - I see way lower numbers on TGC. I don't think I have seen a drive past 220 on TGC but while with the Skytrak I see 280+ at least once a session.

But to repeat myself . . . I LOVE my Skytrak and buy another today if I had to do over again.

[Igor-247-golf]

cchitanu I think you should change topic title to "How is Skytrak so GOOD" :P

I've sold over 240 Skytraks personally (via my business) and after 9 years in the golf simulator business have not come across a product that is so easy to move off the shelves and so easy to maintain. I had 6 in my indoor centres as well, so not just talking from a sales point of view but from usage - it's a great product. GC2 is a great product (I own one too). It's nice to see so many positive reviews in this thread, I often referred clients to this forum to read for themselves on the quality of the product.

ps. Iam serious about changing the thread title

[cchitanu]

I will change it, not sure I have the rights

[Rafalt]

You are right, forum is giving add value for SkyTrak😎

[Nasdaqsam]

So back to the original question is ST so bad? When I started looking at Sims it was hard to consider dropping $6k to $7k on a toy I really struggled with would it be worth the cost. For me not that I couldn't buy one I just couldn't see shelling out over twice the price initially on a GC2 or other monitor. I had all I could to convince myself of what I did buy. If it were not for the reasonable cost of the ST I wouldn't have a sim it's that simple. Would I upgrade now? Maybe, if St was to sit on it's design and do nothing to improve it eventually like anything else I would out grow it and want better. But ST is really making a solid effort to keep improving the product so right now I see no need to do anything but keep playing.

With the ST and TGC, I sometimes sit here at work and consider what a day like this past Sunday would have cost me IRL. I started hitting a 100 balls at the range so figure $20. I then played a local course which is $33 with cart (It is only a 9 hole on TGC I played it twice), then played 18 at Pinehurst I do not know the fees but have to assume $300, then played 18 at Pebble Beach at I assume around $500. Just golf alone would have cost me $853 not including the cost of drinks, lunch and transportation to these locations. And no chance DWI. Ok so it's not really the same but I am also not paying $500 per round working on fixing a slice. On the other hand 6 Sundays like this which I do all the time now and my Sim is bought and paid for......lol.

The other thing is I never played a lot of golf up until the sim simply due to work, time and the logistics of getting to a course now I just walk into my garage and play all I want. Can stop between holes and do something if I need to and go right back to playing.

[calebm1001]

This is beautiful! It really is about convenience for me. As a new father (10 week old girl), I knew my 5-6 hour golfing days were going to be few and far between. I have worked so hard to be the player I am... I wasn't going to let that go to waste. It's not just a hobby... it's a lifestyle. An addiction. It's something to look forward to and think about. We all have our relationship with the game that some people just can't understand.

@4K for my entire set up, to play whenever I want. To play IN THE WINTER... to play for an hour without every leaving my wife and child home to fend for themselves, it is 100% worth it. I am still a person with the need to be competitive and have a hobby that simply passes the time. My other friends that are having kids will be able to come over and play too. When my daughter gets old enough, we can play together in the garage. Who knows, maybe she will love it and will play it even more than me and I too will have to upgrade to something a little better when the time comes.

It's perfect. And ST does everything i need it to do. It's accurate. It's small. It's cheap. It continues to advance. The community is fantastic. This is one of the best investments (albeit a slowly depreciating one) that I have made in a long time and I would advise anyone on the fence to just take the plunge if they can afford it.

[Ozmodion]

Well i will also add my 2c to the mix of ST loving.....

I bought my ST a few years ago on a whim. I didnt research it or any other shot tracking hardware. I used to watch Rick Shiels on youtube, and still do, so i had an idea on what shot tracking hardware was.

When it arrived i went down to the club and set it up at the nets and started hitting balls. after about 50 shots i had a que of people behind me waiting to have a go. I tell you now, if i charged £5 a go i would of made a killing that day. Nobody rated it to GCQ that the pro had in the shop and nobody moaned about it.

that was 2 years ago, now i have my sim setup in the garage and i love it. I use the range and game improvement on the skytrak software and also use TGC to play courses.

If i was to give any negatives i would say the putting is bad, but apparently putting is bad on all trackers. The software could do with some tweaking like being able to add names to player 2, 3, 4 etc when playing the closest to pin, target practice etc and being able to keep track of the scores like a live leader-board. ie when my mates come over they can enter a score in their name and it stays.

apart from those very minor things, i have nothing bad to say about it. Buy it and enjoy it.