ST on Outdoor Range

[Dan King]

Hey folks, for those of you that have brought their STs to the driving range, do you use your phones or bring a tablet, etc.? Just curious if some of you bother to haul a stand for a tablet or just have your phone handy to watch the ball flight after striking the ball to watch the data? I use a PC at home and don't have a tablet so wondering if using a smartphone works ok.

[trumb1mj]

I use mine with an iPhone or iPad at all times. Works really well. One word of caution. Even if you have all of the sun blocked and a black background, if sun is your primary light source, the numbers get skewed. More sun means less speed in my experience. I'm consistently in the low to mid 150s with my driver. Yesterday with an umbrella blocking the sun I could barely reach 145 with the driver.

[calebm1001]

Isn't this the ongoing problem anyways? Ball speed at the 150 mph range not being correct and often showing as lower than actual?

[trumb1mj]

Yep, it sure is. My ball speed is lower than GC2 (all I've compared to) when I get to my 3w. That said, it's consistent when the sun is down. When the sun is up, my speed is way down and my spin is just off.

[Wizard of Coz]

I used it once at the range with an iPad to confirm accuracy. It was difficult using with the sun and a white wood barrier behind me I think made it difficult for the skytrak to pick up. It wasn't something I needed at the range so I never took it again. I rarely go to the range now that I can work on my game at home.

[Whiskeyjack]

I've taken it to the range 3 or 4 times and used my Iphone with no problems.

[Dan King]

When I get ball speeds of 145 or so with my driver at home, I still only get around 235 or so in carry. I get more than that on an actual outdoor range so I imagine using the ST outside is not going to make a difference.

[trumb1mj]

Ball speed of 145 and carry of 235 sounds spot on.

[Morini]

Other than having a small screen, there is absolutely no difference using a phone.

As others have mentioned, I got funky readings at the range. Not sure if it was light or the range balls. The yellow range balls were way off in terms of observed to actual carry. The white range balls not as bad, as it read accurately, but I don't play those balls on the course, so didn't see the point.

[Dan King]

@ trumb1mj. Perhaps. Like I said, I would like to take the ST to the range and see for myself. Spin is going to have an impact too, there again, assuming ST is tracking the correct spin rate vs real time on the range.

[trumb1mj]

I would take a look at the https://flightscope.com/products/trajectory-optimizer/ too. This is a great resource for double checking things. ST uses a very similar algo.

[Buffalo_Joe]

I use a ipad when I’m at the range.

I don’t have sim setup at home yet and have only taken it to the range (indoor dome). Some things I have learned. Lighting does effect numbers greatly. I had to hit from upper deck yesterday which is way brighter and every club was shorter. Also hitting range balls with black scuff marks from hitting the turf have lead to multiple miss reads and balls going all sorts of directions. When I get a clean ball and I’m down below the unit seems very accurate to distances on the course. I have also gone to another location that has the toptracer simulator installed and my numbers were almost identical. It is nice to see the ball travel at least the first 80 yards but I’m looking forward to being able to stay home soon.