SkyTrak Launch Monitor

[Bubba22]

Zmax and Bubba, you guys seem to have a lot of experience and expertise in this area so thank you for answering our questions. I've always understood that the difference between a LM (like skytrak) and a clubhead monitor (like protee) is that LM are better in just simulating realistic ball flights. Meaning, I can take any club and hit any shot I want and it should replicate it as it is calculating flight based off of ball movement within the frames it captures. With a clubhead monitor (like protee) while it does the calculations based on club head position differences, in order to get accurate data you would need to a) manually select the club in the program and b) make sure the clubs specs are entered correctly. So in order to hit a 7 iron stinger (for example), I would just need to take that shot with skytrak, but with protee i would need to make sure I've selected 7 iron with the correct loft/lie specs in the program. Is this accurate or am I misinformed?

Thanks again!

Not entirely accurate.The Protee does have cameras and sensors that detect ball data including launch angle, horizontal azimuth and ball speed. What is calculated is the ball spin (back spin and side spin or spin axis). The selection of the club in the software is to allow the system to better estimate the total spin and backspin. (remember total spin can be broken down into back spin and sidespin with the appropriate spin axis). The spin axis is calculated using the club data at impact, basically the difference between club face angle and club path. That measurement is quite accurate. The latest software allows beter estimation of spin still using club selection but also the ball data (speed and spin). So a 150 mph ball speed will most likely not be a lob wedge so the corresponding spin will most likely be a driver spin. One can select wedge in the game and if driver is hit the distance will be that of a driver. Obviously selecting driver will better tune the spin estimation. In a perfect world Protee + a launch monitor would give the best of both worlds.

Remember Protee has cameras to determine most ball data except spin, unlike Optishot, P3pro etc.

[Maverick]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 3, 2014



Press Release
For Media Materials, contact:
Tracy Nackel, TEN Marketing & PR, 760-420-1602
Vanessa Price, TEN Marketing & PR, 714-544-6515

SkyTrak, LLC Announces the Release of the Revolutionary SkyTrak™
The First Affordable Personal Launch Monitor, Game Improvement and Golf Simulation System That Provides REAL RESULTS
with Commercial Quality

__________________________________________________ _____________________________

Winston-Salem, NC November 3, 2014 – SkyTrak LLC, www.skytrakgolf.com, a partnership between SportTrak, LLC and SkyGolf, the makers of SkyCaddie® the most trusted Rangefinder in Golf, today announced the release of the Revolutionary SkyTrak™ Personal Launch Monitor, a complete Practice, Play and Entertainment System for golf at home. SkyTrak, about the size of a book and weighing less than 2 pounds, accurately captures thousands of data points from a golfer hitting balls with their own clubs into a net at home to simulate practice and play as if you were on the course or practice tee. While entertaining, SkyTrak is not a toy, but a serious tool that accurately reflects the golfer’s actual skill level and shot results to provide year-round practice, play and game improvement without ever leaving home.


Combined with an App and iPad, the Wi-Fi enabled SkyTrak captures the actual ball speed, launch angle, back spin, side spin and side angle to project the ball flight over a vivid 3D practice range. SkyTrak also offers various challenges for engaging practice such as Closest to the Pin, Longest Drive and Targets, along with Shot History Tables, Performance by Club, and helpful data screens. It’s easy to use, compact, totally portable with no wires required, and highly accurate, so improvements the golfer sees in their swing at home are improvements they can take to the course.

“Our goal with the SkyTrak Personal Launch Monitor is to deliver commercial quality ball flight simulations that reflect a golfer’s actual performance for game improvement and entertainment at a price far below comparable alternatives,” said Richard Edmonson, SkyGolf CEO. “In essence, we have created a way for a golfer to take his or her passion past the 18th green with what we see as the XBOX of Golf. It’s been designed to deliver the reliability and accuracy required to help golfers play better, play more and derive more enjoyment from the game. SkyTrak fits nicely into our core values by delivering an accurate and realistic in-home golf experience that both entertains and makes you a better golfer.”


“SkyTrak is a unique product in the consumer golf space,” said Andy Allen, SportTrak’s Managing Director of Golf. “There are a couple of economically-priced golf simulators on the market that offer some measure of simulated ball flight, but none of them are able to measure enough information about the performance of the golf ball to accurately simulate a golfer’s actual ball flight to include shot shape and distance. So, the feedback provided by such systems can misrepresent your actual performance and as such may not provide the feedback needed to improve your game. In fact, such systems may actually hurt your game and at best are a waste of your valuable time.”

On the other end of the market there are commercial-quality launch monitors that do provide accurate information about the ball after impact, but do so at a cost that is not affordable for most golfers. SkyTrak fills the void by providing the accurate measurements of a commercial-quality product, at a fraction of the cost, to open up an entirely new world of game improving practice and hours and hours of entertainment away from the course. For the first time, golf enthusiasts have an affordable way to enjoy the benefits of a commercial launch monitor used by club manufacturers, club fitters, PGA Professionals and Tour Players that cost from $7,000 to $25,000, and, at the same time, enjoy the fun of having a high-quality simulator at home that can cost even more.


“Our strategic partnership with SkyGolf is ideal because of their commitment to delivering highly accurate data to golfers for game improvement both on and off the course,” Allen continued. “SkyTrak is consistent with the family of SkyGolf products in that SkyTrak measures and then uses very sophisticated algorithms to produce highly accurate simulations of a golfer’s actual ball flight to improve their games and provide more fun. SkyTrak works wirelessly with an interactive App that runs on compatible iPads to create a practice environment that’s fun for golfers. Weighing less than 2 pounds and under 7 inches tall, SkyTrak’s powerful engine also provides entertaining challenges and competitions between family and friends, while delivering the same results as if you were on the course.”

SkyTrak™ is designed to be a highly expandable system that initially will support a 3D Driving Range with optional functionality such as Shot History, Bag Mapping, Driving Range Targets with Multiple Scoring Options, Long Drive and Closest to the Pin Challenges Users also will have the option to upload their practice and play data to the SkyGolf 360 cloud service for storage, analysis and sharing with friends via the new SkyGolf 360 App and enjoy the benefits of being part of the fast-growing online community of passionate golfers. Since SkyTrak is designed to be an open platform, the Company expects other developers to add many other ways for golfers to practice, play and be entertained around the small, but powerful SkyTrak Personal Launch Monitor. Additional options in the works include Course Play, on-line interactive Peer-to-Peer Challenges, Open Pairings, and Performance Badges. The ability to share with friends will make the interactive platform the centerpiece of a consumer’s in-home golf practice and entertainment experience.

While other consumer in-home simulator systems don’t even require a player to hit a ball, or measure spin, the SkyTrak Personal Launch Monitor has been engineered with advanced professional grade technology. “Now, consumers will be able to play and practice at their convenience, see the details of every shot, and have fun while improving their games,” Allen added.


SkyGolf, with its portfolio of innovative products including SkyCaddie® rangefinders that are pre-loaded and ready-to-play with over 35,000 courses worldwide, SkyPro® Swing Analysis System, SwingLabs® Un-biased Club Fitting System, and the new SkyTrak Launch Monitor, is the only company in the golf industry positioned to deliver game improvement solutions during practice, play, lessons and fitting at the course or at home.

“We are particularly excited about integrating SkyTrak ball flight data with SkyPro’s swing/club performance data to provide a 360-degree perspective of a player’s swing and ball performance”, added Edmonson. Now, with the addition of SkyTrak measured ball performance data, players will be able to really see a virtual representation of everything from address to impact with SkyPro and from impact throughout the ball flight to its destination with SkyTrak. No other system on the market can match this at any price, much less the affordability of these revolutionary products.”

Initially available for Apple iOS, the SkyTrak Personal Launch Monitor will begin shipping in November, 2014. For more information on the SkyTrak Personal Launch Monitor System and pre-ordering opportunities visit www.skytrakgolf.com.

About SportTrak, LLC

SportTrak, LLC provides entertaining digital technology solutions to avid sports enthusiasts for game improvement. We achieve this by delivering accurate information, and affordable products to sports minded consumers. With an initial focus on golf, SportTrak reports measured player performance information through interactive and entertaining software applications. Changing the nature of sports practice from a repetitive requirement to a fun activity means that players become more interested, engaged and connected to the game and their friends. For more information, visit www.sport-trak.com.

About Sky Golf

SkyGolf, maker of SkyCaddie, the #1-Rated and Most-Trusted Rangefinder in Golf, is a private company specializing in the development of innovative positioning systems and technology specifically designed to help golfers play better and have more fun. SkyCaddie is the Official Rangefinder of the PGA of America, PGA of Canada, PGA of Great Britain & Ireland, and PGA of Sweden.

The overall mission of SkyGolf is to help golfers play better with better information while respecting the long-standing traditions of the game. By using technology responsibly and within the spirit and rules of golf, SkyGolf provides golfers of all skill levels with better and more rewarding golf experiences. The Company's innovative products include: SkyCaddie®, rangefinders that are preloaded and ready-to-play out of the box; SkyPro®, golf's most powerful swing/putting analyzer and training tool; SkyGolf 360, golf's fastest growing community where golfers can go to connect to their Game, their Courses, their Equipment, their Golf Professional and to one another; Swing Labs®, the golf industry's first unbiased, performance-based fitting solution; and SkyCourse™ Technologies, a company that equips golf course superintendents with tools they need to complete daily property management tasks with less effort, less time and less money, through a unique combination of precision GPS maps, web-based technologies and mobile mapping solutions. For more information, visit: www.skygolf.com, www.skycaddie.com, www.golfskypro.com, www.swinglabs.com, and www.skycourse.com.


###

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Tracy Nackel, TEN Marketing & PR, 760-420-1602, tnackel@cox.net
Vanessa Price, TEN Marketing & PR, 714-544-6515, readthegreens@aol.com

[Jel]

Great news ! Does that mean they have started shipping ?!?

[Maverick]

No, I think that is still 11/15.

[aryantes]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 3, 2014
...
Since SkyTrak is designed to be an open platform, the Company expects other developers to add many other ways for golfers to practice, play and be entertained around the small, but powerful SkyTrak Personal Launch Monitor.

I wonder what this quote means. open platform? other developers?

They also did not mention trugolf or e6

[nyb72]

Essence??? Passion??? Core values??? XBOX of Golf?!?!? Why do PR firms insist on having CEOs open their mouths

[nyb72]

I wonder what this quote means. open platform? other developers?

They also did not mention trugolf or e6

was wondering about that too. Will an SDK be available or only to "partners"? I would like to think this product would really take off if independent creative types make the own apps.

[Maverick]

I would assume it's only available to partners. Like how they have partnered with Trugoolf for e6.

[acn684]

Thanks for your insight Bubba and Zmax! Although I'm pretty sure you guys love your protee's, I'm pretty sure i'm 80% going to get the skytrak. Mainly I just need accurate ball data and not something calculated. Although I understand that Protee is very accurate in terms of calculating the ball flight and might probably be just as, or more accurate, than the skytrak one thing that still bugs me is that it requires a calibrated setting (which I don't have right now - I'm likely to put up and take down the hitting area from time to time) and also need to hit it off that specific matt. (with sensors in the way and i'm guessing a less than ideal artificial turf).

Having a realfeelgolf mat at my disposal, it has best helped me translate my driving range practice to a real course. With Skytrak and a realfeelmatt, I'm pretty confident it is one of the better set up's if I'm just looking to keep my swing grooved during the year without needing to pack my clubs and hit the golf range. If I have more room, I'm sure it would easily be best to have skytrak and protee for simulation play and practice. If I had no budget limit, I'm sure a GC2 would've already been bought but thus is life.

Please let me know if you think I'm making a terrible mistake! Or if its a decision you just wouldn't go with.

[Bubba22]

Artificial turf for ProTee is Fiberbuilt and works just fine. The calibration is not hard if you follow the suggestions. Your choice for Skytrak is good. Remember it allows for only range play for now. It will work with what you want.

[Dax]

Just a thought, but I recall others saying that when they used their GC2 on a real feel Mat that it sometimes moved and wondered if this could be something for Skytrak owners to consider as well in their set up? I guess this could be resolved by not having the Skytrak sit on their mat, but still something to consider.

[Maverick]

If not, there's always EBay.

[Sonax]

If there are any more Europeans following this, I just got this e-mail:
Thank you for your email regarding the invitation you received about purchasing Skytrak

We must apologize that our initial launch of Skytrak is within the USA and Canada only and it was not intentional to include people outside of this area at this time.

We will however be keeping your interest high on our list for when SkyTrak is released in Europe which we expect to Spring of 2015.

Thank you again for your interest and we will be in contact as soon as possible

Best regards

[Sonax]

I previously asked about GolfAchiever GAII. You can get one for 3000$ with aprox 50 courses and no subscriptions, one payment, on Ebay The graphics I think is great, same as Optishot and as I understand it GA II do have very good accuracy on ballflight, also putting and chiping. Could be an option you think, even if the tech is kind of old!?

[Maverick]

You might want to hit on one first to see his you like it. Also look at resale value six to 12 months from now in case you want to dump it.