True level vs level with mat (garage install)

[DanFindlay]

Excellent info found throughout the forum. I think I know the answer to this but wanted to verify before doing any work to remedy.

My garage has a healthy slope to remove the water/snow/ice that comes in with the vehicles. When I level the ST and then compare to mat level there is an obvious delta in slope, so much so that the alignment lasers are useless.

In in my mind I think it is better to have ST level with the slope of the mat. It is only a couple degrees off from true level but it will make the alignment lasers work as well as the computational algorithms will be based off the correct baseline.

Correcting the garage slope will not be trivial as my build needs to be torn down and up for each session (wife’s SUV likes to be warm in winter).

Any comments most welcome.

[CHansen157]

I would level the ST true instead of to the mat. Otherwise it will read shots that are straight as a tending toward a hook (or slice, depending on which way things are tilted) and will mess up your swing. Think about what a shot looks like in the air that is hit perpendicular to your stance if your stance is slightly uphill--it will go left but the ST will err and read it as straight if it is tilted equally. If you level the ST true it will be like hitting off a slight uphill/downhill lie but spin and side angle will read more true.

[GungHoGolf]

Depends on which way the slope is going. If it's going the direction of the target line, I'd leave the SkyTrak level with the slope, so your VLA won't be affected. If it's going perpendicular to the target line, I'd make sure it was vertical with no tilt, otherwise your HLA will be off.

And don't use the alignment dots for alignment, in any case. There's a reason SkyTrak made that feature hard to find - it's an unreliable way to align the unit. Instead chip at your center line and turn the unit slightly until a straight chip reads straight.

[trumb1mj]

I have the same slope issue. I built a platform that levels my mat. It does a few things: 1) It softens the blow at impact (wood vs. concrete) 2) It helps train proper swing mechanics (vs. practicing on a slope) 3) My practice plane is the same plane as the skytrak is measuring on.

[Fhacker]

I have the same setup in a garage with sloping floors. I am hitting from back of garage toward doors so my floor/mat slopes down. Most modern garage flat work is poured with about a 1” drop for every 8 feet of run. So in the skytrak reading area, which I believe is maybe 12 inches, with that drop I noted u would have a 1/8” drop. Really not much of an issue IMO. If your slope is greater maybe an issue. I have my skytrak height so bottom of case is level or slightly higher then my mat height. This is generally suggested to avoid misreads. Then I level skytrak, roll and tilt from the internal level in the software. I had best results that way in regards to misreads. As gunghogolf said above, don’t use laser dots for alignment. Hit soft chips at target line and adjust unit until shots read straight. If your slope is similar to what I noted above u shouldn’t have an issue. IRL u rarely have a perfectly flat lie

[DanFindlay]

The level issue was too much. After a normal range session for me (140 balls or so) I could feel my legs burning as I tried to move my weight onto my left side. Built a platform to level my CCE mat and it feels much more natural now. A full 1.5 inch lift required on the back of my 5 ft mat.

Thanks for for the advice folks. All valuable.

[Fhacker]

U have a severely sloped garage floor

[Dewey]

I have a related question on this topic. How important is the roll/tilt in the app? Mine reads at 1 or -1 roll, and -2 tilt....but my skytrak also has a level bubble at the top of it, and I adjusted it to that bubble is level. Not sure which is more important, and not even sure that -2 is that big a deal.

[GungHoGolf]

Use the digital level in the app, and make sure it’s at 0 or 1. imo they shouldn’t even include the bubble level.