ST alignment: major adjust open required???

[DanFindlay]

Having issues with alignment on the ST. Per members advice I start each session with chipping to dial in my alignment. It is a little disconcerting to see the ST having to be open 15-20 deg to get me aligned to my projection/impact screen when everything else is square. I even validated with the alignment dots on the ST and it is telling me I am doing the right thing. Is this something that can happen with a ST?

The other issue I am having is even if I hit a square and solid chip it tends to show 200-500 rpms to the left. I do tend to draw the ball but these sort of revs on a shirt chip seem ridiculous.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Morini]

I assume you are simply talking about ST range hitting to some target on the screen. I don't have a projector and know nothing about offsets etc.

I assume you mean 15-20 degrees off the point where you are aiming on the screen. In other words, you aim at a spot on the screen, and if you hit it the HLA reads zero but requires you to angle the ST 15-20 degrees off this target line.

That is excessive, and there is simply no way the internals of ST can be off the edge of case alignment by that much. If you are using FMJ, ensure that it is not misaligned inside case. Ensure level. If it still that far out, I'd contact tech support.

With regards to the chip, probably easier if you gave spin axis. In either case, if imagine that it would be rare to have any kind of significant spin axis on a chip.

[Celeras]

Alignment has absolutely nothing to do with the spin rpms you are talking about. The only thing alignment changes is your side angle.

If you use the FMJ the SkyTrak doesn't always sit in it square, so alignment can look off even though it isn't. Take it out of the FMJ and you'll see.

[Morini]

I even validated with the alignment dots on the ST and it is telling me I am doing the right thing. Is this something that can happen with a ST?

I missed this part on the first read. Are you saying that the dots are agreeing with target line, not the edge of the case. Or parallel to the case, not agreeing with the target line? If the former, it clearly is sitting very very funny inside FMJ.

[DanFindlay]

Sorry, I should have used a better description. With everything square to my screen the actual ST unit (no FMJ) needs to be open (flared to the right) about 15 deg to get the ball to fly straight down the target line. I am measuring the delta between the target line and how the physical unit sits in relation to said target line.

The side spin is very odd to me and I think it might be part of the problem. Currently working on increasing the firmness of my platform that my CCE mat sits on due to the garage level issues (see other successful post that the forum helped with). In addition the CCE mat still isn’t sitting flat due to the way it was shipped all rolled up. Pretty sure that will go away shortly.

After these tweaks I don’t have any other ideas.

[Jason Penner]

It has been said 100’s of times including by skytrak not to use the alignment dots. Best is do controlled short chips and dial it in. Be sure skytrak is same height as mat.

[Tonysmjc]

That’s part of the reason my unit has been relegated to the dust bin

a vote of no confidence that it was reading properly
and instead of relying on its internal alignment tool

i should rely on the accuracy of my “ pitching or chipping stoke on any given day

[FaultyClubs]

The Skytrak is known to need some funky alignments but 15 degrees open seems excessive and could point to other internal issues. Suggest returning or exchanging it.

Your 200-500 left side-spin is reasonable given the Skytrak's stated accuracy and a typical draw biased swing.

[Morini]

The side spin is very odd to me and I think it might be part of the problem

This has never been confirmed by ST, but from my understanding of the technology, I think only actual sidespin can cause the ST to read side spin. It comes from the ball rotating upwards or downwards between the two images (on an axis perpendicular to the target line). I don't think ST being misaligned or not level has any bearing on this.

As I see it, not leveling leads to the following:

• Tilting towards or away from the target line will lead to HLA issues as the second image will falsely display a smaller or larger ball (depending on tilt direction). If I am right about this, higher trajectory shots will have more false HLA than low trajectory.
• Tilting towards or away from the target will lead to VLA issues.

Just to make sure I have this straight:

1. You have marked target on your screen by hanging a string or placing vertical piece of tape.
2. You have ensured that ST is level.
3. You chip towards this target.
4. When you hit the target, HLA should read zero. If it does not, you rotate the ST until it does (ignore full ball flight and spin for now)
5. In order to make this happen, ST is rotated at 15 degrees to the target line.

If this is the case, it points 25% off line. This is means it aims at a point 2 feet from the target if you are hitting from 8 feet.

That is simply too much. I would say 5 degrees should be the absolute upper limit. Personally, I'd leave it if it was 3 or less, as long as it is consistent.

Merry Christmas all.

[DanFindlay]

Latest mat tweaks did nothing to improve what ST was telling me in regards to ball flight. So...I decided to test out unit vs Trackman at local golf sim facility. It was within 2 yds for both carry AND hook offline distance. Not the unit, it’s all me. I am causing the offline starting trajectory and the hook spin.

Lots of work to do to figure this out. Thanks for all your help.

[Morini]

Good to hear. More confirmation that the ST measures accurate ball data, and also that the ball flight algorithm can accurately predict ball flight. However, this does not explain your 15 degrees off target line alignment issue. Unless you didn't actually measure to an exact spot on your screen.

[GungHoGolf]

Thanks for the update!

[Fhacker]

Another case blaming skytrak and it is user swing. There are so many of these it is almost laughable

[Morini]

Well to the OP's credit, he was looking at other possibilities such as mat ... he also made the effort to verify and shared that it was user error. But I agree that when people are having issues, 95% of the time ST is working just fine

[Fhacker]

No offense meant to the OP, it was more of an overall commentary on these types of threads I have seen over the years. While skytrak is not perfect by any means, it is by far the leading launch monitor in its price class. Nothing else even approaches it.