Skytrak readings

[Richie Rich]

Hey everyone, just got my garage set up with a skytrak and mat and projector and screen etc. I am getting accurate clubhead speeds but my ball speed is 10 mph too low and my 8 iron carry is 20 yards short compared to outdoors AND a local trackman unit. I called into support and they recommended moving the ball around the laser dot to find the optimal spot. Any help here would be much appreciated.

[Morini]

There are a million posts about new users coming up short. I am assuming that you truly know your outside carry, so it is just not a matter of inflated numbers. Your Trackman experience backs this. First, I need to note that club head speed is not actually measured, just calculated from ball speed.

It is very likely that ST is reading the shot accurately. In other words, if you took down your screen, opened your garage door and hit the same shot from the same mat, this is what the ball would actually do. Moving the ball around etc, may change the chances of getting a read, but should do absolutely nothing to change the actual ball data. The technology behind ST is quite simple, and if it gets two good images of the ball, it will get the ball speed correct to within 1 mph just about every time (except for ball speeds north of 150 mph, but that is another story).

Overall, I found that even though ball speed is very accurate (against Trackman), total carry was a few yards short, so I juiced it slightly by putting elevation at 1000 feet. Now my numbers are dead on.

Suspects (in order of likelihood):

• Indoor swing
• club/mat interaction
• Non-premium ball.

There is of course a small chance that there is an issue with the unit, but highly unlikely.

[Richie Rich]

Thanks for the reply. I’m ruling out ISS as I mentioned I took it to another indoor facility with a track man that is indoors and they had different results. I’ll likely change elevation then.

[GungHoGolf]

Unless you're very experienced hitting balls indoors, there's a 99% chance it's ISS, and a 1% chance it's your mat or ball. Learn more at https://gunghogolf.com/blog/indoor-s...ndrome-skytrak

Moving the ball around the dot does nothing to change ball speed readings.

[Richie Rich]

Thanks for the reply. I’m ruling out ISS as I mentioned I took it to another indoor facility with a track man that is indoors and they had different results. I’ll likely change elevation then.

[Morini]

It is easy to rule out mat and ball. Tee up a premium white ball and hit a few. If numbers stay the same, ISS.

It will go away with time. Do everything you can to get maximum room. Then use elevation/boost to compensate. As ball speed gradually improves, reduce boost accordingly.

If you want to rule out ST issues, bring it to TM session.

[Richie Rich]

Thanks for the reply. I’m ruling out ISS as I mentioned took it to another indoor facility with a track man that is indoors and they had different results. I’ll likely change elevation then.

[GungHoGolf]

Should also mention temperature this time of year. Even here in Austin, my distances have dropped about a club in my garage studio (and on course) in 40-50 deg temps, vs the 90-100 deg summers. Affects ball and your body.

[Richie Rich]

Thanks for the reply. I’m ruling out ISS as I mentioned I took it to another indoor facility with a track man that is indoors and they had different results. I’ll likely change elevation then.

[Morini]

Hi Richie,

1. Just so I am clear, you hit ST and TM side by side? It would be absolutely exceptionally rare to have a 10 mph ball speed difference for an 8 iron. I think the max I ever saw was 2 or 3, and most were less than 1. There were some carry differences, and that was mostly caused by TM not having correct spin, not the ST.
If this is the case, few possibilities, none likely, so tough one:

• Using non-premium balls with TM set to normalize (could only explain 4-5 mph difference)
• Using colored balls that are misread by ST
• Some type of direct light or reflection that confuses ST
• Very miscalibrated ST (rare)

2. In case you did not hit ST and TM side by side, were the indoor environments different? ISS is far less severe in a large commercial bays. All it takes for ISS to set in is a feeling of being cramped. This will happen subconsciously even you have absolute certainty of swinging clear of wall, ceilings and objects.