Draw Bias

[JacobM21]

I've had my Skytrak for about 3 years now. I like the product, but don't love it. I feel like my distances are off (some clubs are a club off, others are more). However, the last couple weeks I've been unable to hit a ball straight or a fade which is usually my ball flight with the driver. The opposite is happening which is pretty weird to me since I can't hit a draw save my life, yet I'm doing it about 95% of the time on the Skytrak, but I go to the course and its back to the fade. Part of me says its the indoor swing stuff that's always talked about, but I've been hitting in my room for some time now so I don't think it's that. Any tips will be welcomed. I've given up on the distance issue since I pretty much just deal with it even though it makes playing in tournaments frustrating.

[CAPDAK]

Could be alignment issue with skytrak making the skytrak believe you are drawing the ball. Probably should take skytrak to the range, hit balls, and see if it reads the same thing as is happening in reality. Adjust the alignment until it does. Then mirror that at home.

[cgdavis_2]

I agree. Sounds like alignment. My skytrak “looks” straight but the reads way off. I actually turn mine in where it doesn’t look straight but reads “correct”. Went to the course last week and hit like skytrak reads.

[U.P.O.]

I agree that you just have to mess with set-up.

If you look at my post history you can see i complained before about a draw bias in Skytrak.

With my unit, i have to have it a little open. ie the front edge of the skytrak pointing a little right of straight and i have full confidence in my shot shape and carry distances now. In fact, after a swing change im gone to hitting a fade and now i cant get the damn thing to show a draw at all

Watch this video. He compares the Skytrak to a Trackman. At first, after using alignment mode, his skytrak definitely has a left bias. He then does exactly as i stated above. Tinker a little with the skytrak opening and closing it a little. Once he does that, shot shapes (both draws and fades, hooks and slices) all match trackman pretty dead on. Carry distances, spin etc... all very very close. Just mess with the alignment a bit and dont be afraid to have the unit not square to your target. Even a tiny bit makes a big difference.

https://youtu.be/CacNudfJ3x4

[interpathway]

I tend to draw more indoor as well. Not because of a shorter ceiling but because I'm picking the ball off my mat (hardwood underneath).

It's a bit unavoidable as my body instinctively does not want to slam the club into the floor (can't dig). The result is a flatter swing that draws

[wbond]

Take it outside and check.

[SkyTrak_Seth]

Alignment shouldn't affect side spin (draw) nearly as much as side angle (pull). So if it's truly the spin, then I would first start by making sure a logo or line on the ball is facing the SkyTrak unit prior to hitting, and clean the window. This doesn't apply to driver, but hitting off a mat will really change the ball's spin for a lot of players with their irons - this could certainly affect a club's worth of distance. Indoor Swing Syndrome is still a possibility also.

[Morini]

As Seth states, alignment does not affect spin axis (ie. ball curvature) much. In fact, I would have said zero, but not going to argue with seth as he obviously knows more about the technology than anybody. Skytrak auto-corrects for tilt and roll, and besides that, it is the relative change of ball rotation between the two cameras that determines spin axis and back spin, so alignment should be a non-factor.

Hit a few off a short tee to rule out club-mat interaction. The other common cause is hitting offset but still having target line aimed at center of screen/net (at an angle). This can cause all types of subconscious compensations. Quite a few people solved their "draw bias" by simply moving the centerline so that target line is perpendicular to screen. Also, indoor swing can cause some people to swing differently, for example flatter backswing, steeper over the top downswing. Finally, if contact is towards toe of club, gear effect will produce negative spin axis, and result in a draw. Footspray to make sure.