Skytrak distances

[Millertime20s]

Hi, looking for feedback on skytrak distances vs actual on course distances. Ive had my skytrak for about 3 months now. I enjoy it, but the distances are so far off my on course distances it becomes a bit frustrating. I'm not sure if there are any settings or setup changes I can make to improve accuracy. Just to give a few examples of the discrepancies; i hit 52 degree 105 on skytrak vs 120 on course.. PW 125 on skytrak vs 150 on course. 8 iron 150 on skytrak vs 172 on course. If I stripe a driver it might go 260 max on skytrak vs around 300 on course. I appreciate any suggestions you may have.

[Hunter1449]

That can be a few things, depending on how cramped or open the room is will determine how free you actually swing. If you are in a tighter space you will never actually swing as you do outdoors. Even on the GC Quad I am 5 to 10 yards shorter indoors.

With that being said here are are some other things I have seen people do that will causes some readings like that. I have seen a lot of people leave the film on the lens, keeping the legs in the skytrak when it is already on an even surface. Making sure the logo is always facing the SkyTrak. Also if you are hitting that far you probably need to be placing the ball an inch behind the laser instead of right on top of it.

[Millertime20s]

Hunter1449 thanks for your input. I believe there were 2 layers of film on the lens. The packaging layer has been removed but the other layer appears to be like a screen protector for a cell phone, I imagine that is supposed to stay? I have the skytrak in the metal protective case but I do not have legs on it and it is on an even surface. Im probably not consistent on the logo facing toward the skytrak, will try to ensure I do that going forward. I will also try putting the ball behind the laser to see if that helps. I will post again once I get an opportunity to try these suggestions.

[GungHoGolf]

See https://gunghogolf.com/articles/indo...ndrome-skytrak. Not saying that's it for sure, but in 99% of "my SkyTrak is reading short" cases, it is. SkyTrak is very, very accurate at reading ball speed, spin, and vertical launch angle - the three most important factors to carry distance. It's SUPER rare to be a SkyTrak calibration problem - in fact have never heard of that being confirmed in 7 years of following SkyTrak closely (except for an early problem reading high ball speed players with driver, north of 160 mph - which has been fixed via software).

Also, a personal question that may help inform the potential causes: what's your real-life handicap, and how have you established your carry (not total) distances through the bag? In my experience, double-digit cappers typically overestimate their true average carry distances, remembering and making note of only their best shots.

[Fhacker]

I second Ron’s comments. Practically every one of theses cases result from poor setup or most likely overestimate of actual IRL distances. Many many threads here which confirm same over the years

[Wizard of Coz]

When I had one it was spot on except woods and driver.

I did learn my carry yardage vs total yardages on course.

[Morini]

Yes, it is extremely rare to be the unit, and many of the fixes people mention such as hanging black background etc are not relevant either. Most often it is indoor swing and/or club mat interaction, and also not knowing true carry. Coz, you were probably affected by the high ball speed issue, which is now fixed.

[Needsmoreeagles]

Also,

What Altitude do you live at?

You may need to adjust the boost settings if you want to see your same numbers.

[Morini]

Altitude is about 1.2% per 1000 feet, so not the cause. Temp and humidity is negligible. Boosting may help match, but better to sort out the problem.

[Jgold2790]

I think the roll out yardage on woods and driver shots for higher speed players is under represented. Drives where I would get 20-30 yards of rollout on the course I only get 10-20 on skytrak. Not sure if others feel the same.

[Morini]

The roll out model is crap, but we all know it is about carry, so just ignore roll out. Real life roll out varies hole to hole, day to day, season to season.

[Jgold2790]

I think the roll out yardage on woods and driver shots for higher speed players is under represented. Drives where I would get 20-30 yards of rollout on the course I only get 10-20 on skytrak. Not sure if others feel the same.

Here’s a good example

[interpathway]

They don't cut the Skytrak range grass often enough

[Millertime20s]

Appreciate all of the input. To clarify on a few of the questions asked. I'm an 11 handicap in real life but struggling to understand how handicap has anything to do with distances. I have a few friends that are 5-7 handicap, way better golfers than I, but hit it 30 yards shorter than I do off the tee and hit 2 clubs more from same distance with irons. Don't get me wrong, not saying I'm a good golfer by any stretch of the imagination. I'm inconsistent off the tee directionally, very inconsistent on long irons but a solid striker with my short irons. I carry 5 wedges. I have never mapped out the entire bag on the course in terms of carry and total distances but I use a laser range finder on the course to shoot flag stick distances. 90 percent of par threes I play I'm hitting 8 iron or less with zero rollout. Most of the par 4's I play are 430 or less and rarely have more than a PW. If I was actually hitting my PW 125 yards on a 150 yard hole or 2nd shot, i would be in hazards or well short of the green consistently which is not the case. I live in Illinois so i cannot imagine altitude would play in much. While I'm new to having my own simulator I have played many times on simulators in the past. I feel like they are all short 5 to 10 yards which is consistent with what people on here say and what skytrak has told me. Unfortunately I'm 20 to 25 yards short with skytrak which seems extreme. I have 11 ft ceilings and a huge amount of space in all directions. The first couple hundred shots were definitely tentative but I think I'm past that at this point, at least I hope. I agree with the rollout issue with the driver but I'm not as concerned about the driver. Not as concerned about long irons either because I suck in real life with long irons. I'm hoping that the simulator will help me improve my long iron game. It's just extremely frustrating having to hit 2 clubs more on the simulator than in real life, doesn't do much for game improvement when you are playing a totally different game. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[GungHoGolf]

Appreciate all of the input. To clarify on a few of the questions asked. I'm an 11 handicap in real life but struggling to understand how handicap has anything to do with distances. I have a few friends that are 5-7 handicap, way better golfers than I, but hit it 30 yards shorter than I do off the tee and hit 2 clubs more from same distance with irons. Don't get me wrong, not saying I'm a good golfer by any stretch of the imagination. I'm inconsistent off the tee directionally, very inconsistent on long irons but a solid striker with my short irons. I carry 5 wedges. I have never mapped out the entire bag on the course in terms of carry and total distances but I use a laser range finder on the course to shoot flag stick distances. 90 percent of par threes I play I'm hitting 8 iron or less with zero rollout. Most of the par 4's I play are 430 or less and rarely have more than a PW. If I was actually hitting my PW 125 yards on a 150 yard hole or 2nd shot, i would be in hazards or well short of the green consistently which is not the case. I live in Illinois so i cannot imagine altitude would play in much. While I'm new to having my own simulator I have played many times on simulators in the past. I feel like they are all short 5 to 10 yards which is consistent with what people on here say and what skytrak has told me. Unfortunately I'm 20 to 25 yards short with skytrak which seems extreme. I have 11 ft ceilings and a huge amount of space in all directions. The first couple hundred shots were definitely tentative but I think I'm past that at this point, at least I hope. I agree with the rollout issue with the driver but I'm not as concerned about the driver. Not as concerned about long irons either because I suck in real life with long irons. I'm hoping that the simulator will help me improve my long iron game. It's just extremely frustrating having to hit 2 clubs more on the simulator than in real life, doesn't do much for game improvement when you are playing a totally different game. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

I asked about handicap because the lower it is, the more likely you are to know your TRUE average carry numbers. Lower caps also typically hit it further than higher caps, but that's not why I was asking. What you're saying above indicates ISS or pre-contact mat interaction as the culprit - even with your generous room dimensions. And also, perhaps you're selectively remembering your "pured" shots only when playing golf, and not factoring in the times you come up short after lasering the flag (which will factor in to your average carry). As an 11 cap, you're going to have a significant variance in your carry numbers.

Modern and "good" launch monitors are typically very accurate with carry distance - we test our SkyTrak up against our TM4, GCQuad, and EYE XO regularly and it's rarely off by more than 2-3%. More importantly, the better the player that comes in and hits in our studio, the more often he or she says "yep, that's about right for carry" on every shot.

To further determine whether or not your unit is not reading properly, I'd recommend asking a friend who is a 2-3 index or better to come over and hit a few mid-irons. They'll be able to tell you if the carry is accurate.

[Morini]

When trouble shooting, there are some things you can do to sniff out the cause without taking it to range or to another LM. Hit off a short tee to rule out club-mat interaction. Compare driver versus 7 iron versus PW ball speeds, and look at the ratios. Often (but not always) indoor swing affects driver more. Driver should be 40% faster on good contact shots. Finally, also look at launch angles to see if they are too high. And of course, use new premium balls when trouble shooting.

[Millertime20s]

Ron, Thanks for the input. I couldn't disagree more on the comment on significant variance in my carry numbers with my short irons. You are making a poor assumption based on my handicap. Whether its on the simulator, the range, or the course I am very consistent with distances with my short irons. When i gave my distances in the previous post they were averages, not the longest number I have ever hit. Your explanation is basically saying because i suck, only an 11 handicap, I'm too stupid to calculate my average carry numbers. My average with a PW on the course is 150 yards. I'm yet to hit a single ball 135 yards with a PW on the simulator after hundreds of shots. Maybe I need to hit thousands of shots to hit one 15 yards short of my average on course distance because I'm just an 11 handicap?

[Jgold2790]

Lol. What a response to one of the most knowledgeable posters on this forum. He is 100% correct that you have ISS and is simply saying it's common for higher handicap players to not know their carry distance variance. It might not apply to you, but he's saying sometimes it can be an explanation.

Just keep swinging and eventually your numbers will get more normalized as you get used to swinging indoors.

[Millertime20s]

Sorry if my response is too direct. Someone saying "As an 11 cap, you're going to have a significant variance in your carry numbers" is a gross generalization and doesn't help me get to a fix. The wording you use above would have been more appropriate. This with a simple, hit more shots and get more comfortable hitting indoors and your distances will likely normalize would have been more helpful. Thanks for your feedback.

[Gotkimchi]

If PW is 150 yards on average, wow, that is impressive. According to this chart, he is hitting PGA distance level.
https://destination-golf.com/golf-club-distance-charts/

[Morini]

I used to think PGA distance was unachievable by all but beefy ex-football player amateurs. The reality is that at any AJGA junior tournament, the average driving distance is past PGA tour. They pros make the tour due to accuracy, not distance.

[corniceman]

I'm rubbish at golf,lucky if I break 100,but I easily hit my PW 130yrds..though it is a one length!

[OC_Mike]

I hover around a +1 to 1 handicap and feel that distances are pretty much spot on with the Skytrak. You probably just need more time being comfortable swinging all out indoors. Hitting a PW 145-150 is not that uncommon of a thing, so I wouldn't be surprised about someone saying they hit that number.

What I have a problem with is the ball flight characteristics of Skytrak. Nearly everything is a hook (and overhook!) and there is no amount of changing alignment that can fix it. Maybe I've outgrown my Skytrak as lately I feel like it's barely beneficial for my game because of the shot shape characteristics. I'm anxiously awaiting the new Foresight Launch Pro. Unfortunately it seems like Skytrak has nothing new on the horizon when it comes to hardware or some needed software updates (related to ball flight).

[Gotkimchi]

You are right, many manufacturers are making strong lofted clubs, back in the day PW lofts were 45-48 degrees, now they are getting really crazy. Example Mavrik irons are 41 degrees for PW. I bet I can hit 150 yards with them.

[Millertime20s]

Im using ~10 year old Taylormade Burner 2.0 irons. I think the PW is 45 degrees. That's crazy they are making 41 degree PW now. Maybe its time for some new irons!