Do markings on hitting mat interfere with SkyTrak?

[JohnnyMoistLips]

https://www.countryclub.com.au/country-club-international-3d-swing-training-golf-driving-range-mat

Hi this is my first post as I just got a Skytrak. 'm looking to get a mat like this, but wondering if those markings are compatible with the Skytrak. I'm hoping it doesn't mess up the Skytrak reads. Anyone have experience? Thanks I'm excited to get started in the golf Sim scene

[Igor-247-golf]

Hi Johnny, we sell mats with SkyTrak packages (I know you already have one, but just example) for years and have great reviews and feedback! 247.golf happy to assist

[JohnnyMoistLips]

Hi Johnny, we sell mats with SkyTrak packages (I know you already have one, but just example) for years and have great reviews and feedback! 247.golf happy to assist

Sweet sounds like you know your stuff. Does that mat with white markings work with the Skytrak?

[RobertM]

I have had a Skytrak for a couple of years. My own experience was that I DID have problems using a mat with white lines on it. I was constantly getting "no-reads" and sent the unlt for repairs. They send it back saying it's totally fine. I ditch the driving range mat (based on something I read on this forum) and go to solid colour and Skytrak works fine. I occasionally get a no-read but that is only with a wood or driver.

This is just my experience and YMMV but there are plenty of good mats available without lines, so why chance it.

[Ronsc1985]

Depends where the lines are relative to the ball.

What Skytrak does is take two pictures of the ball triggered by ball movement. The software has to draw a outline of the two balls. From this it computes the centroid of each ball and these points are used for ball speed and launch angle. The azimuth is computed by the relative area of each ball i.e..if a pull the second ball area is a bit smaller,for a push a bit larger. Spin is calculated by comparing the angle differential of the lines on the ball or the lines the computer superimposed. This stuff was obvious on the Vector Pro which had an almost identical methodology and was visible in the software provided. The only difference was the Vector Pro used sound to trigger the cameras since it had no initial position reference and assumed you put the ball in the correct place.


Aside from all that, if the picture taken by the Skytrak contain parts of the white lines, it is very possible the image software can get screwed up. Again in a Vector Pro you could readily identify when the image calculations were screwed up by looking at the composite images. As an aside if you have trouble with higher ball speed clubs it's most likely because the second ball image captured is partially out of the composite frame.

I don't know what the software uses as a criteria for calling the images valid but when it fails these criteria you get a no read.. Somewhere in the twilight zone between valid read and no read you can get the occasional really strange ball flight or parameter readings. In the Vector Pro, where you could look at the images and computer generated outlines of the ball pictures it was obvious. I remember a few wedge shots which had a computed 11k side spin which had a flight path which looked like a boomerang.