Distance issues

[Chmiller]

I understand that Skytrak is incorporating spin in it's calculations and that will yield different results from the PRGR. I'm comparing only shots that are well struck with minimal sidespin and good launch angles. In the end, the distances Skytrak is yielding are nowhere near my on course distances nor were they even remotely close to Trackman radar at the range. I don't know that the unit is broken but it does not match the real world. Five or ten yards I can see bit 20 yards off on a perfect strike is disappointing to say the least.

I'm starting to work with Skytrak support and will post results here. I did the "paper test" they recommended and refined my setup but it made little or no difference. I sent photos of my setup as well. I'd post a couple here but they're too big.

[preludesam]

Any chance you can email the data from Trackman to yourself when you are there? I would assume that you are not hitting off the second floor of the driving range?

[SHAWSHANK GOLF]

I was looking at this because I have been wondering about the same thing, on the course my 8 iron 2021 P790 rifle 6.0 (stronger loft club) is 140 to 150 club depending on temp and if I am swinging 80% or 90% I can hit farther but more likely to start hooking. Earlier this month I flew the green on a back pin 161 yard shot with my 7 iron since that is end of range unless I put a little in the swing and that is usually where mistakes happen and don't typically hit my 6 iron as well. My ball is rarely more than 3 to 4 feet past ball mark I use either 21 ProVx or TP5 pix ball lately. Lately ProVx since I have a triple track putter and I can add triple track lines to ProVx the TP5 Pix was purchased when I was using Spyder EX but I don't like that putter as much as my 2-Ball Eleven.

This sample was a TP5 pix with less than 100 sim shots.


My Skytrak is on the floor (living room carpet) in case with screws upside down only enough protruding to level and I have a 4x6 piece of turf on carpet until I make the DIY divot strip. I have CCE mat but like others have stated it does make the joints tender so switching to DIY Divot strip which is almost identical to Holy Grail which I also have but tried to shorten it to fit an area which didn't work as well as I hoped so I will start over with DIY Divot Strip that I will fush mount into a piece of plywood (just one inch on each end as support with foam strips in middle) then glue turf to plywood so it all matches height and color. My tilt and roll are zero and temp is setup for when I was playing in 80* weather with elevation at 4000' even though I am closer to 1500' which was one of the video suggestions to help distance. Even with weather warmer and elevation higher I don't see numbers I see on course.

I do notice my draw is turned more towards hook in Skytrak which was also true on the side by side comparison with Bushnell on You Tube, Skytrak typically had much more offline with similar side spin vs Bushnell. Could this be something that costs distance in Skytrak? Is that the lack of spin degradation I have read on here with Skytrak?

Is this indoor swing syndrome coupled with over draw of Skytrak software?

[bubbtubbs]

Try setting up a phone camera in slow motion to get a video down the line.

If you have a grabby mat, it's possible you're hitting the heel before the ball and decelerating it faster than the toe, closing the face at impact.

[jpotas]

Hitting the mat first is a huge contributor to the draw/hook. Trying hitting everything off tees, if you pick them clean and the hook goes away you know the reason.

[Morini]

No, skytrak does not have bias in its ball data. Its ball flight model did not have bias, but exaggerated ball curvature until the fix last year. TGC2019/Skytrak combo has always had accurate ball curvature.

Hit a few off a short tee to rule out mat-club head interaction. Also, if offset, make sure to move centerline. Hitting at an angle different than 90 degrees to the screen can mess with your head & swing, and usually results in draws & hooks.

[SHAWSHANK GOLF]

I am using putter length turf so shouldn't be too grabby. If I work on holding club face open I hit straighter, these I was just swinging for distance average.

[SHAWSHANK GOLF]

These are my last scores I put in Skygolf 360 so my hook in Skytrak is a light draw in real life, was low to mid 80's just starting back to golf after a two year layoff for Shank frustration and the Skytrak helped smooth out the rough spots much quicker than usual and found a swing fix on you tube that resolved my shanks mostly and tamed my hook so improvement was quick. Was a 12 when when I stopped playing with hooks costing me strokes not to mention the cost of shanks luckily they were from the same swing issue.

[Chmiller]

Interesting about the sidespin issue. I find that I can't hit a hybrid or fairway wood on SkyTrak without a big fade no matter how hard I try. I never see this on the course. Now I'm wondering if I'm creating problems in my swing trying to correct something that doesn't exist. With short to mid irons I hit a draw on SkyTrak, with longer irons I see more of a fade tendency. I can correct it pretty easily but with the woods it's almost impossible.

[SHAWSHANK GOLF]

Some are closer than others but I am pretty sure most show more offlie with Skytrak. One is at 12:10 approx 26 yards diff offline vs 8.5 here is aother. We have all experianced the less loft a club has the more offline it can go so this is just a very basic view with limited info but my Skytrak sure does show more hook than my real life minor draw with irons.
I made sure I got the YouTubers name in this pic in case you want to watch for more comparisons.
I played with a Garmin watch for part of a round which tracks shots only did a few since it was new and I wasn't playing well last week so not much info but I know I wasn't flushing my irons and it tracked an 8i shot at 142

Ball speed, spin, launch and carry are all close but offline is 18 yards more with Skytrak than Bushnell with a 175yd 7i and I would suspect as distaces icrease so will discrepecy.

[jpotas]

Here is the link to the above posted screenshot. It is a good view. The ball flight numbers are pretty much dead on for both units. Ball speed, launch angle, carry distance, spin......etc, all extremely close.

In the comments section there is a question regarding set up and alignment. He is asked if tried using the chipping method verses the alignment lasers built into the unit. (He did not) The lasers are known to be an inaccurate method for aligning. That could account for the offline issue, you will notice that even though it is offline the actual ball flight is very consistent to the GC3 which would be expected based on spin numbers.

The OP was asking about distance and this video shows how accurate the Skytrak is in that regard for sure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZWIstNz7kQ

[SHAWSHANK GOLF]

The above could be true but the poster has had his Skytrak for a while and it looks to be his normal setup with the Bushnell added.

If they both start online but one curves more that removes the alignment questios wouldn't it?

[Morini]

This was a painful thread, TLDR. The OP seems totally stuck on total distance.

[preludesam]

It’s unfortunate we see this so often. I just ask for the data and 99.9% of the time it follows all the ball flight laws. We all went through it though and honestly I’m happy that more people are getting launch monitors and have these questions. I had some shock at first seeing how slow I was and how much spin loft I was creating due to impact conditions. I don’t like the finger pointing. Can’t we just lead them to the data and the conclusion will soon follow?

[Ronsc1985]

Late to this, but it is 4.12 milliseconds between the pics, highly highly unlikely that it is off.

Unlikely but easily accomplished by either a clock frequency change due to crystal drift or a flipped bit or two in the firmware.

[Morini]

Theoretically, I suppose so, but I reports of miscalibrated units are basically unheard of. Second, while I have no specific expertise, I am sure modern electronics have much improved stability and redundancy. So many devices are capable of very exact timing, even cheap cameras.

[Chmiller]

I have pointed out several times that I reference total distance because I have lots of data on my total distances for my clubs. The issue I am having is not related to total distance versus carry distance. Roll out distances do not account for differences of 20 yards between Skytrak and my on course and driving range distances.

I have tested the Skytrak against other launch monitors including Trackman and compared it to an entire season of data from the golf course. I've spent weeks testing and examining setup and looking at ball speed, launch and spin numbers. It simply does not match any of my other data. The data i got from the Trackman range I think is useless. The complete mismatch of ball speeds, carry distances and launch angles makes no sense. Clearly something is wrong with the Skytrak data I got but this just points out that the Skytrak is difficult to get to generate reasonable data.

I don't believe now that my Skytrak unit is broken. It is very consistent. I don't know if there is an explanation for the short distances on long irons and hybrids but it simply does not match my real world performance. I don't know if there is some kind of calibration possible or if the unit simply measures and predicts ball flights in a way that does not match my actual performance in the real world.

I appreciate any helpful suggestions but condescending comments suggesting that I am stuck on something or deluded in some way really don't add anything to the conversation. I'm just trying to make sense out of confusing results.

[Ronsc1985]

Theoretically, I suppose so, but I reports of miscalibrated units are basically unheard of. Second, while I have no specific expertise, I am sure modern electronics have much improved stability and redundancy. So many devices are capable of very exact timing, even cheap cameras.

Mis calibration and hardware failures are two different things.

Firmware EEProms drop bits a fair amount of time. Why do you think it is the first recommendation for computer problems is often reload the operating system? The small charge stored on the memory transistor gates sometimes leaks off and causes a bit flip. That is what the time limit on SSD memories is all about.

The OP apparently refuses to take simple corrective measures like reload the software and instead denigrates the Skytrac unit. Many people use Skytrac units with good results. I have no dog in this fight. I use a GC2.

Common sense would tell one that if you are getting different results then everyone else either your machine is broken or your analysis of the situation is deeply flawed.

[bubbtubbs]

Unfortunately, a great deal of people seem to lack understanding of methodical troubleshooting procedure.

[Chmiller]

I haven’t seen anyone mention “reload the software”. Meaning uninstall and reinstall the app on my iPad? Is there a way to reload software on the unit itself? I have not denigrated the unit either. I have been trying to see if there is a way to get it to match my real world results which is the baseline expectation for a simulator. In any case this thread has degenerated into a pissing match. You have no idea of my understanding of methodical troubleshooting. As I said before personal insults do not advance the conversation. I won’t waste any more of my time here.

[Ronsc1985]

I have pointed out several times that I reference total distance because I have lots of data on my total distances for my clubs. The issue I am having is not related to total distance versus carry distance. Roll out distances do not account for differences of 20 yards between Skytrak and my on course and driving range distances.

I have tested the Skytrak against other launch monitors including Trackman and compared it to an entire season of data from the golf course. I've spent weeks testing and examining setup and looking at ball speed, launch and spin numbers. It simply does not match any of my other data. The data i got from the Trackman range I think is useless. The complete mismatch of ball speeds, carry distances and launch angles makes no sense. Clearly something is wrong with the Skytrak data I got but this just points out that the Skytrak is difficult to get to generate reasonable data.

I don't believe now that my Skytrak unit is broken. It is very consistent. I don't know if there is an explanation for the short distances on long irons and hybrids but it simply does not match my real world performance. I don't know if there is some kind of calibration possible or if the unit simply measures and predicts ball flights in a way that does not match my actual performance in the real world.

I appreciate any helpful suggestions but condescending comments suggesting that I am stuck on something or deluded in some way really don't add anything to the conversation. I'm just trying to make sense out of confusing results.

You are confusing consistency with accuracy. Continually saying 2+2=3 is consistent but inaccurate.

[Mirek_62]

I have pointed out several times that I reference total distance because I have lots of data on my total distances for my clubs. The issue I am having is not related to total distance versus carry distance. Roll out distances do not account for differences of 20 yards between Skytrak and my on course and driving range distances.

…

Tracking Total Distance and Roll Out on any LM and comparing it to reality is utter nonsense.
And yes - the difference between the simulator calculation and the reality can easily be more than 20y. You just need to have a different surface hardness setting. So set your Skytrak to a hard surface, turn off the wind, set the correct altitude and temperature.
In real outdoor play, I'm always interested in carry distance - and you need to know that for good play. Roll out then needs to be estimated based on the actual conditions on the course, including any slope of the terrain.

[wbond]

Seriously, have you actually just taken the unit outside, lasered a target and hit balls (not range balls) to it? I don't see anywhere you state this. It's the most simple way to know if your unit is actually working properly. Anyone can easily tell if a ball is landing short, on target or long, with distances of 50-150yds and for the most part even at 200 yds. You seem to continually use things that don't correlate and only blame the machine. A lot of us have been around here long enough to see these same threads only to find out the machine was perfectly fine.