Does everyone really hate their skytrak?

[wee988]

I have read so much negativity lately towards skytrak and wanted to hear from more people positive or negative. I have also read several people who have been very pleased up to a point but have now "flipped" on their skytrak. I don't consider myself an overly positive person but for the second straight fall find myself full of joy that I have a chance to hit balls inside my home with a launch monitor.

I would love to hear from some of the more experience sim/launch monitor testers for their take on this topic.

[wbond]

Fawley totally agree.

Also, ask clubfitters what the percentage is of people who accurately tell them how far they hit their driver. I have yet to hear any of them say anything over 5%.

[Spudly]

"People who have an unrealistic idea of how far they consistently hit a golf ball. There were only 25 guys on the PGA tour last year who averaged better than 300 yards off the tee. The average carry distance off the tee on the tour was around 270 yards. There seems to be a very high percentage of forum golfers claiming to hit the ball further off the tee than most tour players. I think that likely contributes to the issue people are seeing with driver distance - it can be a little humbling to see your ball really goes 240 yards when you've been telling all your friends you hit it 300."

You could not have said that better!!! I wish I had a dime for every golfer who claimed they averaged 290, or even claim they have hit it 300 yards, it is a joke! I have a consistent swing speed of 108 with an average spin rate of around 3500 (trying to get it lower) that my friends on a good day gets me about 265 yards, exactly what I expect for a 5 handicap. Once in great while if everything goes right and I get a lower spin rate of around 1900 I can get a 290-300 yard bomb, but those are few and far between.

I had a good friend that ran a huge driving range and pro shop, sold alot of drivers. Do you know that 300 yard sign out there at the end of range? well it was only about 270, and the last 20 yards were downhill, why? because it sold alot of drivers to see it go past sign, and then those people would go brag about the 300 yard drives they were hitting! Get real people.

[Rcush88]

[SkyTrak_Seth]

Thanks for the comments guys. There are certainly a very vocal minority who are dissatisfied with their SkyTrak, but overall we have very good feedback and satisfaction in the market. All I can do is try help out those who are having issues and turn constructive feedback into results you can see in software updates. As far as the whole beta thing...that's just kind of silly - the product is simply evolving. Also, it has never been the intention for SkyTrak to offer simulation. We don't want to be the engine...we just want to be the glorified joystick. It has always been clear that we would integrate with partners with simulation software already in the market. I think you've seen first-hand how complicated and long of a process that is. It's getting there though.

[Jolly Dwarf]

Thanks for the comments guys. There are certainly a very vocal minority who are dissatisfied with their SkyTrak, but overall we have very good feedback and satisfaction in the market. All I can do is try help out those who are having issues and turn constructive feedback into results you can see in software updates. As far as the whole beta thing...that's just kind of silly - the product is simply evolving. Also, it has never been the intention for SkyTrak to offer simulation. We don't want to be the engine...we just want to be the glorified joystick. It has always been clear that we would integrate with partners with simulation software already in the market. I think you've seen first-hand how complicated and long of a process that is. It's getting there though.

FWIW, I received my unit a month ago, after a few hiccups getting WGT up and running....I love it. I couldn't stop playing last night. Sunday took it to the range and had both myself and brother hitting balls and it was very consistent and accurate(IMO). Inside with WGT, distances seem a bit short but doesn't stop me from enjoying a round or messing around. For what it is and costs, I believe it to be a great purchase for myself thus far.

[Tekbud]

I also LOVE my Skytrak. The software has come a lot mg way. Truth is I was thrilled with just range functionality at my house. Now I can actually play sim? Are there some issues, yes, but I feel as though there is a commitment to improve.

[wee988]

I also very strongly LIKE how the skytrak was integrated into the iPad first. The timing was very good for me as it was time to get a new generation iPad anyway and I use mac stuff almost all the time. Had I been a pc only person this would have killed me like some have discussed. I hope that the WGT can evolve enough to the point where shorter shots aren't just a waste of time and desperately want multi player....but....I now have gotten very interested in the other sims (the pro tee pictures have worked). Now I face a much bigger obstacle which is building a pc from ground up ($$$) and then buying the software (I need a price check please).

I have tried reading the pc requirement forums to learn and wish a laptop could work with one of the pc sims when hey come out but that doesn't seem possible. Really don't want to buy a machine exclusively for my golf room. Anyone who has succeeded using a laptop please chime in here but I don't think that person exists. The delay has been frustrating but I may have to wait a year for technological advances to bring the price point down at least on the pc part.....

[luv2golf]

See the E6 thread. I have a 4 year old win 7 cpu that runs E6 and PC App just fine.

[Fargondgolf]

"People who have an unrealistic idea of how far they consistently hit a golf ball. There were only 25 guys on the PGA tour last year who averaged better than 300 yards off the tee. The average carry distance off the tee on the tour was around 270 yards. There seems to be a very high percentage of forum golfers claiming to hit the ball further off the tee than most tour players. I think that likely contributes to the issue people are seeing with driver distance - it can be a little humbling to see your ball really goes 240 yards when you've been telling all your friends you hit it 300."

You could not have said that better!!! I wish I had a dime for every golfer who claimed they averaged 290, or even claim they have hit it 300 yards, it is a joke! I have a consistent swing speed of 108 with an average spin rate of around 3500 (trying to get it lower) that my friends on a good day gets me about 265 yards, exactly what I expect for a 5 handicap. Once in great while if everything goes right and I get a lower spin rate of around 1900 I can get a 290-300 yard bomb, but those are few and far between.

I had a good friend that ran a huge driving range and pro shop, sold alot of drivers. Do you know that 300 yard sign out there at the end of range? well it was only about 270, and the last 20 yards were downhill, why? because it sold alot of drivers to see it go past sign, and then those people would go brag about the 300 yard drives they were hitting! Get real people.

I haven't been on this bashing skytrak at all and I've actually recommended them to my friends.I'm never telling anyone I hit these giant bombs off the tee (300 yards happens in my dreams, not on the course). I know I hit the ball around 240-250 on average depending on the time of season because I actually measure a lot of drives (good and bad) during most of my rounds. I use a bushnell tour x to get my distances on the course, and spending the money I did on that thing I decided to use it a lot when it came to measuring my driving distances, instead of guessing like some do. The skytrak app is always short when I hit my driver. i've had sessions where hitting the ball over 240 feels like it'll never happen. I've had sessions where I don't ever get it over 245 despite hitting some balls solid. I played 18 on the demo course tonight and my top drive was 282, with my worst being around 220-225 straight into the rough. After, I used the e6 driving range and was averaging 243 with a few pretty bad mishits in there. My max was 262 and my worst was around 225. Lots and lots of shots in the 238-245 range with an amount that made me happy in the 250+ area. This was pretty much in line with what I do on the course. The skytrak app is great for irons and checking ball flight, but the distance with the driver is off and that's the only thing I don't like. Other than that it's an absolute great product and has been very beneficial due to the amount I can get to the course within the last month.

[Fawley]

I haven't been on this bashing skytrak at all and I've actually recommended them to my friends.I'm never telling anyone I hit these giant bombs off the tee (300 yards happens in my dreams, not on the course). I know I hit the ball around 240-250 on average depending on the time of season because I actually measure a lot of drives (good and bad) during most of my rounds. I use a bushnell tour x to get my distances on the course, and spending the money I did on that thing I decided to use it a lot when it came to measuring my driving distances, instead of guessing like some do. The skytrak app is always short when I hit my driver. i've had sessions where hitting the ball over 240 feels like it'll never happen. I've had sessions where I don't ever get it over 245 despite hitting some balls solid. I played 18 on the demo course tonight and my top drive was 282, with my worst being around 220-225 straight into the rough. After, I used the e6 driving range and was averaging 243 with a few pretty bad mishits in there. My max was 262 and my worst was around 225. Lots and lots of shots in the 238-245 range with an amount that made me happy in the 250+ area. This was pretty much in line with what I do on the course. The skytrak app is great for irons and checking ball flight, but the distance with the driver is off and that's the only thing I don't like. Other than that it's an absolute great product and has been very beneficial due to the amount I can get to the course within the last month.

What are the ball speed / launch angle / backspin numbers you're seeing on Skytrak?

[rbarthle17]

Most people have no idea how far they actually hit off the tee and it makes for good comedy when their real distance is laid bare to them. I know through lasering distances that on a dry day with calm wind my drives end up around the 245-250 yard mark on average. That is including rollout of which I get a lot of. And I tee off with a 14° fairway wood because my dispersion with a driver is terrible. My average carry distance is about 220. That is my baseline. On wet days I'm more likely to be driving at about 230 total. That's before factoring wind in.

My drives routinely end up as far or farther as the people I play with who hit driver. And this is where the comedy starts when playing with strangers. In all my years of playing I have come across exactly 2 people that can legit hit it to the 300 yard mark consistently. And I have lost count of the number of people who claim they have had the "off day "with their driver when I'm out-driving them with my fairway wood. The real problem for them is between their ears and nothing is going to fix that.

It's not impossible that there are many amateurs out there who can hit it as long or longer than the pros. The reason they're not making money for their golf game is likely because their short game sucks or they can hit 300 yards out but also it goes 150 yards left or right.

FWIW Skytrak is very consistent with my distance numbers using my tee club in terms of carry distance. Rollout can vary greatly in real life and i'm guessing the people who are seeing short distances here compared to what they see on the golf course may not be factoring in the rollout they actually get on the course. My bet is the carry distances are actually pretty accurate. But you have to actually know what your real distances are on the course, which very few amateurs do. Instead of just looking at a yardage marker and looking at your scorecard and doing subtraction, you need to spend time getting the actual real distances and I think you'll be surprised at some of the numbers.

[hks8888]

I couldn't be happier with Skytrak. There were a couple of things that bothered me down the road, but they were all taken care of by the company and Seth. I believe they still are in action to improve this thing.
Looking back to a time when I wanted a launch monitor with a small budget a couple of years ago, Flightscope/Trackman/GC2 were (and still are) out of my grasp.
So, I first purchased OptiShot and its accuracy was a joke to me so that I quickly sold it out on ebay. Next, I found a used Accusport Vector Pro (manual calibration without microlense) and it worked okay once I set it up correctly. Accuracy was there, but it was not that portable and it took a lot of time when I had to re-calibrate it. Most of all, the PC software wasn't great at all.
Then, I found Skytrak. It was still above my budget, but not too far away. There was (and is) no product like Skytrak in this price range. I feel Skytrak is worth more than the amount I spent. As a customer, I also want more value in a product I purchase, but within a reasonable stretch. Some people seem to have unrealistic expectations that can be met only in a $10,000 - 20,000 product.
In a nutshell, Skytrak realized my dream of hitting real golf balls in my basement with reliable feedback on the ball flight. I am thankful for Skytrak and Seth.

[joegsc]

I just got mine, but really like it. The readings seem accurate for both my daughter and myself. Maybe a couple of yards short, but not dramatic. I'm decent enough to know what type of shot I have struck and believe the skytrak accurately reflects that.

[Chughes82]

I bought in December 2014. I've always been satisfied with the basic accuracy of the unit, which skytrak continues to work on. The software has been buggy, but it now does essentially what it is supposed to do and is still improving. As discussed previously, the area most in need of improvement was marketing accuracy/transparency and customer support. The initial marketing has been modified to more clearly describe the terms of the subscriptions and others have reported improvement by customer support. I haven't used customer support so I can't evaluate it.

Those contemplating buying should be aware of the well-discussed limitations and decide accordingly. Every product has some defective units. Skytrak is accurate enough that you should not receive erratic or physics-bending results. If you buy one that has very strange results, act quickly with skytrak to determine whether you are doing something wrong or your unit is one of the inevitable defects. Pay attention to return deadlines and warranty periods and don't let them slip by without using them if your unit is erratic.

[Fargondgolf]

My launch angles are from 12-14. I compared the skytrak driving range with the e6 again this morning and got the same results. My top drive in e6 was 267 that was absolutely crushed. One more at the 260 area and a bunch in my normal 240-245 area. I went over to the skytrak app and hit for a while and my absolute best was 235 and was hit hard. That's a 32 yard difference, that just seems really odd to me. Once again, 267 is hitting it pretty damn good for me, so I'm not saying I'm a long ball hitter, I just notice the lack of distance with my woods with the app. I've done lots of tweaking with the settings and still can't find a way to fix that. I do love my skytrak. Nobody else I know has the opportunity to do what I can do in my garage, I'd just like to see the range distances fixed.

[MrHogan]

In the past in commercial SIMs I've found the E6 software to boost the yardages, I also feel the drives are too long in E6 with Skytrak. Its off my list for that reason alone.