Distances Off 2.1.1 for lefty

[Alienator]

Everyone seems to be ok with the distances but I am wondering if they are all right handed? Have any leftys had issues? I am admittedly not a pro golfer but I can shoot in the 70s on occasion and otherwise low 80s. I use gamegolf every game I play, and before I bought the skytrak I spent at two days a week at a local training facility practicing on a gc2. I have a really good grasp on my distances total and carry in different conditions, real life and on the gc2. I am a good 10 yards short with all wedges, 9-6 irons, 5 iron is about where it starts to catch up it runs about 5 yards short as does 4 and 3 wood is maybee a hair if not good as is driver.

I have tried moving the ball around in front of the laser as Im not the longest hitter to see if that helped but no dice. My normal 7 iron is about 140-143 carry and I have had them come up 120 carry on shots that felt great. I have swung out of my shoes and have yet to get a carry over 136 with my 7iron unless I just pull hook the crap out of it. My average carry on good shots is about 128-131 on the skytrak. I have tried adjusting the humidity to 10% the temp to 80 and the altitude to 10000 and 9000 and it makes little to no difference, I feel those adjustments are just there for place holders.

I have not had anyone right handed over yet to try it out but am planning on having some friends over tomorrow and my father over on sunday. We will see how it is for them.

I have read posts mentioning ball types and hitting mats having an effect on distances but I have yet to find any posts on it only mentions of it in other posts so if anyone can enlighten me about that.

Does lighting effect the unit at all? I have two lights behind me led bulbs and nothing in front so the projector screen is more vivid. I guess I could try messing with the lighting but I doubt that will work.

[m3w]

I'm a lefty. I had skytrak for a month, before returning it. My carry distances were short on all clubs. Wedges were pretty close, irons got further off the longer the club, and driver was way off. Launch angle, spin and shot shape seemed dead accurate. But distance was consistently short on every shot.

[Alienator]

Yeah shot shape launch and spin seem comparable to my gc2 data. Ill have to look up one of my sessions on the gc2 site and compare

[ernie18]

mine are fine. im thinking alot of people dont really know their carry distance. i used golf pad the other day on the course and all distances are spot on to what im seeing in st

[m3w]

That's very true. But that fact can't be a get-out-of-jail-free card for Skytrak. I'm comparing my carry distances directly against multiple GC2 units. For some people, longer clubs are way off for Skytrak. They need to address this issue, and ultimately correct it, if they are going to compete against proven launch monitors.

[N54TT]

Take it to the range and compare it to real life realtime distances....and post your findings.

[m3w]

I tried that. After 100 balls, only about 5 registered. Tried changing bays, shading device, using brand new balls. Nothing worked.

[N54TT]

That's unfortunate. Wonder why shots were not registering. Hit off mats or grass? I've taken mine twice to the range. Hit off mats and crappy/dirty range balls. All shots were captured and from the ones I saw land right at range markers...skytrak was spot on.

[Alienator]

That was the whole point of my post. I know what my carry distance is I hit off gc2 multiple times a week before I got the skytrak and if it were only a yard or two I wouldn't be supprised but it's an entire club difference.

[N54TT]

That was the whole point of my post. I know what my carry distance is I hit off gc2 multiple times a week before I got the skytrak and if it were only a yard or two I wouldn't be supprised but it's an entire club difference.

There's just so many other variables when comparing hitting off one launch monitor from one session to hitting off another at a different session (home etc.). There have been posts about how some mats can effect distances...slowing club head if hitting behind the ball at all.
I know the Gc2 is supposed to be very accurate...but who's to say the one you're hitting off of is properly calibrated or that you're swinging exactly the same.

You can't even hit off both monitors gc2 and Skytrak at the same exact time. So that's why I think the only way to REALLY tell if there's something wrong with your Skytrak is to hit balls out on the range and compare Skytrak carry distance with ACTUAL carry distance in realtime with every shot. If they are the same...there's no reason to doubt what you get at home and in comparison to what you get on another gc2.

[luv2golf]

Before I sold my skytrak, my buddy and I would play E6. I'm a lefty and he's a righty. Yardages were just fine for both of us, no issues at all.

m3w, I took my ST to the range ALOT, used yellow balls and never had a problem. The only time there were issues was later in the day when the sun was coming at the front of the ST. The IR rays would bleed out the camera and no shot would register. So as long as the sun is behind the unit and your hitting off of mats and not grass, you should of been golden. Maybe your unit was defective?

[m3w]

It was very overcast that day. So the light was evenly coming from all directions. That might have been the problem. I sent it back for skytrak to test. They confirmed it was working fine.

[Lefty13]

I'm also a lefty and have noticed the exact same problems. I haven't quite sorted out all of the details like that but will try to do so this weekend. I'm planning on sending my unit in to get checked as well as my clubs are a good iron or even 2 irons short of what I normally hit.... or even what I average. I can appreciate all of the different variables with a simulator but it's so bad that I can't even reach my real life distance about 95% of the time so that really makes me wonder. I'm about a 12 handicap so not the best golfer in the world but I have had to pay very close attention to my distances as I have gotten into a lot of trouble by hitting the ball long.

[AndyF]

I'm a lefty and all my numbers match up with flightscope and trackman that I've used recently.
The only issue I have is with a particular type ball at the range that the skytrak doesn't seem to read the higher spin numbers from wedges but that's just ball type as the other balls at the range match my numbers.

What I love on this forum is that everyone appears to be so consistent with their distances to be able to say that they are 5-10 yards short etc. If I'm striking the ball a fraction out of the toe or heel then I can easily lose 5-10 yds on a shot. How many people are actually monitoring strike on the clubface when swinging to determine that it's not something else and not the skytrak.

Andy

[m3w]

Making a comment like that undermines our constructive criticism. I have never once hit my true distance with a driver on skytrak. Not some of the time, or most of the time - but ALL the time. If I take a few hundred shots, and never once even come close to hitting it 200 yards, there's something wrong. I'm not asking skytrak to show that I hit it 300 yards, because I don't. But I sure as heck hit it a lot farther than 155 yards with a driver.

[AndyF]

M3w,
Can you please point out where in my post I undermined your issue of only hitting 155yds with your driver? I was making a comment regarding people talking about 5-10 yard differences. Weather, wind, minor elevation changes as well as ball striking can account for 5-10 yards relatively easily.
In your particular case then it would sound like a faulty unit however as torch says, why not post up the numbers you are seeing in skytrak e.g spin, ball speed and launch angle being the key ones and then people can suggest what the problem may be

Andy

[Lefty13]

Good point AndyF! My concern though is that I barely ever reach my real life distances... even when I pure it and/or swing out of my shoes. I went to another simulator two weeks ago and those distances were very close to my real life numbers. While not exact, I was able to reach my real life distances about half the time (by going over) and short about half of the time. I'm not hoping to carry it the exact distance each time, just average out to be something close to real life instead of always being short a club to two clubs. The sim I tried it on was an older one (Full Swing golf was the software) but at least I achieved that.. I'm hoping to try golf town soon to double check too though.

[Alienator]

That's the same thing I'm seeing. I understand there are many variables and such but to never come close to my real distances is my issue, easily 10-20 yards short depending on the club.

[m3w]

Every time someone comes on here and claims that they aren't getting their usual distances with skytrak, someone always chimes in and suggests they don't know their distances, or it's the mat that's causing the loss of distance. There are too many people experiencing the same problem to keep pointing the finger at the user.

[Lefty13]

I agree m3w! There are way too many people experiencing the same thing... I've taken my skytrak outside last summer to look at ball curvature but not distances. Been busy renovating a house since then and now the snow has arrived so no outside checks for me at this point. My only comparison is one other launch monitor (older one) but it's much closer to real life distances... my only other option is Golftown so will check as soon as I can. I wonder if outdoor lighting allows the skytrak to be more accurate...

[FaultyClubs]

The beauty of a LM is that one can take it to the range and directly compare with real life. So far no-one in this thread experiencing short distances has done that. Most people hit shorter than they think they do. Pay attention to advice from people who have gone down that road already. I doubt there is a problem with the Skytrak but maybe there is...until you guys do a proper test and post the results we'll never know. It takes effort to do the tests but if you really think there is a problem it is worth it.

[FaultyClubs]

But that's the point. Anecdotal evidence isn't very compelling because there are so many possible variables. The discrepancies you describe are certainly possible. Without proper test data it is hard to know. Even unusual launch data can be tricky since one may in fact be generating that data. That's why i strongly encourage people to do a proper test. You'll probably learn a lot but worst case it will provide actionable data you can give to Skytrak.

[Willymakit]

Why don't you read my post from about 2 months go. But I'm sure it's already been taken down because I was so frustrated with my distances and trust me. I know my distance down to 5 yards with any iron. But I'm not here to talk about that. I'm here supporting m3w. I have done the field test and my woods were at least 20-30 yards shorter in Skytrak then real life. What came down to it is. If you have a high spin rate Skytrak does not like that and will give you a shorter distance then what you would see on the course. With my first Skytrak I couldn't keep the spin under 5000 abd couldn't hit a drive over 250. and was just on a gc2 days before and was at 2800 with a average of 275 so I knew right away it was off. So once I jumped through hoops and finally got a new one(different one). The first swing and no warm up it landed at 255 and rolled out to 270 with a spin rate of 3000. So I knew right away I had one that was working properly. But I since sold by Skytrak and bought a gc2. Best investment ever to improve your game. If you can afford a gc2 don't hesitate to buy it.

Now for m3w. If you feel it out it probably is. Don't get worked up about it and just send it back and try another one. Before selling my Skytrak I tested both side by side and found the numbers were almost exact for numbers. I even compared the Skytrak with HD and the numbers were dead on. What I didn't like about the Skytrak was the wait time of 3 seconds. To some that I have read on the forum had no issue with the delay, but thats one thing I couldn't handle at all. To me it would be like hitting your shot in real life and keeping your head down for 3 seconds and then lifting it up and seeing where the ball goes.

In the end I'm so done with the Skytrak drama and instead of always coming on here being pissed off at a product I'm actually playing golf with the gc2 and loving perfect golf, it's like the real thing It's been a great winter so far.

[aja]

Good post Guest! Gotta agree!

[TorchRedRob]

It would help to know the numbers. That will let you figure out why it's short. All that's going on is an equation set figuring out distance, based on the numbers skytrak is feeding the equation. In the majority of these posts, no one posts example shots with ball speed, launch angle, total spin, and spin axis. If you can post these numbers, it can help us guide you as to what might be going on. For example, if it says you are launching the ball at 3 degrees, when you know you aren't, that sounds like the problem. If it says your driver has 10,000rpm of spin, that's the problem. You can figure out if something is really wrong this way.

[doublebogey]

m3w, have you updated to v2.1.1 (supposed to improve driver distances by ~4%)? That being said, it seems like ST's driver distances still short (driver distances on WGT def short). Don't know why? Maybe it's having to tee it up that messes w ST's ability to properly capture shots (btw I tee up using real tees not plastic ones and laser points at bottom of tee - though I find putting tee a couple of inches behind laser dot results in less miss-captured shots and I don't use a white driver)? Or maybe today's modern drivers are developed to create less backspin for longer carries that might not be properly captured in ST? I don't know? Maybe experts like Bubba22 or davray666 can chime in (though I think davray666 has abandoned ST and moved on to GC2)?

As for iron distances, they do seem a bit short vs real life on course but prob not comparable hitting off grass vs mat. When I've taken my ST onto range hitting off mat, distances seem close enough for me. So my only distance problem seems to be w driver (and maybe 3 wood and hybrids).

[N54TT]

If I hadn't brought my Unit to the range I would have probably posted a similar thread questioning the distances. My first session with the SkyTrak was on the range to test its accuracy and it was spot on. A couple days later I had a second session at home...and my distances seemed low. I immediately packed up and went to the range. Distances on the SkyTrak were again spot on...but still lower than usual. Continued to work on my swing and figured out what I was doing wrong. Left the range hitting my typical distances again which correlated with displayed distances on the SkyTrak.

[doublebogey]

Guest, are your driver distances spot on too?

Or maybe my problem is I'm placing my tee (and ball) too far behind laser dot (couple of inches behind) in order to minimize number of miscaptured shots that by the time my balls gets into ST's field of vision I've lost a few MPH on the ball and therefore a little bit of distance? Again, hope experts like Guest or Guest can maybe validate or invalidate my theory... Thanks.

[N54TT]

From where I could visually see the ball land, it seemed accurate. Definitely not 10-20+ yards off and definitely not seeing crazy spin rates like others have posted getting with driver.

[davray666]

A couple of inches behind will not affect the speed reading. At least not because the ball has slowed down when it gets captured.