Golf Simulator Forum wants your opinions about the SkyTrak to be heard!

[GSF_Admin]

Dear SkyTrak owner,

We would like to hear your honest opinion about the SkyTrak Launch Monitor (positive or negative) so new simulator owners can get the information they need to make smart buying choices.

You can use the following link to write your review: http://golfsimulatorforum.com/review/skytrak

Thank you!!

GSF

PS: You do not have to be a member of the forum to write a review.

[KJZ78701]

I'll give you the list followed by the details/explanation. Now, there may be more CONS than PROS, but that does not mean I don't love the device and what it continues to do for my game. I have used nothing other than Trackman Range in the past, so I cannot directly compare to other current devices/systems.

CONS:
1-It would help to know the size of the "window" through which the ball should pass to get the highest registration
2-It would help to know what light source works best and where it should be placed (make those plural if you like)
3-My guess is that your algorithm does not decelerate the ball's spin over time. It should if it does not, or it needs more decel if it's already in there.
4-The protective case (which came with my bundle) is 90% well thought out, but if bought at retail price I would expect more.
5-Side spin seems inaccurate the further the shot starts off the center line.
6-PLEASE get the manufacturer to use glass rather than plastic over the cameras
7-Graph on the "Stats" page is a mess. Months are off, weeks are not in order
8-"Waiting to Sync" constantly spins up top and idle CPU utilization is 12-15% for an i7 4600 class processor in Practice mode
9-Shot Plotting graph does not match shot data. Shot data says Ball Speed:149 Club Speed:102 Launch Ang.:12.1 Side Degrees:4.8 Backspin:2957 Offline yards:9 CARRY:246 TOTAL:262 yet the graph shows total distance of almost 275 and carry clearly over 250 yards (I do like the dots on landing and end position)

PROS:
10-At about $0.20 per ball on the range, I will have paid back my investment within a year
11-What Mike80 said above, though I would not say you have it "VERY" accurate in some cases...yet.

DETAILS: Software Ver.:2.1.1 Firmware Ver.:1.400 Range Settings: Normal for roll, No wind, 50% humidity, 1500ft, 72F

1-I have found that the lower the launch angle the further back (line of flight) from the red dot the ball needs to be (or the higher the ball needs to be teed above the dot). My 3 iron gets placed (off tee) about two inches behind the dot and my 52 Wedge is placed about an inch in front of the dot.
2-So far I have not used a DC powered light source, but have found that AC halogen 10-12 inches off the ground and just behind (again line of flight) the SkyTrak works best. I do not let the light hit the plastic "window" on SkyTrak.
3-Overall, I see less total bend in real life than I do on the virtual range. Importantly, that's on the shots that start more or less down the target line and that's with either a stolen range ball (sorry) or with Prov1 and Tour Preferreds. For instance, the shot in 9 above would not have curved back toward the middle as nicely as it did in the virtual world. It would have been more of a push IRL. This could also be a result of 5 below. Either way, something is a bit off.
4-It's a protective case. Where is the protection for the most critical part, the red plastic "window"? I open mine up and wrap it in a towel then close it back up when not in use.
5-My guess is that your photo recognition software struggles the more the ball strays from the center line. Intuitively this makes sense since the closer the ball gets to the camera, the smaller the perceived diameter will be. Draw a circle on a piece of paper and put dots at 3 and 6 inches from the circle and then draw two sets of tangent lines (one set from each dot) and you will see what I mean. This would mean that offline toward the SkyTrak (like a shank) would be calculated with more spin than actual and a pull-cut would be calculated with less spin. Which, interestingly, is exactly what I see. My pull-cuts on the range (with those two piece range balls) have more bend than on the virtual range with Prov1s. Could be "user error" though, so I hope others play around and chime in. See "Overall.." in 3 above.
6-The plastic "window" is a static magnet for dust which flies each time I hit the first few balls. As careful as I am cleaning it, I can see that I am scratching it compared to the piece that wraps around the back that I never wipe down. You are optics driven and to me it seems like sooner than later the optics will be wearing what seems to be "dirty" glasses.
7-No suggestion here. Fixed in a new release?
8-No idea what this is all about. Fixed in a new release?
9-I can't figure this one out, unless the shot data is calculated at sea level and the plotted data uses the altitude setting that I keyed in. I can try playing with this tonight, though I don't know that I am consistent enough to get anything meaningful.
10-Yes, I really do think I will hit 10,000 balls with SkyTrak this year.
11-"...yet." I have faith. I think I looked at all the systems out there, and I am a big fan of buying used in most cases, and I went for a new SkyTrak.

[CBDBOZ]

Here's what I posted on the poll

PROS:
- Very Accurate
- Affordable
- Easy to setup
- Great alignment feature built in using two red lasers
- Works on PC and iPad for portability at range
- Very fun and great practice tool to work on your game!

CONS:
- WGT is very disappointing
- No great sim software yet
- SIM integration taking way too long
- Bugs: Ongoing Data Sync issues
- Bugs: Cannot play E6 demo with Lefty and Righty. Switches the lefty back to a right handed player during play. Very annoying!
- $99 annual fee to unlock basic features in driving range app.
- $199 annual fee to unlock basic range features and allow Simulation Play
- 3 to 5 second delay before seeing your shot
- Doesn't register very short chips (exp. 1 yard to 8 yard chip)
- Seems to over calculate side spin and a slice or hook shot seems to curve more than it would in real life.
- Has a very hard time reading low shots and then you get misreads.

Mike - isn't it only the $99 annual fee to unlock sim play (not $199)?

[wbond]

At a certain time, WGT was the only sim play and it was 199. Now you get access to TGC for 99 plus software cost

[SkyTrak_Seth]

Yeah, $99/yr to unlock any sim play (+ sim cost). Just so happens that WGT is $100/yr, hence the $199.

[Emptyshotgun]

So I've had my skytrak for a week and I thought I would add my thoughts.
I followed this forum for a year just reading posts and hiding in the shadows. I found that the members on this site are passionate about home sims. I considered all options and ended up setting my eye on skytrak. I waited out all the early deals and read every post to make sure my money was not carelessly spent. I finally pulled the trigger and bought a skytrak with TGC and could not be happier. I think I over analyzed skytrak and got fixed on all the problems people were posting. Now that I think about it, there are probably a ton a people that bought skytrak that are too busy having the time of there life playing than writing a positive review. The shot to show time that I thought would be hard to get used to is hardly noticeable. I hit a ball, stop it as it rolls and my shot is on the screen. Very easy to deal with. The point of this post is for all the people that follow this forum anonymously like I did, I am genuine in my review and was over causious about my purchase. I could have been enjoying sim golf a hell of a lot sooner. If you have any questions feel free to ask, I owe this forum for bringing this joy to my life.

[Ironstrokes]

So I've had my skytrak for a week and I thought I would add my thoughts.
I followed this forum for a year just reading posts and hiding in the shadows. I found that the members on this site are passionate about home sims. I considered all options and ended up setting my eye on skytrak. I waited out all the early deals and read every post to make sure my money was not carelessly spent. I finally pulled the trigger and bought a skytrak with TGC and could not be happier. I think I over analyzed skytrak and got fixed on all the problems people were posting. Now that I think about it, there are probably a ton a people that bought skytrak that are too busy having the time of there life playing than writing a positive review. The shot to show time that I thought would be hard to get used to is hardly noticeable. I hit a ball, stop it as it rolls and my shot is on the screen. Very easy to deal with. The point of this post is for all the people that follow this forum anonymously like I did, I am genuine in my review and was over causious about my purchase. I could have been enjoying sim golf a hell of a lot sooner. If you have any questions feel free to ask, I owe this forum for bringing this joy to my life.

Welcome aboard to the vocals haha. Very well said, some of us have had some issues with our skytraks from time to time, but it really is an amazing machine, especially at that price point and seeing what es16 is going through right now with being afraid to let people test it yet charging a butt load and getting even butt loadier soon it sounds, it was the right choice in my mind. I may have gotten a little frustrated waiting for TGC to come out but now that it has all that frustration seems like it was forever ago. Ive been one of them that haven't had any real issues with my skytrak and every time I step into my sim in my garage I always get that "this is crazy and amazing that I actually get to play golf whenever I want, for as long as I want, in the middle of the night, and no matter what the weather is" feel. And this wouldn't have happened without my skytrak that I got last Summer. So Im right there with you on this and cant wait to use it for years to come.

[Sascha1818]

Agree 100%! Couldn't have said it better.

[SkyTrak_Seth]

I'm certainly not campaigning for positive reviews only, but I would urge that you guys add these good ones to the review section. We all want honest reviews from a wide user-base, and I think the natural tendency is to fired up about a problem and write a scathing review to blast the company. You alluded to it, but most people don't think, "hey, I need to write a positive review"...they just stay at home and enjoy their product

[Emptyshotgun]

I'd be happy too.

[Bigmac02]

I have had my skytrak for one week and am generally satisfied. Question: Can you adjust distances for elevation? I am in the Denver area and our ball travels at least 10% further.

[SkyTrak_Seth]

Yep, it's in settings

[Cklguy2013]

Quick question and in no way is this meant to be taken as a negative comment. Will the shot delay be reduced in the future?

[SkyTrak_Seth]

I think we are reaching the limits of shot delay with the TGC spec'd computers. Due to image processing, I don't think we'll see much faster than 2 seconds. That said, each Apple generation seems to drop a second, so hopefully we'll get down around there on iPad too.

[Vincent_Vega]

I have had my skytrak for one week and am generally satisfied. Question: Can you adjust distances for elevation? I am in the Denver area and our ball travels at least 10% further.

Yes, altitude can be adjusted in the settings on the Skytrak range app.

[Sledge0001]

3 weeks in since I took the ST plunge and overall I couldn't be happier.

The combo of ST and TGC really spotlights how terrible my golf game really is. Let's face it I bought this to improve my game as I am sure you all did as well. The yards off center line really helps me dial in my shots. I hit the practice range almost nightly and find the distances to be a tad conservative but well within realistic distances given my swing. I like the compact size of the unit and that it is portable. I would like to see a smash factor like you get with TrackMan.

Coming from the Optishot2 world I must say that the ST system seems to be much more accurate and inline with punishing me when I play poorly. Topping the ball or hitting it fat really takes a toll on my score. Not sure if that's good or bad but I am impressed and love the realistic feel when I am playing TGC. I have had some instances where the ST goes dark and I have to exit TGC and relaunch the app to get it to work again. This doesn't seem to happen with the Skytrak range software.

The 3 second delay does bother me a bit but it isn't a deal breaker in my mind although I would love to see this improve.

As others have stated the plastic lens / camera cover is a huge dust magnet. I clean it almost daily at this point. The protective case I'm still on the fence about. It has taken a good whack already but I have reservations about what would happen if it took a direct shot to the plastic lens / camera cover.

I wish there was a better guide on how to use ST and TGC. It's a pretty large investment and a huge learning curve for me. More of a TGC gripe but I must say the Optishot interface was much easier to navigate and the lack of a guide for new users makes it a learn as you go type situation that could be improved. I had to reach out to Protee to find out I didn't have to change my clubs however I'm not convinced this is the right way to play.

I look forward to further improvements but believe the ST / TGC combo maybe the best sim system on the market.

[TeaPeg]

I'm not bothered about the delay as by the time I've set up the ball for my next shot and look up I see the ball starting its flight. In fact without the delay I'd not have time to hold my finish and turn to see the entire ball flight. This is because I use a TV and not a projector. Haven't noticed the dust problem you describe. I am using the protective case and I'm really glad I bought it for the peace of mind it brings. The 1 in 10,000 chance of hitting the unit reduces the likelihood of damaging it with an errant strike to 1 in 100,000. It also means I no longer spend time using random household objects to set the right height and level the ST.

[rsuslow]

4 days into my ST and TGC and I LOVE it. Already been yelled at by my wife for being in the garage too much.

Only cons I have is the side spin in TGC is way over exaggerated. I get the same numbers in the ST Range and the offline is 20-30 less there, and the Greens are way too hard in TGC with too much roll.

Those last two have nothing to do with Skytrak though.

[tlhammond5]

I would say it's closer in TGC software than on the SkyTrak range software. The SkyTrak range software doesn't even calculate half of the actual side spin.

[DirtyGarry24]

@ tlhammond5 - This is the first I've heard of this. So are you saying the Skytrak range app is very low on side spin reading? Would you recommend using the TGC range because of this?

[Dan McWhirter]

Just played my full first 18 holes on e6 with a buddy much better than I, by 10 strokes. Banf Springs (he is from Alberta). We tied after 18 at 100. Then four playoff, sudden death holes of number 18. I finally shot ten to his six. My thoughts on e6...the resolution is as good as any other sim, yardages on shots are good...his drives 220 to 248, mine 180 to 200. 7 iron, his go 150 to 170, mine go 125 to 140. I be a slow swinger. Chips are tricky, could be way longer than expected, sometimes way short of expected. If on the fringe or just off in rough, can't seem to put it in putting mode...putting from the fringe, a slamma jamma putt, if read, may just trickle onto the green. Our high scores were all about chipping. I swear e6 must model the grain, but doesn't indicate its run. One failure, my bud hit his second shot on #5 into the middle of the fairway, but it was called "in the fairway," "out of bounds." ??? Overall? A blast of fun! Many beers and cigarettes required.

[Dan McWhirter]

I really enjoyed that a little fade on his three wood, after flying 210 yards and drifting 15, could land in the water! Har har har!

[aeroburner]

I see a lot of issues with customer service but I received a brand new skytrak and had some issues with it i called the customer service phone number and got a very quick response with your company, Skytrak sent out a UPS box and had my new replacement unit in 7 days. I appreciated the follow through with you guys calling me with updates during the whole process. I love the skytrak so far but I am a left handed player and all my friends I golf with are right handed, I am waiting for a position track to come out so the skytrak can be used left or right handed does skytrak have any idea on if they will be supporting this on there accessories list to buy.

[bennyg211]

Good stuff. Many people use Skytrak for both handed players by setting up the unit in the predominant hand (in your case the bulk are righties) and then you would swing with the unit between you and the ball. No problemo, not additional stuff needed, all good.

[Jasonstanley]

I ve had my skytrak for about 6 weeks, and was expecting the worst to be honest after reading people's reviews , well I ve played 10 rounds of tgc and not had one tha did not register. I don't know for it helped that I bought a super duper computer with the latest graphics card but I had no connection issues, I went fantastically smooth, can't believe it. I shank th ball on many occasions but never hit the unit, I mean, who shanks at comple right angles? I build a wooden box to protect it from an over the top swing from a club though, the delay doesn't bother me, in my PC it is 2 seconds. Don't get me wrong, if I had the money I'd get a gc2 but I haven't, really chuffed. The only thing that I can see being a problem is the USB port, a few people have had the port break on the circuit board, this has made me really careful when plugging in, I mean you always try to force the wrong side first go, and if skytrak ate chatting the the amount I've read then that's disgusting as i think that's a design fault, in England you would have a good case of not paying that as its not fit for purpose, especially if there is documented cases. But yeah, loving it so far, worried they Only give you 6 month warranty, again makes me think they know there a re parts that won't stand up to the test, we'll see. So far so good