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  • SkyTrak @ PGA Show 2016

    Figured I'd get this rollin'.

    Taking centre stage, literally, at SkyCaddie’s booth #1301 at this year’s PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Florida, will be the highly-rated and award-winning SkyTrak personal launch monitor / golf simulator.

    Since stocks reached the UK in November 2015 SkyTrak has drawn consistently positive reviews from the golf clubs and golfers who placed an early order, and the 2016 PGA Merchandise Show represents the perfect opportunity for UK PGA professionals and retailers making the trip to Orlando to try it for themselves.

    And one visitor to the SkyCaddie booth will walk away with a valuable bonus this year, as everyone who has a SkyTrak demonstration at the 2016 PGA Show will be entered into a free prize draw to win their own SkyTrak system.

    Alongside SkyTrak will be SkyCaddie’s world-class line-up of GPS distance measuring devices, set to be boosted by some new GPS product announcements to be made at this year’s Show. SkyCaddie’s popular SkyPro, now firmly established as golf’s leading personal swing analysis and training device, is expected to be another big attraction.

    “Although it has only recently come into general use, SkyTrak is already being acknowledged as truly game-changing new golf technology throughout the industry” said SkyCaddie’s Senior Vice-President International Sales & Marketing, Jacqui Surman.

    “With more and more PGA professionals now using SkyTrak for club fitting and coaching, and with the fast-growing amount of golf courses available to play through SkyTrak in golf simulator mode, SkyTrak’s powerhouse features set at an equally powerful price point is proving unbeatably attractive – and we’ve only just got started as regards using SkyTrak to its full potential.

    “It will undoubtedly be one of the stars of this year’s Show, and we expect it to attract a large number of first-time visitors to our booth – where they will also find our best-ever line-up of GPS devices and the ever-impressive SkyPro too”.

    Tom Field, Head Pro at The Wychwood GC in the Cotswolds, was one of the early adopters of SkyTrak in the UK. “In the first week I would say that we sold nine extra sets of golf clubs because we had a SkyTrak on hand, so it’s been a revolution already in that aspect” he said. “I already view our SkyTrak as essential for our custom-fitting operation here.

    “SkyTrak does what other far more expensive launch monitors do, but at a fraction of the price. With the added simulator functions, it will help us to expand our business and offer a buying and entertainment experience which the internet cannot offer”.

    Tom Atkinson, Head PGA Professional at Heswall GC on The Wirral, was another of the first UK customers for SkyTrak. “In just the first week I used SkyTrak to do a wedge gapping fitting, and entertained a group of golfers with a Nearest The Pin challenge when the course was temporarily closed during torrential rain” he said. “We’ve already sold one SkyTrak to a member, with another group pledging to club together to buy one for shared use.

    “The SkyTrak graphics are simply stunning. We easily hooked it up to our big TV and had no problem running the WGT Golf sim software, which looks incredible and very lifelike. Also, as there are no cameras to set up, it’s a piece of cake to switch it for a left-hander to use.

    “It’s an incredibly good piece of kit which we will use a lot this winter, let alone during the season. I already feel that SkyTrak is adding value to our memberships at Heswall GC, which is absolutely crucial these days”.

  • #76
    I am ready to give this new update a go. Hope they release it soon. I have had zero sync issues in quite some time now. I like the green shape options as well.

    Comment


    • #77
      The target greens will be a nice addition to the range.

      Auto-leveling...not sure what that means. Does it just mean that it will tell you if the unit is not level? Or does it mean it doesnt matter anymore if its not level? It wasnt clear to me if this update actually changes any behavior, or if it just displays the level info returned from the accelerometer. Anyone know exactly what is changing ??

      Comment


      • #78
        Originally posted by Joko View Post
        I agree. I would not be surprised if it took another 2 months until release. What a bunch of BS. "Sooner rather than later" does NOTHING to make me feel good. They've essentially been saying that for the past 6 months. I am not sure why it is so difficult for them to get someone to show it off and hit on it from skytrak, and give some sort of concrete date. The fact that they have no idea on a concrete date makes me believe this is much further away than any of us would like.
        Read this - went straight to eBay and upped my max bid for the gc2 listing, then emailed foresight for an updated quote on a new one.

        Comment


        • #79
          Originally posted by Mario mwndonca View Post

          Read this - went straight to eBay and upped my max bid for the gc2 listing, then emailed foresight for an updated quote on a new one.
          I've been saying this for awhile.....Seth said to me awhile ago (I'm not speaking for you just sharing what you told me).....TGC and PG were sent out to people to verify that balls could be hit. (end quote). That was almost a year ago. This delay all boils down to money.

          You skytrak users are having to wait because everyone wants to make sure they get their own cut of the pie. This is why I still call this a BETA product.

          Comment


          • #80
            Originally posted by Spudly View Post
            After seeing all the simulators here at the show and their huge price tags, by far the best value is Skytrak. I know some of you are frustrated by the delay of sim options but the guys at Skytrak are just as frustrated, they want nothing more than to get things going also.

            I saw some sim setups today that cost over 30k and they did were running the same E6 software that will be available soon for Skytrak at a fraction of the cost.
            It's really important to recognize what the ST is - and what it isn't. As a launch monitor, it doesn't have a long track record or the level of accuracy that can match the GC2. As a full simulator, it still hasn't had a widely released version of true sim software (like E6, PG, or TGC). But Spudly is right: ST is by far the best VALUE currently available, at least if you want to measure ball data with reasonable accuracy.

            If you want to do full simulation today, and you are willing to spend significantly more cash to get it, the GC2 is available, and some people have chosen to go that route - especially if they have been able to find a good used unit. One of the great things about GC2 right now is that you can play PG on it for a very small cost if you join the Online Golf Tour. That will change, of course, as soon as PG does a general release, at which time both ST and GC2 users will have to pay out more money to play PG, probably based on a subscription model. You can criticize SkyGolf for wanting to be sure that they have a sustainable business model to support the long-term success of ST, but that is something that GC2 wishes it had done early on. GC2 is still trying to get as much money as possible out of users up front by expecting them to pay $6-10K for a launch monitor and software packages, so it would not be fair to imply that ST folks are just money-grubbing business people and GC2 folks are not.

            IMO, ST is the value leader in the affordable launch monitor field and will become the value leader in the golf simulator field as soon as PG or E6 or TGC is released for ST. I'm definitely ready for it and hope that true sim software for ST is released very very soon.

            Comment


            • doublebogey
              doublebogey commented
              Editing a comment
              I agree. Among ST, Foresight and ES, ST (SkyGolf aside) has the most potential.

              Foresight is like Digital Equipment Corporation as it will die like all the mainframe makers if they're only interested in selling to club makers and big box stores. And sounds like dealing w Foresight not much fun either (with the mandatory $1k SDK fee and overpriced SW). Only thing going for it (actually for us) is if you're opportunistic you can still get a good used GC2 (w/o the SDK crap) at a very good price (and it is still the gold standard among portable LMs right now).

              ES16 sounds like a huge disappointment and doesn't look like it will fly (well, maybe when pigs fly).

              ST has huge potential but poor execution has been sapping its potential. I mean, seriously, scrap the subscription model and just charge $300 upfront for the range app + access to sims. In fact if you include GIP in all units and raise price on ST to $2,300 I think people will still buy, and ST will get more people paying $300 as now everyone must pay and all upfront (so I think they might actually be better off cashflow-wise vs current model) - and this saves the hassle of dealing w the security issues (not sure how many man hours they have paid software engineers to work on this security thing) and we would all have sim by now as all $2,300 ST's will by default have GIP and access to sims. In fact, going one extra step, raise price of ST's to $2,500 and include in all ST's GIP and the WGT stuff and I think people will still pay. Now you can tell people for $2,500 upfront, you get a quality LM + an extensive range app + an elementary sim in WGT all inclusive in that $2,500 price - and if you want better sim just go and buy some other 3rd party SW to use w ST at no extra charge from ST. And once you have captured a large market share, you will have huge leverage in getting the 3rd party sim SW makers to fork over more and more in SDK fees as their SW will not be visible if not available on ST given ST's market share.

              Seth, how much has SkyGolf invested in this ST JV? I'd be happy to set up a private equity consortium to pay off SkyGolf for the money they've invested and take out their stake in the JV and make this ST really really fly. I really think ST has the potential to be dominant (with the right strategy and execution).
              Last edited by doublebogey; 01-29-2016, 06:24 AM.

            • dsailer
              dsailer commented
              Editing a comment
              Whether the Skytrak subscription model decision pays remains to be seen. I've thought about this some and I'm not sure what I'd do in their shoes. I do know that when it comes to pure software, a subscription is the way to go. As a game owner, you may feel better about buying outright, but you're eventually going to want an upgrade and now the software company is stuck in a situation where they need to charge another 900$ for an update (to stay viable), and the customer is pissed - again. Meanwhile, the competitor on the subscription model has a predicable, continuous revenue stream, and the customer can just stop paying (which keeps the development going). They can use that more effectively to plan upgrades, which will likely come in a steadier stream. It's a win-win situation.

              However, just because Skytrak wants a piece of the sims revenue, doesn't mean it needed to turn into a monstrous amount of work. I'd be curious what the architecture is. I don't see why it has to be that complex. But, if there is little trust between Skytrak and the sims, and folks who don't understand IT start nosing around, it can get ugly really fast.

              Personally, I'm wondering why this couldn't have been an in-app purchase. All the infrastructure is already set up: networking, security, reporting, etc.

            • doublebogey
              doublebogey commented
              Editing a comment
              I agree but only difference here is SkyGolf simply wants to tax customers $100/year for people to have access to 3rd party sims - thus there is no real use of the "predicable, continuous revenue stream" that they plan to use to "more effectively to plan upgrades" as the range app, after all the bugs are fixed and certain features added, will have minimum upgrades going forward. And for that range app charging $300-400 upfront seems fair (that's what Japan SkyTrak charges as an optional one-time cost for their similar but less buggy range app).

          • #81
            Here's a disappointing comment from ST on Facebook in response to a question about the timelines for sim software releases:

            Jeffrey Donovan
            Today at 3:54pm
            Any big announcements on Golf simulators integration with SKYTRACK at the PGA Merchandise show? I'm on the cusp of ordering you launch monitor, but need a multiplayer simulation option and WGT doesn't fit the bill.


            Comments



            SkyTrak Hi Jeffrey: No definite timelines are available for the simulator partners beyond WGT, we will let everyone know on facebook when we have a solid timeline. Thanks.

            Comment


            • dsailer
              dsailer commented
              Editing a comment
              I'm not sure how much you can read into this, or other comments on dates. Someone replying on facebook is probably going to be more conservative. And based on what I know about Skygolf, I'm not confident you can get a good answer. I work in this field - direct managers often have a hard time getting a good answer from their own devs. And it gets worse when two companies are integrating.

            • aja
              aja commented
              Editing a comment
              I do think that you should read something into the official fb reply. The reply should actually be more upbeat since it's basically a very public medium. Sounds like same old, same old.
              Not regretting my decision one bit, to go in a different direction.

          • #82
            I was told via email that they "Hope to release it to all next week". Oi vay.

            Comment


            • #83
              Originally posted by Joko View Post
              I was told via email that they "Hope to release it to all next week". Oi vay.
              Didn't they say that to you 3 weeks ago that it would be released in 10 days? I tell you, if I had a dollar for every time I heard next week it'll be out, that would pay for a 1 year of GIP.

              Comment


              • Joko
                Joko commented
                Editing a comment
                Oh I know, I'm just giving out what I was told so that they can be judged accordingly. I hope they get it out, but not sure why they give such wonky dates. I work in IT and I understand how dates can shift around, but in general once a project is near the end we can say "it will be released on THIS day".

              • doublebogey
                doublebogey commented
                Editing a comment
                I would guess delay might not be 100% IT-related?

                I think they had every intention to officially announce release w all the sim partners at PGA show. Don't think you get 3 bays to show what people have been able to see on YouTube from TGC/ST beta testers over last year, or show off v2.2 of app or to demo their rangefinders. Something went very wrong I think.

            • #84
              im gonna go out on a limb and say next monday we're all gonna lose our minds with options of things to do! good thing itll be 60* out in the garage hahaha!!!

              if not i'll delete this post like it never happened ;-)

              Comment


              • m3w
                m3w commented
                Editing a comment
                More like we'll lose our minds with the lack of answers from yet another PGA show that comes and goes with nothing to show for it.

              • Brettster
                Brettster commented
                Editing a comment
                Uh... yeah... It's supposed to be 50 here on Sunday, and I'm thinking of dragging the clubs out too. I've pretty much given up on purchasing anything now until next Winter (indoor golf) season!

            • #85
              I'm guessing on Tuesday the groundhog will see his shadow and in six weeks we won't care if there is a sim package for another 9 months.

              Comment


              • ernie18
                ernie18 commented
                Editing a comment
                which reminds me, i gotta set my dvr to record the greatest movie of all time!

              • Tekbud
                Tekbud commented
                Editing a comment
                OOh - is "Caddyshack" on tonight?

              • ernie18
                ernie18 commented
                Editing a comment
                no no ground hog day!

            • #86
              At least we know that Seth is real with the video from Par2pro. I think he would have been a better spokesperson to talk about TGC than that other guy. Also any explaination of how the accelerometer calibration works? Do I put it on a level surface then calibrate? After that I put it on my hitting setup and if it's plus or minus 5 degrees I'm ok and don't need to worry about perfect level? SkyTrak_Seth

              Comment


              • wilson
                wilson commented
                Editing a comment
                How it took the comment was - the internal accelerometer will compensate for up to 5* of tilt axis any way. So you can check the level in the app, but it will attempt to compensate:

              • Brettster
                Brettster commented
                Editing a comment
                The leveler calibration was something really needed, it will be an excellent selling point, ONCE they can get Sim play working

            • #87
              Heres a grab of the screen with Tilt

              Comment


              • Rcush88
                Rcush88 commented
                Editing a comment
                Is that only available for all skytraks or is that an update that I can get on mine?

            • #88
              Take this for what it's worth... I went to the PGA Merchandise show today and checked out Skytrak. They told me that the E6 integration will be ready next month, and there "isn't a timeline yet" on TGC. Just a FYI for everyone.

              Comment


              • wilson
                wilson commented
                Editing a comment
                That would make sense - all the pics I saw from the floor (and Haney's demo) were of E6.
                TGC was a private behind closed doors preview.

              • Spudly
                Spudly commented
                Editing a comment
                I believe this was my original estimation that I gave two days ago, but Seth chimed in and said that it was not correct. Not sure what to make of that except that there is quite a bit of misinformation out there.

              • SDL
                SDL commented
                Editing a comment
                Did you ask about Perfect Golf?

            • #89
              Must be TGC or PG, otherwise I'm looking closer at GC2!

              Comment


              • #90
                So all the excitement leading up to this PGA show (where I think Seth mentioned all sim options will be / might be released?) and what did we get?
                - E6 (that very few seem to care for) MIGHT be available in a month or so;
                - no definite timeline for TGC integration (what most seems to be looking for);
                - no mention of PG (what the remaining large contingent seems to be looking for);
                - biggest announcement is WGT is sold to Topgolf - someone had mentioned a 3-month exclusive window to WGT ending end of Jan but I guess it was an exclusive window to do nothing to address ST WGT issues and bugs (I mean 2-3 WGT upgrade releases since ST WGT was launched and none of the releases addressed any of the ST WGT issues or bugs) but an exclusive window to sell themselves and totally disregard ST WGT?

                But I'm gonna stay positive and HOPE that v2.2 will address the highly frustrating sync issues for all. I say 'HOPE' because as a ST owner one can only 'HOPE' coz if you start to expect things then you will drive yourself up a wall all the time...

                And the winner for what looks like the happiest forum member this PGA show week is jetergr. Lucky dude managed to get himself what looks like a fully functional and rather new looking (though w Nike Golf labeling but I think that's cool) GC2a for a mere $3k when a similar one w/o the Apple-compatibility which means likely an older unit w even uglier labels is being bid thru the roof at $4.2k w 6+ days to go. Way to go Mr. Jeter! And if your first name is Derek, then enjoy your retirement w your GC2a =)

                Comment


                • Mickey
                  Mickey commented
                  Editing a comment
                  Agree with everything you wrote except for one minor detail. Seth actually tried to dampen expectations before the show. He wrote something like - "let's not get carried away" when the speculation was running wild.

                • wilson
                  wilson commented
                  Editing a comment
                  Jeter misses everything to the left....

                • doublebogey
                  doublebogey commented
                  Editing a comment
                  Mickey2 mwndonca, agree Seth is not to be blamed and I apologize if I might have inadvertently done so.

                  As for wilson, yes Jeter misses everything to the left hence he needs to get a GC2a to work on his game =)
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