Skytrak tips and tricks

[ernie18]

Hey all, With all the bad press around Skytrak with its sim integration problem/sync issues with the pga show this year

I wanted to write a post/ turn it positive that would help all users to maybe get their skytrak working better. I'm maybe hoping this will get stickied for its information. If you have anything to add please do so. I have only used PC version so some of these maybe pc related. I get it, not everyone loves their skytrak but lets try to keep this thread to a best practices post.

1. Make sure unit is level- use level or level with "protective" (lol) case leveler
2. Alignment - make sure unit is aligned with where your striking.
3. Make sure unit is level with surface your hitting off of
- If hitting off mat make sure unit doesnt move or is off the mat/ even with the mat
4. Balls - I've found nxt tour s, velocities, nike one vapors work pretty well. I havent tried prov1s yet but read the reduce spin messes w/ skytrak - I could be wrong?
5. Swing speeds - if you have a high swing speed, tee the driver about an inch back results have varied from user to user but seems to help. Also making unit level with ball for driver seemed to work, is it a pain in the bum yeah but what are you going to do?
6. Marks on the ball - whether they are putting lines or ball markings, the cameras seem to like this more and results are greatly increased.
7. Sync issues - I still have sync issues, I turn my wi-fi off, when doing this the lag is greatly reduced since unit is always trying to connect to their server
8. Direct USB - I've always used direct usb, I cant comment on wireless connecting. Its just my preferred method.
9. My skytrak likes to be off before I connect it via usb to my laptop, I plug the usb in then turn it on..so usb cord is in , plug it in, turn unit on win 10 finds it.

this is all i have for now/ what i can think of please feel free to add!

[Taptap]

This looks like a good spot for this alignment tip. My ST has the FMJ. There is a lip on the FMJ that holds an alignment rod like it was made for it. I use it all the time.

[Mark72]

Here is how I solved my alignment issues. If I use alignment mode, or square it based on an alignment rod held against Sktrak's face, the unit ends up pointing several inches to the left of where it should. I made a device that helps me quickly align it to the correct point (see picture).

To use it, I hold the Skytrak against the right edge of the main board and then turn on the laser pointer tape measure (from Home Depot). I then move the entire unit and Skytrak until the dot points to the aiming string that hangs on my target screen (the string has a fishing weight at the end to keep it tight).

The laser device sits against a small board mounted on top of the main board. It is attached with only one screw, so it can rotate, which allowed me to fine tune the initial aiming point. This initially required hitting several balls and dialing it in to the right point. You hit balls and see where it strikes the sheet vs. the aiming string and compare it to the horizontal angle that Skytrak says it went (basically looking for balls slightly right of the string to be positive 1-2 degrees and slightly left balls to be minus 1-2 degrees. After trial and error, you find the spot that seems most accurate (you have to hit many balls, because many will say zero degrees even if slightly off center).

I tested the result with a high speed camera mounted overhead with lines and angles in the video software, and it confirmed that my method was accurate. If you look at the final result, you think Skytrak points to the right of where it should, but it is right. In other words, if Skytrak is 10 inches from it’s own ball dot, and you place an aiming stick against the Skytrak face and follow that line to the wall, my correct placement has that line touching the wall several inches more than 10 inches to the right of the hanging string aiming line.

Once you get the initial angle correct on the mounting board, you tighten the screw on the top board and you are good to go forever. I recently changed to a Divot Action mat to eliminate my “CCE elbow”. I noticed that the bouncing of this turf gradually moves my Skytrak out of alignment, so I now re-test my alignment more frequently, which works very well.

Sorry for the long post, but you have to get this right for Skytrak to useful, and I have found it to be fantastic!

[rjd1975]

I appreciate this post but I don't fully understand it. Would it be possible for you to send a more detailed explanation and perhaps a video? I would like something that I could use to align quickly going from left to right hand. I am left handed and it stays that way 95% of the time but I find it tough to get it aligned correctly once it is moved...right now I use a lot of trial and error. Thanks

[Doug Doty]

I have a unique old guy perspective on why I like my skytrak so much. I have a never ending weak and aching low back problem. I can still golf but nothing hurts worse than standing a long time and repeated swinging at the range. So I take my ST to the range with me when I want to practice a little, work through my bag and enjoy the outdoors. I really get the best and most relative information out of taking 3, 4 or 5 swings at a time with each club to get my 3 ish good feeling shots per club and then sit down and look through the data to keep my back happy and not hurting, this also keeps my swinging more relative to coarse play and keeps my back in the game the best I can manage on range practice. I take this sit down time to kick out the couple of worst shots if needed, keep the best 3 and that becomes my captured data for that club that day. Pacing myself like this and taking time to study what I am getting out of each club as well as getting this break between clubs is just perfect to keep things relative. I sometimes make an adjustment and re-hit a club before moving on as well. I then change to the next club identifier to be tested in the skytrak app and hit my way through the bag in order or random, this gets the most real to coarse play information out of me and the best data out of the skytrak with the least pain. Hitting a ball on the coarse and carting to the next shot usually don't bother me too much until late in the day. I'll never be a great golfer with my situation but I can strive to be that grooved in kind of play down the middle, kind of guy that is sometimes there in the end. I use it at home the same way but I like the feel of outdoors and seeing my ball flight headed down range. Even with the ST I find hitting into a net or screen on a nice day kind of cumbersome. Works good for me as standing there and hitting a bucket of balls one after another takes my back out of commission for the next day or more. Getting old is all about pacing yourself and keeping moving.

[Dan McWhirter]

Updated through the latest firmware release: This was coincidental, but, after a mess of no reads of a putt, I tried placing the ball about 1 1/2 inches outside and a bit back of the red dot...putts read perfectly, running down the intended line. So, another problem, chipping from close to the green...often get no reads...first success was trying a lower lofted club, 6 iron, worked much better...then, tried the same ball placement as for the putts and whala! bingo! Very happy.

[Dan McWhirter]

This also greatly helped my friend who is a lefty but plays the unit in right hand mode, sitting between his stance and the ball. Good thing about that is I don't have to move the unit.

[cmckelvmi]

Updated through the latest firmware release: This was coincidental, but, after a mess of no reads of a putt, I tried placing the ball about 1 1/2 inches outside and a bit back of the red dot...putts read perfectly, running down the intended line. So, another problem, chipping from close to the green...often get no reads...first success was trying a lower lofted club, 6 iron, worked much better...then, tried the same ball placement as for the putts and whala! bingo! Very happy.

Just to clarify, is outside and back from the red dot further away from you and further away from the target? If the red dot is the center of the clock face, then about 1:30?

[Dan McWhirter]

Nope. More like 9:40 About 1 1/2 " toward your feet and 1" back

[wjdxor]

can you post a picture of this, please?

[ST_GaryPlayer]

I’m glad I found this forum 😊
I have used SkyTrak for about one year and it works very nicely!

Just lately I have started to analyze wind effect to golf ball distance. I found some Trackman data which shows distance in certain wind condition. What is your opinion and experience about SkyTrak wind effect? So, if you set headwind e.g. 10mph, does is calculate distance correctly?

[colinjm18]

Not sure if it is totally correct as it only takes a photo of the ball but if you hit a shot with no wind and then change the wind strength and direction and replay the same shot it does have an effect on the ball flight.

[Derek Flower]

Can anyone tell me if I need to have an internet connection when using USB connection to get live data from Skytrak? Where I live they do not offer high speed internet at this time. I know I can use the unit without the internet and then sync it once I have a wifi connection, but that doesn't help when needing the live data to see whats happening. Any IDEAS?

Thanks

[FortuNate]

If you are connecting direct via USB I don’t believe you do need internet. I haven’t tried this but it’s “direct connect” implying no internet needed

[Alex Ma]

Hey guys, I'm relatively new to sky trak and this forum. Like other of you, I've been struggling with misalignment quite a lot. Usually they are biased toward left (I'm right handed). I've been doing quite some research and read a lot of posts but seems like there is no clear good way of fixing it? Looks like I have to adjust it pretty much every time. Is that true?

[FortuNate]

I’m a draw player in real golf so I didn’t notice until everyone started talking about it missing left...I do aim right of center because of my draw shot but I do that in real golf so it’s pretty on for me.

I do have some buddy’s that come over and they have no problem hitting it right 😂 so seams good to me. When I start hitting the ball left more I notice I start aiming straight into the screen and not focusing on starting the ball out right just a hair. Sometimes I fight this for a while then 🤦♂️Oh ya start right.

I do find it very hard for me to play a fade though. My buddy’s have no problem though going right 😂 I’m a 7 handicap in real golf and can turn the ball at will. I’m finding that your starting angle is very important if not the most important thing with Skytrak.

Also I think we tend to think we should be hitting the ball straighter than we think...of we were at the range and hits balls off line we wouldn’t question it obviously. But indoors feels a bit more like video game golf and I think we like to think we are better golfers 😂

I have yet to take it outside to the range to test it against real ball flights. It’s cold here in Washington State still and I just got it last month but I can’t wait to see it on the range! 😃👍 I’ve never swung my clubs so much during the winter so that’s a win regardless.

[FortuNate]

Not sure where the * and male symbol came from in my last comment 😂

[Alex Gorodetsky]

I find that I'm hitting left a couple of degrees quite often due to my setup being so far right. On one occasion I had to align my Skytrak 3 degrees left to get straight shots, but then realized this was due to it not being at the same height as the mat and level with the ground. Once fixed, the problem went away. I also find it much more difficult to hit fades than draws, and I do feel that draws are exaggerated.

[xdxaxvxex]

Three more set up tips if your distances are off: 1. Level skytrak (and level floor/hitting mat); 2. skytrak level with mat; 3) aligned ST. I just got a skytrak a week ago and had a couple very frustrating days when the distances were short by 10-30% consistently. I searched this forum, skytrak's troubleshooting, and anything else I could find online. Skytrak troubleshooting in the manual simply says make sure it is level and aligned; turns out that was exactly the problem, but it was a little tricky.

1. Level skytrak and hitting mat: After a lot of trial and error, I realized that my garage floor is not level; it slopes slightly downhill to the door so that water can run out of it if you wash your car, etc. So, I had the skytrak perfectly level but it was measuring against a mat that was not level. I put a long level on my hitting mat and put large pieces of cardboard in place until it was perfectly level especially at the area from the red dot you hit from to the front red dot used for alignment.

Another way I tested if I was level was to turn on the alignment feature on the software. It produces two red dots that are intended to help you align the skytrak. But I layed an alignment stick across the two red dots and measured the distance from the stick (or from a red dot if you prefer) to the edge of my hitting mat (or to the edge of the skytrak if you prefer). If the distances are not exactly the same, you are not level- - if the bubble level on the ST shows level, then it is your mat that is not level.

2. ST level with mat: My second problem was how to ensure the ST was level with the mat- this sounds easy, but my ST is in the steel protective case which has a lip on the front of it, so you can't put a level up against the bottom of the ST. I was trying to just eyeball it, but was not getting accurate distances. I finally took the ST out of the protective case, turned the case around back wards where there is no lip, and layed a long level across my mat and the floor of the case. I got the center of the case exactly level with my mat. Then turned the case back around facing properly, put the ST back in it, leveled the ST with the level it comes with and the leveling software. (I should also mention, my hitting mat is a 5X5 CCE mat which I really like, but it takes a few days or a week to completely settle flat and if it is not flat in the area where the ST is reading the shot, it can mess up the read. My far bigger issue was an unlevel garage floor, but if your mat is new, put something heavy on it and flatten it out if it's causing problems)

3. Align ST. For this, I used the leveling and alignment feature in the ST software. It shows two red dots. I laid an alignment stick from one red dot to the other red dot. Then, I overlapped it with another alignment stick closer to my hitting target and put the alignment stick on the ground between my hitting mat and impact screen. That is my straight line to hit on. I then put a piece of painters tape on the screen on the hitting line and hit a few chip shots at it and saw that ST said I was at center (0 launch variance) to confirm everything was lined up.

Now that distances are accurate, I'm absolutely loving my new skytrak.

[FortuNate]

I have now used my ST outside at the range and I had no troubles drawing or fading the ball outdoors and it picked everything up perfect even in direct sunlight. I’m convienced I have an indoor swing I don’t know about...but since that outdoor range session I now have a new confidence in the ST and love it all the more! And I can now actually fade the ball 50% of the time now indoors instead of never. Just played my best golf on the ST tonight in my garage 😃👍

[GDG]

Hi all, There are a few clubs I dont have in my bag, how does sky trak Know what club your using when playing the courses, as I would naturaly assume a scond shot if from the fairway would be 3 wood on Par 5 ( i dont use this club) also as a senior gentleman , my irons dont go as far as younger gents so have to club up, how does Sky trak know what club your using?

[wbond]

Skytrak does not care what club you use.

Hi all, There are a few clubs I dont have in my bag, how does sky trak Know what club your using when playing the courses, as I would naturaly assume a scond shot if from the fairway would be 3 wood on Par 5 ( i dont use this club) also as a senior gentleman , my irons dont go as far as younger gents so have to club up, how does Sky trak know what club your using?

[GDG]

being a bit slow here? does Sky Trak know what club your playing? as when I drive of the T, several times it has show results as having been hit with a wood, when really its an iron that I have used?

[wbond]

GDG Sorry, but you lost me. If you are using skytrak with TGC, Skytrak does not need to know what club you are using in the game. It makes no difference, skytrak only reads ball data and could care less what club you are swinging. The only time it does matter is when you are off the green and you want to use putter. You must then change the club in the game to putter so it reads correctly.

[GDG]

WOW, i did not know you could change this? thats where 70% of the damage has been done little rascal is always on the fringe. next question, HOW

[calebm1001]

GDG - Z or X to change clubs in the top right corner box.

[trhuke]

Here's a little idea I had that should help with getting good reads. I bought an LED light puck at Walmart (2 for $10), runs a long time on 3 AAA batteries, fairly low output but you can set it up to shine on the red SkyTrak laser dot and they illuminate the ball really nicely.
I like to keep the lighting fairly low in my hitting area so the screen isn't washed out, the little LED light gives the SkyTrak a nice amount of light to read with and doesn't blind me. My $.02.

[Dan McWhirter]

That's what I had for several months, but the batteries were a pain. Recently installed a wired LED threesome, but we did box it to cut off unwanted light.