This has been an agonizing week. Trying to Decide between the SkyTrak and the ProTee

[ADPhillips13]

I have somewhat decided to stick with the SkyTrak.
My Biggest Concern with Skytrak were :
1. Device being so close to ball at address
2. Lack of Multi player on WGT
3. Annual fees like a time share
4. No club data

I liked the Pro Tee for:
1. Not having the unit in danger of the ball
2. Club Data
3. ProTee 2.o and The Golf Club bundle

After coming to grips with the fact I'll need to buy a gaming computer regardless and that the Sky Trak annual fee would only be $100 a year $200 if I want to keep the WGT.
The fact that I'm pretty comfortable with my club path and there are many devices ( pretty cheap also) that can give me club data. I think I'm going to just stick with the Sky Trak and purchase the Golf Club. I wanted to teach my daughters how to play so I'll just buy a optishot for $300 bucks and let them use that and once they have improved i'll let them use the Sky Trak. The Skytrak's ability to be used indoors and out was a major plus.

Lastly, is the ProTee just a more powerful Optishot, the addition of the Cameras is a nice feature. I'm 80% sure i'm going with Sky Trak but would love to hear from you guys being I am just a newbie that has little to no simulator experience.

[wbond]

Use almost golf balls or "qolf" balls when teaching them. That way no worries on hurting the skytrak. You can also build yourself a better protection device fairly easily and way cheaper than the one they sell.

[ADPhillips13]

Wbond I was thinking something like this with maybe plexi over the camera area not sure if it would impact accuracy however. What is your take on the two devices. Pro Tee vs. Skytrak?

[penrose]

I like my skytrak. I was debating between flighscope, GC2 and skytrak. To me skytrak has been great so far. turn it on, place on mat, put ball down on by red laser and ready.

[GmanJeff]

Can't help with a decision comparing ProTee to ST because I have no experience with ProTee, but I can tell you from personal experience that the ST is indeed in danger from shanked balls. The suggestion above, to use Almost Golf or another less-than-"real" ball, is a good one. The ST protective case is helpful, but is made of what seems to be relatively brittle plastic and can be damaged from the impact from a real golf ball. I took a big chunk out of mine, and while it did indeed protect the ST unit inside, I was disappointed that it didn't itself survive the impact intact.

The image you posted looks like a wooden "surround" for the ST, rather than an enclosure which also protects the front of the unit. I wouldn't think that would be terribly helpful as, in my experience, badly struck balls have struck the face/edge of the protective case by the hinge, while the wooden enclosure you show appears to leave that area mostly open and vulnerable. An enclosure which covers most of the front of the ST unit, apart from the lens/laser area or which also covers that area with clear Lexan or another transparent but protective material, would be better, especially if lined with a shock absorbing foam.

[FaultyClubs]

I have a gc2 which sits a lot further away than the Skytrak and people have hit it with the CLUB (as well as shanked balls). Younger kids especially...they take a mighty swing, whip all the way around and hit it with their club on the follow through. Sadly I've even had full grown adults do the same. Glad i made a large foam padded enclosure and not just a hard protective shell!

The Protee is nothing like the Optishot in capability. It uses different technology. Same league as the Skytrak so no worries there. Also Protee handles a mix of righty/lefty swingers well but Skytrak/GC2 launch monitors don't.

[mthunt]

I have a gc2 which sits a lot further away than the Skytrak and people have hit it with the CLUB (as well as shanked balls). Younger kids especially...they take a mighty swing, whip all the way around and hit it with their club on the follow through. Sadly I've even had full grown adults do the same. Glad i made a large foam padded enclosure and not just a hard protective shell!

The Protee is nothing like the Optishot in capability. It uses different technology. Same league as the Skytrak so no worries there. Also Protee handles a mix of righty/lefty swingers well but Skytrak/GC2 launch monitors don't.

Someone hit a gc2 with their club? How is that even possible?

[FaultyClubs]

That's what i thought. LoL

[aja]

Give someone a club who has never golfed because they want to try out you new 'sim' and you will soon see the wildest swings imaginable.

I have a ProTee so I have absolutely no worries about some 'hacker'; causing damage.

[ADPhillips13]

and back to square 1.... I don't mind spending money but wasting it is another thing. I have heard that WGT is a 5 at best, and the idea of getting Pro Tee2.0 and The Golf Club for less than a $500 difference seems like the better bang for my buck. I love the portability of the Sky Trak but I'm struggling with the closeness at address. If I shank a ball which I shouldn't but if I did. I could live with the consequences. If one of my friends did it.... That would cause a strain on our relationship. I have been trying to find a ProTee thread where ProTee owners discuss what they like and dislike about the ProTee. Anyone have a link ?

[aja]

You won't find a link that talks about why ProTee owners dislike their ProTee. I haven't ever seen one like that an I researched my sim for over a year before I settled on... ProTee.

That's not to say that it's 100% perfect, nothing is. There are moments that leave you wondering but all in all I can honestly say proTee is in the same class as the Foresight GC2. When I hit a ball using either of those technologies, the ball flight that I see on the screen is pretty well what I was expecting, good or bad shot.

If you have the space for a permanent set-up, go with ProTee.

They have real customer service - the gold standard as far as I and many others are concerned.

I find it hilarious that SkyTrak owners have to turn to a SkyTrak employee helping them on this forum, since the official SkyTrak support channels are so incompetent... pretty Mickey Mouse, sorry to insult the mouse

[Thinman]

In another thread it was mentioned that a user added the skytrak to their homeowners insurance for ~$12/yr and that it covered damage. I plan on going that route regardless of the device I decide on

[aja]

Turned out it was for theft, not damage.

[pdxkurt]

That was me, and it covers damage as well!

[wbond]

I can't compare protee as i have never used it, but i am much more concerned with ball reading vs club reading. You can get some ball reading with additional cameras on protee. As far as protection, there is a template made by davray that eliminates all the concern. Just buy a piece of plexiglass online, make the cuts and mount it to a wooden box. Then your all set. I also needed a movable system so protee wasn't really in the cards.

[ADPhillips13]

"Template made by davray" where can i find that? I am just returning from lowes with the lumber to build my frame for my mat. I was thinking plexi glass box also but wasn't sure if the laser and cameras would be affected.

[wbond]

When I get back on a computer I will send it to you. You need to have cutouts in certain areas for laser and "curtain" that reads the ball.

[gene438]

AD, I understand your agony....but trust me in that you are going down a path that will bring you hours and hours of enjoyment, regardless of what direction you go in. I use my simulator everyday and I usually don't feel right unless I hit a least a few balls each day.

I am admittedly bias, so be warned. I have a ProTee system which I bought after months of research. Here are my thoughts:

Benefits of the ProTee:

1)Very accurate system with both ball and club data
2)Can be used easily by left and right hand players
3)Support is excellent and ProTee actually owns TGC which I like as I believe they will always make sure ProTee users are taken care of.. (just my opinion)
4)Once setup, the system is very stable and easy to use.

Pros for the Skytrak

1)very easy to setup
2)mobile, you can take it outside (Although most owners never do)

I think the ProTee is a more accurate system but historically the drawback has always been it is not a mobile system, can be tedious to setup at first, and price. However, if you plan on buying a skytrack and using TGC, I don't think the price advantage is that big for the skytrack. I believe you can get a basic ProTee system with TGC for 3K now. That is basically the same as a skytrack with TGC.

If you are going to have a permanent setup and plan to buy TGC, then I think ProTee is by far the better deal.....about the same money but more accurate plus club head data.

Just my 2 cents....but back in the day when the ProTee was going for around 5K, there was a distinctive price advantage for the skytrack...i believe that is gone now or at least greatly reduced.

At any rate, I love the ProTee system, I have a permanent setup so mobility,etc. is not something I need or desire.

Plus, I love the hundreds of settings you can tweak in ProTee in the pursuit of perfecting the sim experience.....you just don't get that kind of customization with the skytrack...but then again, some guys like to just plug n play and are not so concerned with accuracy.....

Hope this helps...but with either system, welcome to the club and the addiction!!!!

[Ironstrokes]

When I get back on a computer I will send it to you. You need to have cutouts in certain areas for laser and "curtain" that reads the ball.

Just PMed him the template you were talking to him about, figured im just chilling reading the forums, might as well send it to him haha. If you go the skytrak route, definitely make one of these. You can see some of my pictures and others of this in the "protecting skytrak" thread

[GmanJeff]

At the risk of being repetitious, and directed really at Seth as a channel to ST, this thread is an excellent example of the value there would be to both customers and the company with an offering of a truly durable and protective shock-absorbing enclosure for the ST, which includes the height adjustment and leveling features of the current, not-very-durable brittle plastic case. With customers designing and building their own enclosures, some ordering metal shields from the Far East, and others considering alternative launch monitors from other companies because of concerns about whether their purchase will survive reasonably foreseeable mishaps, it's obvious that the current protective case offering is not serving customers or ST as well as it could.