I have had my Skytrak for a full year now.
I have been playing golf for 30 years, but with some large gaps of 3-5 years without playing. My lifetime average score prior to Skytrak was 100.
Summer of 2015 I started playing again after about 5 years away from the game. I decided that golf is fun, and I wanted to start playing regularly and also try to improve my game.
At the time, I didnt know that launch monitors existed for home use. I actually started shopping for a net for my backyard, so I could hit balls at home. I discovered NetReturn nets, and from their website saw some pretty cool sim setups. That opened the door to finding out what launch monitors were on the market, and if I could afford any of them.
I bought the NetReturn first and ended up fitting it in my garage. A few weeks later I bought a Swing Caddie SC100 since it was about $100 and sounded like a cool toy. I had limited success with it, it would read maybe 50% of my shots, and with its limited data collection I was not confident I was getting valuable data. But even with bad data, the fact that I was getting any data at all made me want a "real" launch monitor even more.
I researched Ernest Sports ES12/ES14, Flightscope, GC2, Trackman etc. They were either more money than I wanted to spend, or offered limited data (ES12/14 seemed no better than SwingCaddie). When I found Skytrak, it seemed like the perfect fit. At the time there was alot of negative press regarding slow updates to software, no sim integration etc etc. But I took a chance and ordered one anyway.
It came with a free SkyPro device. Using both together helped me identify a few issues with my swing. I tend to swing way past parallel, and also tend to have a very inside shaft angle at the top of my swing. I could not feel these flaws, and was pretty sure Skypro was wrong when it pointed these out. I took some swing video and was surprised when I saw on video exactly what Skypro showed me.
Those were my most obvious swing faults, but over the last year I have worked on alot of other small changes. Even with all the data that SkyTrak and SkyPro give, its still hard to figure out what to change. I have watched a ton of swing tips videos on Youtube (mostly Mark Crossfield, and also Chris Ryan Golf). Learning about the physics of the golf swing and how certain changes can affect things has helped alot.
My game has improved dramatically. My average is now 90. I shoot in the 80s regularly, and am striking the ball very well. I used to fade/slice nearly every shot. Now I hit either straight or with a slight draw. I can stand over 180 yard approach shots and have confidence that its possible I will hit the green. I NEVER used to feel that way.
My putting has not improved at all. That is one thing that TGC, and even putting on an indoor putting green, has not helped with one bit. I am now working alot on putting, practicing a few days a week at the putting green at my local course. If I can make some gains on the green, I am confident I can shoot in the 70s next season.
Attached are some GameGolf stats from my rounds one year ago vs recently. Note that massive improvement in iron play. Approach and Short Game strokes gained show great progress. Off the Tee has not improved but its getting better. I still tend to spray a drive or 3 into the woods (the course I play is pretty tight). And my putting...still terrible.
I have been playing golf for 30 years, but with some large gaps of 3-5 years without playing. My lifetime average score prior to Skytrak was 100.
Summer of 2015 I started playing again after about 5 years away from the game. I decided that golf is fun, and I wanted to start playing regularly and also try to improve my game.
At the time, I didnt know that launch monitors existed for home use. I actually started shopping for a net for my backyard, so I could hit balls at home. I discovered NetReturn nets, and from their website saw some pretty cool sim setups. That opened the door to finding out what launch monitors were on the market, and if I could afford any of them.
I bought the NetReturn first and ended up fitting it in my garage. A few weeks later I bought a Swing Caddie SC100 since it was about $100 and sounded like a cool toy. I had limited success with it, it would read maybe 50% of my shots, and with its limited data collection I was not confident I was getting valuable data. But even with bad data, the fact that I was getting any data at all made me want a "real" launch monitor even more.
I researched Ernest Sports ES12/ES14, Flightscope, GC2, Trackman etc. They were either more money than I wanted to spend, or offered limited data (ES12/14 seemed no better than SwingCaddie). When I found Skytrak, it seemed like the perfect fit. At the time there was alot of negative press regarding slow updates to software, no sim integration etc etc. But I took a chance and ordered one anyway.
It came with a free SkyPro device. Using both together helped me identify a few issues with my swing. I tend to swing way past parallel, and also tend to have a very inside shaft angle at the top of my swing. I could not feel these flaws, and was pretty sure Skypro was wrong when it pointed these out. I took some swing video and was surprised when I saw on video exactly what Skypro showed me.
Those were my most obvious swing faults, but over the last year I have worked on alot of other small changes. Even with all the data that SkyTrak and SkyPro give, its still hard to figure out what to change. I have watched a ton of swing tips videos on Youtube (mostly Mark Crossfield, and also Chris Ryan Golf). Learning about the physics of the golf swing and how certain changes can affect things has helped alot.
My game has improved dramatically. My average is now 90. I shoot in the 80s regularly, and am striking the ball very well. I used to fade/slice nearly every shot. Now I hit either straight or with a slight draw. I can stand over 180 yard approach shots and have confidence that its possible I will hit the green. I NEVER used to feel that way.
My putting has not improved at all. That is one thing that TGC, and even putting on an indoor putting green, has not helped with one bit. I am now working alot on putting, practicing a few days a week at the putting green at my local course. If I can make some gains on the green, I am confident I can shoot in the 70s next season.
Attached are some GameGolf stats from my rounds one year ago vs recently. Note that massive improvement in iron play. Approach and Short Game strokes gained show great progress. Off the Tee has not improved but its getting better. I still tend to spray a drive or 3 into the woods (the course I play is pretty tight). And my putting...still terrible.
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