Help and stop me from returning this thing...

[nicrapacz]

I have been digging through the archives like crazy to fix the problems that I am having with distances. I received the Skytrak a few days ago and have been playing with it each night to justify the expense. Like many, I am having major issues with my driver, my 3 wood, and to some extent, my long irons. The wedges and mid irons are amazing and will be the only thing stopping me from returning the system if I can't fix these issues, but I need some advice.

Here are some details:

• First, I am a 5.6 handicap and put in a lot of time on the range, so I am not delusional.
• I hit a low, piercing shot with my driver and 3 wood. Driver normally rolls out to 240 and the 3 wood to about 210. Not a big hitter my any means, but I know my distances on the course.
• I have toggled the course conditions to mirror my playing conditions (and even some very dramatic examples of elevation [for science]), with no luck.
• Almost every shot carries between 25-75 yards before dying. Playing these sim courses has been a nightmare.
• I have been using the rubber tees that came with TheNetReturn, but covered them in blue painters tape because I read somewhere that the white tee can mess with the system.
• Using new Pro V1s. After two days of driver hell, I marked them up with a sharpie. No change.
• My driver is white, but my 3 wood is not. I am having equal trouble with both.
• The system is level and on the mat. I have a huge mat and the body does not wobble at impact or follow-through.
• All firmware and software is up to date.

Am I forgetting to try something? I want this to work for me so badly but I am not sure if I can keep it under these conditions.

[GmanJeff]

If you can, perhaps take your unit to your driving range, and compare distances you see both "in real life" and w/ST in identical conditions. If they match up, you'll know the issue is not with the ST.

[nicrapacz]

I will do that, but I know without a doubt that I hit my drive longer than 125 yards.

[aeroburner]

that's what every one says sorry could not resist

[nicrapacz]

The range test had bad results with my stinger drive. Almost unrecognizable compared to what was actually happening with the ball. That being said, I started hitting a more conventional shot towards the end of the session and had much better results. Maybe I'll have to spend the winter reconfiguring my swing!

[doublebogey]

[*]I hit a low, piercing shot with my driver and 3 wood. Driver normally rolls out to 240 and the 3 wood to about 210. Not a big hitter my any means, but I know my distances on the course.

I will do that, but I know without a doubt that I hit my drive longer than 125 yards.

Are you saying you're over 100 yards off? Consistently? If so maybe something is wrong w your SkyTrak?

Like others have mentioned, still worth it to take it to the range and check it out nevertheless as more often it's the golfer, the mat, the ball or whatever instead of the SkyTrak that's causing the shorter distances.

That being said - I've had my SkyTrak for almost a year and a half now. I sometimes still feel my driver distances are still a bit low on SkyTrak vs real life (played a round on Friday and was driving ~20 yards longer than my normal drives in SkyTrak). Driver however is one club I find hard to compare distances on range (lack of rangefinder to determine "exact" total distances and hard to capture "exact" carry distances, grounds on driving range slightly different than fairways so roll distances could be slightly off + 20 yards is <10% of total distance hence could be anything including I really just don't let it go in a cage vs being completely free outdoors, etc.).

[Thinman]

troubleshooting 101 says eliminate factors. since you cannot eliminate the skytrak factor without shipping it to Mississippi, i suggest you eliminate your environment and take it to the range.

[ernie18]

whats your tee height for the driver. if the tee is to high it wont capture the picture of the ball accurately .

[doublebogey]

And is your laser dot at bottom or top of tee? SkyTrak instructions says you should have it at base of tee.

Also, one thing I've noticed is if you have very low launch angle you can consider placing tee an inch or two behind laser dot. And if you tee it really high you might wanna consider having laser dot a little bit up on the tee instead of at the base.

And lastly, I have pretty low launch angle on my 3 wood off the deck, so for 3 wood off the deck I usually place ball about an inch behind laser dot.

[bennyg211]

I concur with what doublebogey said. I'd put money on it that, given the symptoms you've described, you can resolve your issues with adjusting the height of the unit relative to the tee and also moving the ball position behind or in front of the laser dot (behind or in front in line of the target). You've said the more lofted clubs work well. You've said that you hit low shots. Spend half hour playing around with this and I'll be surprised if you don't find a combination that works for you. It's all about getting the ball in the camera viewing window.

[bennyg211]

Also, you've said the SkyTrak is on your mat as well. Now I don't think that it is causing your problems, but it's certainly not helping. Best practice is to have it isolated from the mat if you can. I have mine on a small sample of the same mat material. So heightwise it's bang on and it's completely independant.

[Sledge0001]

Also, you've said the SkyTrak is on your mat as well. Now I don't think that it is causing your problems, but it's certainly not helping. Best practice is to have it isolated from the mat if you can. I have mine on a small sample of the same mat material. So heightwise it's bang on and it's completely independant.

bennyg211 is spot on. Having your Skytrak on the same mat you are hitting from is a bad idea. Every swing will have cause slight movements which could very well give you inconsistent results. But as mentioned definitely make sure it's the same height and that you periodically check your alignment through the Skytrak app every coulple of days.

Also be careful using sharpies on your balls the ink can potentially screw up your impact screen!

[Shardak]

I hit a low, piercing shot with my driver and 3 wood. Driver normally rolls out to 240 and the 3 wood to about 210. Not a big hitter my any means, but I know my distances on the course.

How low is low? What launch angle are you seeing with driver?

If its very low, below 8 degrees, try putting the tee about 1-2 inches behind the red dot (relative to the direction of ball flight).

This will get the ball higher up in the air before it reaches the area that the skytrak does its measurements and might help.

[nicrapacz]

My Skytrak protective case was shipped without legs, so I am still waiting on them to make good on that. I am not sure how long those will be, but I will definitely use whatever length they give to level the system to my mat on the cement floor.

I have tried teeing up behind the red dot with my lower-launch swing with comparably bad results, so I am not sure what is going on. When I tee up in a more conventional manner, I have success. To be honest, this may have more to do with my swing mechanics than anything else. I went out for a round with the new version of my driver swing, and shot wonderfully (77). There were a few drives that matched up nicely to my flight path on the Skyrak, so I am pretty happy with it.

[nicklas]

Are the ST on the cement floor? 1 inch below your mat?
ST must be on same level as the mat.