Skytrak Long Drive

[clevited]

So a little update. My swing caddie was picking up ball speed as the ball was slowing down in my net which was most noticeable after ball speeds of about 125 mph. This is why ST was seemingly picking up higher ball speeds. I think the two I posted above were either misreads, or it actually did read a couple shots accurately.

 

With that, I had some luck in the past hitting reflective golf balls. Namely, NXT Tour S (Yellow). My ST seemed to always pick them up well, it rarely had to "think" for a long time after hitting one, and my ball speed seemed to be consistently higher. It could be lighting dependent I don't know but worth a try for those of you still having issues.

 

 

Edit: I tested this as of October 2018, the reflective yellow balls didn't seem to make any difference. I tested against Trackman as well and didn't see any higher ball speeds or improved ST reads.

[clevited]

Ok, finally tested again vs TM. Here is a graph showing results across the entire range of speeds I tested (used LW, 9i, 6i, 5w and Driver). I also includes graph of just 160-180 mph ball speeds to better show detail. Most tests I have seen shows Skytrak low across the board, increasing in how low as ball speed went up. I had a weird thing happen where Skytrak read higher by a bit until about 145 mph, then it noticeably changes to reading low. I did swap to a difference Skytrak since my last Trackman test, so it could be this one just behaves a little differently.

 

To summarize what the graphs say, Skytrak read as much as 3.1 high, all the way to as much as 7.8 low vs Trackman. It rarely read high at higher ball speeds as you can see, but 3, 4 5 mph low was quite common. I would imagine every Skytrak is different, but I have yet to come across one that is not low at higher ball speeds. I hope this helps some of you frustrated with what your Skytrak shows. If you are like me and have a few perfect feeling swings and strikes in a row, yet the ball speeds vary wildly, more than they should, it is likely largely from the inconsistencies of your Skytrak at those speeds.

[Pearlwhites]

Good info. Thanks for posting. I think that amount of deviation seems acceptable given the price difference.

[clevited]

Good info. Thanks for posting. I think that amount of deviation seems acceptable given the price difference.

 

Skytrak supposedly tested this themselves last week as more than just myself noticed the low numbers at higher speed and the large potential deviations. I will update here when I hear back from them. If they verify and quantify the problem, it may or may not be something they can tweak hardware side, like a sensor threshold or something. That is if they can pin point it and verify it is a problem across all Skytraks and not something like an individual calibration issue. Even if it is a calibration issue, if they figure it out, a guy could possibly send in their unit and get it calibrated to be much tighter accuracy wise making it just that much more fun and meaningful to use.

 

Crossing my fingers, but not holding my breath.

[Komarms]

 

 

I hit this one the other night and it doesn’t even make sense. I’m not sure it’s possible to get 300 carry with only 169 ballspeed. I find the only club for me that the ballspeee is significantly low with compared to trackman is the driver. That chart in the above post makes a lot of sense to me. The good thing about this though is if you hit one over 300 on skytrak you know it’s even longer on the course. It’s such a great tool to improve distance and accuracy

[clevited]

 

 

I hit this one the other night and it doesn’t even make sense. I’m not sure it’s possible to get 300 carry with only 169 ballspeed. I find the only club for me that the ballspeee is significantly low with compared to trackman is the driver. That chart in the above post makes a lot of sense to me. The good thing about this though is if you hit one over 300 on skytrak you know it’s even longer on the course. It’s such a great tool to improve distance and accuracy

 

Yeah, that one seems a little hot. Its all in their algorithm on that one. Like GC2 is known for, low spin, high trajectory shots get a slight boost on ST. I am not sure if that has always been true or not, I recall rarely having a time when ST is longer than Trajectory Optimizer for instance. Just for fun I put in your numbers (I guessed at altitude and spin axis). Even without having those correct, its not too horribly off from FS algorithm.

 

EDIT: I also kind of like having things under reported rather than over reported, knowing a drive I had was likely even better than ST shows it but I am at the point where I would rather have ST read a little more accurately at those higher speeds. I am trying to dial in my driver swing and its really difficult when one swing you flush shows one speed, then the same swing and same contact shows DRASTICALLY slower ball speed. Was that a bad swing after all or did ST variability kick in? I have now found it is likely ST variability as I saw hitting on Trackman.

 

The times I had two swings that felt identically good with perfect feeling contact, the ball speeds were very much the same. The times I felt slower, it was slower. The mis hits were mis hits. Trackman was consistent with what I felt happened on each shot, ST is not. It confuses the crap out of me and makes me even more variable than I actually am.

[Komarms]

 

 

I hit this one the other night and it doesn’t even make sense. I’m not sure it’s possible to get 300 carry with only 169 ballspeed. I find the only club for me that the ballspeee is significantly low with compared to trackman is the driver. That chart in the above post makes a lot of sense to me. The good thing about this though is if you hit one over 300 on skytrak you know it’s even longer on the course. It’s such a great tool to improve distance and accuracy

 

Yeah, that one seems a little hot. Its all in their algorithm on that one. Like GC2 is known for, low spin, high trajectory shots get a slight boost on ST. I am not sure if that has always been true or not, I recall rarely having a time when ST is longer than Trajectory Optimizer for instance. Just for fun I put in your numbers (I guessed at altitude and spin axis). Even without having those correct, its not too horribly off from FS algorithm.

 

EDIT: I also kind of like having things under reported rather than over reported, knowing a drive I had was likely even better than ST shows it but I am at the point where I would rather have ST read a little more accurately at those higher speeds. I am trying to dial in my driver swing and its really difficult when one swing you flush shows one speed, then the same swing and same contact shows DRASTICALLY slower ball speed. Was that a bad swing after all or did ST variability kick in? I have now found it is likely ST variability as I saw hitting on Trackman.

 

The times I had two swings that felt identically good with perfect feeling contact, the ball speeds were very much the same. The times I felt slower, it was slower. The mis hits were mis hits. Trackman was consistent with what I felt happened on each shot, ST is not. It confuses the crap out of me and makes me even more variable than I actually am.

 

Totally agree with everything you said. I’ve seen your posts and you’re much much longer than I am but yes I’ve had similar results as far as lower ballspeed and even swingspeed. I’m mid 170s on trackman and I’ve never touched 170 on skytrak lol but like you said, I don’t mind it being a bit shorter because it pushes me to get into that mid 170s range and then maybe I can get to my ultimate goal of 180. That flightscope technology looks impressive actually, that’s probably what I would upgrade to next considering they have a couple more affordable options.

[clevited]

 

 

I hit this one the other night and it doesn’t even make sense. I’m not sure it’s possible to get 300 carry with only 169 ballspeed. I find the only club for me that the ballspeee is significantly low with compared to trackman is the driver. That chart in the above post makes a lot of sense to me. The good thing about this though is if you hit one over 300 on skytrak you know it’s even longer on the course. It’s such a great tool to improve distance and accuracy

 

Yeah, that one seems a little hot. Its all in their algorithm on that one. Like GC2 is known for, low spin, high trajectory shots get a slight boost on ST. I am not sure if that has always been true or not, I recall rarely having a time when ST is longer than Trajectory Optimizer for instance. Just for fun I put in your numbers (I guessed at altitude and spin axis). Even without having those correct, its not too horribly off from FS algorithm.

 

EDIT: I also kind of like having things under reported rather than over reported, knowing a drive I had was likely even better than ST shows it but I am at the point where I would rather have ST read a little more accurately at those higher speeds. I am trying to dial in my driver swing and its really difficult when one swing you flush shows one speed, then the same swing and same contact shows DRASTICALLY slower ball speed. Was that a bad swing after all or did ST variability kick in? I have now found it is likely ST variability as I saw hitting on Trackman.

 

The times I had two swings that felt identically good with perfect feeling contact, the ball speeds were very much the same. The times I felt slower, it was slower. The mis hits were mis hits. Trackman was consistent with what I felt happened on each shot, ST is not. It confuses the crap out of me and makes me even more variable than I actually am.

 

Totally agree with everything you said. I’ve seen your posts and you’re much much longer than I am but yes I’ve had similar results as far as lower ballspeed and even swingspeed. I’m mid 170s on trackman and I’ve never touched 170 on skytrak lol but like you said, I don’t mind it being a bit shorter because it pushes me to get into that mid 170s range and then maybe I can get to my ultimate goal of 180. That flightscope technology looks impressive actually, that’s probably what I would upgrade to next considering they have a couple more affordable options.

 

Similar to me. My goal is 190s but I will never ever see those legitimately on ST. I have seen 190s here and there, but they come pretty randomly so they are hard to believe they are not just a misread. When I get those, I want to believe they are true. Hopefully ST can tighten things up. I have a gut feeling it is something tweak able and not something they can't correct. Just a firmware to make sure all STs sensors are reading the right thresholds, or a change to how they measure ball speed given they have to calculate with with trig, which itself is derived from vertical and horizontal launch angles.

[JakeW13]

I have a SkyTrak that I'm actually trying to sell. I like the unit, it's definitely legit for the most part, especially for the price, I just don't use it. Anyway, I too noticed a difference in ball speeds compared to Trackman. Like you, I was significantly lower with SkyTrak. I can't say for sure, but perhaps you're correct with your assessment about exponential error.

 

Are you still trying to sell your Skytrak?

[dg_1983]

Very interesting read. I love my skytrak but currently only pushing 160 ball speeds. I see no problems at the 150-160 range.

[clevited]

Very interesting read. I love my skytrak but currently only pushing 160 ball speeds. I see no problems at the 150-160 range.

 

Skytrak themselves tested there unit, and I have seen tests or personally tested 6 different units. All the same problem. Around 145 or 150 mph, ST starts to deviate more often and by more. By deviate I mean under report ball speed by more and more, and more often. Usually 3 to 8 mph under reported, average of around 3.5 to 4 mph. That average is outside their stated accuracy range, but that isn't what disturbs me the most. It is the worsening repeat-ability that I don't like the most. You could have 2 identical strikes and they could differ by a huge number. If one strike ST reports at its lowest possible below actual, and then the next strike is +1 or 2 mph above actual (which happens very occasionally at higher speeds) then you could have a difference of up to 10 mph. So you sit there scratching your head wondering what the heck you did wrong to hit one ball 180 mph and the next 170 when you swear you hit them identical. There is more than just golfer inconsistency happening, its launch monitor inconsistency.

 

Anyways, your 160 mph ceiling could possibly be as high as 168 in actuality. That is a significant increase.

[cgr]

I've got a Skytrak also, and it was CONSTANTLY struggling with 160+ ball speeds when I first got it. They've done some software or firmware upgrades since I picked it up last year that have helped, but I still get under-reported carry distances with my driver. I primarily bought it to work on my irons, which I think it reads very well based on my on-course numbers.

[clevited]

I've got a Skytrak also, and it was CONSTANTLY struggling with 160+ ball speeds when I first got it. They've done some software or firmware upgrades since I picked it up last year that have helped, but I still get under-reported carry distances with my driver. I primarily bought it to work on my irons, which I think it reads very well based on my on-course numbers.

 

Shouldn't have seen any improvement at least in the last 2 years. I have owned mine since 2016, no change. It is only recently enough people have tested and mentioned it to ST that they have investigated and found the problem to be real. We will hopefully see a fix early next year.

[gigjam78]

I have gotten slight deviation between flight scope and trackman and they were working off the same technology

[clevited]

I have gotten slight deviation between flight scope and trackman and they were working off the same technology

 

Everything will deviate at least some due to their error. From my observations, it seems Trackman, Flightscope, GC2, and GCQ are all typically within 1 or 2 mph of each other. That is about as accurate to each other as you can get given the error they have.

[rsh0308]

Bumping to sub. Any updates on a fix?

 

By no means am I a “long driver” but decent for a little guy.

Took my ST out to a range (covered stalls with wind tarps on sides) to do driver comparisons today.

Ballspeeds at my last few trackman demos were high 150s average and every 3rd ball at 160+.

I couldn’t get any of 3 drivers to read higher than 151 today. Hoping there is some kind of fix (other than me hitting the gym more).

 

[clevited]

Bumping to sub. Any updates on a fix?

 

By no means am I a "long driver" but decent for a little guy.

Took my ST out to a range (covered stalls with wind tarps on sides) to do driver comparisons today.

Ballspeeds at my last few trackman demos were high 150s average and every 3rd ball at 160+.

I couldn't get any of 3 drivers to read higher than 151 today. Hoping there is some kind of fix (other than me hitting the gym more).

 

I read they are in testing phase of the "fix" right now. So far, sounds like sometime in Q1 we will get the update to fix it. Your ball speeds are right in that range that it becomes "off", so here is hoping they are able to fix it and fix it correctly.

[rsh0308]

Oops. Didn’t figure in the range ball factor. So probably add 3-5 mph there and then maybe the ST is only a couple % off.

[clevited]

Oops. Didn't figure in the range ball factor. So probably add 3-5 mph there and then maybe the ST is only a couple % off.

 

Depends on the type range ball and condition of the ball. In general, Skytrak gets wonky after about 150 mph of ball speed. It just starts to deviate more and more from actual and its not consistent how much it is off. From my tests with 2 different Skytrak's, typical ball speed reports were 2-8 mph less than what Trackman 4 measured. Very rarely was it ever above what Trackman measured. I know a lot of people that have switched from a Skytrak to a GC2 and gained ~5 mph of ball speed on average when playing their in home simulators.

 

The big problem really isn't that its off, but that its off by a varying wide margin. You could have a robot swing, and have everything as identical as it can get and have a difference of 8 mph between two identical swings and strikes when there should at worst be 1 or 2 mph. Skytrak does a great job up until that 150 mph speed then it loses its advertised tolerance.

[clevited]

FYI Skytrak users, beta is out for ball speed fix as well as other things. You can find it on a certain simulator website, which I hate to promote because the guy that runs it is a huge DICK but it is the only place that Skytrak is present.

[averywood4]

Do you have an update on this? Did the recent update help the higher ball speed problem?

[clevited]

I have since sold my Skytrak, I got sick of waiting for a fix but from what I have seen, it has been addressed.

[clevited]

So TXG did a video comparing ST to GCQuad.  I know that as of around May 2020, the ST had a firmware update that was supposed to correct its low ball speed readings that were a common problem for faster players (as was the reason for this thread).  The numbers TXG got showed that ST seemingly broke the ball speed reading the other way now, that or they got a unicorn of a unit.  I owned 2 and both had the same 4-8 mph consistently low in ball speeds over ~150 mph.  If anyone reading this has the means to do so, or already has tested an updated ST against GC2, GCQ, Flightscope or Trackman, could you post your information please?  It would be nice to confirm what they found was true, or if it isn't generally true, then make sure people know the truth, which might be that they had a bad unit or something in their set up was causing abnormal amounts of error.

 

 

[cd22lr]

I live pretty consistently in the 182-187 MPH ball speed range on a trackman and if i really get after it and button one i can get to ~193-194. However on the ST+ i have at my house no matter how hard i hit the ball the max i've ever seen it register is 181mph and even then the clubhead numbers and carry numbers didn't match up with the ball speed. for example if i manage to get one to register at 180 on a center hit it will carry 299-301 max. lets be real about these units. if you're a good player with a higher than average clubhead speed, can work the ball in both directions and know for the most part how you ball reacts when it hits the turf these units just aren't for you unfortunately.