NEW SkyTrak Launch Monitor

[DGThread]

Would love to see how this stacks up against a GC2 or the other high end launch monitors. I am very close to buying one and need to be sure I am making the right choice. After seeing this I may have to put things on hold.
www.skytrakgolf.com/

[DFDubb]

What do you see exactly? I just see a website making claims about their "box". They don't even list a price much less have any way to buy it if you had the balls. These companies crack me up.

[bubba22]

Trust me it's the real deal. It's accurate. I am not sure the price but it will be affordable.

[ruka]

Will it have a PC Sim or work with E6?

[bubba22]

Will it have a PC Sim or work with E6?

Different software options most likely to be done.

[throttle]

Any chance the road map includes integration with the pro-tee sensor pad (club data)? Or something similar to the HMT that we can add on later?

[bubba22]

This would be ideal. I do think that club sensor integration is inevitable. HMT add on not likely. Sensor integration yes.

[DFDubb]

That would certainly be nice. Guess we will just have to stay tuned.

[Kball]

Bubba - is this the launch monitor you have been saying will be coming? Have you been a tester for this new product? Any idea when pricing information will be available? Looks interesting based on the web-site. Is it somehow affiliated with Sky Golf?

[bubba22]

Yes. ZMax and I have been testing for over 6 months now. Not sure the price but it will be way, way below GC2. Review soon to come. It's accurate ever bit as much as GC2. Yes associated with SkyGolf. As I have been saying, there are even other potential units around the corner.

[orangeTANG]

interesting Youtube video.... what all in this setup is part of the actual unit?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiBRaNRpB68

[Kball]

Can it be connected to a computer, TV or projector? I might be able to share the app from my iPad to my Apple TV that I can connect to a TV or projector.

[omfs44]

Feeling kinda bummed out today cuz I just bought the GC2 ($8k) along with the FSX software couple weeks ago. Looks like a good launch monitor at a much lower price. Bet GC2 will lower the cost significantly once this thing is out....wondering if there's any advantage with the GC2 over this? the only thing I can see is that GC2 has a slightly bigger hitting area on the mat than Skytrak.

[CPA]

Any published accuracy numbers yet?

[CPA]

http://sky-trak.com/pdf/s_t_compare_140315.pdf

Their comparison to Trackman.....any thoughts?

[GMR]

http://sky-trak.com/pdf/s_t_compare_140315.pdf

Their comparison to Trackman.....any thoughts?

While I admit to not being able to read/speak Japanese, just look at those number pairs, that data doesn't really match well AT ALL. Anyone disagree?

[hks8888]

http://sky-trak.com/pdf/s_t_compare_140315.pdf

Their comparison to Trackman.....any thoughts?

I just found this forum and heard about SkyTrak. I have been using Accusport Vector Pro (manual setup) and looking for this kind of product with a reasonable price. Probably $1,500 ball park sounds reasonable to me.
Regarding accuracy, if compared to Trackman, 90% accuracy in a consistent manner will be great because it is not an apple to apple comparison.

[orangeTANG]

Here's the headings per Google translate:

shot no; carry yards; offline yards; tidemark yards??; ball speed; launch angle; <unknown but suspect angle of attack; ballspin; ball spin axis

I don't think any single number is too far off however, combining 2-3 different calculations (spin rate plus axis for example) seems to develop a pretty big difference in total distance and distance left/right of target.

[GMR]

Yep. Differences in carry distances of over 10% in some cases is obviously substantial. Offline yardages probably put a little less stock in given that they have to orient two systems to read the same ball flight. Ball speeds seem pretty good, but launch angle differences are HUGE.

If that is indeed indicative of the accuracy of the system (which it very well may not be--who knows?), that's certainly not going to challenge the GC2 on any measure of realism.

[CPA]

From memory I was the original poster advocating Brush T's for GC2. Others were using balls on protee so no ball measurements. You can feel and see other balls not going at normal ball speed whereas brush t composition obviously takes a small distance to perform and slow down.

[bubba22]

The limited flight balls fly less for sure. BrushT, Point 5 and Cayman Balls the best of the limited flight balls. Others are ok but lower spin, speed ns distance. Real balls obviously the best. To let you guys know, there will be several other units coming in the future. I can say no more.

[Morini]

I just flew out of Raleigh-Durham this morning, which is about an hours drive from the Wyndham. Kind of wish I stayed in the area longer. There is a sky track closest to the pin contest inside Margaritaville.

As for the track man/sky track comparison, in order to be as Apple to Apple as possible, it should be indoors with identical atmospheric condition settings. The track man would need sufficient distance to calculate, and only the swing where trackman picks up the metallic dot and properly calculates spin should be used.

Getting the correct launch angle is critical for accurate calculations, so the discrepancy is concerning. AFAIK track man should be really close with regards to launch angles.

We should be able to get more information shortly. Surely the NDAs must be done now that it can be publicly demoed?

[dt2511]

Running the risk of throwing rocks, which isnt my intent, i'm pretty concerned about the quality (more the completeness) of product being put out in this first run. This seems like a pretty loosely run ship with what looks to be a solidly built foundational hardware product with a horribly amateurish go to market plan. No email to start the order window, no email warning of the end of the promo pricing, some pretty extreme lack of clarity around SW integration for simulation play, ... I'm hoping that they do pull these details together quickly cause I'm certainly a prospective buyer but wow given all that I'm ok sitting on the sidelines right now.

I would like to see them extend an offer of the promo pricing to their email list that asked to be notified, maybe in the form of a coupon code. All the rest of my comments are just uncertainty, but the lack of comm is pretty inexcusable.

[dt2511]

So, for those of you who have had experience in using Skytrak, what's the verdict? Is it worth the $2k? They seemed to have a bumpy start.

I continue to be on the fence with GC2 at ~4x the price (I know, its a full sim not just a launch monitor) but am warming up to $1,700.

Thoughts?

[ROH]

So, for those of you who have had experience in using Skytrak, what's the verdict? Is it worth the $2k? They seemed to have a bumpy start.

I continue to be on the fence with GC2 at ~4x the price (I know, its a full sim not just a launch monitor) but am warming up to $1,700.

Thoughts?

dt, what are you looking for in a unit? For me, I was looking for something which would give me realistic feedback on hitting into a net. My goal was to feed my golfing jones during the winter without developing bad swing habits. I think the Skytrak is going to fit the bill.

First, I ordered the unit in October with the net return and mat. The Skytrak came in early December and the other stuff didn't arrive until almost Christmas. Very frustrating to say the least. If not for the warm weather, I wouldn't have been able to try the unit at all.

I have used it once indoors with Flightscope running. The numbers were okay, but the FS wasn't very reliable due to space constraints.

I have used the unit 2 or 3 times outside with range balls. I think it is very accurate. It seemed to pick up every shot and the image reflected the true ball flight. I have no concerns about using it this winter to let me know how I'm doing.

It does take a few seconds for the shot to register. I'm actually totally okay with that as it slows me (and my kids) down in between balls. I call my son the juggler at the range sometimes - 2 balls in the air at once.

It sets up easily enough and worked right out of the box. I'm not totally sold on the app. I couldn't tell if I had registered it correctly. The app is kind of slow in responding to prompts. I have tried to do separate sessions for different clubs, but it just lines them all up for a given days work. So, you wind up getting all your shots averaged together instead of being able to hit 20 drivers and seeing the averages. I hope the app becomes more advanced as time goes on.

Happy to answer any questions anyone has. Hope this helps.

Cheers.

[Goinleft]

I agree with all the comments posted relating to ST. I have had the unit for about 3 weeks. Minimal differences in data driver through 4 iron and these are only slight comparing numbers from a trackman outdoors and a GC2 indoors. So from a data per strike perspective I am happy. I will say they pulled the trigger a little early on the software as it is basically useless for historical analysis. It doesn't capture complete data and what it does capture is stored incorrectly from a club selection and session timing element. This is disappointing given that the software should have been the easiest part of the product launch, given that the device is putting out a static data set. My guess is they will have to release some major revisions to be at all viable long term. Lastly, support and communication is non existent, which is surprising giving sky golfs history.

[CPA]

Disagree. Should be Trackman outdoors without wind etc. Tested against GC2 at same time. TM used as the control. Others then compared.

[Morini]

Yes outdoor could work as well, but there has to be absolutely no wind. If I was testing a skytrak outside and there was no wind, it would be versus my rangefinder and observed landing area first and foremost. I suppose that trackman is so accurate outdoors that it can serve as a proxy for actual measured results.

[ZMax]

Looking at the Japanese PDF that CPA posted, it appears the discrepancies in carry yardage was due mainly from the differences in LA and possibly a little wind. The SkyTrak's LA are consistently higher than TM's LA by 1.5-3 degrees. This could be due to setup or a problem with the SkyTrak itself.

If the SkyTrak's LA readings were all over the place compared to TM, then I could question the SkyTrak's LA accuracy. But it appears to be consistent. Also, some of TM's carry numbers don't jive with Flightscope's Trajectory Optimizer. SkyTrak's carry numbers were closer to Flightscope than TM's carry numbers, which makes me think there might have been some wind involved.

LA is relatively easy to measure. To be off by that much means either a problem with setup or the unit itself IMO. BS readings were very close and backspin numbers were close most of the time. Overall, not bad for a LM that will cost less than 1/4 of the GC2 or maybe even less.

[Ba2]

Looking at the Japanese PDF that CPA posted, it appears the discrepancies in carry yardage was due mainly from the differences in LA and possibly a little wind. The SkyTrak's LA are consistently higher than TM's LA by 1.5-3 degrees. This could be due to setup or a problem with the SkyTrak itself.

If the SkyTrak's LA readings were all over the place compared to TM, then I could question the SkyTrak's LA accuracy. But it appears to be consistent. Also, some of TM's carry numbers don't jive with Flightscope's Trajectory Optimizer. SkyTrak's carry numbers were closer to Flightscope than TM's carry numbers, which makes me think there might have been some wind involved.

LA is relatively easy to measure. To be off by that much means either a problem with setup or the unit itself IMO. BS readings were very close and backspin numbers were close most of the time. Overall, not bad for a LM that will cost less than 1/4 of the GC2 or maybe even less.

Great observations Zmax. Bias is likely caused by the set up. In this type of monitors LA is the easiest to measure, I doubt it is wrong.