What happened to Golftek?

[golfun]

I heard that another company was going to take over or something similar to keep it going.
Their site is down as well.
The ST-1 looked nice.

Thanks

[rdh]

I don't know if anything is still happening on this. I think a former golftek employee was looking at doing something along with customdesigngolf, but i haven't heard anything on it in quite a while now. It would be nice to see the brand continue in some format (speaking as an unbiased golftek owner, of course!).

[golfun]

rdh - Are you still able to get support or parts if needed for your sim?

[rdh]

Nope. SOL.

[wbealsd]

You might want to contact Custom Design Golf, it looks like JB Carelli may have the rights to the ST-1 now (although, I think it's been "coming soon" for awhile now).
http://customdesigngolf.com/the_affo...ek_st_1_anchor

Statistical Data Driving Range

Key Statistical Data the ST-1 Premier™ Simulator System Provides ...

Distance + Carry + Roll +BALL SPEED+ Face Contact + Swing Path + Club Speed + Swing Tempo

The New ST-1 Premier Includes ... BALL SPEED AND CAMERA LAUNCH ANGLE

[rdh]

My problem even if that happens, is that i have the Pro 7...not the ST-1.

[Par2Pro]

GolfTek closed its doors due to a number of reasons, but they will not be coming back the same as they were if they do open again.

rdh is correct in saying that a former tech from GolfTek currently has the rights (not sure if it is 100% legally his now) for the ST1 system. He has been trying to work towards getting it back on the market with a little help from John at Custom Design Golf, but they are not at a point where it is being manufactured or sold.

They will not be supporting GolfTek customers as this will be a new brand of product (if it ever comes out).

The big concern IF the ST1 comes back is the quality of the product (have they fixed the problems they had) as well as the support for the product.

I really liked the ST1 myself - at least when it worked - and hope that they can revive it with the proper improvements.

As for the other GolfTek products, it would be nice to see them too but the high manufacturing costs may prohibit any businessman from taking that leap to bring them back.

As a side note, it looks like the TruGolf Trainer may be a contender as a alternative to the ST1. I have one on order and will post the results when the testing is done.

Cheers,
Cory

[ZMax]

Customgolfdesign's website has been suspended.

Why bring back the ST1? If I recall, it had too few sensors to be accurate?

As for the Trainer, I know you have business with Trugolf but I smell a dud.

[Par2Pro]

Interesting about CDG's website - I just phoned them and they said they weren't aware of it so they are looking into it now.

The ST1 is not as accurate as the ProTee, but it does fit the needs of some golfers with limited budgets who want to see their swing data and play simulated golf without having to tape their clubs. I have a feeling that the Trainer will be the same.

I wish we all had the budget for a ProTee system or better, but in some cases we have to accept the limitations of what we can afford

PS: I wish my car could go as fast as a Porche, but I just don't have the cash for it. It doesn't mean that my car is a POS though - right? LOL

[ZMax]

I'm just saying that folks can do the same with an Optishot and save a ton of money. But what do I know? Why bring Protee into this?

Btw, where's you Bogolf review? LOL!

[Par2Pro]

The ST1 and Optishot were definitely VERY different systems.

My post on the BoGolf is here:
http://forum.ottawagolf.com/showthre...imulator/page3

Hope that helps,
Cory

[wbealsd]

Links is working now - http://www.customdesigngolf.com/index.htm

[golfun]

2 things-

1.The ST-1 tracks the club head PLUS Ball Direction. (ball speed too?)
Does the TruGolf Trainer directly track any Ball Data? (I thought it was club-head only) If it doesn't track any ball data that is a big difference between the two.

2.What is ST-1 Premier? It will have a camera that will read ball speed plus LA? Sounds really really really interesting..

[golfun]

Additionally the TruGolf Trainer says "Integrates seamlessly with top shelf Launch Monitors and Video Analysis." Which ones and does that confirm no ball data?

[Par2Pro]

2 things-

1.The ST-1 tracks the club head PLUS Ball Direction. (ball speed too?)
Does the TruGolf Trainer directly track any Ball Data? (I thought it was club-head only) If it doesn't track any ball data that is a big difference between the two.

2.What is ST-1 Premier? It will have a camera that will read ball speed plus LA? Sounds really really really interesting..

1. I am still waiting on a confirmation - as during the prototype phase it was still up in the air. I will post back here shortly on that.

2. ST-1 Premier is a concept product under development - until it is a tangible product, we can't say for sure. I just spoke with CDG today and they said they are hoping to have it out for next year.

[Par2Pro]

Additionally the TruGolf Trainer says "Integrates seamlessly with top shelf Launch Monitors and Video Analysis." Which ones and does that confirm no ball data?

The system will integrate with Accusport Vector Pro/Prox, Flightscope X1/X2/Kudu/Prime, and Trackman. These systems bring ball speed, direction, spin and launch angle; although there is currently no details on which of these measurements are used and which are taken from the Trainer. More details to come...

[wbealsd]

Hmm, no plans to integrate with GC2, it appears.

[Par2Pro]

Hmm, no plans to integrate with GC2, it appears.

Not that I am aware of at this point.

[Par2Pro]

1.The ST-1 tracks the club head PLUS Ball Direction. (ball speed too?)
Does the TruGolf Trainer directly track any Ball Data? (I thought it was club-head only) If it doesn't track any ball data that is a big difference between the two.

Here is the response that I got from TruGolf:
Measured items for Trainer are clubhead speed, face angle and club path. For all clubs except wedges we get ball direction from the ball angle detected over the 3rd row of sensors, thus ball placement on the centerline of the mat and having the light aligned correctly over the mat will result in accurate ball direction detection. For wedges, ball direction comes from club path as the club follows the ball too closely to really be able to see the ball direction consistently.

[bubba22]

Here is the response that I got from TruGolf:
Measured items for Trainer are clubhead speed, face angle and club path. For all clubs except wedges we get ball direction from the ball angle detected over the 3rd row of sensors, thus ball placement on the centerline of the mat and having the light aligned correctly over the mat will result in accurate ball direction detection. For wedges, ball direction comes from club path as the club follows the ball too closely to really be able to see the ball direction consistently.

having the ball direction follow just the path will not conform to the new ball flight laws. The ball direction will closer follow the face angle. Trugolf should look into this for better accuracy.

[golfun]

having the ball direction follow just the path will not conform to the new ball flight laws. The ball direction will closer follow the face angle. Trugolf should look into this for better accuracy.

What are you talking about exactly? Are they implementing something different?

ST-1 Originally Cost around $1800-$1950 if I am correct.
TruGolf Trainer Costs $3000

The ST-1 detected ball speed to so you got even more detection for less. You do get the mat and net with TruGolf thou, but you can buy that separately of course.

I liked the graphics too on ST-1...

[bubba22]

Cory was referring to the Trugolf Trainer, not the ST1. His quote said that with the wedges, the Trainer uses th club path to get ball direction, which doesn't conform with the new ball flight laws.

[golfun]

Thanks bubba!

Yes ball direction for wedges should use club face angle, not swing path.
That doesn't really make sense too because what if your club face is 50degrees closed, it will change everything regardless of swing path.

[shinpan]

New forum member, so apologies if I'm being redundant.

I wish I had seen some of the threads here before I recently purchased a barely used ST-1 system. Being a newbie in the golf simulator market, I really only thought about one (given my limited budget both in $$s and space) when I saw the OptiShot commercials offering what seemed like an affordable option. But the reviews on OptiShot kind of scared me away. I'm certainly no professional, but it seemed there were too many complaints about relative inaccuracy of the data provided. And while I'm no pro, I do hit it 300 off the tee with the driver, and have some athletic skills And my intention with getting a simulator was not just for fun, but also for feedback so I could improve (though "fun" was also important). The P3ProSwing seemed to be the next step up and appeared to offer everything I could use. But that, too, seemed to create posts on the Internet from a lot of unhappy customers--as well as references to somewhat shady marketing practices. And though there were plenty of positive reviews, it did concern me. And truthfully, I didn't like their website or how they packaged their products (this was days before their recent "re-invention" with World Dunes). But it seemed that by the time one added some turf (which really needed to be after-market as their overpriced "grass" turf was generally criticized by all), better putting information (different product? or an add-on? It wasn't clear to me), premium courses, and so on and son on... well it didn't look like so much of a bargain (though their promotion out today suddenly makes it look better--but maybe not... I'm still confused a bit). So I continued to look.

As everyone here probably knows, the next step up seems to be into the $4k or greater range. By chance, I came across the Custom Design Golf website and noticed their promotion of the ST-1, and essentially promoting it as the "best value" option, if you will. And by complete and total chance, while doing some searched on the ST-1, I came across an ebay seller auctioning off their ST-1 at what seemed like a great deal (and based on the original cost of the unit, courses, etc., it clearly was a good deal--and I was happy to "win" the auction). But that's probably where I dropped the ball (or perhaps more appropriately, shanked it right). While the unit itself is essentially brand new, with all the upgrades available at the time, I didn't have a full awareness of the background of the company and it's failure (I knew it had gone out of business, but was under the impression CDG was the new owner--which they may be, but what good it will do for legacy owners is unclear), the fact that the new "Premiere" may, in fact, be an entirely different product that is incompatible with the legacy units, and the fact that there's still seemingly a great deal of uncertainty with the Premiere in spite of CDG's promotion on their website. So that's all very disappointing, and now I fear I've blown my budget on an obsolete system.

I did end up speaking personally with John at CDG. He said they will service legacy units (they won't be warrantied, of course) as long as they can (parts availability, etc.). And I certainly came away from my conversation impressed with CDG's customer service, and desire to get the right product and setup. I felt no "salesmanship" or anything like that. I had inquired about the Divot Action Mats for the ST-1 and he actually recommended AGAINST it unless I was a single digit handicap (I'm not quite there) saying that hackers using the divot action mat on the sensor mats can actually damage the sensors. Obviously, golfers need to hit the ball FIRST. But most hackers obviously hit a lot of fat shots. And using the divot action mat with big fat shots can apparently increase the risk of damage to the sensors. So given the DA mats was my primary inquiry, I was impressed he actually told me not to waste my money. Perhaps its a consideration for the future, should I improve. I did press him a little bit on the new system, and he echoed what I saw posted on this forum--the intent is to release it early next year. But I wasn't convinced that HE was convinced of that timing. I also didn't get a clear answer on if the new Premiere will have some retrofit options to the old ST-1--whether hardware or software. I have sent another email asking (or maybe pleading if that may be a possibility when the Premiere is released.

So on the good side, all things considering, I suppose CDG's ownership of the ST-1 rights is a positive. At least based on their promotion, they do seem to believe in it. I'm cautiously optimistic that there will be some kind of retrofitting option. Overall, I think the ST-1 is a fine proudct. Aside from the aforementioned, I really only have two complaints.

1) The failure to provide information on the face contact. Unfortunately, that's my fault. I flat out missed that fact. It's unfortunate because it's one of the reasons I opted against the OptiShot and one thing that I liked about the P3ProSwing. I definitely wanted information on the face contact. And I failed to realize in my haste of buying the slightly used system on ebay, that the information provided with the ST-1 that is promoted on the CDG website was for the Premiere unit still in development--and that the legacy unit does NOT give face contact. This is probably the biggest reason I hope their is some compatibility/retrofitting available.

2) Launch Angle. I actually was aware that this was not provided with the legacy units. So it's not really a "complaint" but something that seems as if it will be added to the Premiere unit and thus hopefully will be something that can be retrofitted on the legacy units.

CDG does seem like a quality company that cares about its products and reputation. So I remain cautiously optimistic that I didn't just throw away my budget for a system that has no chance of being improved. And hopefully, they'll try to maintain some kind of compatibility/retrofitting options with the legacy units. But that definitely seems like a great unknown at the moment.

I suppose this is the one advantage of the P3ProSwing. In spite of the confusion of their website and aforementioned issues, they do seem to do a good job of maintaining compatibility with legacy units when they make improvements on new units, so those original investments don't totally go to waste. I probably should have known better--and waited until Black Friday specials rather than jump on the ebay deal. But I guess that's the risk. If it turns out that CDG comes through with compatibility and support, I'll be quite happy. If not, I may be right back at this once I can get the budget for another one

If anyone else has knowledge on this process, or wishes to second my thoughts, call CDG!! Haha. Maybe if enough legacy owners ask politely to consider customers who may be willing to buy CDG retrofitting options, it will make it worth their while. Who knows? Maybe I'm being naive, but it is the holidays! Any feedback or comments on the ST-1 (it's brand new to me) to get the best out of it would be greatly appreciated.

Jeff

[ZMax]

How much did you pay for the ST-1?

My best advise is to put it back on Ebay and cut your losses. You can keep using it until it sells. Then continue to save for something better. The ST-1 has limited sensors and outdated graphics. CDG's advertisement of the ST-1 Premier sounds exciting but I suspect that it might just be an ST-1 with minor modifications plus the addition of a LA camera. Goftek was already talking about adding LA to the ST-1 prior to going out of business.

Big unknowns are cost and time. If it's even possible to retro fit, the cost of the mod, software update, plus high speed camera, might not be worth it. And at this point, they still don't have a hard date for ST-1 Premier. There's a possibility that it might never make it. Somebody correct me but I think it's just the one former Golftek engineer that is working on this project?

[shinpan]

Paid $1100. Included everything in the base package plus the 13 premium course add-on plus St. Andrews and Pebble Beach. The system (when new) with the software upgrades would have cost around $3k, give or take. And it really is "like new". The turf is in great shape and essentially brand new, and had all the software upgrades available up to the point Golftek went out of business in late 2011. And to be quite frank, as I mentioned, if it had the freaking face contact graphic/data, I'd be thrilled. Cause that's an issue for me--and an area I need more feedback on to improve my game. The fact I don't need to tape the clubs is nice, too. I'm not even that concerned with the launch angle. Frankly, if CDG offers a software upgrade that is compatible, that gives face contact information, that will work just fine for me--even if no hardware retrofits are available for the launch angle camera. But I really am clueless on the technical challenges and whether or not that information requires a completely different setup, more sensors, etc. I'm guessing it probably does. Which is unfortunate, if that's the case. But we'll see.

Given the sale that P3ProSwing currently has with their new "partnership", I suppose a P3ProSwing package would have been a similar setup, with a similar cost. It's not CDG's fault, but there's no doubt that their promotion of the unit (and my failure to realize the fact they were revamping it entirely and the legacy units may be obsolete) definitely influenced my decision to buy. I thought I was getting a far superior system to the P3ProSwing. But it appears I miscalculated. We'll see what happens. I don't think I want the ProSwing, due to the taping necessary, and the sometimes very mixed reviews of the company itself. So I'll probably hold on for now to see what CDG does. And it may turn out that I have to wait for a while to buy a ProTee or perhaps upgrade to the revamped ST-1 (all depending on cost, timing, etc.) at some point in the future.

Thanks for the feedback!

[wbealsd]

For the money, you've got something to enjoy and keep yourself in "golf shape" over the winter, that's not such a bad deal IMHO. As ZMax said, you can probably use it and list it on Ebay when you're ready to upgrade. I don't see this as a loss, at all.