Leaderboard

My Christmas gift was the permission to renew my membership to CHA

Just like everything else out there. Nothing is better than the original. How on earth could that be a bad gift. Look at all the entertainment and creativity that a little yellow ball has given us. I guess the writer of the article has never been on the MGS forum and seen how a YB can bring laughter, sarcasm, banter, and terror to some having him in play.

Wife got some cleaning gear l (thanks @GolfSpy_BOSfor putting bugs in her ear) desperately needed a new waffle towel but really wanted to get one of the cleaning tools and wifey pulled through. as for my son he was the real winner today. Hauling in a new set (he transferred all gear and unwrapped the new clubs within 10 minutes and was chipping foam balls after….God bless him) he also cashed in on some new balls, glove, tees and foam balls from Grammy and Pepere.

Merry Christmas All! we actually had a white Christmas this year, even if it was just enough to cover the ground!

Dang. Yellow Ball was in the prime photo used in an article on Worst Golfing Christmas Present! I’d have to agree that it was a good choice. Those balls are horrible.

Our cart will be 5 years old in January. SWMBO gave OK in ordering new Yamaha after Snowbirds get the ….

Yup! My kids were out “shoveling” with me at about 7:30am on Christmas Eve. Couldn’t wait to play even though it was barely enough to cover the grass. I used a leaf blower on the deck and it worked. Haha but a snowball fight is still a snowball fight!

Unofficial Review of SkyTrak Launch Monitor (ISSUES AND FIXES): DISCLAIMER: This is review based on my personal experience with the SkyTrak unit I own. YMMV. There are many reviews of SkyTrak online which rate its accuracy as quite good even compared to the industry standard bearers like Trackman and GC Quad. You can find them here (TXG), here (WRX) and here (MGS). Therefore, I won’t dwell on that too much in this review. Instead, I will concentrate on issues people have reported which I’ve also experienced. I hope to share with you how I got around those issues and have successfully used it to help me improve my game over the last couple of years. WHAT IT IS : Most of the ‘spies’ are probably aware what SkyTrak is, so I’ll keep this part brief. SkyTrak is a portable launch monitor that is camera based. At the high end, foresight’s GCQuad is an example of a camera-based system whereas Trackman is an example of a radar-based system. You can find a good explanation of how different types of launch monitors work, here. Both types of systems have pros and cons, but camera-based systems are better suited for use in limited spaces where not much of the actual ball flight takes place usually stopped by a net or a screen. I’m only aware of 3 portable camera-based launch monitors, SkyTrak, GC3/BLP & GC Qaud. SkyTrak is the lowest end of the 3, retailing for $1995. SkyTrak only capture ball data unlike the higher end systems which provides club data as well. Like other launch monitors, SkyTrak will work as a golf simulator, too. It will integrate with a few popular simulation software at additional cost. MY HISTORY WITH IT: I purchased mine almost 2 years ago after quite of bit of online research, but without having seen one. The desire to be able to practice effectively at home was the main motivation. Although I was aware some of the issues that people were experiencing, at the end of the day, I decided it was a worthwhile investment. In my estimation, I’ve probably captured ~40,000 shots with it. I say ‘captured’ NOT ‘hit’ since I’ve probably actually hit more like ~45,000 shots since I estimate that about 10% of the shot are not read by SkyTrak. More on that later. I export the practice data from SkyTrak into excel and keep 100 most recent shots worth of data for each club and each type of chip/pitch partial shots. Data is automatically processed in Excel to show FW and GIR type percentages based on offline and carry data for each type of shot as well as 66 percentile carry distances for each club which I use as my yardage for particular club/shot. Yes, I’m kind of a geek. Anyone is interested in the Excel template I created for this, let me know. I have also played some simulated golf using WGT and E6 simulation software (demo version). I’ll cover little bit more of that later also. MY SETUP: My set up at home is quite bargain basement. I have Country Club Elite 5x5 mat, Rakket Sports Pop up net which was semi-permanently set up on my deck (outdoor) until it was taken down before the first snow last week. I use a Windows laptop to run the SkyTrak software at home. Now, I’m taking the SkyTrak to the indoor range I’ve joined for the off season. Instead of my laptop, I use my iPhone to run the SkyTrak software there. May other people I’ve met on golf simulator forums have built/installed much fancier indoor & permanent simulator set ups. ACCURACY: I believe SkyTrak is quite accurate with the ball data it provides which are ‘ball speed’, ‘launch angle’, ‘back spin’, ‘side spin’, ‘side angle’, ‘offline distance’, ’carry distance’, ’roll distance’, ‘total distance, ’flight time’, ’descent angle’ and ‘height’. My claim on its accuracy is based on the fact that I have replicate the carry and launch data on Trackman at practice facilities. Again check out the reviews here (TXG), here (WRX) and here (MGS). NOW THE ISSUES AND SOLUTIONS: MISSED SHOTS: As I stated earlier, I estimate almost ~10% of the shots were not read by my SkyTrak. In the beginning it was much greater than that but now I’ve gotten to a point unless I’m practicing chipping with a lob wedge, missed shots are less than 5%. Following are the causes and remedies for misreads. · Unit not on the same level as the hitting surface. I have a metal protective case that can be purchased separately for the unit which can be height adjusted. Make sure the bottom the SkyTrak is level with the top of the Mat. This was the main cause of missed shots for me in the beginning. · Finicky ball positions: My Unit had trouble reading chip shots and drives. After trial and error as well as suggestion from other users, I found that moving the ball one inch forward of the red dot projected by the unit for ball placement helps greatly with chip shots. With drives, I needed to place the tee about an inch behind the red dot. I still get missed shots, but, mostly with high lofted chips. · White objects in the background: People have reported white background can cause missed shots. For me, it was the use of white colored Birtees (pictured) that made the drive misreads more frequent. Now I use colored Birtees. · Bad Karma: When you hit dead center of your driver face and put a smoothest swing ever and know that you have crushed one down the middle high with a perfect tight draw, it will fail to register the shot. No remedy against bad karma. SIDE ANGLE ALIGNMENT: One would assume that the unit would come calibrated so that setting up the unit parallel to the target line would guarantee accurate side angle data. I did not find that to be true in my case. In the beginning I thought I was just pulling the ball, but I began suspecting that the unit simply reads straight shots are ~2 degrees left. I was able to confirm this when I took it to a driving range and compare actual ball flight to what SkyTrak was reporting. That wasn’t quite enough to convince me so, I hung a piece of thick rope from the top of the net so that it would hang straight down to the ground. I made sure that the mat was square/ parallel to rope (the target). I began hitting chips with 9 iron until I hit the rope. I found that indeed my SkyTrak needed to be rotated counterclockwise 2.5 degrees for the straight chips that hit the rope to record as ‘side angle = 0.0’ I have since created a laminated sheet I can place the SkyTrak on with 2.5 degrees marked on the sheet. (see pic). I was again able to confirm with other users with the same issue taking similar remedies. Here’s good article on how to align your SkyTrak put up by GongHo Golf who is a reseller for SkyTrak (6 Simple Steps To Properly Align Your SkyTrak - GunghoGolf.com) Some, maybe even most units may not exhibit this issue, but many have reported the same problem. The fact that a SkyTrak reseller has this article on his website says it’s a common issue. Why not talk to SkyTrak support? Let’s not even go there. Let’s just say they were hesitant to acknowledge the issue. BTW, SkyTrak does come with an alignment feature where the unit projects 2 red dots which you are supposed use to make the unit target parallel. This does NOT work. The dots projected don’t seem to have anything to do with the internal components that need to be lined up. CONNECTIVITY: There are 3 different ways to connect to SkyTrak with decreasing level of reliability. · USB: SkyTrak can be connected directly to your PC via USB. I have never tried it, but people have generally reported this is the most reliable way. This was not practical for me. · DIRECT WIFI: SkyTrak will broadcast its own wifi network which you can connect your Windows PC or iOS device to. This is the mode I use. My practice session usually last 90 minutes or so. I will have connection issues causing me to have to reconnect every other practice session or so. This happens even though SkyTrak and my laptop/iphone are with within feet of each other. · NETWORK MODE: You can have your SkyTrak and your computer/iOS device connect to same WIFI network. Simulator integration require this method of connection since the simulator software on your device will want internet access. This was not reliable for me even though my WIFI signal was not too bad out on my deck. I suspect it would be more reliable with more robust WIFI signal. SIMULATION SOFTWARE: SkyTrak offers integration with WGT, E6, TGC and Creative golf. I tried WGT and E6 (one month free demo). It was enjoyable when it stayed connected (see above wrt to NETWORK MODE connectivity) except for putting. SkyTrak couldn’t register about a third of my putts with my setup. I had to use auto-putt feature 10ft and in. Anything longer, I was chipping on the green instead. Others have reported better success with their permanent hard wired indoor set ups. YMMV. Simulation software employs it own ball physics model based on the ball launch data SkyTrak (or any other LM) provides. Therefore, I’ll skip on further details on the accuracy of simulation, etc. OTHER NOTEWORTHY ISSUES: · Slow rendering of results. There will be 2-3 second delay before a shot is displayed. This takes away from simulation experience. I didn’t mind it too much. No, it’s not as fast as GC Quad or Trackman, but, it’s also fraction of the price. · Software Crashes. I’ve had software crash or hang occasionally. · Club Data: SkyTrak attempts to provide club head speed. SkyTrak acknowledges that it is a “calculated” value. I don’t see how such value can be calculated. I ignore the club head speed and smash factor data it presents. CLOSING THOUGHTS: I feel like I really bashed the piece of technology that I enjoy almost daily and has help me understand and improve my game tremendously. During my ownership of the unit, I’ve dropped my handicap from 18 down to 12 (as low a 9). I concentrated on the issues because I feel like the positive write-ups about its accuracy and features can easily be found. Again check out the reviews here (TXG), here (WRX) and here (MGS). One sentence review would be: When SkyTrak stays connected, is aligned correctly and is able read the shot, the data it reports is spot on. Thanks for getting to the end of the review, I hope you found it useful in some way. Pakman92

Been offline a couple days...Made Scallop Risotto for Xmas Eve dinner...

My brother gave me 3 dozen ProV1's.

Gift card from Snell and enough money to maybe purchase a Sub 70 2 hybrid.

Titelist Player's Glove and a new flag/holder for the golf cart.

Christmas dinner was typical holiday fare, but the dessert was epic. French apple bourbon custard cake, a la mode of course.

Oh no !!! Has to be Fake News

You did have White Christmas!! Talked to our Kids & Gkids this morning (CT) and snow on the ground!! Cute Kid by the way, enjoying Christmas Day

Merry Christmas all. Won an ebay auction for a 699pro 639 cb set this morning. Shafts are wrong... So that necessitated an order from golf works. Then I opened up my SIL present which was a stitch golf gift card... A big one. So Combined with a discount code I've got an SL2 on the way for $60. I better put my phone down before I break myself...

Christmas Eve 2021, Diamante Country Club, Hot Springs Village, AR. from our back deck. Christmas Day was a beautiful 75 degrees (too bad, I'd injured my shoulder a few days ago and haven't been able to play).

It's the day after Christmas and it's 72 and sunny, so I went to the range. I'm seriously regretting wearing pants and not shorts cause it was hot out there. I worked through a bucket of balls trying to get back in the groove after not being able to hit balls much after Thanksgiving. I progressed through bag working mainly on getting to my left side and trying to get the early wrist set and not get back in the habit of setting them at the top. I also need to remember to swing more aggressively through the ball, as I was falling back into a decelerating pattern. It was a mixed bag today, with a lot of good shots and some stinkers mixed in. I did manage to do this: and this: Although this was my shot pattern after six shots: After going through the bucket, I did something I've never done. I went to the chipping green and worked on my sand game. Neither of the courses in my area have much sand and to be honest, I never practice it. After taking 3 shots to get out of a trap on the 9th the other day, and the ones that did fly out flew twenty yards over the green, I decided it was time to practice. It's amazing how much speed it takes to perform out of the bunker. I left a lot of shots in the sand before finally figuring it out. I did sink one and I celebrated like I'd just made a hole in one.

A bit of an upgrade for my putter. A new cover from the fine folks at Random Golf Club. Nice feel to it and love the magnetic closure.

She gave me a sleeve of ProV1’s for Christmas, my favorite ball. But she gave me a dozen ProV1’s for my birthday in May, I’ve only used/lost one so I have 11 of them left (now 14 total). Just can’t bring my cheap self to use (actually lose) them. Yes I know it’s stupid/I can always buy more…

For my birthday, I got another pair of Greg Norman socks with a $50 gift card. So, I have a total of $150 in gift cards to the Greg Norman store! He makes the best in golfing clothes! And to start the day, I got a box of bourbon and whisky flavored coffee k-cups.

Literally sent it to her as soon as you mentioned it to me. Figured it would be a good stocking stuffer. Glad to be of service.

Did a couple of Ribeye steaks on the grill with Jumbo Shrimp cocktail, Sweet Potatoes and SWMBO Cole slaw for Christmas Day. Nice day to cook out 75* and blue skies!

Merry Christmas Spies. I made a Prime Rib. It turned out perfect. I also whipped up some horseradish cream to go with it.

Merry Christmas my other family.

Merry Christmas. Just some idle web browsing on Christmas AM while I wait for everyone to wake up. How do I get the small logos beside the club listing on my own WITB? Thanks in advance and Merry Christmas!

My wife really hooked me up, again! I’m lucky she’s a golfer too…

Little late but Merry Christmas everyone. Hope Santa was good to all!

A day late and sick as a dog, but I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas.

Thanks for welcoming me into your community and listening to me talk about my golf game. I have a few good buddies I golf with but none that want to listen to me talk about golf all day long. Merry Christmas again. Hope you all are having a good one.

Merry Christmas folks!

I think you missed the point here. He's trying to be cool and hang out with the rest of the yellow balls. Looking for a role model so he can get that sh#t eating grin off his face.

Merry Christmas everyone from Martha and Kenny B...

Merry Christmas all!

Merry Christmas from Louisiana!!!!

Happy holidays!!

Merry Christmas everybody!!

Merry Christmas you band of golf psychopaths. Hope you all get one of these this year :

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you have a wonderful day with family and friends.

Merry Christmas

Wishing all of my fellow spies and your families a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Well it's Christmas morning. I guess Santa thought I was on his good list for some reason! Need I say anything else here!

Merry Christmas everyone and best wishes for a healthy and happy new year!

Merry Christmas Guys!!

We wish y’all a very merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas or as my 3 year old says “happy Christmas everyone”,make it s good one!

When you are editing your signature move your cursor to where you want the logo, click on the emoji button, find the OEM emojis and them click on the one you want. You can also type in the emoji search box to try and find the logo.

Yes that's amazing to shoot in the 60s!!!

Well, I remember my last back to back birdies now! I did it today! Birdied a par 4 after an offline drive, then a 5wd to 12'. Hit a knockdown wedge from 106 on the 2nd to about 6' and buried the putt. Love that feeling.