SkyTrak Game Improvement Features
Summarizing SkyTrak's Game Improvement Modes
If you subscribe to Rain or Shine Golf’s YouTube channel then you may have seen our 3-part series covering SkyTrak’s game improvement features. If you don’t, then be sure to head over to our YouTube channel and subscribe for swing advice, product overviews, installation instructions, and more!
In this article, we’ll summarize our video series that covers SkyTrak’s game improvement features - Bag Mapping, Wedge Matrix, and the Practice Randomizer. These features are specifically designed to help golfers of all skill levels practice with a purpose. Below is an overview of how they work and how you can use them to improve your game.
Bag Mapping
SkyTrak’s bag mapping allows you to plot your entire golf bag, from wedge to driver. This will help you better understand your yardages and shot tendencies with each club in your bag.
Why is it important?
While on the course, it's crucial to know your numbers so that you can make the best club selection possible for the shot you have in front of you. For example, take a look at the yardage guide from Brooks Koepka on the right.
As you can see, Brooks knows exactly how far he hits each club in his bag with a 3/4 shot, full shot, and even a shot he wants to add a little extra to.
How it works:
You choose the number of clubs you want to use throughout the test, the number of shots you hit with each club, the number of shots to throw out, and your intended distance gap between each club. You can choose anywhere from 3 to 10 shots to hit with each club. We think 5 shots is an ideal number. It gives you enough shots to get an accurate average while not too many shots to tire you out over the session. Then simply hit balls as SkyTrak walks you through each club. In the end, you will receive a comprehensive report of your entire performance as well as a report for each individual club hit. You'll get stats such as average club gap, closest gap, farthest gap, and shot dispersion. The report will look something like this:
As you can see, the gaps highlighted in red show gaps that may be too small or too large. In this case, the users 4 iron was averaging almost the same distance as their 5 iron. This information is extremely beneficial for club fitting and deciding what clubs to carry in your bag. Overall, SkyTrak's bag mapping feature is a great tool to better understand your golf game, and the best club to hit in every situation.
Wedge Matrix
SkyTrak’s Wedge Matrix will help you dial in your wedge distances by walking you through ¼, ½, ¾, and full wedge swings. With more knowledge on yardage, trajectory, and your typical miss, you'll be able to gain a better understanding of how you hit your wedges. You'll then be able to use this information on the course to know what types of shots you can hit from varying distances.
How it works:
You will choose the number of clubs, number of swing types, shots per swing, and number of shots used. We recommend hitting at least 5 shots with each club as the wedge matrix session doesn't take as long as Bag Mapping. With each wedge in your bag you will hit a select number of shots with a ¼ swing, ½ swing, ¾ swing, and full swing. At the end, you will get your average distance and distance gaps with each swing. Just like in bag mapping, SkyTrak will walk you through the assessment. After you finish, you will get a report that looks like this:
The table can be very helpful to help you understand that you can hit different shots, with different clubs, from the same distances. It also helps you layout a good map of what type of shot you can hit from every distance. This way, anytime you are inside 100 yards you know exactly what type of swing to make in order to hit it the required distance.
The wedge matrix also provides a report for each club that you hit. Overtime, you will hone in on your wedges and shave even more shots off your game!
Practice Randomizer
Oftentimes golfers think that the best way to improve their game is by hitting longer and straighter drives. While this absolutely helps, the best way to gain shots on opponents is by improving your irons and wedges. After using bag mapping and the wedge matrix, you can put it into practice by using the practice randomizer.
How it works:
With practice randomizer you can select the min and max distance you want to hit from, the difficulty of the green, and the shape of the green. Then, SkyTrak will give you a random distance to hit from on each shot. This way you can simulate on course play. Instead of getting used to the same routine of hitting the same club multiple times in a row, you can simulate different shots with different greens just like you would see on the course.
Conclusion
SkyTrak's game improvement features are a great added bonus to an already awesome launch monitor. With these features, you'll be able to dial in your distances, discover miss tendencies, and learn what part of your game needs the most work. You can then track your progress over time to see how you are improving! To learn more about SkyTrak, visit our SkyTrak Launch Monitor page.
