This article details which metrics you will see on the practice range, and how to apply them to improve your game.
Total Distance
- The measurement of distance the ball travels through the air including the run out of the ball once it hits the ground.
Carry Distance
- The measurement of distance the ball travels through the air.
Average Total
- The average total distance of all shots a player has taken up to this point in this practice session.
Shot
- This number shows how many shots you have taken during this practice range session as well as allows you to go back and forth between previous shots to compare ball flight and ball statistics.
Launch Angle
- The vertical angle created immediately after the ball leaves the club face
relative to the ground you hit from. Launch angle will be slightly lower
than dynamic loft. Well fit equipment plays a vital role in perfecting
launch angle. Hitting shots through the best launch angle window for
your speed is vital for long drives and stopping power on the green. Use
the optimizer to perfect the launch angle that best fits your game.
Back Spin
- Back spin is the rate a ball rotates backward immediately after impact.
more loft and more club head speed generally increases back spin. Less
loft and slower club head speeds generally decrease spin. Back Spin is
one of the most critical variables to optimize for the longest and
straightest drives. A club fitting, Sky Trak + Optimizer, and golf ball
fitting can help optimize your back spin.
Ball Speed.
- Distance is the ultimate separator of skill in golf. Beating your friends
consistently is much easier with faster ball speed. Ball speed is how fast
the golf ball travels as it leaves the club face. Faster ball speeds can
produce powerful shots. Professional golfers average almost 170mph of
ball speed with their driver. A lot of factors add up to increasing ball
speed. The main variables you should watch are club head speed and
smash factor. Improve either of those and you'll see your ball speed
Increase.
Club Speed
- Club Speed is the rate at which your club is moving as the ball leaves the
club and it's measured in miles per hour. PGA Tour players average over
115mph with their driver. Your swing technique and a well fit driver can
really move the needle on increasing your club speed.
Side Spin
- Side Spin is an easy to understand representation for the amount a shot
curves. Your Sky Trak Plus will tell you which direction the ball curved
and the larger the number of side spin, the more the ball curved in that
direction. If you see the side spin number reading less than 200 RPMs in
either direction, that shot will appear really straight when you're
outdoors watching the entirety of the ball's flight. If you're regularly
curving shots with a side spin over 700 RPMs, you should consider some
professional swing help or even a club fitting from a professional coach
to help you take some of the curves off your shots which will help you
enjoy the game quite a bit more.
Side Angle
- Side angle is the horizontal launch of the ball relative to your target line.
Left and right or push and pull are easy ways to describe the side angle
of the shot. Side Angle is mainly influenced by the face angle of the club.
The combination of side angle and side spin will determine how close
you are to your target.
Distance Offline
- Distance left or right from the centerline of your intended target.
Max Height
- Max height is defined by how high the ball is off the ground at the apex
of the shot before the ball begins descending. Professional golfers
average around 30 yards of max height with basically every club. The
combination of ball speed, spin, and loft are the main factors for
increasing or decreasing max height.
Descent Angle
- The angle the ball lands relative to the ground. This is a very
underutilized variable, but one that can really help you get more distance
or help with stopping the ball on the green. A Descent Angle of 35
degrees is generally a good place to start with a driver and a shot that
you want to stop on a green would be best utilized with a descent angle
that is closer to 45 degrees. The SkyTrak+ optimizer will give you the
info needed to dial in the descent angle you want for any shot.
SkyTrak+ Club Metrics
Club Path
- The direction the club head is moving relative to the target line is the
Club Path. Your SkyTrak Plus is using A1 as well as both deep and
shallow machine learning models created by a legit rocket scientist and
with some additional help from PHD researchers to give you an accurate
club path number. We are all about improvement at Sky Trak, and you'll
continue to see that as we constantly improve and refine club path over
time. The Club Path number has a major influence on the curve and side
spin of your shots. I'd suggest you have an in-out path of around 4
degrees as a starting point for hitting high draws that end up in the
fairway or next to the flag.
Face to Path
- Face to path is the biggest factor in determining which direction your
shot curves as well as how much. Face to path is the difference between
the face angle and the club path. Assuming a strike directly on the club's
sweet spot, the ball will curve away from the path of the club and toward
the club face. Adjusting your face to path measurement is not hard. It's
actually very easy and a professional coach is your best resource. Here's
a pro tip for you, mastering a consistent relationship of face to path is a
major milestone for improving your game And, Bonus tip, unless you
have tour player ball speed... you should consider having the face angle
closed to the path for the increased distance and lower spin potential.
Face to Target
- Face to target is the direction the club face is pointed to the right or the
left of the target at impact. Face to target is most responsible for the
Side Angle of your shots. You'll often here the face to target referenced
as open or closed. To hit a draw, you'll ALWAYS want the face to target
OPEN to allow the ball to curve toward the target. The opposite holds
true for hitting fades. Pro tip, having a strong understanding of the
relationship between face to path and face to target is the first step in
eliminating the nasty slices or hooks that cause your friends to laugh at
you on the course.
Shot Score
- Shot score is a way to easily measure the quality of any shot. By
comparing proximity to this club's expected distance, Shot Score tells
you the shot was hit like a player who shoots that score. The best
players have the lowest average proximity from any distance, so the best
shots will have the lowest Shot Scores. Once you hit at least 20 shots
with this club, your Shot Score will be displayed.