You have access to a Trackman - how do you practice?

[nevets88]

I found a place in my area that offers stalls with a Trackman. $26/session or $60 for 2 months unlimited use - which I think I'll try.

I've yet to go there, other than working on in-out and out-in for shaping the ball and in-out for my stock swing, what other Trackman numbers do you use when practicing?

[Beachcomber]

1.) Pretty much a 'no brainer' is to take note of what your carry distance is for each club.  So you'll be better prepared on the course.

2.) I'd also check your longer clubs and experiment with different ball and handle placements at address.  I say this as a mid to low handicapper, I still have trouble with this.  And looking at your handicap, would guess you have similar issues since so many of us do?  So try and determine your optimal location for each (ball and handle) to maximize consistency (smash factor) and distance (carry).  Ultimately honing into an optimal low point for the longer club.  Much of this can be experimented with and then you can see what works best for you based on the immediate feedback that Trackman provides.

Similar to what John Graham does here in this video... He is experimenting with different setups.  John's is to the extreme... But I think the video provides good insight into what you can experiment with.

[nevets88]

Thanks Beachcomber.

The TkM I used wasn't what I expected, it was placed in front of me at address, so it didn't show the path and face numbers like I expected. I wanted to check if I was swinging in to out. It didn't show the smash factor either.

I hit only 4I and experimented with half swings and also trying to distinguish between swings where I had my hands more forward, low point more forward. I found my optimal ball placement was somewhere underneath the shirt logo. A 4 iron is what, 24 ° ? My ball launch trajectory never got over 20 ° , averaging somewhere around 17 ° , which is 3I loft, no? The more I tried to get my low point forward, the further I hit it but the more I hooked or pull-hooked it. My max distance 4I (24 ° -25 ° ) was 194 yards carry plus roll, my average distance was around 182. The eye-opening observation to me (which we all know, but still) was that my longest shots I didn't swing much harder - it just hit the sweetspot and I got the low point forward.

The numbers it did show were initial ball direction, path open/closed, face open/closed, in-out/out-in (not one swing out-in).

I was considering cancelling the subscription, but after one session even with a machine that didn't show all the numbers, I am hooked.

Question - does the quality of the ball affect the numbers? I think it does. If you have a really cr@p ball, the yardage will be less I think.

[Paradox]

I wish there were somewhere around here that you could buy trackman sessions.  I'd love to get some hard data about my swing.

[Beachcomber]

Originally Posted by nevets88

Thanks Beachcomber.

The TkM I used wasn't what I expected, it was placed in front of me at address, so it didn't show the path and face numbers like I expected. I wanted to check if I was swinging in to out. It didn't show the smash factor either.

I hit only 4I and experimented with half swings and also trying to distinguish between swings where I had my hands more forward, low point more forward. I found my optimal ball placement was somewhere underneath the shirt logo. A 4 iron is what, 24° ? My ball launch trajectory never got over 20°, averaging somewhere around 17° , which is 3I loft, no? The more I tried to get my low point forward, the further I hit it but the more I hooked or pull-hooked it. My max distance 4I (24°-25°) was 194 yards carry plus roll, my average distance was around 182. The eye-opening observation to me (which we all know, but still) was that my longest shots I didn't swing much harder - it just hit the sweetspot and I got the low point forward.

The numbers it did show were initial ball direction, path open/closed, face open/closed, in-out/out-in (not one swing out-in).

I was considering cancelling the subscription, but after one session even with a machine that didn't show all the numbers, I am hooked.

Question - does the quality of the ball affect the numbers? I think it does. If you have a really cr@p ball, the yardage will be less I think.

Hmmm... So like in front of you as if it was Caddy view or Face On?  I've never seen a version of Trackman where it is placed in front of you.  Every one that I've seen - both indoor and outdoor models are placed in down the target line as if it was a camera in a DTL view.  Are you sure you were using a Trackman?  They are typically orange and grey in color.

Also, I'm not sure the exact loft on a 4i - but 24* sounds about right.  And 17* is 2H or 4W.  Sounds like you were flipping to me... But it is hard to say without a camera.  When you do the session, can you film your swing?  That would be good to see the swing and compare it to the data.

Lastly, Trackman will spit out numbers on a monitor which will look like the following (taken from my cell phone) - after I hit a 3W on the indoor Trackman that I have access to at a local fitter that I use here in Newport Beach.  Take a picture of the GUI that the launch monitor is using, and we should be able to tell you what launch monitor / system your hitting from.

Oh, one other comment... On the 2nd photo - if you simply scroll to the left on the launch monitor GUI - there is a lot more outputs that can't be seen in the photo.  So perhaps you weren't looking at the proper outputs that Trackman actually captures?  Something to discuss with the folks who you're working with.  They should be able to show you how to get the path numbers pretty easily.  If you are indeed hitting on a Trackman.

[xmanhockey7]

1. Trackman combine
2. Getting the angle of attack on my driver up and getting the spin rate down
3. Checking my club path