“You shouldn’t switch between different types of balls during a session.”
4. How does Trackman work in different weather/altitude conditions?
“The golf ball is affected by wind, temperature and altitude but we directly measure this. Camera systems have to estimate the carry and make assumptions.
“You can also choose to include or omit the wind effect, or simulate certain altitude levels.”
5. How does Trackman work to obtain spin measurements? What are good spin numbers for driver and iron shots?
“We have a patented method of measuring spin unique to our technology. The accuracy tolerance is 20rpm, so less than 1 per cent on a typical driver.
“Optimal spin depends on club speed and attack angle. Our software can tell any player what their optimal numbers are.”
6. How does Trackman work indoors?
“It requires 3m of ball flight to take measurements. Club data is measured in exactly the same way as it is outdoors. Because the ball-flight cannot be fully tracked, the ball-flight is calculated based on the launch conditions and initial flight.
“TrackMan also integrates with course simulator software which allows users to play 85+ of the world’s best courses indoors.”
7. Why is Trackman so expensive?
“Costs start at under £10,000 ranging to £18,000 for the top end system.
“This includes the 27 club and ball data parameters, the Optimizer fitting tool, skills testing challenges, on-site training, Trackmanuniversity.com certification education and membership and unlimited software installs on IOS and PC.
“All TrackMan units are hand-built at our Denmark HQ to ensure build quality and reliability. We have 80+ development staff at HQ in Denmark working to make TrackMan better every day.
“Another key advantage of radar technology is its robustness.
“A modern radar system contains no mechanical parts or lenses with critical alignments or flashes that need replacements, which results in a much longer life expectancy than other technologies.”
8. How does Trackman work when used by television broadcasters? I’ve seen them suspended above the ground. What data does that give?
“The on-course tour broadcasting setup which records the TrackMan shot tracker requires a different setup with between 1 and 3 Trackman broadcast radars per hole depending on which functionality and data the broadcaster wants to get delivered.
“Depending on setup, the system can measure the ball flight, selected ball data like ball speed, apex height, curvature, but also club data such as club speed. You will see this technology on nearly every tee in the majors next year.”
9. How does Trackman work for putting? And what sort of data is available?
“TrackMan 4 is the only putting analysis system that tracks the entire journey of the golf ball. This opens up some exceptional features like green-reading analysis.
“The new putting analysis measures the putter head, the tempo of the stroke, shaft angle, and the skid/roll of the golf ball. The whole system takes less than 20 seconds to setup and calibrate and doesn’t require any sensor or markers on the putter or on the ball.”
10. How does Trackman work for club golfers? Can they get as much benefit as tour pros?
“Many coaches would say the benefits are actually more significant for the average golfer and high handicapper because they have more room for improvements in club delivery.”
More information can be found on the Trackman website
