Hey Guys, in this week's episode I interview my good friends Seth Frack (VP of Development) & Jordan Vlogger (Community Manager) at SkyTrak.
Nowhas long been the leader in at-home golf, and its next evolution is a leap forward. The new SkyTrak+ brings major advancements in its core technology by adding a dual doppler radar system and proprietary machine learning software - to offer unmatched accuracy in its class. The radar addition brings club data to the forefront of the experience - giving SkyTrak users a vital data point for game improvement. More big innovation comes in the new and improved SkyTrak Shot Optimizer and Shot Score functionality. You can now measure yourself against optimal shots and golfers of all skill levels pulled from our database of millions of golf shots.
With over 70,000+ members, access to over 100,000 golf courses (including Pebble Beach Golf Links, Bandon Dunes, Torrey Pines and many more), and the best gameplay simulation software in the industry, the SkyTrak+ will instantly transport you to courses all around the world that you can play with your friends from the comfort of your home, and my biggest question to them how did they keep this secret for so long.
Hey Guys, in this week's episode I interview my good friends Seth Frack (VP of Development) & Jordan Vlogger (Community Manager) at SkyTrak.
Nowhas long been the leader in at-home golf, and its next evolution is a leap forward. The new SkyTrak+ brings major advancements in its core technology by adding a dual doppler radar system and proprietary machine learning software - to offer unmatched accuracy in its class. The radar addition brings club data to the forefront of the experience - giving SkyTrak users a vital data point for game improvement. More big innovation comes in the new and improved SkyTrak Shot Optimizer and Shot Score functionality. You can now measure yourself against optimal shots and golfers of all skill levels pulled from our database of millions of golf shots.
With over 70,000+ members, access to over 100,000 golf courses (including Pebble Beach Golf Links, Bandon Dunes, Torrey Pines and many more), and the best gameplay simulation software in the industry, the SkyTrak+ will instantly transport you to courses all around the world that you can play with your friends from the comfort of your home, and my biggest question to them how did they keep this secret for so long.
Today we play golf. Let me show you how we do it in the pros. Yeah . Welcome to Behind the Golf Brand podcast. I never missed with the Seven Iron , a conversation with some of the most interesting innovators and entrepreneurs behind the biggest names in golf. My
Speaker 2:Friends were the golf clubs. I lived on the golf course, I lived on the driving range
Speaker 1:From Pro Talk . You should learn something from each and every single round. You play to fun from on and off the green. Why would you play golf if you don't play it for money? Just let me put the ball in a hole. This is Behind the Golf Brand podcast with Paul Libert tore .
Speaker 3:What's up guys? Welcome to the Behind the Golf Brand podcast. This week I have two of my good friends from Skyra, the new Sky Track St Plus just came out. It's taking the world by storm right now and I'm really excited to have both Jordan Voer and Seth Frack from Skyra to talk about the new Sky Track plus about the history of Sky Track , kind of where they're going and what they're doing and, and just kind of get you guys know more about them. So welcome to the show. Thanks
Speaker 4:For having
Speaker 5:Us. Pleasure to be here, Paul. Thank you.
Speaker 3:Where are you guys located at? Uh ,
Speaker 4:Our office is in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Speaker 3:That's a nice place to be. I mean it's like lots of good golf around there.
Speaker 5:Absolutely, yes . Uh , Pinehurst is literally 45 minutes to an hour from here, so I mean, yeah, there's a lot of good golf around here.
Speaker 3:I would love to go there. I got invited to go to an event at Pinehurst later this year and I'm like really excited because it's cool
Speaker 5:To go. What is it, summertime?
Speaker 3:I don't know what it, no, it's like, I think in the fall it's like October.
Speaker 5:So I love Pinehurst. It's probably my favorite area for golf, but yeah , summertime it is miserable because it's, you know, it's called Pinehurst for a reason 'cause there's so many pine trees. So you're, if it's 95 degrees, there's gonna be no air, no wind.
Speaker 3:Oh
Speaker 5:Really? You're gonna be baking in about 95 degree weather for four or five hours. So <laugh> , it's different animal in the summertime but fall you should be good.
Speaker 3:Lemme ask this question, are you guys golf professionals? Like are you pros? Because I always ask that question to everybody comes on the show.
Speaker 5:Yeah , I'm not a P g A pro, I'm a golf tech certified coach and prior to Sky Track I taught professionally, but I wasn't a P G A pro.
Speaker 3:What are you Seth?
Speaker 4:I'm anything but that <laugh> definitely not, no , they take me out . I could drink a beer in the golf course, find my ball every once in a while, just like to have fun.
Speaker 5:He's a good putter. Yeah ,
Speaker 3:That's me. <laugh> . He's a good putter. <laugh> because I'm really good at Mitch or golf. So Jordan was telling me, Seth, you've been at Sky Track for like a really long time.
Speaker 4:That's right. Yeah, I was here , um, actually when it was Accu Sport , that was when we made the vector launch system. What year was that? I started, I think I started just prior to releasing it, which I think was 2002. Oh
Speaker 3:My god. So it's been so you've been since the beginning, little
Speaker 4:Been 20 years. Yeah. Yeah. Absolute beginning.
Speaker 3:So what is your background then? <laugh> ? Are you like an engineer? Are you a software guy? Like what?
Speaker 4:No, really funny story. So I was actually , uh, at the North Carolina School of the Arts here and uh, I did an internship with a PR agency downtown. That was during the summer. And so I was back in school, I think it was like November, December, I got a email from the PR agency asking if I could go help out with this golf company to hit golf balls because they were testing this new device called a launch monitor. And I was like, sure I can whale on golf balls for two weeks. And so that's what they, yeah, they had asked me to come hit golf balls for two weeks. So I started showing up, hit golf balls for eight hours a day, testing the original vector. And that was just prior to the, I guess 2003 P G A show where they unveiled the vector launch system. After that two weeks, they never asked me to stop coming to work. So really I just kept showing up and <laugh> 20 years later here I
Speaker 3:Am. So you were working at the p the PR firm and then really like Sky Track or I guess who owned it? ACU something.
Speaker 4:Yeah, they , so this PR company was , oh my God , I think it's Ugly, was doing the PR for ACU Sport found they needed somebody to do some quick testing before the P G A show. And so they just kind of thought of me, I guess, and was happy to do it
Speaker 3:<laugh>. So I didn't even know what the ACU sport even was until you just , like you said that and like, I'm trying to pull it up right now. Dude , that thing is big <laugh> . I think that looks like I , like, I'm gonna pull up the people can see it. It looks like a , um, it looks like a cinder block.
Speaker 4:Oh, absolutely. Yep .
Speaker 3:Is that considered like the original launch monitor? Because I don't know if anybody really had anything like before that . Right.
Speaker 4:It was really one of the first , uh, prior to that, this was before I started, but the product offering before that from Accu Sport was a product called Accu Shop . And it was where they'd go out into driving ranges and bury like thousands of sensors out in the ground and really it would track based on, and each of these sensors had microphones and it would track impact location and rollout location based on sound and relay that back to this like huge kiosk. It just wasn't a feasible system for a driving range one to be able to afford. But I think the number one killer of it was squirrels eating the microphone cables, <laugh> really out in the range. Yeah. <laugh> . So they decided they needed something a little more portable and uh,
Speaker 3:Alright , so check this out. Here's what it looks like. You guys, you know what it looks like?
Speaker 4:Oh no, no, that's the Vector Pro. Oh , hold on . That's the second generation.
Speaker 3:The second
Speaker 4:The , the first one looks even more like a cinder block.
Speaker 3:Look at that thing dude. It's like a boombox, <laugh>
Speaker 4:<laugh> . It does. It looks like an eighties. Boombox ,
Speaker 3:<laugh> . It looks like a Nintendo. So that was the very first one that was out there though, right? Because before that you said they put things in the ground and they were trying to like figure
Speaker 4:Out Yeah , so you can kind of see the, the progression on the top there. So that first one there is a vector launch system. Oh
Speaker 3:Yeah. Well there's like cameras in here I'm assuming or something. Uh , those
Speaker 4:Are strobe, strobe lights in the corner, strobe lights , cameras in the center. Whoa . Yep . And so about five years after that we released Vector Pro , which is the one to the right of it, which
Speaker 3:Is that one big , which
Speaker 4:Yep . Big Bank of l e d lights and two cameras.
Speaker 3:So then , so you started there, they were trying to test this out to see if it worked, right? Yep . And then like, so then what happened? So you're there for two weeks and then you just, like, they offered you a job to hit balls or what?
Speaker 4:Yeah, there was a period of time like where they didn't say like, all right , your time's up or thanks for coming where I just like kept showing up to work and hitting golf balls and then eventually it was like, oh, we've got this guy working here named Seth <laugh>. So , uh, yeah. And so I just kind of progressed around different departments. What
Speaker 3:Were you doing? Like what were your different roles as you like, started there? Like is it, were you a tester or were you like doing, like, what were you doing?
Speaker 4:Started HIIT testing, then they asked, I wanted to go to production 'cause we produced all those, like from the raw , uh, raw circuit boards in-house. So shut
Speaker 3:Up. Really? They had
Speaker 4:Me like soldering God with a microscope and uh, so I was in production for a while , then moved on to repair. They needed a shipping manager for a while. Did that then ended up in customer support for like five years.
Speaker 3:So how big was , how big was the company when you started to with them ?
Speaker 4:Uh , because we did all the production house, there was about 50 of us. Uh , because you ,
Speaker 3:Because Sky Check is like the OG of like launch Monitors. Like they're the original, right?
Speaker 4:Well the Vector was, yeah. And so it progressed from Vector, then we went to Vector Pro where we stopped manufacturing in-house, then we went , did the Vector X . And that's kind of the point where we realized like, this market is so saturated because back at that time, pretty much the only people that started or that would use Launch Monitors were high-end professionals , uh, or custom club fitters and the market.
Speaker 3:What did it sell for? Like what was the Vector? Vector cost?
Speaker 4:I think it was around, I think it started out around 4,000 and then it ended up around 2000. Vector Pro I think was 3000. And then same with Vector X .
Speaker 3:And those were like, there was no flight scope , right? There was no, there
Speaker 4:Was , uh, flight Scope did have an offering at that time. Um Oh, did they? Yep . But like I said, by the time we got to Vector X , the market was so saturated that like everybody who was gonna have one already had one and
Speaker 3:They only need another one. Like at that
Speaker 4:Point . Right , exactly . Software. And so we're like, we're like, where do we go from this? So we took, I think it was like around 2012, we just took a step back and said, we need to target the consumer. We need to figure out how to make a launch monitor that's affordable and still as accurate as all these high-end professional systems. And we took about two years of r and d and ended up linking up with Rapsodo , who was on a completely parallel path with us. And we were like, Hey, let's just do this together. You guys have the engineering experience, we have the, what it takes to make a successful launch monitor experience. And uh ,
Speaker 3:Together that's when they started too was around the same time. Right? Like 2012, 11, somewhere around there.
Speaker 4:That's right. Yep . So we worked together for about two years getting this thing ready. And uh, then in 2014, that's when Sky Trek came out
Speaker 3:Because you Yeah. 'cause RAP soda didn't come with anything. Well, they had baseball stuff and they also had the camera thing for like their cage or That's right. Whatever for golf. But they didn't have like a portable unit until the original rap So came out, I think it was it 19 18, 19. Yeah, the , so , so the original Sky Track came out what year? 2012.
Speaker 4:2000.
Speaker 3:14,014. But that was like so revolutionary at that point, right? Because like nobody had anything like this and they didn't have also the , the capability to do simulation stuff or like plug in a part , you know, other software mm-hmm . <affirmative> or have a simulator like that was like when I feel like that was the first step right. To where we're at right now in terms of what the technology is at. That was the first major breakthrough, I think for people to afford a sim in their house. That's pretty accurate. You know? Absolutely. Like some camera system above your head or some lasers and like that. Like
Speaker 4:Yeah, it's pretty easy. You just put the ball on the dot and hit it. You don't have to adjust the lighting and anything like that. So
Speaker 3:Then what was the initial response? Like, do you remember like what , when Skyra came out, people were like, holy crap. So
Speaker 4:When we released it, it did not launch with like, it's our own course simulation in the software. So I think a lot of people were expecting that. Everybody loved that it was so portable, easy to use. And so we started, that's when we started gathering these , uh, really great simulation partners that we have . True golf , T G C , uh, W G T, creative Golf and uh,
Speaker 3:Like you guys get really good at what you're doing. Like we're really good at this, but we don't want to go down this other road and start creating like our own, you know, simulator. That's right.
Speaker 4:Software. Yeah . It's like these people are really great at creative , their own simulation software. Like we don't need to reinvent the wheel, let's partner with them and give customers something quicker and probably cheaper than we could do it. So I think simulation has been like the ratio of customers that are using it for like professional instruction or improvement in simulation has kind of gone like this. So I think ramping up to Covid simulation was just like slowly growing and as soon as Covid hit, it just exploded. 'cause everybody's like, I'm gonna be stuck at home for indefinite period of time. <laugh> , I'm gonna sit and play golf <laugh> in my basement. Yeah.
Speaker 3:I had a guy on a show , on my show once who was telling me that like, he's from Australia, right? And he like, he got stuck in India, right ? When like , he was the number one retailer right . For simulator stuff in Australia. He was , he was in India. And then Covid happened and he told me that like, when that happened, he's like, holy crap. So he pur like the next day. Like he , not the next day , like right away he bought out , he bought out everybody's inventory, all of his competitors. He just bought all the inventory, everything. So he was the only person in Australia that had everything like the sale . Oh wow . All the pieces. Like everything. I was like, oh my God, you're so smart. You know, because like that was right before the market. The market like exploded. Yeah . Because he realized at the airport when he was stuck in India, like, holy crap, this is legit. Like this could be forever. I was like, oh my God. So I would agree, like writing content and doing content on like launch monitors, like even 2018, 2019, like it was like real hit or miss. Like, you know, I mean like you could do it, but like most people were like, what's a launch monitor? Oh yeah, I can't afford that. You know, like that was the next thing. So it was almost like, and I really think, you know, like my first taste was Rap Soto in 2019 is when I did the Rap Soto 2020 mm-hmm. <affirmative> . And I was like, whoa, this is cool. And that was all based off your phone. So I mean, think like, and I think what's cool about Sky Track is that you brought, I don't know, like there was real no quote unquote industry for it yet. Like there wasn't any, you know, people weren't running simulators off their, you know, iPad or their phone or whatever. And then Sky Track was the first really to do with the computer and have integration with everybody else who has, I mean that's one thing I know people will make comments and be like, I'm like, oh yeah, Scott Check has a hundred thousand golf courses. Like, well that's not technically true. And I'm like, yeah, it is. Like add 'em all up. But it's like they , you have capability of everybody and a lot of your competitors don't have that. They have like mm-hmm . Oh, we have E six Connect or we have, I don't know , uh, awesome Golf, which is not really like that thing , you know? So it's different. But I feel like you guys are in a really special place in that regard because you can do both. You know, you're launch monitor, but then also like you're now an affordable simulator that really is a simulator. Not like, oh, we're a launch monitor that has simulator capabilities. Does that make sense? Yeah,
Speaker 4:Absolutely.
Speaker 3:So what, when, when was like, so I learned a bunch of stuff about Skyjack lately. So lemme ask these questions. So I didn't know this, right? So like, I had a call yesterday with somebody, who was it? Uh, uh, sky , who makes the other launch Monitors? Not Sky Golf . Not Sky Golf . What's it called? Uh,
Speaker 4:FlightScope Foresight.
Speaker 3:Darn it. Hold on. I had to call somebody and they were like, oh yeah, we were an original investor with um , uh, with the Sky Track and, hold on . I'm look at my , I'll look at my schedule yesterday. Tell you what it was. Sky Golf . I was right. Oh , so Sky Golf . I dunno why it's be Sky things going on today . My head
Speaker 4:<laugh> .
Speaker 3:So I didn't know this though, but like Sky Golf said that they had, they were an original investor with Sky Track and I was like, really? I didn't know that. Or the original owner. Half ownership .
Speaker 4:Yeah. So, so what happened, this is like around the time when we were , uh, just beginning getting linked up with Rapsodo Yeah, yeah. To uh, to have Rapsodo do the engineering portion. And we were like, oh, we have the, the brains to, to make a and help r d a successful Launch Monitor, but we have no connections and no experience with direct to consumer and with the big box stores. And just like how Rapsodo kind of fell into our lap Sky Golf , uh, did also because they were the leading golf technology consumer company. They sell like the Sky Caddy and the watches.
Speaker 3:Like just the beginning. Like I didn't know that either. I , that's why I love talking to these brands. 'cause I'm like, oh, I didn't know that <laugh> , you know, like they were like OG the direct to consumer. I was like, whoa. You know ? I don't know . I think it's so cool. Yep . Anyway , started .
Speaker 4:So we , uh, no, no, no. All good. We , so we kind of , uh, handled the product side and then lean on them for the marketing and um, the sales side because they had years of proven experience with that. So we were 50 50 partner .
Speaker 3:So like , they all like, so like the one I'm going this question is like, so I didn't know this, but like in the case, the audience doesn't know this either. Like golf tech is now the owner of Sky Track , which is really cool. We'll talk about that in a second. But like, I didn't know that like there was other ownership that had sold the golf tech and that's kind of where I'm going back question. I was like, I didn't know that. You know? 'cause now golf is Golf tech the main company that owns Sky Track ? It's the only company that owns Sky Track , right? There's no like halsy , correct . Like there was before.
Speaker 4:Exactly. Yep . We're all under Sky or golf tech umbrella. Mm-hmm . <affirmative>
Speaker 3:Tell than that yesterday on a phone call I was like, oh, I didn't know that tomorrow . Um, so like that's a big deal. 'cause like, first of all, like golf tech coming into the , coming into this space, like that's huge, right? Like people don't understand Yep . How big golf tech is mm-hmm . <affirmative> and like what their vision is. Right? Because I don't know, I just think that's , that's a big deal.
Speaker 4:Absolutely. So
Speaker 3:What's it been like? So when did golf tech take over or merge or
Speaker 4:Whatever ? Uh , think the official date was like September 1st. Mm-hmm . <affirmative> of 2022.
Speaker 3:'cause like I didn't even know that. Like <laugh> So was when was Skyra St. Plus? Like when did the developments start on that? Because like, nobody knew about it. Like nobody, I,
Speaker 4:Yeah. I can't believe we've kept that a secret for that long <laugh> . Like
Speaker 3:For real, dude. Like that's crazy man . I
Speaker 4:<laugh> I know that there was talk of releasing it at two , the 2019 P G A show,
Speaker 3:You would've made a killing <laugh>
Speaker 4:<laugh>
Speaker 3:Sod plus. When did development start? Like when did you, so when did you first see the St plus?
Speaker 4:Yeah, it was probably 18.
Speaker 3:But you guys, what, what, what do you think made the development be so long or the release to be so long? Covid building the right product or like what
Speaker 4:Yeah. A number of factors. So , uh, yeah, COVID parts availability , um, was a big factor. Another one was the tr the potential deal. Uh, transitioning from Oh yeah . Sky Golf over to golf tech . Yeah.
Speaker 3:Merger an acquisition of a huge company. Yeah . Yeah . At ,
Speaker 4:Yeah . And so if, if that's gonna happen, do we really wanna release a product before that happens and answer ?
Speaker 3:I would've. And then it would make more money. <laugh> . But it could tank . You're like , oh no , we'll just leave it the way it is .
Speaker 4:Yeah, exactly. <laugh> . But
Speaker 3:Plus golf tech might wanna do something different, right? If they're buying it, they might be like , well we want to do this other thing. And if they don't control the company yet, then Exactly.
Speaker 4:And that's, that's the other, the third component is , uh, obviously a lot of new competitors entering the market space and that price point. And so really wanted to take our time and make sure everything was done right, that it's rock solid .
Speaker 3:Yeah. You want a really good product. 'cause you're like, you have one shot at this and if you blow it, then you just lost three or four years of production and , and
Speaker 4:Exactly. Yeah.
Speaker 3:You know, I mean, I could tell you right now, we were talking about before the show started and I'm like, I told Jordan, 'cause Jordan's a community manager. I was like, dude, I had this thing for like two, three weeks and like, I, I didn't have issues. Like, you know, the only issue I had was I had to use my app , my laptop, because that was only software that was available pre-release. Right. So like, and that's not an issue. I just had to figure out how to use it. Um, but like, I wasn't having any issues. I know people were having issues probably, I don't know . I never had any issues. Like everything worked fine. I didn't have any disconnection issues. I didn't have like overheating issues. Mm-hmm. <affirmative> , uh, you know, I wasn't having like skew data. Right. Like all over the place. Like I'm usually , usually you see a lot of that. So I was like, that's a big kudos because you don't really, that's hard to do. Right. You'll always find something. Um , yeah. But yeah, I mean, I didn't know, I think a lot of people didn't know the SD Plus was coming out and I think like, this is the big, I don't know. I feel like this year's gonna be a really big year for, for a Sky Track . I really do. Because you guys , your product is like legit. And I'm not just saying that 'cause you're on the show like it is <laugh> . Like , honestly, I mean the only, the only issue I have with it right now is I don't have mine right now. I had to give it back
Speaker 4:<laugh>.
Speaker 3:But Jordan's working on that. Yeah. We'll get to it shortly. I can't wait to use it. Like, seriously. 'cause like, you don't understand, like, this thing has so much like , I don't know people, I have a lot of YouTube videos on the product right now mm-hmm . <affirmative> . But like, and I only scratch the surface like comparing it to like its competitors in the same price point. But I mean, right now at release , like how many, like what interact , what, what does it integrate with? Like what softwares, what can it do? Like you kind kind of talk to the audience about that so people understand like the power of this unit.
Speaker 4:Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, that's what we're working on right now is just , uh, rolling out updates , uh, with S D K for all of our simulation partners. So , um, the , the big ones, creative Golf , um, W G T E six , I know E six just launched last week. T G C I think is set to launch tomorrow. Creative Golf is launched and I think W G T is the only one that we're still not , uh, live with for skyra Plus. But that should be coming very soon.
Speaker 3:So like in the next like month, would you say that most of the integrations would be in place working? I mean it could be <crosstalk>
Speaker 4:Same next week.
Speaker 3:<laugh> . See that's huge, right? We actually had same conversation a minute ago. Like Rap Soto just released E six like three days ago. Mm-hmm . <affirmative> and I mean we all knew it was coming, but I mean that they dropped it three months ago or two months ago. So it's like, this has only been out for what I was asking Jordan. 'cause every day is a blur to me. But Thurs , you know, they released it Thursday was the actual drop date. Yeah . And like they already have full integrations like within a week. That's crazy.
Speaker 5:Yep . Basically. Yeah . We launched last Thursday's, not
Speaker 3:Mm-hmm . <affirmative> . Alright , so I have a question from a , from a , a listener who's on right now, or a , I guess he's a listener. Mm-hmm . A watcher. I don't , we call it <laugh> . So MB wants to know how far behind are you on delivering right now? 'cause they said they were delivering on the 1st of June, but they're still waiting to hear like, you know, do you know, like do you know anything about that? I don't know .
Speaker 5:Delivery. We, we do a first come first serve basis. Um, yeah , just depending on where you're located. If you're in the US um, depending on your pre-order date, they'll be receiving an email with tracking information. So , um, yeah , we're working hard on getting all these orders fulfilled. Um ,
Speaker 3:I bet you guys have a lot of orders, right?
Speaker 4:Yeah. I'll tell you The Warehouse is doing nothing but shipping out Skyra Pluses , right ? <laugh> , there's a lot of orders . So like
Speaker 3:I were the uh, I know you guys are like teeing this all up and everything. So how many like third party retailers are there that are selling this Sky Track and how many, you know what I'm saying? Like, is there a lot, everyone's selling it right now and then you guys are selling it on this , on your guys' site too? Mm-hmm . <affirmative> or, okay, now International, they all like been shipped out. I'm assuming for all these , not you guys doing it, but I'm assuming all the distributors probably have it theirs in their own countries at this
Speaker 4:Point . Right ? Uh , I think right now Europe , uh, is the only international so far.
Speaker 3:Oh really?
Speaker 4:In can in Canada you count
Speaker 3:That , but not like Australia or anything like that.
Speaker 4:Not yet. Ha ha ha .
Speaker 3:But the joke one , one of my friends that's a joke to David Maxfield 'cause we were joking about that last week , him and I about that. He's like, we're I , we only have in Australia yet ? And I'm like, yeah bro, but you got the rap soda before I did <laugh> . I don't even know how that even happened. Um, so what, I mean, were you, were you guys expecting this , uh, I don't know , frenzy, fanfare, I dunno what the word is, like when I was,
Speaker 4:But I think so. Yeah. I mean , it's been building for years, so
Speaker 5:Yeah. Like I , I started in 2018 and when I started there was already people asking, you know, when Love the og, but when's the next iteration coming out? So as the years passed and, you know, we've been working on this product, we knew that once we officially launched this thing, once we officially launched Sky Trek plus, you know, the market's gonna be crazy because OG was such a success. And now we're excited for everybody to get to get the actual Sky Trek plus in their hands to see it's all, all of its capabilities and all of its functions.
Speaker 3:So like when I did my initial review, like the initial, like on launch date right ? Or whatever announcement day , I did my , I did a review, an overview, and I hit some shots or whatever. So I did a bunch of research on Sky Track just to load the history on it and whatever mm-hmm . <affirmative> . But like, I don't , I don't think people realize this, but Sky Track is the highest, this is the most selling launch monitor of all time, right? By like a lot.
Speaker 5:We , we have over 70,000 units in the field. I think we're probably close to 73, 74. I think we're around that range now. So yeah, we have several, several , uh, units in the field . I mean,
Speaker 3:It's a lot.
Speaker 5:Yeah,
Speaker 3:That's a lot. Um, are you guys gonna phase out then the original Sky Track over time? Or what's the deal with that ? There's no plans to , yeah. Why would it still works, right ? I mean, why would you do that? Yeah. Um, so then what, I guess for people out there, what's the biggest difference between the Sky Trek Plus and the regular Sky Trac ? The
Speaker 5:Biggest differences is it's faster shot to show , uh, better outdoor performance and , uh, the new club data , uh, interface you have with Sky Trek Plus , um, since Golf Techs bought us out , uh, a lot of their nuclear water , their director of instruction and a lot of their guys that run the , uh, TQ team, their teaching quality team that teaches all of their , uh, golf tech coaches and center managers all across the , uh, the United States. Um, you know, the TQ team and Nick really put it through its paces to get the club data as accurate as possible. Um, and yeah, that's the biggest difference. 'cause everybody, if you're really serious about improving your game, you club data's necessary. And so we got into a good spot to where it's affordable and you're gonna improve your game.
Speaker 3:So I have another question. So this is really cool because I don't get a lot of questions on my podcast. This is the, the first time I've had this many questions on one podcast. So somebody asked you guys think that at any point that GS Pro will work with DST plus
Speaker 4:<laugh> , um,
Speaker 3:Is there any, like, do you guys think that's something you guys would be working on or you don't know?
Speaker 4:I am not sure how to answer that. I know
Speaker 3:Maybe there's,
Speaker 4:There's some, there's some legal stuff going on. Oh , between TrackMan and GSS Pro . So basically GSS Pro had is using a hacked interface from what was left over from Perfect Golf , which was bought by TrackMan. We were actually in discussions with GSS Pro about integrating and we're very, very close to it. And , uh, received advice from legal that that was not , uh, the path that we should be pursuing at this point. And so , um, I think that is , it's
Speaker 3:On hold until it's on hold until they figure out. So we'll figure between them, not you guys. That's right. You would be open to using the software, but until they figure out their problems, you're not gonna go down that road.
Speaker 5:Correct. Mm-hmm .
Speaker 4:<affirmative> . Exactly. I mean, it , it's a , it's a great offering, but it's gotta be done the right way and it's gotta be done the same partnership
Speaker 3:With them seamlessly and like with our other simulation partners. Yeah , because you have like so many simulation partners right now. We do. It's crazy. Like
Speaker 5:We do.
Speaker 3:No one else has that, right? I don't , I mean that has that kind of capability.
Speaker 5:Yeah. We got options for when people first want to get started to , you know, people that wanna spend, you know, I think our , our most popular option is , uh, TGC 2019 and E six and, you know, we have, we have options for everybody and every budget.
Speaker 3:Yeah. So let's talk about that. So like, what are the options? So like, what is the st plus software first of all?
Speaker 4:29.95 mm-hmm .
Speaker 3:<affirmative> 29 9 . Okay. So then what do you get at that price point?
Speaker 5:So 29.99 you get access. So we got three different packages. You got the basic package, the game improvement and the plane approve basic package just gets you access to just the Sky Track range. The game improvement gets you access to the entire , um, the entire Sky Track app. And the p the p I p, the plan approved package gets you access to W G T , uh, world Golf Tour, which is , um, about 15, or last time I checked , I think it's 15 or 17 courses, major championship venues from St . Andrew's to Tory Pines to um , pebble Beach. And you get access to that in that package as well. And then if you want to add on to , uh, you know, E six or T G C Creative Golf or , um, another offering called Golf Ismo from Creative Golf , you can add on to that as well. So
Speaker 3:It's all a cart really, right? Like you have your base packages, but then if you want like this thing over here, you can add that thing. Yeah . Like, lemme ask this question. I don't really know, like, are you paying , not you, but as a , as a, as a consumer, are you paying for like an E six , uh, like license key? You know what I mean? I know like E six has the basic right, which is like Yep . The driving range and like three horses or something like that. But, or whatever it is . Um, is that what it is? Like you have your own, the consumer will have its own relationship with each of those companies to use that software. Exactly . Software, I guess you're just the highway to make it work . Mm-hmm . <affirmative> , right? Or to access it, I guess is a better way of saying it . Yes, exactly. Yeah . Um , no , that's cool. So one question I have then is, what, what do you guys see is the biggest, you know , um, differentiator between you and the other price point items? Because I mean, know this is a very basic question, but like right now you're at $3,000, let's call $3,000. So you're at $3,000. But really it's like, let's look at pricing. You know , your biggest competitor is who at $3,000 would you say you think of the Nivo plus plus $3,000 ? I can think of
Speaker 5:Nivo Plus and Bush Mail
Speaker 3:Launch Pro.
Speaker 5:Mm-hmm . <affirmative> .
Speaker 3:But Bushnell dropped the price, right? Because they were at like 4,000 or whatever. Yeah . And then they drove the price a lot and then they like, I know, but they have a subscription model on theirs too. Mm-hmm . <affirmative> , I don't know. I don't have one. I just know from what I've read. Yeah. Um, so like for the audience out there, the best we can look at is like this right? Pricing if you're trying to put together a simulator. All right , so for five grand, what can you get for five grand? You can get the swing kit, right? The full swing kit. I, it's pretty cool. You know, that's five grand. Mm-hmm . <affirmative> . Um, I know that's some like, and then below that you have the Bushnell, which is like at four, maybe at three now I'm not sure where it's at. Um, or you have the MEEBO plus plus, which is now at three. So I mean , you , you kind kind of, you guys are ki we've been talking about this is you're kind of in a sweet spot because like you have the , I mean you got super high end units. What I'm even talking about that right? Over five grand. Yeah. But like five grand and below. And then it's like you have these big swings, right? Like a thousand dollars to 4,000, you dunno 3000. But then it's like after st plus, it's like, who in my mind, the only person I think you're really competing with is the flight school Mevo Plus, like at that price point. And that's the plus plus. And honestly, I I , it just depends on where you want to use the unit, right? I like, you know, if it's gonna be an outdoor unit or if it's gonna be an indoor unit. I know you use both lot indoor and outdoor, but like kind of the functionality, the simulator system. Mm-hmm . <affirmative> , the reason why I like the ST plus so much is because you can like literally put it in your garage. This is why I love about SC Plus. I'll tell you . First of all, it's not behind you, right? Mm-hmm. <affirmative> . So you don't need all that real estate behind you. Yep . You don't need all that real estate in front of you either. Right. So if you have a confined space, it's awesome. Then you , 'cause you put it right on the floor next to you and then you can use it right from there. So , um, so I guess back to my question then, who, what is the biggest competitor in your mind? Price point? Not anything else.
Speaker 4:Um, yeah, same like Mevo plus Plus or Bushnell Launch Pro . And I think what we've always done since the inception of skyra is to kind of look at the competition and find that sweet spot, which for us, I think is accessibility. So like Sky Track has something for the guy that shoots 110 and Sky Track has something for a scratch golfer. And uh, we did a lot of , um, taking a look at the , like the high end launch one . Like TrackMan. Like TrackMan's awesome. We don't even consider TrackMan a competitor.
Speaker 3:No. It's like a super Yeah, yeah, yeah. A hundred percent . Yeah.
Speaker 4:They do what they do. Great. And , uh, the , on the flip side, you have the
Speaker 3:Or GC Quad, right? Or a GC three. Yeah . It's like we know it's accurate as hell, but you can't plug a gc, you know, like I guess you could technically, but like you could . Yeah . I don't know . It's different. It's different.
Speaker 4:But there's, there's not a a 40 handicap that's buying a GC Quad or a TrackMan. Just like, there's not not a lot of scratch golfers that are buying a $500 piece of equipment too. So what we did is find that sweet spot that people could afford and also try to figure it gives
Speaker 3:You literally everything you need. That's what I think . Mm-hmm . <affirmative> . Yeah. That spot . Like it's, it's perfect.
Speaker 4:Yep . And we did a lot of trimming too. Um, so we took like the HIGHEND stuff and it's like, if you look at the amount of data that they provide people, it's, it can get overloading like really quickly. Especially it's like to the lay person . And so like too much.
Speaker 3:We did a lot of like , yeah , you gotta get dumb it down. What do
Speaker 4:People like ? Yes . So to avoid like that data overload, it's like, what do people really care about? How can we keep the user interface and user experience like super simple that , um, anybody can use it. And the biggest thing is like, offer stuff that nobody else is offering. Like, it's really easy to be like, oh, well foresite offers impact location. All right , let's, let's offer impact location. But it's cool to be able to roll out stuff like wedge matrix or bag mapping, like stuff that mm-hmm . That nobody else is offering.
Speaker 5:And I think another thing that really separates us is what we launched this this week is the bundle package. You know, a lot of our consumers and customers, they want to have, you know, a one stop shop of the door , everything .
Speaker 3:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 5:So we just launched our new , uh, bundle packages on our website and you can get basically everything from projector to an entire setup for just under seven grand . So, I mean, that's Matt's enclosure. That's everything. So you don't have to do, you don't have to go out and buy one d i Y and so it's all right there ready to go for you. And plus,
Speaker 3:That's , that's what the market is, I feel like . Yeah . Oh yeah . Nobody wants to go , like , you can get a what? A , a sim in a box for 10 grand. Like that's too much money in my opinion. Like, honestly, like you can, I mean, that's a good deal, you know ? And what's if you just wanna do it.
Speaker 5:And I think another thing that separates us is now, since Golf Tech's acquired us, I mean they're the number one employer of P G A professionals , uh, golf company wise . So these, they're going to incorporate all of their stuff that they've learned over the years. They're teaching their technology and incorporate it with us. So, I mean, we got, I mean, it was a perfect marriage. You got the number one consumer watch monitor company and you got the number one leader in golf instruction combining into one. So, and
Speaker 3:They have a lot of retail locations.
Speaker 5:Oh yeah. And so tons of
Speaker 3:Them .
Speaker 5:So , so the Future Future's gonna be pretty awesome for Sky Trek Plus and everybody involved.
Speaker 3:Yeah . I mean, I think Sky Trek plus, like, I didn't know it was coming out. I got , I got a pre-release unit from a third party retailer thank you. To play better.com for that. Uh, they, you know, I was able to do a bunch of content on it. It's, and I was blown away 'cause nobody knew that it was coming . I didn't know it was coming out. Mm-hmm . <affirmative> , I had no idea. Um, and I think like, you know, in the next couple of months you have a lot more units coming out too. I know Golf Zone has something I think, and didn't Sky Caddy or String Caddy or somebody did something, I don't know, a bunch of new, I saw a bunch of the , at the P G A show, which mm-hmm . <affirmative> , which , you know, people are gonna be starting to come out with stuff. And I'm thinking, I was hoping, I was thinking Garmin was gonna come out with something this year, but I guess they didn't. Um, but, you know, a bunch of, there's a bunch of new products coming out and it's cool that you guys got yours out before summer, before Father's Day. Um, and it's kind of cool to see like all this stuff, honestly. Um, like just to , to see what the future has for Sky Trek plus is gonna be pretty big, I think. Yeah,
Speaker 5:Like I said, when I first started, I, I was here since like , uh, we had multiple iterations of what Sky Trek Plus would be. So it was kind of cool to see what it was like from, it's very, I would call infant stages to what it is now when it's pretty impressive, you know, to be along this journey. To see it grow and develop and to get, see what it is now. And overall there's been a lot of positive feedback from skyra plus being out on the market, which is obviously what we wanted.
Speaker 3:So I get , so somebody's commented, they, they pre-ordered mine and they just got theirs 30 minutes ago. So they're super excited . That's awesome.
Speaker 5:Yeah . How do you like it <laugh> .
Speaker 3:And then I got somebody else saying they want me to do a video once I get mine on the iPad because I did it on the computer just to see how all that works with the iPad. I think I don't ,
Speaker 5:IPads, just iPad's easy to set up, you know, it's, nothing's changed between how OG works to Skyra Plus now it's the same way of connection, the same way of setting up , uh, you know, you don't have to lug around a big PC or anything anywhere. You could use your iPhone. You can use , uh, you know, an Android device. You can use , uh, your iPad. Just accessibility and ease of use. You know, especially if you're don't wanna spend kus of money on a gaming pc. The only time you really need a PC is if you want to run , um, TGC 2019 Creative Golf or E six. But E six also has an option for iOS. So if you just want your iPad, there you go. Just buy , you can use E six with e uh , you can use E six with an iOS device. And you don't need to spend, I mean, gaming computers can get very expensive, so you're saving a lot of money and you could still get all the benefits and features through the app and uh, with our simulation part offerings as well.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I think that's one of the biggest differentiators too . But with skyra Plus versus Sky Track is with Skyra, we're kind of dependent on what device you're connecting to. Yeah. To analyze the shot. And so like if you're on an older iPad or older or cheaper computer, then you know, your shot to show delay could be 5, 6, 7 seconds. Um, skyra plus all that happens on onboard . So , uh, sky Trek plus is just sending the data to the computer. Um, so shot to show is the same if you're using, you know, an iPad Air two from eight years ago, or one of brand new iPad pros today.
Speaker 3:Oh really? So it does every so does show. That's crazy. I mean, it's cool that like so much is coming out, you know, like with the software, the capability mm-hmm . <affirmative> . Um, I think people are going to be pleasantly surprised. Like they're gonna be like, oh, this is awesome. Because I think it's a real game changer this year. I think that like, I don't know , I just, I think this is gonna be a big year for Skyra. I think I sell a lot of units 'cause it's affordable. Yep . I mean,
Speaker 5:Yeah, a lot of people love the new interface, what it looks like. It's modern, it's clean, and obviously club data, everybody, like , everybody wants to know it's, you know, their whole dynamic of fill versus real . I know a lot of us, you know, we were talking about this off air guessing, you know, guessing at Yardages or Oh , I really felt like I was swinging inside to out on that. Well you, that's, you remove all the guess work was Sky Track . Plus you get now , you know, that realtime feedback you can know well I felt like I swung in into , you know, inside to out on this shot. Oh, well it showed me outside to end I guess I didn't swing it out. You know, get the club path outside to end so you get that immediate feedback and you know, we're gonna improve your game using Sky Track Plus. And that's what we want. We want people to have fun, have fun with their buddies, you know, enjoy the golf simulator experience, but also improve your game as well.
Speaker 3:It's the future I think, you know. Oh yeah . I mean , I think like you guys have a unit that's affordable that literally does everything everybody wants it to do. I mean that's just like, that's it. I mean,
Speaker 4:Yeah. I feel like our mission all along has been get better without realizing you're getting better <laugh> practice without realizing you're practicing basically.
Speaker 3:Yeah. I mean, honestly, like I was telling Jordan you before the show, like, what was it, the Swing , what was it ? Which one ? The wedge matrix. Which one was I talking about? Skill assessment. Skills assessment . Yeah , yeah , yeah. Like you just, it's like it was actually fun. Like I'm not just saying that like, it was actually when I was done, I was like, that was pretty fun. <laugh> . You know, like, and you would spend 25 minutes hitting chip shots, you know, or something. Yeah . Like when , when would that ever be fun? Exactly. So I think, I don't know , I think you have a really special place right now and I , I'm excited to like see what happens this year with you guys because I think like, I don't know , I think nobody knew it was coming out and it was out and People're like, whoa, how'd guys ,
Speaker 4:I can't believe we , we kept that a secret that long. I've been wearing this shirt around. Yeah .
Speaker 5:What's
Speaker 4:This Sky plus a sleeve for? For months? Yeah .
Speaker 5:Really?
Speaker 3:It's like, what is that? Like? Oh, it's just the
Speaker 4:Energy drink . Exactly.
Speaker 3:Well I really appreciate working with Skyra. Like I said , uh, you guys make a phenomenal unit if people want pre-order or not pre-order, I guess maybe I may pre-order , I have no idea if they wanna order a Skyra plus. Like where can people find the skyra plus? Where can people find more information about it? Yeah,
Speaker 4:You can go to Sky Track golf.com. Yep . Yep .
Speaker 5:And right on the homepage where you see Launch Monitor , you'll see the brand new Sky Track Plus. And if they're interested in the new , uh, all-in-one stop and shop for the bundles, just go to the shop icon on the very right hand of the screen. And there you can look at all of our accessories and bundles that we have available as well.
Speaker 3:It's smart. You guys bundled it, it just makes it easy.
Speaker 5:Yeah, I mean, a of people just di y it and you know, that could take time and then people might not have what you're looking for, then you're gonna spend even more money trying to find something that you want. So we said it'd be just a perfect place just to have everything all in one at a price point that's very, very , um, you know, enticing, affordable , and affordable. So yeah, it was just a , it was a no brainer for us.
Speaker 3:Well, thank you so much for being on the show today. I really , thanks
Speaker 1:For listening to another episode of Behind the Golf Brand podcast. You're gonna beat me golf , stay connected, on and off the show by visiting golfers authority.com. Don't forget to like, subscribe and leave a comment. Golf is always more fun when you win. Stay out of the beach and see you on the green.