Trackman smash just wrong?

[pitchinwedge]

Looking for some possible explanations. I got fit outdoors on a Track-man that resulted in unbelievable smash factor numbers with drivers and woods.

 

The fitting session started with my own fairway woods, which produced smash of 1.42-1.45, which I found to be entirely credible:

 

SS = 89 mph

BS = 128 mph

 

Then, the fitter handed me Callaway, Ping, and TM fairways to try. These clubs had a variety of custom shafts, but they all resulted in smash factor measurements greater than 1.50, and consistently between 1.51-1.53:

 

SS =90

BS = 136 ?!

 

Needless to say, I left scratching my head. The next day, I go to my local golf store, which is equipped with Flightscope and try out the same model Callaway and Ping clubs, off the rack. Guess what... smash factor 1.45

 

SS = 88

BS = 128

 

I thought maybe I was hitting the ball in a manner which skewed the Track-man results. I believe I read somewhere that smash factor measured on off-the-toe hits can result in higher smash numbers because of the way Track-man calculates smash factor, but I don't think it's a good explanation. I wasn't hitting off the toe, the results were too consistent, and the measurements of my own club provide a solid baseline for comparison. So what's really going on here? Is it really the custom shafts? How can the shafts affect smash factor? Where the heads of the fitter's clubs just abnormally "hot"?

 

I'm going to ask the fitter for his explanation, but I'd love to hear what WRX'ers think.

[avgjoe]

certainly sounds off

[Stuart_G]

I don't know just a guess, but I'm wondering if for swing speed, if it actually limits the measurement to the point of impact or just reports the fastest swing speed through the bottom of the swing. If so, an early release could give you a slightly faster swing speed before contact than during contact and that could result in an abnormally high smash. A 'fat' hit also might not take into consideration the deceleration caused by the contact with the ground right before contact but I'm assuming that's not the case if we're dealing with a ball tee'd up.