If you are experiencing an issue with your GCHawk missing shots, not capturing club data, or seemingly not functioning normally, please read below.
This walkthrough will help you confirm the following items and rule them out as causes of your issue:
- Section 1: Improper Setup of the GCHawk
- Confirming Proper Setup Of The GCHawk
- Determining If The GCHawk Is Powered On
- Determining The Connection Status
- Understanding Hitting Zones And Ball Find Area
- Calibrating The GCHawk
- Accurate Ball Find Zone
- Section 2: Improper Use of the GCHawk
- Confirming The Ball Remains Locked Up Until Impact
- Section 3: Checking For Environmental Interference
- Ball Find Zone While Using GCHawk
- Reflective Surfaces
- Mat Color
- Lighting
- Section 4: Product Failure
- Checking Error Codes To Determine Cause Of Performance Issues
- Contacting Technical Support
Section 1: Improper Setup and Use of the GCHawk
The below sections will cover the proper setup and use of the GCHawk. Please observe the following instructions and recommendations to ensure you are not improperly installing or using your Launch Monitor.
1. Confirming Proper Setup Of The GCHawk
Proper Mounting Specifications
Before you consider other troubleshooting options posted in this walkthrough, please check if your GCHawk is mounted correctly. Proper initial setup requires the GCHawk to be mounted per the following specifications:
1. The Hawk Should be mounted as shown in the diagrams below
(note: these diagrams are not to scale)
Please note that the GCHawk cannot be offset more than +/- 4 degrees
Based upon your ceiling height you should expect to mount the Hawk Differently, as mentioned below. Please note that these measurements are estimated and can vary based upon the precise mounting of the device and the height of your ceiling.
For best performance, we recommend mounting between 10ft and 10.5ft. As shown here the lower you go the smaller your hitting zones will become. This can impact accuracy for ball capture and if going below the minimum recommended specification of 9.5ft, product performance may be impacted.
2. Determining If The GCHawk Is Powered On
Use this table to determine the power state for the GCHawk
|
Hawk State |
LED Color |
LED Behavior |
|
Ball Only - Looking for Ball |
Blue |
Flashing |
|
Ball and Club - Looking for Ball |
Green |
Flashing |
|
Locked Onto Ball |
Blue or Green |
Steady |
|
Boot |
Yellow |
Solid |
|
Error (contact Support) |
Yellow |
Flashing |
|
Error (contact Support) |
Red |
Steady |
|
Error (contact Support) |
None |
No LED |
If the device is not powered on you may not be able to connect it to your software. To confirm this please check the power supply and be sure a solid light is present on the power brick. If you would like further explanation please see the GCHawk User Guide: Power Supply Setup
3. Determining The Connection Status
Check your GCHawk's data connection. We recommend using a direct connection between the GCHawk and a PC via the provided network (CAT6) cable. You can determine connection status by checking your network and sharing center on Windows and looking for an unidentified Ethernet network.
Note: You had also received a USB cable with your GCHawk. Please keep this cable in the event Support asks you to connect it for troubleshooting purposes.
GCHawk User Guide: Data Connection Setup
4. Understanding Hitting Zones And Ball Find Area
Before you calibrate, observe the below diagram to see how a properly configured GCHawk's hitting zone would appear.
When mounted properly the Ball Only ball find zone should be large and cover your Hitting Zone on your mat correctly.
When in Ball & Club Mode, the ball find zone is smaller and located in the Front Left and Right handed side of your hitting zone as shown above.
5. Calibrating The GCHawk
If the device is not properly calibrated then it is very possible for your data to be incorrect and ball lock to be difficult in certain regions while using the product. Please review this calibration video for proper calibration steps and reattempt the calibration if you are concerned this is the cause of your issues.
Note: please check and eliminate objects in the environment that can cause issues during calibration. This is covered in the video guide.
6. Accurate Ball Find Zone
After calibration, you can verify the ball find area on your mat by using the below instructions.
Be sure that the GCHawk hitting zone is matched to your mat accurately, if not you must move your mat so your ball is seen by the device, or remount the GCHawk to allow the ball to always be within the hitting zone when using.
The best method for this would be:
1. Begin by placing a ball down into the Ball Find area.
2. Move it up to the far right corner of the hitting zone. Be sure to test when the ball leaves the hitting zone, not just if it leaves the mat. If it leaves the mat you will want to know by how much so you can correct your mat placement once complete.
3. Confirm you have reached the farthest point within the right corner and then place a NON REFLECTIVE marker there to notate it.
4. Repeat this step for all corners until you have represented the entire Ball Find Zone on the floor.
Here we have represented what a Bad Ball Find Zone would look like for a GCHAWK. (Note: We do not advise using balls to mark your location, but we did here once noted for illustration purposes).
Here is a representation of what a Bad Ball Find Zone would look like for a GCHAWK. Note that the tee is outside of the ball find area.
(We do not advise using balls to mark your location, but we did here for illustrative purposes)
Below you will find what is considered a properly configured ball find area on your mat. Note that the tee is inside of the ball find area. Now the entire hitting zone on the mat is located within the Ball Find area.
Section 2. Determining Proper Use Of The GCHawk
1. Confirming The Ball Remains Locked Up Until Impact
The device must remain locked onto the ball the entire way through your swing up until the ball is impacted. If the ball at any point of your preparation or swing becomes unlocked this will cause a missed shot.
Be sure to monitor the Ball Lock light on the center of the GCHawk and be sure it remains Solid. A blinking light indicates the device is actively looking for a ball to lock onto. You can also monitor the ball lock indicator within the software. It is located in the upper left of the UI.
If your shot is not being tracked, it is possible that ball lock is being broken before the club is impacting the ball.
1. If the mat is not properly anchored, it could shift while a golfer is attempting to track shots. This could cause a 'break' in ball lock and subsequently not allow the device to capture data. The best way to anchor the mat is to use double-sided carpet tape or to use bolts to screw the mat tray down into your flooring.
2. The mat type you have may allow for turf movement, as you swing the ball is moved based upon your body movement on the hitting surface. If this is the case you should test the device by removing the mat for a moment and hitting a shot. If the device captures a shot that it normally would not be able to this would indicate the hitting mat is allowing too much movement.
GCHawk Club Data Not Being Collected:
This requires the device to have purchased the club data feature. If you have not yet purchased the club feature for the GCHawk, please contact your salesperson to request pricing.
If you have purchased this you will need to confirm the following:
1. Is the GCHawk set to receive the Ball Data or Club Data in the software. This can be adjusted from within the Devices screen in the software settings.
2. Had the club markers been placed on your club? If not, you will want to do that first and then try again.
3. Had your club markers been dulled through use, or placed in the wrong locations? Be sure to replace all club markers per the Club Marker Placement Guide and try again.
Section 3: Checking For Environmental Interference
If you are still experiencing ball lock or tracking issues, be sure to check the surrounding environment.
DO NOT LEAVE EXTRA BALLS OR CLUBS IN THE HITTING AREA
1. Ball Find Zone While Using GCHawk
Be sure to clear all extra balls and clubs from the ball find area to be sure the device can obtain ball lock onto one ball. Too many lockable items will confuse the device and stop the device from being able to lock onto a ball.
2. Reflective Surfaces
The room in which the device is used should not have overly reflective surfaces.
1. Review your environment for Windows, Mirrors, and other reflective surfaces as these may impact the ability of the device to lock onto the ball or capture data correctly. If you experience issues with this please cover them and test again.
2. Some shoes and clothing have reflective tape or surfaces as well. Be sure to test while wearing different clothing to see if the issue is removed.
3. Mat Color
In some extreme instances, the color of the mat may be reflective or conflict with the device's ability to see the ball. This is because when light is reflected off of the mat it causes the camera's gathered image to be whitewashed and confuse the hitting surface with the ball itself. If you believe this to be the cause of your problem please remove the mat and test to see if you can obtain a ball lock.
4. Lighting
The use of harsh lighting that is directly illuminating the hitting mat in the ball find area can cause overexposure in the camera and degrade performance.
Section 4: Product Failure and Contacting Support
1. Checking Error Codes To Determine Cause Of Performance Issues
The GCHawk will produce error codes that indicate failures to the product. These codes will be presented on the Device Log and to a lesser extent on the Hawk Diagnostic Tool.
Please see the steps below to understand how to use the Hawk Diagnostic Tool (HDT) as well as how to collect the Device Log to send to Technical Support:
1. Download then install the Hawk Diagnostic Tool:
GChawk Diagnostic Tool v1.3.0
2. Open the tool, and select the drop-down menu in section 1 (click refresh if no device is present as shown in item #1 below). Click the serial number you wish to connect to. Keep in mind that the PC on which this application is installed will need to have an internet connection to complete most functions.
3. If you see Validation Successful (item #3 below) then you can confirm your device is communicating to the server correctly.
4. If you are experiencing an issue and wish to send your device's log file to Technical Support for review, click the 'Get Log File' button (see #4 below).
You will then open your file explorer and head to this file address:
-
- C:\Program Files (x86)\Foresight Sports\Hawk Diagnostic Tool\logs
When there you will see a series of numbers separated by underscores, the middle being the serial number of the device you've pulled a log file for. Attach this log file in an email to the support agent via the open support ticket. If you do not have an open support ticket, please submit a Support Request Online
If you are instructed to send shots, please await instructions from your Technical Support Representative.
2. Contacting Technical Support
If you have covered all items in this walkthrough and are still experiencing issues visit the Online Support Request Form to submit a support request.