Golf expo swing analysis saved me

Recently I went to the New England golf expo in Providence RI.

GolfTec offers a free short swing analysis video. When I was able to see how upright I stood and how inside I was taking my club, I almost threw up. No wonder I was having such inconsistent results in my quest for improved ball striking.

I was a pretty good ball striker before, but after actually seeing myself swing, I was astonished at the difference between what I was doing and what I thought I was doing.

Once I flexed my knees and took the club back more on plane, via the use of my digital camcorder, my ball striking increased by an order of magnitude.

I do feel a little guilty in that I don't plan on going to GolfTec for lessons. They are very expensive. However, they did show me the light.

I know this sounds so completely obvious, but, I recommend that anyone who wants to improve their ball striking to take at least one lesson from their local pro that includes video swing analysis. Or just video tape yourself from the front and side.

Fixing my 2 issues has completely improved my confidence when I stand over the ball. No more do I think, "I've found the magic move", only to be right back where I was the next day at the range/course.

Hope this helps a some poor soul like me that struggles at the driving range hitting ball after ball.

I had a video lesson with my pro a couple of weeks ago, again a real eye opener. He helped breakdown my backswing to focus on the couple of simple things I could do differently to improve my ballstriking. Brings a lot of clarity to a complex thing. I have since used a flip on the range to make sure I'm still working on getting those key pieces right.

What's a flip?

im going to the golf show in boston next weekend, thanks for the info. Do they have clubs that you can hit there, and was there a huge line that you had to wait in?

I was not very impressed with the NE golf show expo in Providence. Hopefully the one in Boston will be better.

Yes, Nike, Callaway, Titleist, and Cobra had clubs to hit. The line to hit clubs was not bad at all. Everyone seemed to courteous and leave the station after they hit ~ 20-30 balls. However, there was one woman that must have hit balls for 1.5 hours. I think she thought this was her personal demo day. Never ceases to amaze me how some people feel they are the only thing that matters.

Amen, brother. I had a lesson last Friday. First time I've ever had video swing analysis. I could not believe the difference between what I looked like and what I thought I looked like. My posture was HORRIBLE! I also had a terrible inside takeaway. No wonder I was having so much trouble staying on plane. After the pro got me set up properly with my back straight, knees flexed and taking the club back on plane the results were unbelievable.

I'm 6'5" with a 36" sleeve. By all right I should be able to hit the ball a long way, but I don't. The video analysis showed that because my posture was so slumped at address I actually took 4" off my height compared to where I am when I straighten my lower back. Couple that with an inside takeaway and I had pretty much cancelled out my height advantage. Amazing.

That is great. Now you won't have to spend anymore money on GI equipment. IMO, money is better spent on lessons than trying to buy results.

I'll bet your handicap will fall well below the 15 you are at. Let me know how you improve.

I have to admit that I have become a believer in GolfTEC. Not so much in their lessons, but the ability to work on swing mechanics with immediate video feedback. As soon as I complete my swing, I tap the play button with the butt of my club and I can see my swing, frame by frame, from two different camera angles. I can then make an adjustment, and see if it had any impact. This is a great way to experiment with swing changes.

I've taken video lessons before, but by the time that the pro records your swing, loads it in the computer and finally shows you what you did, the feeling is totally lost.

Anyone know if there will be a golf expo in the Maryland area?

I have been considering taking lessons from GolfTec. My initial investigation led me to believe that they are pricey. If you don't mind, can you pass on the different prices.

Where do you play in RI? I am just over the border in CT.

Yes, they are a little pricey. But after going through the evaluation and seeing the good and bad things about my swing, I realized that I had some work to do on my mechanics. And what better time to do this than in the off-season? GolfTEC has a variety of programs that can include things like club fitting and fitness plans. I signed up for what they call the Birdie program. It is a six month plan where I get 10 lessons overall and 3 practice sessions per week. The practice sessions have been great for working on drills but even better for experimenting with those "swing epiphanies" that pop into my head throughout the day. Ever get those??? Oh, the cost of this program was $695. If I remember correctly, they had about 10-12 different programs, including a practice-only membership. I don't remember the pricing structure of anything except for the one that I signed up for.

I agree that the Providence Golf Expo was really kind of lame. It seemed like the booths were just thrown together at the last minute. BTW, I play mostly in the Newport area. How about yourself? It's been a long winter - the season's almost here. I'm interested to see if my GolfTEC experiment pays off. I suppose I'll find out soon enough.

Thanks for the info.

What do the practice sessions entail? Are you wearing the swing monitor garb or just hitting balls into a simulator? I am down around the Groton (submarine capital of the world) area. Courses must be nice up there with all the rich folk.

When I practice, I don't use the harness. I find that stuff to be interesting, but not particularly useful. It's also a little confusing. I think the button box is fantastic though. The monitor on the floor uses a face-on camera and a down-the-line camera. I take one swing, pause the video, and then draw lines on the screen. I am working mostly on staying on-plane during my backswing and not coming over the top. There is a microphone on the floor. When my club strikes the ball, the Golftec software records video from one second before the strike until one second after the strike. Then all I have to do is hit the play button that's right in front of me and see how I did. There is also a launch monitor that measures swing speed, ball speed and carry distance. The gripe against Golftec is that you can't see the flight of your ball. But when I'm working on mechanics, worrying about where the ball goes would be a distraction. Besides, I've proven many times in the past that I can hit a good shot with a bad swing by making numerous compensating moves - sort of like Charles Barkley.

The practice sessions can entail anything you want them to entail. When my 6 month membership expires, I will probably sign on for another six months of practice only. As for the rich folks in Newport... most of them come from New York and spend July and August here. Fortunately, a lot of them pay for golf memberships yet seldom play. Rhode Island's unemployment rate is now up to 10.3%. We are battling Michigan for bragging rights.

Troy, thank you so much for the info. It sounds exactly like something I would do. It is pricey, however, I believe that it would help me achieve my unrealistic goal.

And I completely agree with you. I don't need to see where the ball is going to know if I hit it well. The feel and sound tell me quite a bit about the swing.

the guys at the golftec tent today were so lazy. They kept on talking to their fellow employees about non golf related things...i was hoping to get a swing analysis, but oh well.

Troy, are the pro knowledgeable, or do they just rely on the technology? When I was at the golf expo, the guy working with me was trying to describe what he was talking about with my back-swing and as he swung the club, it really looked like I had a better swing than his.

my brother did the golftec thing... the equipment they use is pretty impressive...
but the knock on golftec is the teaching 'style'... it seems they stick to a scripted rigid guide to fixing swings... and they use a tour pro in comparison swing analysis...
all tour pros have their own distinct swings and to try to mold you into mimicking one of them is pretty tough even if you have a pretty swing...
so my brother ditched golftec for a much more inexpensive hightech pro and he has grown by leaps and bounds

Like any golf school, I think that a GolfTEC experience depends quite a bit on the pro who is doing the teaching. I'm currently working with a PGA pro (I think most are PGA certified) who I think is tremendous. I think the advantage he has over a club professional is that he teaches 40 hours per week, while my club pro is mostly interested in moving pro-shop merchandise. For years, my club pro has been telling me that I take the club back too far inside. On my first lesson at GolfTec, the GolfTec pro told me WHY the club was coming inside and how to correct this.

I don't think that they are trying to make my swing look like a tour professional. But the concept is that all PGA pro's, even though they have different swings, do many things in common. And the approach is to focus on those common elements of the swing. GolfTec is not for everybody. I wanted to make swing changes and I like to practice. I like practicing even more when I can get instantaneous feedback. If you're looking for a quick fix to a minor swing problem, GolfTec probably isn't the right program for you. I think that before signing up for a program, it may make sense to ask a couple of questions: - How long have you been teaching golf? - How long have you been teaching at GolfTec? - Why should I take lessons from you versus my club pro?