Thoughts About GEARS

[Huffy]

I recently got to get on a GEARS system through a friend of a friend who has one in his house (no idea how someone justifies that for home use 🤣) and had some general thoughts about it.

To start it's a truly incredible system, with a copious amount of data which was really cool to see. Anytime I get the chance to get real data on golf its cool, up and to this point it has been about how the club and ball move, a la Tackman data. However, the novel part about gears thought is it gives numbers about your body, and a lot of them. It also allows you to directly compare swings with a conglomerate of Tour averages which is a cool concept. 

One of the "issues" I have with it however was that if someone who hasn't mastered the data and concepts is there to walk you through it, the system is almost useless. To an extent it becomes a cool way to record your swing and see it in 3D. I suppose this is true of anything, that if you don't know how to use it, the item itself is useless to you.

To build off that to the extent I used it, I didn't find it told me anything that I couldn't see in a video from my phone, besides put numbers to parts of the swing. I'm sure for better swings than mine, it can prove useful as lessons need to become more granular and specific to the player. 

I am supposed to get the videos by email at some point so when I do, I'll post them here. My questions for everyone else is what do you think of the system if you've been on it, and when do you find it useful?

TL; DR. GEARS is cool, but I didn't find it as revolutionary as I expected.

[boogielicious]

I would suggest that since you’ve experienced it, go to Erie and take a GEARS lesson with @iacas. Erik can help you focus on what is important and what your priority pieces are. It is much better than video. Just seeing the numbers doesn’t help if you don’t know what to look for.

One of the pieces I work on a lot is not letting my hip center move towards the ball in the backswing. I try to practice this feel every day. It came out in my GEARS session last year in Erie and it’s very hard to see on video. But I know about it now and focus on it.

[iacas]

5 hours ago, Huffy said:

One of the "issues" I have with it however was that if someone who hasn't mastered the data and concepts is there to walk you through it, the system is almost useless.

True of anything as you said.

5 hours ago, Huffy said:

To build off that to the extent I used it, I didn't find it told me anything that I couldn't see in a video from my phone

Yeah, that's not true. 😄  Your phone is 2D, and is located in one place only. There are a lot of optical illusions and things in the golf swing, and if you're looking to actually measure instead of guess… you're not getting that from a phone.

 

5 hours ago, Huffy said:

TL; DR. GEARS is cool, but I didn't find it as revolutionary as I expected.

You used it with someone who doesn't seem to know how to use it. You shouldn't have had any expectations.

You could have used it any time in a whole year here, with someone who knows how to use it, but didn't want to. 🙂 

3 hours ago, boogielicious said:

One of the pieces I work on a lot is not letting my hip center move towards the ball in the backswing. I try to practice this feel every day. It came out in my GEARS session last year in Erie and it’s very hard to see on video. But I know about it now and focus on it.

Lotta things are tough or impossible to see on video, yeah. And even if you can, is it 1" or 2.4"?

[saevel25]

56 minutes ago, iacas said:

Yeah, that's not true. 😄  Your phone is 2D, and is located in one place only. There are a lot of optical illusions and things in the golf swing, and if you're looking to actually measure instead of guess… you're not getting that from a phone

This^ 
@Huffy, Go check out https://www.youtube.com/@AthleticMotionGolf

They do a great job deciphering reality versus perception. One that comes to mind with 2D is perceiving lag using video. Two players can have the exact same lag, but because of the positioning of their arms, one looks to have tremendously more lag than the other. 

Video is great for a lot of stuff, you truly can't hide anything from GEARS. Like anything that gives to a TON of data, knowing what to look for and how to decipher it is key.  

[Phil McGleno]

Ahhh-The hubris and folly of youth.

[Huffy]

1 minute ago, Phil McGleno said:

The hubris and folly of youth

Truer words have never been spoken, as I am seeing tonight 😅. I hope my ignorance did not come across as arrogant…

1 hour ago, iacas said:

You shouldn't have had any expectations.

Definitely true, however there was also a pro present, albeit not trained in GEARS specifically as would be necessary.

I am certainly learning a lot (as I hoped I would). I am not here to challenge the accuracy or significance of any data, as I did find it interesting how it objectively showed my swing. What I am wondering is if an expert teacher trained in GEARS was shown a swing with and without GEARS, would the pro come to a different conclusion using GEARS versus "traditional methods," genuinely curious.

[Vinsk]

48 minutes ago, Huffy said:

What I am wondering is if an expert teacher trained in GEARS was shown a swing with and without GEARS, would the pro come to a different conclusion using GEARS versus "traditional methods," genuinely curious

Maybe not different but more concise and with data to better explain the issue. I think it aids both the instructor and student as it can be interpreted as technical as each person wants. 

[iacas]

8 hours ago, Huffy said:

I am certainly learning a lot (as I hoped I would). I am not here to challenge the accuracy or significance of any data, as I did find it interesting how it objectively showed my swing. What I am wondering is if an expert teacher trained in GEARS was shown a swing with and without GEARS, would the pro come to a different conclusion using GEARS versus "traditional methods," genuinely curious.

It depends on too many things. Do I often give a different lesson than what I see with my eyes? Maybe not. But even still, is that lesson better, with the student able to grasp things like "how much" or "does that feel work" or "what does that change result in through the rest of the swing" much more solidly and quickly.

The main advantage of GEARS is that it shows what you did. Measured. Accurate. To the tenth of a degree or inch.

If you're with a good coach/instructor, it's a valuable tool. If you're with someone who doesn't know how to use it… it's just a cool side thing but little more.

[ChetlovesMer]

9 hours ago, Huffy said:

I am certainly learning a lot (as I hoped I would). I am not here to challenge the accuracy or significance of any data, as I did find it interesting how it objectively showed my swing. What I am wondering is if an expert teacher trained in GEARS was shown a swing with and without GEARS, would the pro come to a different conclusion using GEARS versus "traditional methods," genuinely curious.

I think "different" is the wrong word. I would suggest that the conclusion would be less in depth. It might also be more difficult to explain exactly what the coach wants you to do without the GEARS system. I've been coached on GEARS a number of times. What I can tell you almost certainly is that we get to root cause a lot quicker. 

Often I can fix the part I'm working on and it will come at the expense of another part that I had already had correctly or previously corrected. The instructor can rotate the model and show you "Oh look this is better, but now it's caused this." When that happens we look for another feel. One that helps me get the part I'm working on correct, but doesn't mess up another part, or perhaps even helps improve another part. 

Sometimes we find a feel that improves a few things all at once. Then that's like a Eureka moment. 

So, while GEARS is very technical it's still a matter of finding the right "feels". Erik will say try feeling like you are doing this. Then we can look very deeply at a few of the components we are working on and decide if that feel is the right one. If not, we may try a different "feel". 

1 hour ago, iacas said:

It depends on too many things. Do I often give a different lesson than what I see with my eyes? Maybe not. But even still, is that lesson better, with the student able to grasp things like "how much" or "does that feel work" or "what does that change result in through the rest of the swing" much more solidly and quickly.

This

1 hour ago, iacas said:

If you're with a good coach/instructor, it's a valuable tool. If you're with someone who doesn't know how to use it… it's just a cool side thing but little more.

It's great when we go back an look at older GEARS data and get to say last year you were doing this by this much. Now you are doing this by this much. YAY! Improvement! 

9 hours ago, Vinsk said:

Maybe not different but more concise and with data to better explain the issue. I think it aids both the instructor and student as it can be interpreted as technical as each person wants. 

If time and money were no object I'd get a lot more coaching on GEARS. Unfortunately, I don't think it's likely that I can ever make a living playing golf. (Shut up. @billchao I can hear you snickering.) So I have to sneak my GEARS sessions in between earning a living, raising a family, keeping my wife happy, caring for my mother and/or my in-laws, my kids activities, etc... 

17 hours ago, Huffy said:

TL; DR. GEARS is cool, but I didn't find it as revolutionary as I expected.

I'm not sure it's revolutionary... maybe evolutionary. But I can tell you this; I've never had a GEARS lesson that I thought was a waste of time or money or thought it would have been as good or better without GEARS. 

Not to say you can't have a good lesson without GEARS or there's no value in filming your swing. Those things are still valuable. GEARS is just better though. Having done quite a few lessons both ways for a while now. The only arguments I can think of against using GEARS are mostly centered around time and money. 

Don't use GEARS if:

1. You can't afford it
2. You don't have time. Sometimes you are just after a quick spot check.... that's cool. 
3. You don't have somebody who knows what they are doing to show you how to turn that data into ways to improve. 
4. You want to take longer to improve
5. You are worried about tearing the Velcro strap that holds the shoe covers on. 

Otherwise use GEARS if you can.