Video Analysis has changed my game forever

[LeviTee]

Anyways, I have been working with my golf pro who we sponsor and he keeps telling me what was wrong with my swing. We finally filmed it and watched it and saw what needed to change. I always knew what he was trying to explain to me, but watching it was the icing on the cake. My average drive before was around 240 with a bad fade (almost slice) and now hitting 290-310 with a controlled fade.

Problem was I would take the club too far back on my back-swing, cock the club up and come down on the ball (slapping it).

I have now shortened my back-swing and keep the club on a level plane, keeping my elbow in at my hip.

I love this game again.

[chuckanderson]

I totally agree. If you have an iPhone 3 or 4 or an andriod (don't know them) you should check out V1 Golf. I can literally shoot a decent video at the range, turn around, and watch it frame by frame within 20 seconds. I don't even post videos on here yet because it's so easy that I can take 10-15 a day and see my flaws in all.

[wrx_junki]

Wish I could say the same. I see my swing like every few months on video and I want to throw up. I don't think I like any part of my swing. I take the club way inside, way past parallel, cast it from the top while throwing my shoulders, then release whatever hinge I have left before impact. Before video I always thought I had a decent swing, it really opened my eyes.

[Danattherock]

Video don't lie, that is for sure. First time I recorded mine was about 10 months back. That is when I saw I was a flipper. That led to me reading Bobby Clampett's book, "The Impact Zone". Tons of progress were the result. Working hard on being sure hands go ahead of the clubhead through impact, forward leaning shaft at impact, and a swing bottom opposite my left shoulder. This is in stark contrast to my old ways. Thinking the swing bottom was in my center. Trying to get back into more or less my address position at impact. Sad it took so long to learn this.


-Dan

[Stretch]

I think video is an absolute necessity if you want to actually change your swing for the better, rather than just getting better at compensating for your existing swing flaws.

[Danattherock]

You are a wise man Stretch.

[RubxQub]

The videos I've taken with my iPhone 4 aren't very helpful for swing analysis I've found.

The framerate is only 30fps, and on the downswing, you can hardly make out where the shaft truly is or what the clubface is doing, or how my hands are rotating through impact.

I've got a sweet little mobile tripod setup and everything to use my phone with, but I just can't get a good video to do the analysis on.

[nevets88]

There's no financial or technical excuse not to use video.

I know a couple of players who avoid it because they're afraid of what they'll see. I have recordings of their swings which show an obvious flip, but they're in total denial.

They're happy with their swings so I left it at that, which is fine if you're satisfied with the way things are but they're looking to score better. They can improve with a flippy swing, but they're limiting themselves. And their scores have not gotten better for years.

[nevets88]

The videos I've taken with my iPhone 4 aren't very helpful for swing analysis I've found.

There's a Casio you can get for around $100 that has up to 200 fps. I forget the model name, but there were plenty of threads about it.

[Stretch]

The EX-FS10 is under $100. Next (and worthwhile, in my opinion) step up is the EX-FC100 at $175 or so.

Read all about it: http://thesandtrap.com/playing_tips/filming_your_swing

[stebed]

I totally agree. If you have an iPhone 3 or 4 or an andriod (don't know them) you should check out V1 Golf. I can literally shoot a decent video at the range, turn around, and watch it frame by frame within 20 seconds. I don't even post videos on here yet because it's so easy that I can take 10-15 a day and see my flaws in all.

How many frames per second is the Iphone 4? isn't it 30, which isn't really enough to get prescise, unless V1 do something to improve the FPS?

[srjorion]

I have just recently filmed my swing for the first time. It's been a few years since I took lessons and I lost some of the feel I had back then. It was definitely eye opening.

I bought a Kodak Playsport and love it. Used it to take this video: My Swing (srjorion)

It's only 60 fps, but so far that's all I need. I'll upgrade down the road if I find I need better detail.

[iacas]

The videos I've taken with my iPhone 4 aren't very helpful for swing analysis I've found.

Don't get me wrong - I love my iPhone - but for golf swing analysis it's garbage.

[JetFan1983]

I love my Casio. Sure, it tells me how downright awful I am, but at least there's this: with a high speed camera you can actually make feel become real. I used to think the swing thoughts I was using accomplished what I was trying to accomplish. Not so. Not when I saw it at 400 FPS. It took me some time to find it, but the swing thought of bending my left wrist through the downswing in the opposite direction of a flip actually gets me to reduce the flip significantly. I never would've arrived at this swing thought or motion without the benefit of the camera. Now, am I cured? Of course not. But it's a step in the right direction, and that in of itself is invaluable.

[TN94z]

Anyways, I have been working with my golf pro who we sponsor and he keeps telling me what was wrong with my swing. We finally filmed it and watched it and saw what needed to change. I always knew what he was trying to explain to me, but watching it was the icing on the cake. My average drive before was around 240 with a bad fade (almost slice) and now hitting 290-310 with a controlled fade.

The thing you have to remember is "what you feel is not always what's real"....this is why video analysis is so important IMO. For instance in my case, parallel "feels" like a 70% swing to me...but I didn't realize this until video. No way I would take any lessons without video now.

[nevets88]

Does anyone know why Casio is pretty much the only company that only offers high fps video?

[iacas]

Does anyone know why Casio is pretty much the only company that only offers high fps video?

Because it's a niche thing and other companies don't deem it worth doing.

Look at the number of golfers we have on here with "my swing" threads who post cell phone footage... there's not a lot of "golfers who want to video tape their swings" let alone "golfers who want to pay $200+ to video tape their swings in high speed." It's a niche in a niche.

[Hollister]

My name is Hollister and I am a golf swing video addict...

I bought a Casio FC100 in May. I regret to have not bought the FH100 since the FC100 is pretty useless in low light conditions. The latter is my current problem: how do I progress without video at evening range sessions? Slllloooowwwwwwlllyyyyy....

My advice would be, video you swing with whatever you have, like it and invest $250 in a decent cam (e. g. the Casio FC100). It is really, really worth it. You gain distance and can save the money to buy a better xyz-club/driver this year.

But, you have to invest a little time in learning to analyze a swing. Took me a while to figure out things to look at.