The Common Golfer

It’s getting easier to analyze your own golf swing.  Casio’s new Exilim EX-FS10 camera is the first handheld to offer golf swing analysis.  The camera looks at your stance, posture, and swing angles.  It then provides feedback, as shown above.

A lot of the details (like price) aren’t out yet.  However, it comes with 9.1 megapixels, 1000 fps burst mode, 720P video recording and 3x optical zoom.  Would you use something like this at the driving range?  I’m wondering if there will be a way to use the camera by yourself, without having someone else photograph your swing.

Fujitsu has announced the development of a new technology that can sense the body movements of someone holding a sensor-equipped mobile phone (i.e. iPhone).  The first use of the technology is in an application called “ETGA Swing Lesson.”  ETGA will analyze your golf swing and provide feedback from Tadashi Ezure (apparently some Japanese golf professional who runs the Ezure Tadashi Golf Academy – ETGA).

On the one hand, this actually sounds pretty cool.  As the user swings the phone, motion data is collected and analyzed along 16 points of the swing.  That data is then compared against ETGA’s swing principles.  The application will then be able to upload the data to the Internet, and Fujitsu has plans to partner with Golf Digest Online to provide a “golf swing check site.”

However, I have to say I’m only mildly impressed.  First off, my experience with golf phone apps hasn’t been good.  Secondly, what the hell is swinging a cell phone going to for me (other than make me look like an idiot)?  Just like David Leadbetter’s Nintendo Wii game, I fail to see how swinging something lighter and differently shaped than a golf club is going to improve anything.

I’m sure that Mr. Ezure’s advice will be beneficial, but you could package instructional videos in to a mobile phone app and achieve the same result.  I’m sure some people will buy it – hell, I might even buy it just to have something to write about!  But ultimately, while motion-sensing technology is really cool, I predict this application will be a huge bust.

If you haven’t already figured it out, I love anything related to Scotty Cameron.  So when I saw this on The IP Golf Guy’s web site, I had to “borrow” it!  Cameron has recently patented a system for analyzing your putting stroke.  The application was titled “Method and Apparatus for Determining Golf Ball Performance Versus Golf Club Configuration in Accordance with a Golfer’s Individual Swing Characteristics,” and here is an excerpt from the description: Read the rest of this entry »

Now you can get personalized golf lessons from David Leadbetter from the privacy of your own home!  Well, sort of.  Coming to stores in October is a new game for the Nintendo Wii, “My Personal Golf Trainer with David Leadbetter.”  The concept of the game is to learn Leadbetter’s 7 Steps to a Better Golf Swing.

The new Wii MotionPlus controller and Wii Balance Board combine to analyze and record every facet of your golf swing, including swing speed, weight transfer, and swing path.  It will even play back “video” of what your swing looks like, giving pointers from Leadbetter on how to improve.  The game will retail for $50, the MotionPlus controller is $25, and to get the Balance Board you have pony up $90 for the Wii Fit Bundle.  But $165 sure beats the $1,000/hour that Leadbetter charges for in-person lessons!

All that being said, I find one minor flaw with this entire process:  YOU’RE NOT SWINGING AN ACTUAL GOLF CLUB!  How can you possibly analyze my swing speeds and other factors, when I’m holding a Wii controller in my hand and pretending it’s a driver?  The weight of a golf club is much different than a video game controller (news flash), and therefore my indoor golf swing is only going to mildly resemble my real golf swing. Read the rest of this entry »

I don’t typically give out a lot of instructional advice, because until I can break par on a regular basis I feel I have no business telling others how to play (which is probably why this is only my second instructional article).  However, I have some “can’t miss” advice for all of the hackers out there:  Don’t be ashamed to get a golf lesson once in awhile.

Every time I go to the driving range, I see people hitting balls from a jumbo bucket at rapid-fire speed, and each shot just as horrible as the last.  The problem is, when your skill level is at a place where you’re happy just to make good contact, no number of range balls hit is going to make you better.  Maybe Tiger Woods can go to the range and “figure things out,” but if you could do that, then you’d be on tour with him!

I know that some hackers out there have too much pride to get a lesson, and others think it is too expensive.  But look at it this way – a 1 hour lesson for $50 will do a heck of a lot more for your game than aimlessly hitting $50 worth of range balls (4 or 5 buckets).  When you don’t have the golf swing of a professional, hitting shank after shank is only building that horrid swing in to your muscle memory.

Let me be clear, however, that I am not saying we should all go out and get lessons every week.  If we could afford to have lessons that frequently, maybe we could all try to go pro!  But if you can’t break 100 on your local public course (and that includes you, Mr. Mulligan who shoots in the 90’s), then 1 or 2 lessons a year will definitely help you to achieve your goals.  So remember – going to the driving range is a good thing, but only if you’re practicing properly.

According to a story in The Telegraph, a new study from University College, in Dublin Ireland, shows golfers perform better when they’re distracted. What the researchers found was that when golfers were asked to focus on their routines, they ended up losing consistency and hitting their putts slower.  This study seems to agree with another study carried out by the University of Michigan and St. Andrews University, which found that it took golfers twice as long to make a putt if they had previously spent five minutes discussing their putting techniques.

The takeaway is that golfers should try to distract themselves from their physical movements.  By thinking about something else, you’re essentially forcing your body to stick to what it knows.  However, I guess this assumes that your body has some semblance of what a good golf swing is!  I’m not sure how I feel about this.  If it’s true, then it gives me a good reason for why I tend to not play well under pressure.  But on the other hand, I tend to get quite a few birdies after getting a double bogey on the previous hole (when you’d think I’d be extremely focused on my technique).  Next time I’m on the course, I will have to try thinking about something other than golf.

For The Common Golfer’s first instructional post, I wanted to share the piece of advice that has helped me the most on the course this year.  Over the years, I’ve had a bad habit of picking up “gimme” putts – putts in the 3 foot range that can really make your knees shake some times.  At some point last year, I decided to start finishing all my putts.  I came to the quick realization that I was not as good of a putter as I thought!

The advice that really turned around my putting game was from Harvey Penick’s “Little Red Book.”  For putts of inside of 5 feet, line the putt up and focus on nothing butt hitting the ball with the sweet-spot of the putter.  Form doesn’t matter; as long as you hit the sweet spot, the putt will go straight.  Once I started implementing this tip, I’ve honestly made at least 95% of my short putts, and I’ve even extended the range out to about 6 feet and still had it work great! Every time I have a short putt now, my two swing thoughts are to swing firmly and hit the sweet spot.

I hope you find this tip helpful.  Let me know what you think, and please share any tips you may have on short putts!