filming your golf swing

I get sent golf swings every day from the players I coach in person and online. With smart phones being as good as they are, its never been easier to video your golf swing and get involved with seeing how it all works. 

I get sent many swings (mainly from new people) where the video is next to useless from an analysis point of view. The two best camera angles are down the line and face on. If you look at my Instagram feed, you will see the views myself and most coaches tend to use. Filming at any other angle just distorts the swings and can make the appearance of the swing look dramatically different to how it actually looks. For instance, film too low and the swing takes on a different appearance to filming at waist high. 

So here are some of my key tips I give to people when filming their swings using their mobile phones. Firstly try and get the phone around waist high with the hands in the centre of the screen. Remember you want to film relative to the person and not their target line. Not everyone has still hands so if you can place the phone or mount the phone then even better. Use the slow motion mode if your phone has it to avoid the blurring of the shaft and ultimately aids with seeing whats going on. I believe an iPhone records at 30 frames per second in normal video mode but can be boosted to 240 frames per second in slow motion mode.

So next time your down the range, don't be afraid to get your phone out and take some videos of your swing. We all know the saying "feel isn't real" so don't rely on your senses to tell you whether you are doing the right move or not. A simple swing video could make all the difference to the productivity of your practice session.