Motion Analysis Technology

In this month's Golf World magazine there is an article about this.

As anybody tried it ?

If so, what was your experience like ?

It looks quite cheap compared to other golf lessons / schools.

Hi Puttking,

I had my swing analysed on this system, back in mid-April, at The Belfry's PGA academy.

I think that the reason it is reasonably priced has something to do with the sponsorship of Taylor Made. Their objective is to encourage us to have our swings analysed and then recommend the appropriate TM clubs according to the data interpretation from the MAT system.

It is quite an interesting experience. They tog you up with sensors from head to toe, which are picked up by a series of cameras placed all over the fitting room. Each swing is captured and analysed. The data capture is impressive (clubhead speed, approach angle, lift etc). At the end of the session, the pro who was operating the system, pointed out some faults and burnt a CD for me. It wasn't perfect, because it showed that my hands were severely bowed at the top of the backswing. If anything I have a slight cup at the top.

However, they only put one swing on the CD, which is 4.5 Mb size. You cannot load it onto your hard drive. It can only be run from your CD-Rom reader. Having said that, you are able to drag the mouse over the image and look at your swing from any angle (even underneath)

The major advantage, I found, was in being able to give the CD to my instructor, who has worked with me to correct the faults analysed. I have made more progress in the last two lessons than I had in the previous 5-6.

My overall opinion is that it is well worth the money but, even more valuable if you can have your teaching pro run through it with you.

Hope this helps.

Thanks alot, Alan.

It sounds very interesting and something I hope to do one day !

Puttking,

I forgot to mention the price of the session. I think that the golf mags mention £80 for a 90 minute session. I paid £60 for a one hour analysis. It was good value, because it ran quite a bit over the scheduled time.

That sounds good value compared to other golf instruction / lessons.

It would be interesting to see my faults and I'm sure I have many. I've had many golf lessons and I've not been told much really. Usually all I get is :"Your swinging too fast !"

I think that it's good value.

I would stress that, for me, the value has been in having my teaching pro look at this CD. There is the facility to pause, as well as look the at swing from every angle. No matter how good an instructor is, it is impossible to capture, with the human eye, every imperfection we have in the swing.

If ever I needed proof that this really works, then my last two rounds have been evidence of this. This morning, I had 10 pars and my ball striking was very good. I still suffer from inconsistency but, I am hoping that I can eliminate this (along with the odd 7 or 8 which messes up my card!!!)

Alan, Glad to see your game is improving !

One last question about the Motion Analysis Technology:

Did you have to book it a few months in advance ?

Or did you ring them up and get a booking straight away ?

Thanks !

Hi Puttking,

There's no need to book far in advance.

I called them on a Monday and they booked a slot for me, at 2pm, on the Thursday, of the same week.

Give it a try; I'm sure that you'll be pleased with the end result. I would reiterate that you will gain a lot more from the procedure by taking the CD to your teaching pro, once you have had the analysis session.