TrackMan

March 29th, 2013

Sometimes, in my line of work, you get lucky.

I was fortunate enough to try the TrackMan today (thanks to Damon Brossard of Radar Precision Golf /Tel: 858-776-5149). This ingenious product basically uses radar (enclosed in a small orange box that feeds data directly to a laptop) to measure your club angles and speed. As a result it measures your balls flight spin and distance (and dozens of other stats).

Like most new course innovations, it essentially injects science into the game of golf.  The mountain of data that it captures will  help you determine where the problem lies in your swing. The TrackMan can also assist you with purchasing the proper equipment based on the data from your swing.

Although you are provided with hard data about how you are swinging, this doesn’t replace swing theory or a good golf coach.  The TrackMan, created by a Danish company and introduced to the tour about seven years ago, doesn’t teach you to swing. It compiles the data to tell you more about your swing.

In my experience, this technology would be valuable to a golfer and coach to determine a good baseline on where their swing is and track incremental changes as the swing instruction develops. This product helps in instruction (but doesn’t replace it). The success & failure of a swing is measured by the millisecond and invisible to the naked eye – the TrackMan can help in this regard. Additionally, the TrackMan can also assist a golfer and coach in striking with consistency.

In the past the TrackMan was used by manufactures to optimize the tour pros’ equipment. More recently, it is used by many coaches and top players including Tiger Woods, Justin Rose and Hunter Mahan, among other notable names, as a teaching aid to help optimize their swings.  According to TrackMan manufacturers, about 30 players currently on the tour own their product.

The TrackMan is a great product but it is not cheap, currently costing around $25,000. TrackMan also has a YouTube Channel.

Although the TrackMan isn’t in every golfers’ budget, learning the laws of ball flight and watching your ball fly off the tee is still free.

Brian