Yes. Recording your swing is one of the most useful things you can do between lessons. What you feel and what's actually happening are often very different, and video closes that gap. But there's a right way and a wrong way to do it.
Why video helps
Every golfer has had this experience: you feel like you're making a huge change, then you watch the video and it barely moved. Or you think your backswing is short, but it's actually way past parallel. Video gives you the truth.
It also helps your coach. Footage from your practice sessions or rounds shows us how your swing holds up when we're not standing there.
How to film correctly
Bad angles create false information. Follow these rules:
Two angles.
- Face-on: Camera directly in front of you, pointed at your chest, level with your hands.
- Down-the-line: Camera behind you, pointed along your target line, roughly at hand height.
Camera position. Keep the phone at hand height and on a stable surface or tripod. Filming from too high or too low distorts angles.
Distance. Far enough back to see your whole body and the club at the top, usually 10 to 15 feet.
Slow motion. Use your phone's slow-mo setting. It makes impact and transition visible.
Alignment. Lay an alignment stick on the ground pointing at your target so you can see setup and path.
What to look for
Resist the urge to analyze every frame. Focus on what your coach told you to work on. At Beyond Golf Performance, we teach from impact, so we usually want you to check things like:
- Where your divot starts relative to the ball
- Whether your hands are ahead of the clubhead at impact
- Your setup posture and alignment
- The one specific checkpoint from your last lesson
Common video mistakes
- Changing camera angles every session, so you can't compare
- Overanalyzing and fixing things your coach didn't ask you to
- Only filming good swings
- Comparing your swing to a tour pro's with a totally different body
What we use in lessons
In lessons, we combine high-speed video with TrackMan data and HackMotion wrist sensors. Video shows motion. Data shows what that motion does to the ball. Together, they give us the full picture.
Between lessons, our students can share practice videos and track drills through the Beyond Reps app, so coaching continues off the range.
Bring your videos to your lesson
We coach golfers from Austin, Cedar Park, Leander, and Georgetown at Balcones Golf Academy.
Book at beyondgolfperformance.com/book.
