How to Analyze a Golf Swing from a Video

Recording your golf swing is the first step toward getting better, but the real improvement comes from knowing exactly what to look for in that video. Instead of just swiping through clips with a shrug, this guide will teach you how to analyze your swing like a pro, breaking down the movements from start to finish. We will walk through the key camera angles and the specific checkpoints at each stage of your swing, turning your phone into an honest and powerful coaching tool.

Setting the Scene: How to Film Your Swing

Before we can analyze anything, we need good footage. Garbage in, garbage out. A poorly framed video hides the very details we need to see. You only need two specific angles to get a complete picture of your swing mechanics. For both shots, place your phone on a tripod or have a friend hold it steady at waist or chest height. If your phone has a slow-motion feature, use it!

• Down-the-Line (DTL): Position the camera directly behind you so that it’s looking down the target line. Imagine a straight line running from the center of the clubface, through the golf ball, all the way to your target. The camera should sit on this line, about 10-12 feet behind you. This view is perfect for checking your swing path, plane, and posture.
• Face-On (FO): Position the camera directly in front of you, perpendicular to your target line and opposite the middle of your stance. This angle is essential for seeing your body’s rotation, weight shift, and ball position.

The Down-the-Line (DTL) Analysis: The Club's Journey

The DTL view tells the story of how your club is moving around your body. It reveals the all-important swing plane and path. Pull up your DTL video, have the pause button ready, and let's break it down.

Step 1: The Address Position

Before you even move, there are clues to your swing. Pause the video at your setup.

• Posture: You should see a gentle "S-curve" in your back. This means you’re hinging from your hips, not just rounding your shoulders. Your bottom is pushed back, creating an athletic and balanced position. Your arms should hang naturally straight down from your shoulders. A common error is standing too upright, which forces an arm-heavy swing.
• The Shaft Plane Line: This is your most important reference. On your screen, draw a line from the hosel (where the shaft meets the clubhead) running up the shaft and through your belt buckle. This is your initial swing plane. Throughout the swing, we'll see how the club moves in relation to this line.

Step 2: The Takeaway (First Move from the Ball)

Play the video in slow-motion until the club is parallel to the ground. This first move sets the tone for everything else. The goal is a "one-piece" takeaway, where your hands, arms, and torso start the motion together.

• On-Plane Takeaway: Ideally, as the club moves back, the clubhead should track just outside your hands, staying on or just above the original shaft plane line you drew.
• Too Far Inside: A common mistake is using only your hands to whip the clubhead back behind your body. In the video, the clubhead will appear well behind your hands and will move significantly under the shaft plane line. This often leads to needing a major rerouting at the top to hit the ball squarely.
• Too Far Outside: Less common, but this is when you push the club straight away from you with your arms. The clubhead will be high and well above the shaft plane line.

Step 3: The Top of the Backswing

Let the swing continue to the very top. Pause it right as you're about to change direction.

• Shaft Position: In a classic "on-plane" swing, the club shaft at the top will be pointing at your target (or be parallel to your target line).
• Across the Line: This is when the shaft points to the right of your target. It's often a result of over-rotating the arms.
• Laid Off: This is when the shaft points to the left of your target. This can happen from a variety of factors, including the arms stopping short of a full body turn.
• Body Rotation: Your back should be facing the target, and you should feel tension loaded in your trail hip and glute. It’s a turn, not a sway. You should not have drifted outside the 'cylinder' we talked about in our setup guide.

Step 4: The Downswing and Impact

This is the moment of truth. The transition from backswing to downswing is where most amateur golfers make their biggest mistakes. The classic fault sichtbaren from DTL is coming "over the top."

• The Magic Move (Shallowing): Elite players start the downswing by shallowing the club. In your video, this looks like the clubhead and shaft "dropping" or "falling" behind your body, moving below the initial C. plane line. This puts the club in a powerful position to attack the ball from the inside.
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This motion happens a lot more often is one reason to be the biggest" power leaker "in golf. Looken it's like a slice that comes down. "You know, when the camera is right, your hands and stick will go to the ball and that plane line on top of the original one." This means that you've got an outer-inner path that forces slice, pullen, or a steep angle of attack.

The Face-On (FO) Analysis: Your Body ' s Engine

Now let's have to switch over to the Face - a - face ' film. This is how you watch 'The Golfer'... not so much golf club, but 'how' is done by the person in 'The House'. In the body moves "the engine of speed 'that's how power comes from.

1 . Step 1. : Ball Position and Settings

Check your setup again, this time to see "where on the green lawn floor that balls 's sitting at. < p >

• Ball Position: For "your long iron, it should be dead in themiddle" of my position as said you ' ll know from me in that "full golf lesson a couple of times here on our site before, maybe one toe to the " lead" on ' eights ' and nines - but about right out of the lead shoe by 'drivers '" .
• The Stance Span < p > Your heels will only need be wide a shoulders-apart with irons. It makes so firm enough a foundation for what lies ahead with its balanced rotation action and isn_1t something people think to do for themselves! It'll provide room without hindering power transfer later though!

• Weight Distribution:

Step 2. - In the Swerving on the Way Out

When going backwards: It ‘s meant as a spin more than it “sees-s to” another place so let ‘ s review what ‘that ¹ s ‘ been made to go!

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You really don ¹ t wanna hear how this sounds ' a bit ‘, too. But keep that in a pretty fixed posture while body does rotation around it! That allows your axis to stay at one point of consistency and helps strike it "cleaner".. A little drift horizontally can and does sometimes happen, but the problem most amateurs have is moving their whole setup overtop the trailed foot. Not what professionals look to do with the move they ' re working 'em towards now these days so often!. A ` swayed¹ looks so weak when you see for yourself if that person can `t get through its follow through motion later than having been 'stuck', with hips going backwards..

• < p " MSO normal » > It ' S All in that turn – The lead hip turns out behind as that other shoulder rotates past centre.. And finally by now at high peak rotation backfacing "my 'target zone '" almost perfectly. And on down it drops "down ' and in front ¹. < />

Step 3: Downswing & Impact a "The Power Move..

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• This looks very different from just throwing an ax into a big tree log!. Good ball-strikers have a sequence we look for immediately: The move towards hitting gets initiated mostly down their bottom half of their body, they slide & move over onto their side with its leading first. That lets the hips move forward of their head where it wants to stay in place mostly at around contact! Those arms then follow after, still trying to keep a bend in wrist. When arms straighten up, that’s just happened by inertia instead, bringing power into contact point too because weight is already pressing forwards 'and behind'. That lead knee will straighten, the one from lead foot side, it looks strong holding its firm. As its hip has moved ‘out a¹ way from ‘beforehand so now everything will clear ¹ through it, no jamming! As this happened those hands dropped in the slot ‘we have from above’.. which felt "so easy".

Finish with balance in style..

< li>< p> As mentioned in many earlier articles: Your body won¹t want nor ever to be stationary but should keep that going 'round towards where the little pill rolled itself across the fairway at. Weight just moves into over half or better of that onto the 'lead¹d leg as that foot just comes clear loose off ground for us both. All this can only be achieved by letting ¹things' unravel ¹their ways. No holding on or pulling in power from us during this piece!. When the job done it would have all its ‘front ½ pointing straight 'n down ' at our ‘landing grounds’!.

Swinging versus spinning – your full chest area moves from side a side now sideways without so many rotational qualities when doing its swing, rather just ‘sideshift ’. Lack of turning from the waist, core.. And therefore no ability for the larger musceles inside us from working as much or nearly effectively in transferring power into golf ball... ‘ Early extension ` – hips start to shove "out¹ over to " that golf hole... As that then comes back, they get ahead of my arms, taking ' room from ' arms.. This can mean trying hard too far too soon 'for power.. And just leads to that awful chicken Wing we all see often.... C A S T I N G – We see both camera angulations here losing that lag, or letting wrists open up, very much too early!.. One reason ¹ why, it could show itself trying for that shot ' ' with arm only.. So body isn ´t giving any ' support into ' this type of movement so there isn ᷾ t much force at contact if done right with whole system engaged, not only wrists! ..

Final Thoughts < h3>

Breaking down your golf swing movie gives what looks to have been hidden a proper home on camera now, we just showed what's missing so many times during our actual swing motions, giving clear ways and directions to finding areas to practice! That brings the guessing away entirely. < b style=""> " While having the freedom of a little DIY assessment puts everyone down a long path better, to get some ‘extra eyeballs ' gives you some insights further still – where often that ‘ feels so very far for being achieved now days at any ¹ costs.. Because this takes expert training, for your skills to come so full ¹, we made Caddie AI , ¹cause we thought that you needed answers straight at finger point without ever leaving home or waiting.. We created Caddie AI. . Think like the pros ¹ now we offer access for you just to do a snap of any troublesome pitch lies – or ask " the basic stuff that nobody tells what it all means now! It¹ s helping all those parts you knew were out a bit there with this kind " of on demand insight. Now it’s something to work upon directly from a base more solid like never ever seen from golfers ever!. . < i class ''= >