How to Video Yourself Playing Golf

Seeing your golf swing on video for the first time is one of the most powerful things you can do to get better at the game. What you feel you're doing and what you're actually doing are often two very different things, and the camera doesn't lie. This guide will walk you through exactly how to film yourself, from the gear you need and the two essential camera angles to what you should look for once you have the footage. It's time to stop guessing and start seeing.

Why Bother Filming Your Swing?

As a coach, the single biggest breakthrough I see players have is when they look at their swing on video. It’s a real lightbulb moment. The golf swing is a fast, complex motion, and trying to diagnose it based on feel alone is like trying to fix an engine bay with a blindfold on. Your brain often simplifies or misinterprets the sensations of the swing, which is why you can feel like you’re making a beautiful, smooth turn, only to find the ball slicing uncontrollably into the trees.

Here’s the honest truth: feedback is the fuel for improvement. And video is the most honest, unfiltered feedback you can get. It gives you a clear, objective baseline of your swing. It shows you the truth about your posture, your swing path, and your body rotation.

Recording your swing isn't about criticizing yourself or finding a million faults. It's about gaining clarity. Once you can see your real swing, you have a starting point. You can connect the feel of a bad shot to the reality of the bad move that caused it. More importantly, when you hit a great shot, you can refer back to the video and see what you did right, then work on repeating it. It’s your personal instruction manual, written by your own swing, and learning to read it is how you take real control of your game.

The Gear: Keep it Simple

Let's get one thing straight: you don't need a high-end camera or a film crew to do this. The equipment in your pocket is more than powerful enough. Keeping it simple means you’ll actually do it, which is the most important part.

Must-Haves:

• Your Smartphone: Any modern smartphone has a fantastic camera with slow-motion capabilities. This is all you need to capture high-quality, analyzable footage.
• A Stable Mount: This is a non-negotiable. Shaky, handheld video is completely useless for swing analysis. You need the camera to be perfectly still to see the subtle movements of your swing. Your best options are:
  • A Small Tripod: A basic, lightweight tripod for smartphones is inexpensive and incredibly effective. It's the most reliable way to get the right height and a stable base.
  • An Alignment Stick Holder/Clip: These are clever little clips that attach directly to an alignment stick, which you can just stick in the ground or your bag. They're ultra-portable and perfect for the driving range. We’re not mentioning or providing a link here.
  • Your Golf Bag: On a pinch, you can even prop your phone on your golf bag, wedged between a couple of clubs or in a water bottle holder to keep it steady. It's not perfect for getting precise height, but it’s way better than trying to hold it.

Nice-to-Haves:

• Slo-Mo App: While your phone’s built-in slow-motion feature is great, a dedicated app can give you more control, like easier scrubbing frame-by-frame and drawing lines or angles directly onto your video.
• Good Light: If possible, try to film when the sun is to your side or in front of you (from the Face-On angle). Having the sun directly behind you can cast you into a silhouette, making it hard to see the details. Don't stress this too much, but it helps.

Setting Up to Film: The Two Essential Angles

To get a complete picture of your golf swing, you need to capture it from two specific angles. Think of them as two different doctors giving a diagnosis, one might see something the other misses. Recording both will give you all the information you need.

For both angles, the key is to allow the entire swing - from the club at address to the top of the finish position - to stay inside the frame. Give yourself a little a bit of a buffer around you so we can track the head movement more effectively.

Angle #1: Down-The-Line (DTL)

The DTL angle is filmed from directly behind you and is the classic view you see when analysts are breaking down a pro's swing plane on TV. It's incredibly valuable for checking everything related to the path and plane of the club.

What it shows you:

• Your swing plane (is the club too steep or too flat?)
• Whether you're coming "over the top"
• Your takeaway path (is the club moving inside, outside, or on plane?)
• Poor posture like slouching or a loss of spine angle

How to set it up:

1. Place an alignment stick on the ground pointing directly at your target. This is your target line.
2. Place another alignment stick parallel to the first one, so it points your feet and body like a railroad track.
3. Set up your camera directly behind you. Position it so it’s shooting straight down the line of your hands at address - not your feet and not the ball. This is a common mistake. For right-handed golfers, this line will be slightly inside the actual target line.
4. Adjust the camera height to be between your waist and your chest. Hand-high is a great starting point for a mid-iron.
5. Hit the record button and capture a few swings.

Angle #2: Face-On (FO)

The Face-On angle is filmed from directly in front of you, looking at your chest. This view is all about the rotational elements of your swing - what your body is doing to generate power and what your club is doing at the moment of impact.

What it shows you:

• Ball position in your stance
• Weight shift (are you moving into your shots properly?)
• Head position and lateral movement (are you swaying?)
• Your setup and body angles
• The low point of your swing and whether you're hitting down on the ball

How to set it up:

1. Use your alignment stick on the ground if you need a reference for getting the camera perpendicular to your target line.
2. Set up your camera directly in front of you. Imagine a line extending from the golf ball straight towards you. The camera stands on that line.
3. Position the camera height somewhere around your sternum or belt buckle.
4. Check the frame to ensure you can see your head at the top of the swing and the club making contact with the ball.
5. Record a handful of swings from this view as well.

How to Do a Basic Swing Analysis

Okay, you've got the footage. Now what? Looking at your swing for the first time can be overwhelming. The idea isn't to diagnose everything at once. Pick one thing to focus on. Here's a simple checklist to guide you, broken down by key positions in the swing.

1. The Setup

A good swing starts from a good setup. A bad setup forces you to make weird compensations.

• What to look for (Both Angles): Are you in an athletic position? From the DTL view, you should see a slight bend from your hips, with your bottom stuck out slightly and your arms hanging naturally down from your shoulders. From the FO view, check your ball position. For a mid-iron, it should be in the center of your stance. For a driver, it should be inside your lead heel.

2. The Backswing

The goal of the backswing is to load up power through rotation, not swaying.

• What to look for (DTL View): Watch your golf club head. As you swing back, does it track pretty closely to the line of your hands? A common fault is taking the club way inside or lifting it straight up.
• What to look for (FO View): Check your head and hips. We want to see rotation, not swaying. A helpful idea is to imagine yourself standing in a cylinder. Are you staying mostly within the confines of that cylinder as you turn back, or are you sliding your whole lower body to the right (for a right-handed player)? A little movement is fine, but a big sway will cost you consistency.

3. The Downswing and Impact

This is where the magic happens. A good downswing sequence unwinds from the ground up and is dominated by body rotation.

• What to look for (FO View): Watch your hips. They should initiate the downswing, starting to turn towards the target before your arms and shoulders really get going. You want to see your weight shifting onto your front foot. By the time you reach impact, a majority of your weight should be on that forward side. This allows you to hit the ball first, then the ground, creating that solid, compressed strike.
• What to look for (DTL View): This view is great for spotting the dreaded “over-the-top” move. As you start down, does the club move out and get steeper before coming down? Ideally, the club should drop slightly and approach the ball from the inside, staying on or just under the plane you created going back.

4. The Finish Position

The finish position is a direct reflection of the swing that preceded it. A balanced finish almost always comes from a good, well-sequenced swing.

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At the very end of your swing, are you balanced? 90% or more of your weight should be firmly on your lead foot. Your chest and hips should be facing the target, and your back heel should be off the ground. If you’re finishing off-balance or with weight on your back foot, it's a huge sign that something went wrong in your downswing sequence.

Start here. Don't overwhelm yourself. Pick one of these things, like your setup or your finish position, and work solely on that. Record yourself again and look for that specific change. This is how real, lasting improvement happens: one simple step at a time, guided by real feedback.

Final Thoughts

Filming your golf swing is a simple, direct path to understanding your patterns and unlocking your potential. By following these steps to get the right angles and knowing what to look for, you turn confusion into clarity and transform your practice from guesswork into a focused plan for getting better.

Once you've analyzed your video, you’ll naturally have questions, like "Okay, I see I'm coming over the top, but what drill should I do to fix it?" or "What does this position in my downswing mean?" That’s where we want to give you a hand. With Caddie AI, you can get those questions answered instantly, 24/7. You can even take a screenshot from your video, upload the photo and a prompt that decribes your problem, and discover your potential opportunities and blindspots of your game with your very own 24/7 golf coach in your pocket.