Be fearless, get analyzed
by Sue Fracker, FINDaLESSON.com

Men and women unite! The Switzerland of golf has arrived. It's not from Switzerland, silly, I mean it's neutral. Objective. Do not be afraid. I've seen it myself.

It's called fact-based golf instruction. This means that no matter who you are - male, female, large, small, emotionally strong, mentally inept, totally rational or recovering with therapy, your golf swing will be fairly analyzed from 108 angles within a mysterious magnetic field and through the modern day miracle of video. Numbers will fill columns, lines will accent your swing image. A PGA professional will show you the results. The results are about as complete a picture as you can get of why that darn ball won't cooperate. You will see for yourself what must change.

Maybe change is too strong. Let's just call it "what you might want to work on."

I visited the GolfTEC booth at the Chicago Golf Show earlier this month, where I met Flynn and Kurt, PGA professionals and GolfTEC experts. I watched other show attendees go through the motions, wired into the computer, their swing flaws revealed on a large monitor to all who passed by. I saw very tall men, very short men, sort of heavy men, husky portly men, young men, old men and once in a while, an average-sized woman. When it was my turn, my first question was: are women afraid to do this? I mean, I'm a woman.

It occurred to me women might be tentative for several reasons. One, you have to put straps around your waist and up over your shoulders and down the center of your chest. The straps hold the magnets and cables that transmit your swing motion to the computer and record the various angles and positions that make up your swing. Two, there's a camera pointed at you from behind the ball videotaping your swing. At the Show, the monitor for the camera was facing the crowd. I was concerned about the actual size of my rear according to the camera and the magnets - would I want those results shared with me and strangers, even as an average?

Three, and perhaps the most critical reason, as a woman, do I care to have my swing analyzed? It's sort of personal thing - being analyzed. I once read that when it comes to making mistakes, women tend to blame themselves while men blame inanimate objects, faulty equipment, unexpected circumstances. Nothing against the way men or women handle things, just an observation that made me wonder how I would react to the results of my swing analysis.

I was absolutely enthralled. Not by seeing my rather clumsy swing on the big screen, mind you. No, it was much more than that.

Of course, I was skeptical while Flynn strapped me in. I hadn't swung a club since September. I was wearing my sassy black chunky heel boots. How would I swing with these straps and belts, oh, and the cable from inside my glove? I muttered all this to Flynn, apologizing in advance for what he was about to witness. He said not to worry. Everyone feels the same way in the beginning. He said I'd forget I had the stuff on once I swung a few times. He was right.

A few swings later, the computer had captured my data. Flynn was as gracious about removing the straps as he had been about putting them on. He admitted sometimes he gets so into the lesson and is so enthusiastic about showing students the results, he gets a little hasty with strap removal. He says most people laugh about it - maybe they're anxious to get on with it, too.

And they should be. The swing data GolfTEC is able to capture and present to you is quite astounding. I forgot it was me (average-sized woman, average golfer, camera may add 40 pounds) we were talking about. It was me there on the screen, but it was like a me removed. I was watching from another place. Flynn introduced me to Kurt, who was ready with my "numbers." 

There were a lot of numbers; secretly, I don't care for math, but the numbers made sense. They explained my shoulder rotation, my hip rotation, my angle at address and a host of other things that have never been summarized to me that succinctly or logically before. The numbers told me what my body positions were at various points in my swing. Compared to amateur or tour averages, they told me what I needed to adjust to refine (that makes it sound like I don't have so far to go...) my swing. Sensing I understood the numbers but perhaps I needed more of a visual explanation, Kurt turned to the video of my swing.

There I was, addressing the ball. Kurt told me my spine angle and knee bend were very good. I looked athletic, relaxed. This is where my golf skills begin and end, however. Once I start the swing, I realize by viewing myself that I am destined to screw it up. Kurt has drawn helpful blue lines to illustrate where the swing path should be. I cross the border about half way up and he pauses the image to point out where adjustments can be made.

Kurt explains as we watch my club move toward the top that I am going to have to come back in with the club to recover from the way I've started. Sure enough, my hands sort of hitch at the top, and I have some sort of Elvis thing going on with my lower body. I wonder how I'm ever going to make contact with the ball, and we're only half way through my swing. To my surprise, I do meet the ball on the downswing, where Kurt freezes the frame again to tell me that at this point my position is actually very good. He splits the screen to pull in a shot of Ernie Els at the same point in his swing, and I can see for that split second, we do have a match. It makes me feel good, like maybe the other stuff is worth "working on."

Kurt wraps up the demonstration, summarizing my areas of emphasis using both the numbers and the frozen images we studied. Flynn later e-mails me my swing, and I can log onto www.GolfTEC.com at any time to check it out, review the stats and even print out a booklet of four key frames with Kurt's notes that I can take with me to the range. As hi-tech and complicated as it could have been, it just wasn't, and here's why: the numbers and pictures don't lie, and the pros are among the friendliest, most helpful teachers you'll find. As Flynn told me, he is able to tell it like it is and let the students make of it what they will. He forms no opinions; he simply shares data. Fact-based instruction.

A powerful tool for men and women golfers alike. I didn't feel intimidated, inhibited or incompetent. I didn't feel dissected, or lose passion for the "feel" of the game. I felt informed. Respected. Slightly empowered.

I would do it again.