More than Just Swing Detection
If you've been using PAR Golf with an Apple Watch then you are likely already loving how simple my swing detection algorithm makes tracking shots on the golf course. Running in the background, the watch easily detects and accurately records the locations you hit golf shots to generate personalized analytics that help you play your best.
What you may not know, is the new swing detection algorithm also stores key information about the swing that can be useful to understand your golf swing and how it compares to others or how it varies from shot to shot and under pressure.
I am still early on in exploring what all could be done with the information captured for every swing, however the app currently does rough calculations for items like handspeed, power generated, swing tempo, and swing time.
Above is an example of the data recorded for each swing captured in PAR Golf. Let's go through them:
HandSpeed -> This is the maximum speed at which your hands (wrist) are moving throughout the swing. PGA Tour pros swing as fast as 24-26mph with their hands while a more reasonable number for the average male is 16-17mph according to Zepp.
MaxPower -> This is simply a measurement of how much acceleration change is captured by the sensors on your watch. The more violent the impact, the higher the power generated.
Tempo -> This is the ratio of backswing to through swing time. Most professional golfers are in the range of 3:1.
BackSwing -> This is the actual time in seconds that it took to complete the back swing.
How do you get to this data? Follow the steps below or view the gif to see how to get there for captured swings on the golf course:
From the main PAR Golf menu, hit History to bring up previous rounds you've played.
Select the round you want to look at and select it.
Select 'Review' to bring up review mode.
Navigate to the shot you want to explore and tap on the shot.
Tap on the info window that pops up to bring up the Shot Details
Scroll down to see the captured swing data.
What do you do with this data? There will be much more analysis of this data in the upcoming PAR Practice app, but for now, you can see how your tempo and speed vary between good shots and bad shots.
You rope hooked one into the woods... Was your tempo a little quicker than normal? How was your backswing length? Did you get the club all the way back?
How does your tempo compare to the best in the world? Maybe you need to try some tempo drills or get a metronome as suggested here.
Stay tuned for more ways to use this information as PAR Golf evolves.
*Swing detection and shot tracking requires a subscription after your first few rounds.