GSA Pro: A Review

I visited the local driving range yesterday and took along a gismo from GSA Pro to test with my swing. Well, I do love my gadgets and hardly need an excuse…

The GSA Pro is a tiny device that fits on the grip end of the golf club. When you swing the club it records, and sends to a phone, information about each golf swing.

Sounds like fun.


The objective of the device is to assist you in swing analysis and improvement. I certainly need all the help I can get.

First things first, the GSA Pro fits easily int the grip of the golf club. It is so light and does not, in my opinion, interfere in any way with the swing which is obviously so important.

The app for the phone is free and really easy to set up. I used an iPhone and was completely happy with the interface.

The app itself shows a variety of pieces of information and allows you to choose a best swing for comparison purposes. You can also take a video of your swing for more realistic reviews. Once you have completed a swing the gizmo automatically sends thousands of data points to the GSA Pro phone app which is analysed and presented on the phone screen.

Info includes:

Club head speed

Force applied

Ball speed

Carry distance

Tempo

Back swing and downswing time

Face angle

Swing path


In the above screen shot I have compared my swing with an included pro's swing (the green figures). I found the comparison interesting and it has given me several points to work on including attaining a flatter swing plane.

After many swings I can say that the face angle and swing path statistics are a good representation. and the tempo seems pretty accurate. The ball speed is calculated by an algorithm which takes the speed at the grip end and calculates the resulting ball speed. The carry distance is similarly based on an algorithm based on the club loft and assumes a solid hit from the sweet spot. (For more on this, see our blog on Smash Factor).

I think the ratio of the club head speed to ball speed may be a little high but I don't think this matters as the GSA Pro is a tool for comparison and improvement, not for achieving absolute numbers.

This screen comparison with the pro golfer shows a couple of things.

I have a faster backswing and it is too upright which makes it difficult to get inside on the downswing.

My objective is to flatten the swing and improve tempo.

Overall, I really enjoyed playing with this little gadget and feel that not only are the stats interesting but it actually gives you something to work towards in terms of your swing.

I would rate this device at 9/10 and recommend it to any golfer interested in the stats of their swing.

For more information, click here.

Dunbar Golf Club: A Review

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit and play golf at Dunbar Golf Club in East Lothian with a couple of friends. As well as having a great day’s golfing, I used the opportunity to use the course and my playing as the subject for my second golf course review.

Golf Course: Dunbar Golf Club

Location: East Lothian, EH42 1LL

Web: www.dunbargolfclub.com 

Holes: 18

Par/SSS: 71/72

Type: Links

Yardage: 6597

Location:

Dunbar Golf Club is situated in East Lothian about 30 or 40 minutes east of Edinburgh on the A1. It is a links course (used as regional qualifying for the Open Golf Championship). The course runs along the edge of the Forth estuary and has been in existence since the year 1856.

It's original design has been altered on several occasions by such great golf course architects as Old Tom Morris, Ben Sayers and James Braid. It has history!

Layout:

Being a links course it is quite flat but there are always the natural undulations on the fairways and greens which can give inconsistent, or at least, unexpected bounces. It is also full of small, nasty little bunkers.

Condition:

The condition of the course was generally good. The expected tight lies in the fairways were always fair. The bunkers contained rough shell sand and was generally of a good depth. Unfortunately, I can definitely vouch for the truth of that fact as I tested far too many during the round!

The greens ran true but were a little rough with bare patches and on a whole the grass on the green was a little inconsistent. I’m happy to forgive this fact, however, as I suspect it had been burnt by the sun during the unusual Scottish summer we’ve been having.

Overall:

Dunbar is a good demanding course which favours the shot maker over the longer hitter. There are approximately 100 bunkers around the course, including the many fairway bunkers, which makes the course a good challenge or seriously frustrating depending on how you’re playing and your frame of mind on the day! The bunkers are designed so if you hit into one it's virtually a guaranteed drop shot. So avoid if you can!

I had played the course a couple of years ago in a very strong wind but today there was only a slight breeze (1 or 2 clubs). This was especially evident around the turn (holes 9,10,11 and 12)

These are probably the hardest sequence of holes (especially with a wind ) and if you can score well here it can make a good round.

The first three holes and the 18th hole are slightly away from the shore line and consequently are a little sheltered from the on-shore breezes. The other 14 holes, 7 out and 7 back, run along the shoreline and are subject to the lovely tidal breezes.

The are a few blind shots such as into the 7th and 13th greens and off the 9th tee. Some local knowledge is useful here so try and chat to some members before you head out if you’re new to the course.

The 7th green is situated over a rise and slopes away from the player's approach. Stopping the ball is difficult - don't be too aggressive.

The 13th green is similarly over a rise but the green slopes toward the approach.

The 9th hole tee shot should be kept left. If you go to the right of the marker the ball can be gathered into a gully which makes the next shot blind and difficult. Again, something I know for fact.

The scenery is fantastic with views east towards a lighthouse and views west towards the town of Dunbar and further towards the stunning bass Rock. To the north, The Isle of May and Fife are visible on a clear day.

My Game:

This was definitely a round of two halves for me. But…I’m still recording it as progress overall. My ball striking was sound and I didn’t have too many bad putts which is always a relief!

My statistics that I calculated after the fact, on the other hand, were so weird and made me rethink. I hit 12 greens in regulation and had 38 putts. Eh? A bit strange that I had previously felt so happy with my putting.

I soon realised that the reason for the disparity was that my approach shots to the green, although well struck, were not getting particularly close to the hole. Oh well - I never could cope with links golf!!

I was happy that my sessions with the iPing putting aid have improved the consistency of my short putts. I’m going to keep going with that and see whether I note any further improvement.

As time went on, tiredness set in and a few of my shots felt the force of my lethargy. I think this accounted for my 4 over score. Still, breaking 80 is still satisfactory in my book.

As an added bonus, the clubhouse of Dunbar Golf Club is comfortable and welcoming. The food was great (we all partook in different variations of delicious burgers) and, most importantly, the company was excellent. A good course that’s definitely worth a revisit.

iPing App: A Review

I have a confession to make…

…I have trouble putting.

I know, I know - it’s embarrassing - but in my defence I’m pretty sure it’s inherited!

Anyway, as a result of my, er, problem, I am always on the lookout for a way to get better. If you look at different golfers, past or present, they all different styles, different putters, different approaches - no real consistency which I can copy. 

However, they do all have a few things in common:

• Pre-putt routine 
• Tempo 
• Consistency of stroke 

But how to make this work for me?

That’s where the iPing app came in. Could it help me improve?

I downloaded the app to my phone from iTunes. I have an iPhone 5 but it’s good to note that it’s also available for the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod Touch (4th Gen) and the Samsung Galaxy S III. And the best news? It’s free for all platforms.

The app works in conjunction with a PING cradle which attaches the phone to the putter shaft. You can buy this cradle in most golf shops.

So what does it do?

The app overview states that the iPing calculates and tracks your putting handicap to help improve your putting. Using motion sensor technology, it analyses your impact angle to improve the way you putt and classifies your stroke rotation to help match you to the proper putter model for you to achieve better consistency. You can also measure the tempo of your stroke to improve your control and even compare your stroke with tour pros and friends.

Excellent - that covers all three of the areas that I identified as being important for all golfers.

The first thing to do after downloading the app is to calibrate your phone. Easy - follow the simple instructions on screen and you’re ready to go.

Next, set-up your user profile. Pop in your name, putter, hand choice and whether your putter is a standard length or long putter.

And we’re ready to choose one of the menu options:

• Practice 
• Measure 
• Compare 
• More 

Measure

Let’s start with the measure option. This allows you to record the details of a group of five of your putts of 10ft.

It records the stroke type (straight, slight arc or strong arc), the impact angle (the angle face of the putter at impact - open, closed or square), the tempo (ratio of backswing time to forward swing time), the lie angle (a comparison of the lie angle of the putter between set-up and impact) and finally the shaft lean (a comparison of the position of the putter head relative to the ball at set-up and at impact).

Compare

The app stores each group of five shots in a session. You can compare the sessions with one another, with other users or with the pro golfers included in the app.

Using the compare option allows you to identify weak spots which you can then work on in the practice area.

Practice

When you are in the practice option you can switch off any of the five recording details so that you can concentrate on one area, for example tempo.

More

But wait, there’s more! You also get an extensive help system - useful for first time users. There’s a skins game if you are interested in playing against other users. The iPing Fit section allows the user to select from a range of PING putters and is the only ‘up-selling’ aspect of the app. There’s a video showing you all the features of iPing and a set-up video - another useful tool for first time users. Finally, you can share your measure sessions with others (or yourself) using e-mail or Facebook.

My main purpose in using the app was to analyse my putting and improve the iPing handicap.

As I noted earlier, since every golfer has an individual putting style I was not really interested in comparing with others but rather with ensuring that I could build a consistent and reliable stroke that worked for me.

Being comfortable over the ball is essential to create consistency, as is a consistent lie angle between set-up and impact. I found practising different postures and making sure I was comfortable let me keep the lie angle consistent. This was noted on the app and gave me confidence as I progressed.

Shaft Lean. One thing that great putters achieve is a good ball roll. 

When you hit a putt the ball will first skid along the ground before starting to roll. Achieving a roll quickly can be helped by maintaining the desired putter face angle. This will change if the shaft lean changes between set up and impact. If hands move ahead of the club then loft will be reduced - if the club head moves ahead of the hands then the loft is increased. As before, it quickly becomes apparent that the most important thing is consistency.

Tempo. Guess what? Consistency is key to this as well! Some golfers have a faster tempo, some slower. Being able to record the tempo of my best shots and trying to replicate this gave me a good idea of what speed works best for me.

Impact angle. The app measures the angle of the club face at impact - closed, open or square. A 1° closed angle over 10 feet will cause the ball to be left of centre of the hole by approximately 2”. This will, all other things being equal, not produce a miss. My target was to replicate an impact angle of less than 1° closed.

Stroke type. My natural putting stroke is to have a slight arc for putts over 4 feet. This was what I was trying to replicate consistently and it was handy to have a way to measure and report on what I was doing and when I was doing it right.

Overall this is a very good app. It helped me see what I was doing when I hit a good putt and what I was doing when I didn’t. This gave me sufficient data to practice and improve. The app doesn’t tell you whether you’re doing something wrong or right - it simply analyses your stroke and lets you know. You have to read the data and see what it tells you compared with how your putt went. In achieving consistency of your putting stroke - this is a great thing to have on your phone. 

The cradle isn’t too expensive (although for the more handy among us - I’m sure you could knock something up out of plywood and glue!) and, of course, the app is free - my favourite price!

I compared the recorded sessions over a week and was able to see what I needed to work on and how. My specific issues lie in the shaft lean area and getting that all illusive consistency. The main drawback of the app is the effect of the weight of the phone and cradle on your putting stroke. To counter this, I used the app for measurements and some practise and then removed it for an extended practise. After this, I went back to the app to see if I had been able to improve on the areas that I had intended. If you have it on your putter all the time during practice then you might find it difficult to make the corresponding changes/improvements to your stroke when you get out on the course.

So, all in all this app gets 4 out of 5 stars from me.

Renfrew Golf Club: A Review

In what I’m hoping will become a regular feature for the blog, I took the opportunity to review a golf course during a friendly round of golf the other day. Hopefully this will give me an incentive, if any were needed, to get out and try some of the golf courses that I’ve never yet played, that I’ve played many moons ago or that I play often.

Renfrew Golf Club is the latter and the object of my first review - of both the course as a whole and my performance.

Golf Course: Renfrew Golf Club

Location: Renfrew, PA4 9EG

Web: www.renfrewgolfclub.net

Holes: 18

Par/SSS: 72/73

Type: Parkland

Yardage: 6818

Location:

Renfrew Golf Club is located on the outskirts of Renfrew on parkland which was once part of the Blythswood Estate. The course is bounded by the Rivers Clyde and Cart and is accessed from the A8 at the Normandy Hotel.

courtesy of Apple maps

Layout:

 
The course is generally flat and as can be seen from the aerial map is well provided with trees. The trees are mature and shots which are off line will be “rewarded” with a tree in the way of the next shot.

Although there are a number of fairways running parallel to each other the mature trees generally mask this fact and provide separation between the holes.

There are approximately 57 bunkers protecting greens, wayward drives and fairway shots. The condition of the bunkers varied during my round presumably due to the effects of the heavy rain we’ve been experiencing lately. Although the course is generally flat the greens are often raised and/or sloped requiring a good skill or a lucky shot to get close to the pin!


Condition:

I was pleased with the condition of the course which was well kept even despite the recent heavy rain. There wasn't too much run on the ball on the fairways and the greens were firm but receptive to well hit shots. The wind was quite strong across the course although this was due to the weather conditions of the day and not necessarily a norm for play.

Overall:

Renfrew is noted as one of the finest inland golf courses in Scotland and has played host to various events throughout the years. The current course was designed in 1970 although the course has been in existence since 1894. Due to this fact, the course is lush, full and gives a good challenge to all comers. The course has a nice variety of holes with everything from the 175 yard, Par 3 10th through to the 557 yard, Par 5 15th. Each hole presents a nice challenge with skill and precision being the main factors for getting yourself a good score on the board. I enjoyed my round very much and I would highly recommend a visit to this club.

My Game:

I have to be honest that I broke the first rule of golf before this round - I didn’t warm up! I know, I know and while circumstances dictated that I had to rush from the car park to the first tee, I still say that there’s no excuse! My body also reminded me the next day of my error!! With just a few practise swings before starting, it took several holes for me to relax and warm up the tired old muscles.

My round wasn't the best I’ve played by any stretch: 35 putts (I may have to retire my 40 year old Ping Answer putter), 9 Greens in regulation and only one birdie. The driver stayed in the bag - the 3 wood was my go-to club off the tee for this day. I missed the distance a little but felt that for this course, accuracy was a much better choice.

On a positive note - I have something to build on for next time but overall this was a mediocre golfing day made up for by good company and a good course.