Trying to break 90 again: GCQuad reveals a magic swing tip

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(After one round of golf five years ago, Dave Tindall is trying to break 90 for the first time in over a decade. Follow his journey here).

Since I’ve made a change in my last putt, my new focus is on improving the throw which was shocking when I saw it captured on video recently.

I wrote in a previous diary entry: “I was shocked when I looked back at some of the photos/videos taken by my partner.

“The cruel analysis is that I am spreading like an old man. Watching my knees sink as I drive and how low my arms are as I swing the club back, I’m a little surprised.

“My rhythm is pretty good which saves the day a little bit but, tech-wise, I have a lot to do. No wonder I didn’t hit it at all.”

I don’t want to try to fix this or fix it on the course, while shooting after shooting at the range will likely instill bad habits.

So I took a trip to nearby Northcliffe Golf Club in West Yorkshire after manager Dave Delaney informed me that Head Pro Matt Stanworth had an in-house studio with one of those GCQuad devices.

I’ve used Trackman before but not GCQuad. The difference, as Matt explains, is that the Trackman is radar-based and the GCQuad is camera-based.

The Foresight Sports GCQuad, to give it its full name, uses a 4-camera system to capture and accurately measure every aspect of the club head and ball launch performance.

It works by placing four white glowing dots on the face of a golf club and using these to spit out data that breaks down what happens when you swing a piece of iron to hit a small white object.

The technology is over my head but my basic takeaway when I saw the GCQuad was how small and portable it is.

Matt picks up a 7-iron, a 5-iron and a Driver and, after simulating for a while, I’m ready to hit.

I hit a couple of 7 irons, the first one to 148 yards, which I was happy with. Matt then showed me data that made perfect sense to me.

I know very well that I am a fader, a blocker and a pusher on the right.

The data shows that my clubface is wide to touch although, with the 7 iron, this is fairly manageable. The child dies when I hit him politely.

Matt has to be somewhere else for a while to leave me to hit the 5-iron and Driver. But, when I go, he warns me that my approach to the outside and the open clubface will produce exaggerated results on long clubs.

And, boy, is he right.

I get a nasty ‘rights’ attack, a ball flying through the video wall in front of me that shows everything leaking in a horrible way.

Calling it a ‘fade’ is more polite as I watch a series of uncomfortable arcs from left to right.

Of course I’m not going anywhere, the problem is getting worse. I need Matt back!

I know I don’t get very far but hitting drives 180 yards is pretty humiliating. One calls 201. Anything else.

Success

This lack of distance eventually bleeds back into my game. I always hit the trails from far away and that’s why I miss a lot of greens.

Then something amazing happened.

Matt looks at the data, looks at my swing and basically tells me that I need to wrap my wrists/arms before, through and after impact (between the 9pm and 3pm positions I guess you can tell).

It will give me a bit more whip and set up this steady hand piece which is very suitable for the cover drive in cricket.

Previously, my open clubface had increased my launch angle (due to increased loft) and meant that drives were just floating out of nowhere; well, 180-200 meters.

So I try Matt’s move and suddenly things change.

The timing will need to be worked on and a few times I turn faster and faster but suddenly I get more power by rolling my wrists and arms.

My last seven or eight drives – and I don’t try too hard – end up 238 yards.

Also, as the picture below shows, my clubface sometimes closes a little at impact after it’s opened earlier.

Now that may seem very short but, according to studies, a club golfer between the ages of 30-60 (I’m 55) can be classified as:

180-200 meters – short hitter
217-250 yards – mid-range shot
260-280 meters – long hitter

Furthermore, the average ball speed for a male beginner golfer and driver is 133mph. I’m not too far off that according to the GCQuad data above after being below it earlier.

Thanks to GCQuad and Matt’s advice, a glaring error in my approach was identified and I quickly went from a short hitter to a middle hitter.

OK, one drive went that far (233 yards) but I feel like something is open.

This is exciting. That’s the whole point of this trip.

It’s time to try and hone this new ranger.

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