McKenzie Meadows Golf Academy added Flightscope technology back in 2015. Flightscope and Trackman are the leaders of this specialized radar technology that provides analysis of the ball’s flight and the golfer’s swing. PGA Tour players have been using this to optimize their effectiveness and improve their game and now it available to all of us.
Here’s an example of how this data can help you hit it farther. Your Drive creates a golf ball spin rate, which when too high will result in lost distance i.e. 4,000 RPMs is not optimum. However if you had a spin rate of 2,800 RPMs with all the same parameters you would gain a significant amount of distance, even with the same swing speed.
Your PGA Instructor will look at the data provided from the ball’s flight, then look at the data provided by your swing to determine the solution of lowering your ball spin rate to help you increase distance. The solution may be trying a different loft or shaft in your Driver, but it may also be a simple swing change.
Flightscope provides multiple swing data parameters assisting your PGA Instructor in making a proper diagnosis. The data may tell your instructor that your angle of attack is the cause of the spin, not your equipment. When we hit down on a drive this will produce more backspin and more RPMs. Thus your instructor might suggest a different ball position or another adjustment to change your angle of attack allowing you to hit up on the ball at impact,lessening the spin rate, and resulting in longer drives.
Here is an example (image 1) from one of my students’ FlightScope sessions last summer. Similar swing speed, but with a small adjustment to his driver’s loft and a change in ball position he received a significant improvement in his drives.
Feedback is paramount to improvement. Flightscope allows you to see your data with each swing. So if you are making the change to your swing or your equipment you can see the results and the effect the ball’s spin rate had on your distance and your ball flight. This real time feedback is in encouraging to the golfer’s progress and leads to more success and more fun on the golf course. Book a session and see the difference.
