I used the GolfShot app on Apple Watch to analyze my swing.

I used the GolfShot app on Apple Watch to analyze my swing.

I am a slicer. Every time I walk up to the tee box on the golf course, there's a good chance my shots are coming my way, so at a wide level everyone to my right needs to take cover, I've always understood why I slice the ball - my club face is open against my swing path. But understanding the problem didn't really help me lock down what to do about it.

Changed when I tried a new practice feature in the Golfshot app on the Apple Watch Ultra2 to criticize my swing in real time. Golfshot has always been able to tell you about your swing, but it was able to do it only on the course. The latest update allows you to give feedback on a range that is an absolute game changer. As someone who wants to improve my game, it's invaluable to take a shot on the practice field while simultaneously seeing what my wrist is doing and how it affects my shots.

This feature allows you to conveniently observe everything from hand speed to tempo to the distance you put the club back in during the swing, from golfshot's Apple Watch app. This data, combined with the actual flight visible from the ball on each shot, opens up the possibility of precise adjustment of the swing that could revolutionize the shot.

And that's exactly what happened to me. I noticed that when I put the club back about 150 degrees, I hit a straight shot (instead of 130, this was my normal John Rahm-like backswing). I've also learned that it's a bit slow to close the wrist, so it keeps the club's face open. By shutting down my front wrist a little earlier (rotating it so the watch was facing the ball earlier), I can hook the ball to the left, which is a shot shape I rarely saw.I can hook the ball to the right, I can hook the ball to the right. With a few more tweaks notified from the Apple Watch's GolfShot, I was 25-50 yards ahead of my average, combined with a long backswing straight drive

with the existing on-course tracking feature, I was able to measure whether I was bringing a swing change from the range to the actual round. I was able to do it. I wasn't, it's something that always seems to happen in golf. But instead of puzzling and wondering why I couldn't hit the ball in the same way, I compared range shots and numbers to understand why range sessions aren't translated. Again, from every wrist you wear the Apple Watch Ultra for golf.

As it turned out, I was slowing down too much. Sure, it's good to swing under control, but because of the tension on the course, I swung too gently and after adjusting my wrist quickly enough, I went back to hitting the left ball, improving my score. Sure, I probably took three strokes from my round, but it's easy to imagine how much difference advanced technology can make after several range sessions and multiple rounds with Golfshot and three straws from my round after a single range session with Apple Watch. 

The highest praise I can offer for my experience using the Apple Watch with the Golfshot practice feature is that I will continue to use it long after this article ends. As a relatively new golfer, I'm confident these features will help me break the 90 for the first time. From there, 80 could be on the horizon, and then who knows? The Apple Watch is not just for golf, as it also helps tennis players who use the same developer Api that leverages the watch's motion sensors to analyze swing movements.

Categories