Here’s why a bad camera angle could be messing with your golf swing

Getting your swing on video and dissecting the tape can be invaluable for identifying flaws and correcting them. However, sometimes the video can lie to you about what is actually happening in your swing. Confused? Well, it does seem a bit odd, but it’s true — sometimes videos of your swing don’t accurately portray what is going on.

In a recent video from Athletic Motion Golf, they broke down this conundrum and explained why this disconnect occurs.

“Golfers typically have a disconnect between what it is they see themselves doing when they film their swings, versus what it is they’re actually doing,” he says.

The video pulls up two identical golf swings that are filmed from two different angles. The “perfect view” and the “distorted view.” As the swing plays, it is immediately apparent that the two swings look vastly different. The perfect view swing is on plane the entire time and hits all the major checkpoints for a fundamentally sound swing. However, the distorted view swing looks as though the player takes the club way to the inside on the takeaway and is out of sequence for the rest of the swing. You can see the differences in the pictures below.

The reason these swings look so different is the perspective they are recorded from. If the camera is not positioned directly down the swing plane line, you will not get an accurate representation of what is actually happening in your swing.

 “You can see in these key benchmarks of the swing, they’re not really close to one another,” he says. “Even the timing of the swing looks different when the viewing angle is skewed.”

But what’s the answer to this conundrum? The answer is all in the setup position of your camera (or phone).

“The takeaway here is camera setup,” he says. “If you want to look at your swing that most closely matches what you’re actually doing … you need to position the camera in the right place.”

Check out the photos below for that proper camera setup.

So next time you film your swing, make sure you get the camera in the correct position or there’s no way you can get an accurate representation of what’s actually happening.

To learn more from the minds behind Athletic Motion Golf, check out their website here, and follow them on Instagram here.

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Zephyr Melton is an assistant editor for GOLF.com where he spends his days blogging, producing and editing. Prior to joining the team at GOLF.com, he attended the University of Texas followed by stops with Team USA, the Green Bay Packers and the PGA Tour. He assists on all things instruction and is the staff’s self-appointed development tour “expert.”

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