Swing AnalysisSwing AnalysisA frame-by-frame biomechanical review of a filmed tee shot, with the ball-flight readout from the range screen and benchmarks against US amateurs and the PGA and LPGA Tours. Includes a diagnosis, priorities and a 4-week practice plan.
Bottom line: the ball flight itself is healthy. At 129 mph of ball speed the drive carried 213 yds, almost exactly the 214-yd flag. Its apex was 78 ft and it landed at 33°, so it isn't ballooning. The swing has real assets: an athletic setup, a low, wide takeaway, a downswing without an over-the-top move, and a full, balanced finish.
Two things cost him. The first is where the ball ends up. It curved 38 ft (≈12 m) and finished 37 yds from the target. After landing it also rolled 28 yds past its carry, because a 33° landing is shallow. Either effect could be the "extra ~15 m" André feels. The second is the cause in the swing. From address to impact his head drops about 5 inches and moves about 2 inches toward the ball. That changes his distance from the ball mid-swing, and the hands then have to correct at the last moment. That's where clubface control, and with it the curve, gets lost.
A solid 213-yd carry for his ball speed, no balloon, a shaft that drops in on plane, and a full finish he holds.
Stay at address height through impact, so the bottom of the swing and the face stay where he set them.
Control the 38-ft curve with a start-line gate, and slow a quick ~2:1 transition, the same one his 6-iron showed.
Read from the range's ball-tracking screen, filmed at the end of the video. This is one recorded shot, so treat it as a snapshot, not an average.
Screen capture from the video. The total distance counts up as the ball rolls (205 → 241 yds). The final values are used here.
| Metric | André | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Carry | 213 yds | Lands on the 214-yd flag |
| Total distance | 241 yds | 28 yds of roll |
| Ball speed | 129 mph | Est. club speed ~87–89 mph* |
| Launch angle | 16° | On the high side |
| Apex (max height) | 78 ft (26 yds) | Normal, no balloon |
| Landing angle | 33° | Shallow, so it runs out |
| Hang time | 5.8 s | — |
| Curve | 38 ft (≈12 m) | Direction not legible on screen |
| Proximity to target | 37 yds | The real miss |
*Club speed isn't shown on the screen. It's estimated from ball speed ÷ a typical driver smash factor of 1.45–1.48.
| Metric | André | Avg male amateur | LPGA Tour avg | PGA Tour avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Club speed | ~87–89 mph (est.) | 93.4 mph | 94 mph | 115 mph |
| Ball speed | 129 mph | — | 139 mph | 171 mph |
| Launch angle | 16° | 12.6° | 12.6° | 10.4° |
| Carry | 213 yds | — | 220 yds | 282 yds |
| Total distance | 241 yds | 214 yds | 246 yds | ~300 yds |
TrackMan's optimizer puts ideal driver launch at about 13.6° for 94 mph of club speed with a level strike. The classic TrackMan PGA Tour table lists a 32-yd max height and a 38° landing angle.
| Player group | Club speed | Total distance |
|---|---|---|
| 15–20 handicap | 91 mph | 211 yds |
| 10–15 handicap | 95 mph | 223 yds |
| 0–5 handicap | 106 mph | 245 yds |
| Scratch and better | 110 mph | 252 yds |
| André | ~87–89 mph (est.) | 241 yds |
André's total distance sits close to the 0–5-handicap band with below-average club speed. That's an efficiency strength, helped by a firm range surface, which adds roll. The gap to close isn't distance. It's direction.
The pattern across his clubs: his 6-iron launched at 23° against a typical 14–17°. The driver also launches high, at 16°. It's the same tendency to add height, but the driver tolerates it, and his low-ish apex and 33° landing show the spin is under control. So here, the launch isn't the problem.
Eight key positions from the video, filmed down-the-line from behind the ball at Mariners Point.
P-numbers follow the standard 10-position swing model. The video runs at 30 fps, so timestamps are accurate to about ±0.03 s. The impact frame is one frame before contact, and the ball is gone in the next frame. At the top the hands and club leave the frame on the left.
The white line marks the top of the cap at address and the gold line marks eye level at address. By impact the top of the cap is near the old eye line. The camera didn't move between the frames: the fence poles stay in place.
Confidence: high on the head movement, which is measured against fixed background points. It's moderate on the link between the head movement and the curve. That's the standard mechanism, but one swing can't prove it, and the screen doesn't show which way the ball curved.
Film down-the-line from the same spot as this video. Put a strip of tape on the phone screen at the top of the cap at address. Hit 5 drivers and check that the cap stays at or near the tape through impact.
Instant, objective feedback on the exact fault we measured.
A friend holds a club horizontally, lightly touching the top of the cap at address. Make slow, half-speed swings without pushing into the shaft.
Builds the feel of turning around a fixed height instead of sinking into the ball.
Hit drivers at 70% effort with the feet together. Any dip or lunge toward the ball shows up as lost balance.
Teaches a centered pivot that keeps the posture he set at address.
Push two tees or alignment sticks into the ground 10 ft ahead, a ball-and-a-half apart on the target line. Hit drives that start through the gate, and note the curve on the screen.
Separates start-line errors (path) from curve (face), so you know which one to fix.
Rehearse "back-2-3 / down-1" with a tempo app. Start with three-quarter swings, then build to full.
Slows the transition he shows in both his driver and his 6-iron.
Hold every practice drive in the finish for a three-count.
Protects the balance and full rotation he already has.
| Week | Focus | Session (≈50 balls) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | See the dip | Phone-line check (5 drivers, filmed) · 10 shaft-over-the-cap rehearsals · 20 feet-together drives · 10 normal drives, logging curve and proximity |
| 2 | Hold the height | Rehearsals with the shaft over the cap · 30 drivers at 80% with the phone line check · film 1 swing every 10 balls |
| 3 | Start line & tempo | Metronome rehearsals · 20 drives through the start-line gate · 20 full-speed drives at 3:1, holding the finish |
| 4 | Retest | 10 drivers at Mariners Point, logging carry, curve and proximity, plus one new down-the-line video to compare head height against this report |
Curve: 38 ft → under 15 ft
Proximity: 37 yds → under 20 yds
Head drop at impact: ~5 in → under 2 in (on video)
Carry: hold 210+ yds while the direction tightens
The targets are practical goals for a single-digit-distance player, not tour standards. Refine them after the week-4 retest.
For the next session: film face-on and down-the-line from 3–4 m away, so the whole body and club fit in the frame. Use slow motion (120–240 fps) if possible. Photograph the screen after 5–10 drives, including the curve direction.