How To Improve Your Golf Swing Using A Golf Swing Camera

Improving your golf swing is critical for bettering your golf game, but where do you start? Learn how to set up a camera for your golf swing to self-analyze your shots.

If you want to improve your golf swing, one option is to invest in lessons to have a golf coach analyze your swing and tell you exactly what you're doing wrong. Or, with the help of a golf swing camera, you could take the training into your own hands.

There are many benefits to using a camera to record and analyze your own golf swing, including the ability to:

• Replay and analyze each golf swing in slow motion to identify mistakes and opportunities for improvement
• Easily keep footage to compare and track progress toward your ideal swing
• Save thousands of dollars on the in-person coaching you won’t need

Here are some easy tips on how to improve your golf swing with the awesome features of the Carl’s Golf Swing Cameras and Uneekor’s Swing Optix Cameras. They are easy to set up and provide amazing benefits inside Uneekor software platforms.

HIGH-SPEED GOLF CAMERAS

At Carl’s Place, we offer some of the best bang-for-your-buck golf swing cameras to help improve your golf swing at home. 

CARL’S GOLF SWING CAMERAS

Our Carl's Golf Swing Camera bodies offer up to 300 frames per second (at 360p resolution) and 1080p high-definition resolution (with 60fps), using a USB cable to connect to your computer. 

The 2-megapixel camera bodies come with 2.5 millimeter wide-angle lenses that allow you to capture all aspects of your swing with the flexibility to move it around in tight spaces. The lenses also have a 1.2 aperture, which allows in plenty of light in some of the darker golf simulator setups. 

These golf cameras work great with a Carl’s Place Pro Enclosure, where you can mount your Uneekor QED or EYE XO launch monitor to the frame of the enclosure. With the launch monitors out of the way, you can place your cameras in several different spots inside the enclosure without the fear of hitting them with a club or a ball.

Check out our Uneekor QED and EYE XO unboxing videos and the space these launch monitors require.

UNEEKOR SWING OPTIX CAMERAS

Although a little heavier on the wallet, the Uneekor Swing Optix Cameras provide high quality videos and still frames.

Similar to the Carl’s Swing Cameras, they come with a 2.5 millimeter and 1.2 aperture lens and connect to a computer via a USB cable, but the money is in the body of the camera. The Swing Optix cameras provide 160fps at 1080p, which allows golfers to stop their videos to a single frame and get a clean, crisp picture of their swing. 

KEY TERMS OF GOLF SWING CAMERAS

Now, if you’re confused with the terminology above, we will do our best to help you understand in case you want to look for your own external cameras. When buying cameras, there are several features and settings that you should be aware of.

First is the frame rate, and at what resolution the camera can provide certain frame rates.

Frame Rate: The frame rate is how fast the golf camera is able to capture images. The higher the frame rate, the better. 160 frames per second or higher gives you a great chance to analyze your golf swing. 

However, there is a catch. A lot of times that high frame rate is only available in certain resolutions. Pay attention to the numbers.

Ideally, you will want the highest frame rate to be available in full 1080p high definition. That will help you get a nice, clear image when you watch your swing in slow motion or frame by frame. 

Resolution: Resolution is the quality of the image you get, measured in pixels. Some golf cameras might say they provide a high frame rate, such as 160 frames per second, but the resolution at that frame rate might be much lower, causing a pixelated image.

Or, you might have 1080p high definition, but it might be at much lower frame rate, such as 30fps, which will cause motion blur when paused or going frame by frame.

Motion blur can also be caused by poor lighting. The more light you have in your hitting area, the less motion blur you will have to deal with.

Focal Length: Keep an eye on the focal length of the lens. The smaller the number for the focal length, the wider the angle of the camera. If you don’t have a lot of space in your golf simulator room, you will want that wider angle. If you have more space, our Carl's Zoom Lens helps to capture footage where wide-angle lenses won’t work.

Also, since the Swing Optix cameras are made by Uneekor, there are more settings options in the Uneekor software that can be adjusted, such as exposure, gamma, brightness, and contrast. Cameras that are not made by Uneekor will likely not have those options, as you will possibly only be able to change the resolution, orientation of the camera, and flip the image. 

In summary, when learning how to improve your golf swing with a golf swing camera:

fast frame rate + high resolution + wide focal length = high quality image

Bear in mind, for this higher quality image you’ll be spending more money on your golf swing camera.

HOW TO SET UP A CAMERA FOR YOUR GOLF SWING

A golf simulator camera setup needs three things: swing cameras, connections to a computer playing swing analyzing software, and a tripod so you get a nice stable picture. Of course, a full golf simulator setup with a projector will let you truly see your swing, but a simple setup lets you work on your golf swing as well.

Most external cameras connect to the computer via a USB cable. Depending on your space, you might need a longer USB cable to reach your computer, meaning you would have to purchase a USB extender cable.

What do you plan to place your cameras on? There are many options, but the team at Carl’s Place suggests using a tripod stand that will likely screw right into your camera. This is an easily moveable and sturdy way to place your cameras where you would like. Ideally, the tops of the tripod stands where the camera sits should be tiltable, giving you the option of a horizontal or vertical video format for more flexibility.

To make sure your cameras are connected and working before entering any of Uneekor’s swing analyzer software, it’s a good idea to open a camera app on your computer. There you should be able to toggle between your cameras, check to see if there are any frame rate or resolution settings you can adjust, make sure the cameras are in focus on where the golfer will be standing, and so on.

Note: the higher the frames per second, the trickier it can be working with projectors. If the frames per second is higher than the rate of the projector, the projected image in your video playback will look like it is flickering different colors on your impact screen. 

Is it a huge deal? Nope. If you’d like to avoid this, you can always upgrade your projector to a different type.

HOW TO RECORD YOUR GOLF SWING

UNEEKOR'S SWING ANALYSIS SOFTWARE

Cameras are easy to work in any of Uneekor’s software modes. Whether you are at the practice range or playing in stroke play, there are options to show the replay of your previous swing(s). 

Using the View software on the EYE XO launch monitor, after you hit your shot, you will click “swing” on the left side and then the “replay” tab in the upper left. If you want to see a previous shot, click “shot” in the upper left to find a list of shots. 

With the Ignite software on the QED, you will click the “swing motion” tab and go to “replay.”

On the upgraded Uneekor Refine+ (formerly Succeed) and Refine software, which work with both Uneekor launch monitors, click on the camera button in the lower right to access your replays. This is also where you have the option to adjust camera resolution and orientation.

Analyze and improve your golf swing with pausing, slow motion, and go frame-by-frame to annotate with drawings and angles on your swing should be available in all of Uneekor’s software options. 

FREE GOLF SWING ANALYSIS SOFTWARE

We've also found free software such as Kinovea to be useful with our Carl's Swing Cameras. 

CARL’S SUGGESTION FOR GOLF SWING CAMERAS

If you absolutely need to have clear and crisp still photos or see your golf swing frame by frame because you are a coach or a very serious golfer, you will want to pony up and pay the extra money for the best camera to record golf swings, the Swing Optix Cameras.

If you are an average golfer just looking to analyze your own golf swing and see what adjustments need to be made, the Carl’s Swing Cameras are that diamond in the rough you’ve been looking for, providing decent quality at a small fraction of the cost. 

Want to know more about launch monitors? See this launch monitor comparison guide.