TrackMan Data: Posture's Effect on Path

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In this video, I use our TrackMan launch monitor to show you how my pro student uses RST fundamentals to produce dead straight shots. You'll find out how a quick change in your golf posture can significantly affect your swing path. Check out this video now to attack the flag sticks!

  • Data can be critical when working with a playing professional
  • Zeroing out a path will lead to great ball striking and limited mistakes


I'm going to talk about how we use TrackMan and how the RST fundamentals validate all the work that we're working on in our golf swings to help you hit consistently straight golf shots.

So I'm going to pull up a professional student of mine and walk you through an example of not only how important the fundamentals are to helping you hit straight shots in RST, But also how using modern technology such as a launch monitor like TrackMan is going to help you understand how to work through these fundamentals.

So I've got three different groupings of swings here.

The first one we're going to look at is this guy here.

And I want you to notice one number here.

Notice the club path on this side.

These, this is the column that we want to be focusing on.

So this is going through in a sequence.

We started here, went to this swing, this group of swings, and then we ended up with the ones at the top.

Notice that the averages went from 4.

9 to 3.

2 to .

6.

That's a big difference in a short period of time.

So here's what I want you to focus on.

The first thing is, as we look at this swing here, you're going to notice that the blue line that we see here is representing the club, the path that the club was traveling on when the ball was fully compressed on the face.

And you'll note that the white line here in the middle is the target.

So that's the target line.

And the blue shows that the club was working well out to the right or in to out at impact.

And the club face, the red arrow here, shows that the club face was pointing left of the path at impact, but right of the target line.

Now of course this is going to create a shot, all things considered equal, that's going to end up well left of the target, which is represented by this pink and purple line here.

You can see this is the actual fly to the ball.

So, as we walk through this, we're going to notice a couple of things.

One, that club, the ball starting around that purple line, and then it's going to hook 15 yards or so, 10 or 15 yards left of the target.

That's obviously going to cause a missed green, and that wasn't necessarily a bad swing, but it's really hard to put all of these pieces together.

When that club is working this far out to the right, you have to get everything just perfect to get the ball to line up back on the target.

Of course, one of the things I talk about a lot is zeroing out that path.

And what I mean by that is that this blue line would be traveling straight down the target line, that white line at impact, and then all we'd have to worry about is getting that club face to line up with that.

So, that's the ideal goal in a swing.

Now, in, in this student's case, we had a couple of things that were going on.

And the first one that I wanted to fix, I worked through things in sequence here, is I wanted him to feel 100% left arm.

So that's what this next grouping of swings is here.

And we made a pretty big jump.

We went from about 5 degrees to 3.

2 degrees into out.

So you can see all of these swings here are a little bit closer.

We'll take a look at one here.

So here's one where he's just feeling 100 % left arm dominant.

Now, he didn't have the face pointing in the right direction on this one.

But what we did see is that the path was a little bit better, about 30% improvement.

Obviously, him feeling a left hand only wasn't being able to focus on the release.

So I don't consider this a bad result.

Even though the ball went further offline than we had before on this particular swing, the goal was we were working on getting that path.

And we can worry about the club face later.

That part's the easiest part to fix.

But getting that path to work out has a lot of complicated factors into it.

So we've made progress here.

And as we continued to work through some swings, work through 100 some different shots, we got a little bit 101 closer, a little bit closer.

But one of 102 the things that you're going to notice 103 that we've made the biggest size change 104 on was going to a much more upright 105 posture for him.

So if you look at this 106 swing compared to the ones that we were 107 looking at before, he feels like he's 108 standing straight up and down.

But keep 109 in mind, your swing plane and path, a lot 110 of it is dictated by your spine angle and 111 how that dynamically changes throughout 112 the shot.

So as he was coming through, he 113 was trying to lose his posture, lose his 114 tush line.

And that, that would cause his 115 hands to raise up more through the 116 hitting area.

And that would cause the 117 club to want to work out to the right.

So 118 now as we walk through, you'll notice now 119 that the club path, that blue line, is 120 literally exactly on the target line.

121 This is a 0.

0 path.

Now again, club face 122 was just a hair open here.

We work on 123 those pieces bit by bit.

But as we fix 124 the path, now if he gets that club face 125 squared up every time, that ball is going 126 to fly absolutely dead straight and stay 127 online.

And more importantly, Has the 128 opportunity to start online rather than 129 always starting right or left of the 130 target and then having to curve back.

131 That's the hardest way to try and control 132 a golf ball.

If we can get it to start 133 online and stay online, life becomes a 134 lot easier.

So, as we worked on just a 135 postural change, you'll notice a big 136 change in his path.

We actually had a 137 couple that went negative, which he never 138 does.

He tends to be way into out.

So, as 139 he's working through these changes bit by 140 bit, everything changes a little bit.

So, 141 he feels a little different.

But his shot 142 deviation became much more constant as he 143 got closer and closer to 0 on his path.

144 And that's what we were working on.

We 145 want to always try and 0 out this path 146 and get as close.

Here's one where he 147 actually came over negative slightly.

And 148 you'll notice the difference in the shot 149 curvature.

Just a tiny little controlled 150 fade.

And again, all just basic RST 151 fundamentals.

How much do you need to be 152 bent over to the ball?

Well, basically, 153 you need to be bent over far enough that 154 as you keep your spine in neutral, you 155 hinge forward far enough that you can see 156 the ball.

Which means you don't need to 157 be bent over an exaggerated amount.

158 That's going to cause you to tend to want 159 to come out of your posture as you come 160 through.

And as you saw here, that's 161 going to affect your plane and path into 162 the ball.

So, to zero out that path, 163 really pay attention to the fundamentals.

164 The setup fundamentals in RST aren't that 165 exotic or sexy, but they produce quality 166 golf shots.

When you set up correctly, 167 you can go from a zero point, you can go 168 from a five degree in to out path to 0.

0 169 Just by feeling the right things in your 170 swing and getting set up properly and 171 really paying attention to the 172 fundamentals.

So, don't overlook the 173 fundamentals of any part of RST, 174 especially the setup if you want to hit 175 straight golf shots.

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Anthony
Anyone have any experience with the Mevo Portable launch Monitor?
August 3, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Anthony. I haven't used this device. But, will leave this question up to see if any members have experience with it.
August 5, 2019
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Jeffrey
Won't club length also dictate how upright you can be?
March 23, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Jeffrey. Club length will cause you to have slight adjustments in hinge from the hips. As the club gets longer you will have to be a little more upright.
March 24, 2019
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Thaddieus
I constantly struggle with my posture - rounded shoulders at address. If my biceps reach forward in the slightest bit my shoulders start to round. Should I feel as though my biceps are pinned to my side at address? I can do a “bow” move with my hands in prayer position and my back stays flat. The moment I reach out though it starts to round.
March 7, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Thaddieus. You should sense some connection, but I don't want you to glue the biceps to the chest. Make sure you aren't reaching to a ball too far away. How Far to Stand from the Golf Ball Video.
March 7, 2019
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Chad
Great Video, so I'm a right handed golfer but left handed. So I pull with my left side well but most of my shots are push fades. I don't release the ball very well. When I try to use my right side, I either pull hook it or hit it fat. Any suggestions?
January 10, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Chad. Sounds like you get great pulling motion from the lead, but don't release it. Take a look at Left Hand Release Drill and 5 Minutes to the Perfect Release Video. When you use the trail side more than like you over use it leading to fat/hook.
January 10, 2019
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Stephen
Is the Smart Caddie sc200 and Arccos Smart Grips worth while investments?
December 1, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Stephen. For the price the Smart Caddie gives you some reliable info. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles, but will provide some data. I don't know enough about the Arccos to give you adequate information. I apologize.
December 2, 2018
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Stephen
Not a problem Craig, thanks for getting back to me. Cheers
December 3, 2018
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Dan
Swing analysis at my home course is done with Trackman, but they use ordinary range balls. I'm wondering if range balls significantly impair analytical stats when compared with the golf ball we regularly use. Range balls are designed to not go as far, so would this affect ball speed and smash factor as well as any other important configurations?
April 30, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Dan. Using regular range balls will definitely change the outcome of your trackman analytics. However, if you use the machine properly. There is a conversion you can put in to make the analysis more comparable to normal golf ball activity.
April 30, 2018
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Brandon
Without Trackman/Flightscope, what is the best way to check if we're on the right track to zeroing out our club path?
September 9, 2016
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Chris (Certified RST Instructor)
You can use an elbow plane line from down the line to analyze your path. It wont be 100% accurate but can give you a pretty good indicator if you are getting close idea is to where your path is at.
September 11, 2016
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Eric
Craig, have you used SkyTrak?
July 26, 2016
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Eric. I have not used the SkyTrak Device. Chuck uses FlightScope and Trackman. I use the Foresight GC2.
July 27, 2016
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Brandon
Is there a personal trackman that we can buy?
April 15, 2016
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Brandon. You can buy a Trackman for yourself. They are however very expensive. You should also check out FlightScope and Foresight. I personally use the Foresight.
April 15, 2016
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nathan
Awesome video! Chuck said an interesting thing about "feeling" like he was standing straight up. Any chance on getting more track man videos.
September 2, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Nathan. There is a possibility of more TrackMan Videos in the future due to a few request from the members.
September 2, 2015
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Tim
Thanks Craig! It all came together again, after, watching and training the videos you suggested.
August 28, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Great Tim. Keep up the good work!
August 28, 2015
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Tim
I'm currently lost, more accurately my swing is - LOL Training with trackman to be more consistent in my swing; Driver club path 6 degrees, inside-out. Long Irons: tend to be outside-in. Short Irons and wedges: inside-out, straight. I train inside-out path with the help of teeing every shot on the range, to feel the path. But I am somewhat lost, inconsistent due to the fact that I have no idea how to be consistent with my club face - I am a wild cannon now :( Any Ideas?
August 17, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Tim. It seems like you trained the way of feelings versus true motor pattern changes. You need to get consistent with your plane with all the clubs and release. Work on the Stop Coming Over the Top, Proper Muscle Activation, 5 Minutes to a Perfect Downswing and the 5 Minutes to a Perfect Release. Get the sequence coming down correctly and on plane. The good lead arm/hand control into the release. Should get you back on track.
August 17, 2015
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JOE
LOOKING FOR A TRACKMAN ANY GOOD USED ONES AROUND ? THANKS, JOE
July 20, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Joe. I know we don't have any used ones here. If I come about a good place for you to find one I will update you.
July 20, 2015
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Christian
Very interesting. When he started straightening his club path and face path and good smash factor, he dropped his spin rate and increased distance. swing 8&9 are good examples of what smash factor can do for you. 8 was a little closed and 9 was a little open. 9 club speed dropped 5 miles an hour but had a better smash factor and both shots went about the same distance. I love golf statistics.
December 15, 2014
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hey Christian. I am glad you enjoyed the video. As they say, stats don't lie.
December 15, 2014
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David
I am curious, on the example, of his zeroing out his path, he lost 10yds in distance and went up to 7141 rpms and lost height in the shot as compared to swing 13 where he was at a swing path of plus 1.2. Don't we want a higher launch angle and lower spin rate and greater distance, and does a straighter swing path give us that?
July 2, 2014
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Chris (Certified RST Instructor)
Hey David, this is all going to be club and shot dependent. High launch and lower spin for the driver is optimal. Chuck was working with a player that plays at a professional level, where pure focus on movement patterns is a must. Controlling the starting line, the flight and the shape of the shot become pivotal at that level. Speed was not this student's issue at this point, otherwise the focus would have been primarily on leverage, width or rotation. Angle of attack, path, face to path are critical numbers for control. They can also be important for speed but there are other focus areas when looking at trackman data when just trying to gain speed. Hope that helps.
July 2, 2014

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