Alright, so today I’m gonna walk you through my little project – analyzing Tiger Woods’ swing. Yeah, I know, ambitious, right? But bear with me, it was a fun dive.
First things first, I needed some video. I scoured the internet, YouTube mostly, trying to find a good, clear shot of his swing. Found a bunch, but quality was all over the place. Settled on a couple that were decent, good angles, and not too shaky. Downloaded them, used some random free online tool to grab them.
Then came the tricky part. I wanted to slow that swing down, like, really slow. I messed around with a few video editing programs I had lying around – Adobe Premiere Pro (the paid one) and DaVinci Resolve (the free one). Ended up using DaVinci Resolve, surprisingly. It’s free and had a surprisingly good slow-motion feature, optical flow or something? Sounded fancy, and it worked. I slowed the video down to like 1/8th speed, just crawling.
Next up: Analyzing. This is where things got interesting. I wasn’t trying to mimic the swing exactly or anything, just wanted to see what he was doing, frame by frame. I started by focusing on his stance – wide, athletic, you know the drill. Then, the takeaway. Noticed how smooth it was, club moving as one with his body. Kept pausing, rewinding, watching it over and over.
Then came the downswing. Holy moly, that’s where the power comes from. Noticed how he kept his wrists cocked for a long time, then just released everything at the last second. Whiplash action! Tried to imitate that a few times in my living room, almost knocked over a lamp. Definitely something to work on at the driving range, not indoors.
I was trying to pay attention to hip rotation as well, I mean they always talk about hip rotation. I could see he was really clearing his hips, creating space for his arms to swing through. This was kinda tough to actually visualize at first. I had to search for some other videos online of people explaining it to really get it.
Finally: The impact. Solid. Ball goes flying. Finish – balanced, controlled. Whole thing is a work of art, really. I then took the video and put it into slow motion again and compared his release point, to my current swing. I was releasing way too early so that was a big thing to work on.
I learned a lot just by watching, pausing, and rewinding. I have a much better appreciation for the mechanics of a good golf swing now. I have a lot to practice, like, a lot. But hey, that’s the point, right? Gotta start somewhere.
- Got video
- Slowed it down
- Analyzed each step
- Tried to mimic it (carefully!)
- Realized I need a LOT more practice
Lessons Learned:
- Tiger’s swing is a masterpiece.
- Slow motion is your friend.
- Don’t swing a golf club indoors.
- I need more lessons. Seriously.
That’s pretty much it. A fun little project that gave me a new appreciation for golf and a lot to think about on the driving range. Maybe I’ll post an update after I’ve put in some serious practice time. Wish me luck!
