Infinite Camera Angles

Now that you have seen what the instructor and golfer can see with a 3D system, let's look at some examples of instructing with a 3D system.  

First, we’ll start by defining rotation because understanding exactly what rotation is helps us understand how best to view it. Rotation is defined as motion around a fixed point -- the ‘axis of rotation.’ Whatever is rotating will move in a plane that is perpendicular to the axis of rotation. Play the spinning wheel example below: 

As you can see in the example of the spinning wheel, it is difficult to see rotation when the camera is parallel to the plane of rotation, and becomes much easier to see as the camera angle gets closer to being perpendicular to the plane.  

Let's apply this to a golfer. In the example below, we are trying to assess a player’s shoulder rotation.

Transcript

In this example we will take a look at how the shoulders turn from two different camera angles within 3D.

Let's first start with a traditional face on view that most golf instructors would use to evaluate shoulder turn. Depending on the golfer's movements, from this view it can be difficult to see shoulder turn at various parts of the swing. As we move towards the top of the backswing the player's head keeps us from being able to see the location of the back shoulder.

But, when we move to a camera angle that is perpendicular to the axis of rotation, in this case, above what many instructors refer to as the spine angle. We can now clearly see shoulder turn. Also, as we move back down to impact, we are able to see that the player's shoulders are open to the target line. Whereas from face on view, it is difficult to discern from shoulder turn and shoulder side tilt.

Using a 3D system, we are able to get a great view of any body segment we are trying to analyze, and it is easy to shift the camera viewpoint to the ‘ideal’ location for viewing rotation. Being able to show the golfer what their body is doing from the appropriate angle does not force the golfer to guess what is happening, or to interpret motion from one plane, or viewpoint, into another.