Swing AnalysisSwing AnalysisA frame-by-frame review of the 9-iron swing André filmed on October 28 at Mariners Point, with the full ball-flight readout from the range screen. It is the first 9-iron report in the logbook. The camera was very close and the golfer is cropped at the right edge of the frame, so the ball-flight section is solid and the body measurements are rough guides only. It closes with simple next steps and a clear plan for a better recording.
Bottom line: a very good first 9-iron on ball flight. 117 yards total ★, 116 carry ★, and 92.2 mph of ball speed ★, just under the LPGA Tour 9-iron average (93 mph). The apex of 26 yards and the 47° landing angle both match the LPGA Tour averages exactly. The ball landed soft and rolled only about 1 yard, with a gentle 6 ft curve to the left. This is the first 9-iron report, so every ★ simply sets the baseline for the next ones.
The body numbers need a careful reading. Camera position limited what could be measured, and the golfer is partly outside the frame. With that caveat, the scorecard flags three items to fix: head ~5.6 in lower than at address at impact, hips ~5.8 in higher, and a quick tempo of ~1.5:1. One item is good: the rear of the hips stayed on the address "tush line" (~0.0 in). Shoulder turn, hip turn and X-factor could not be estimated from these frames.
92.2 mph of ball speed, a 26-yard apex and a 47° landing angle sit right on the LPGA Tour averages. The ball lands soft, with 116 carry and 117 total.
At impact the head is ~5.6 in lower and the hips ~5.8 in higher than at address. The hips did stay on the tush line, which is a good base to build on.
Tempo is ~1.5:1: a 0.60 s backswing and a 0.40 s downswing. His own 6-iron used the same 0.60 s backswing with a 0.23 s downswing.
| Metric | André (Oct 28) | LPGA Tour avg | PGA Tour avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ball speed | 92.2 mph ★ | 93 mph | 109 mph |
| Carry | 116 yds ★ | 119 yds | 148 yds |
| Flat carry | 115 yds | — | — |
| Total | 117 yds ★ | — | — |
| Launch angle | 27° | 23.9° | 20.4° |
| Apex | 78 ft (26 yds) | 26 yds | 30 yds |
| Landing angle | 47° | 47° | 51° |
| Spin | not shown | 7,589 rpm | 8,647 rpm |
| Curve | 6 ft left | — | — |
| Hang time | 5.2 s | — | — |
| Proximity | 73 ft | — | — |
★ = first 9-iron report, so these values set the baseline and are his personal best by default. On the screen, the target flags read 102 and 129 yds. The curve direction is read from the brighter left arrow; heavy reflections cover the panel, so confirm it in the app. Club speed and spin aren't on the screen: at a typical iron smash of ~1.38-1.40, 92.2 mph of ball speed means about 66-67 mph of club speed, below the LPGA average (72 mph). The ball could not be tracked in the video (30 fps: it is gone between two frames after impact), so the start line is unknown. Filming in slow motion (120 or 240 fps) would fix that.
What it means: Ball speed is within 1 mph of the LPGA average, and the apex and landing angle match it exactly. The launch is about 3° higher than the LPGA average (27° vs 23.9°), so the ball climbs and lands soft: only ~1 yard of roll (116 carry, 117 total). The carry is 3 yards short of the LPGA average (116 vs 119). Spin isn't shown, so nothing is inferred about it. The main way to add distance is club speed.
30 frames per second, so each time is accurate to about ±0.03 s. Takeaway starts at 10.40 s (frame 312), the top is at 11.00 s (frame 330), and impact is at about 11.40 s (frame 342). The top comes from hand tracking, because the hands leave the frame there.
| Group | Backswing | Downswing | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| André (9-iron, Oct 28) | ~0.60 s | ~0.40 s | ~1.5:1 |
| André (3-wood, Oct 24) | ~0.50 s | ~0.30 s | ~1.7:1 |
| PGA Tour (Tour Tempo, "24/8") | ~0.80 s | ~0.27 s | 3:1 |
Tour figure: John Novosel, Tour Tempo. No earlier 9-iron reports exist. One frame either way moves the ratio between ~1.3:1 and ~1.7:1.
What it means: The backswing (0.60 s) is a normal length. The ratio is low because the downswing is long. Seven of its twelve frames (0.23 s) pass between the top and arm-parallel-down, which suggests a hesitation at the top or a slow transition. His 6-iron (Oct 14) paired a 0.60 s backswing with a 0.23 s downswing (~2.6:1), so he already knows the faster, smoother version.
Nine key positions, filmed from behind the golfer and very close. The golfer is cropped at the right edge, so this is not a true down-the-line or face-on view.
Photos are numbered in the order they happen in the swing. The frames follow the standard swing positions.
| Measure (vs address) | Top | Impact | Earlier 9-iron reports | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head, down | ~8.9 in | ~5.6 in | — (first report) | Fix lowest ~16.4 in at delivery |
| Head, toward the ball | ~5.8 in away | ~3.4 in toward | — | Watch mixes depth and sideways |
| Hips, toward the ball | ~6.9 in | ~1.6 in | — | Watch small move toward the ball |
| Hips vs tush line | — | ~0.0 in | — | Good rear of hips stays on the line |
| Hips, up | ~15.4 in | ~5.8 in | — | Fix hips stand up through the ball |
| Hands vs address spot | ~16.7 in | ~2.5 in | — | Watch close, not back to the exact spot |
| Shoulder turn | — | — | — | n/a shoulders out of frame |
| Hip turn | — | — | — | n/a hips out of frame |
| X-factor (shoulder minus hip turn) | — | — | — | n/a needs both turns |
| Tempo | 0.60 s back | 0.40 s down | — | Fix ~1.5:1, rushed |
Depth note: the camera is behind the golfer but very close, the golfer is cropped, and only one stick points downrange, so no vanishing point exists. The "toward the ball" numbers mix depth and sideways motion, and one camera can't split them. A face-on clip and a cleaner down-the-line clip will settle it (see the next capture).
| Club (best report) | Total | Carry | Ball speed | Launch | Curve |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Driver · Oct 7 | 241 yds | 213 yds | 129 mph | 16° | 38 ft |
| 3-Wood · Oct 24 | 200 yds | 172 yds | 121 mph | 10° | 36 ft |
| 4-Iron · Oct 7 | 183 yds | 167 yds | 110 mph | 20° | 39 ft |
| 5-Iron · Oct 2 | 169 yds | 159 yds | 108 mph | 19° | 20 ft |
| 6-Iron · Oct 14 | 150 yds | 146 yds | 107 mph | 20° | 17 ft right |
| 7-Iron · Oct 14 | 147 yds | 144 yds | 104 mph | 22° | 0 ft |
| 9-Iron · Oct 28 | 117 yds | 116 yds | 92.2 mph | 27° | 6 ft left |
Heads-up: the 9-iron carries 28 yards less than the 7-iron (116 vs 144) with about 12 mph less ball speed (92.2 vs 104). That gap holds the 8-iron, which has no report yet. Split evenly, it would put the 8-iron about 14 yards from each neighbor. The launch keeps climbing as the clubs get shorter (22° to 27°), as expected.
Confidence: high on the ball flight (range screen; the curve direction is moderate because of the reflections); moderate on tempo (30 fps, the top is read from hand tracking); low on head and hip distances (golfer cropped, camera moved ~60 px, grid scaled from body size); none on rotation and ball start line.
From a clean camera spot, keep the cap on the white cap line and the belt on the orange waist line until the ball is gone, for 10 balls.
Feel: "chest over the ball, belt stays down." It targets the ~5.6 in head dip and the ~5.8 in hip rise.
Count "back-2-3, down". Keep the 0.60 s backswing and start down without a pause at the top.
Aim for a downswing near 0.25 s, like the 6-iron (0.23 s). It lifts the ratio from 1.5:1 toward 2.5:1.
At impact, feel the hands arrive back where they were at address, with the club handle leaning slightly toward the target.
The hands finished ~2.5 in away; the goal is under 1 in.
Repeat the same set-up and note carry and apex for 5 balls. Keep the 47° landing and the ~26-yard apex.
This is a tour-like flight, and an average carry will anchor the 9-iron in the gapping table.
Next capture: (1) record from about 3 m behind the hands, at hand height, with the whole body, club and ball in frame, (2) lay both sticks so they point downrange, which gives a vanishing point, (3) add a face-on clip, (4) film in slow motion (120 or 240 fps) to track the ball, (5) 3-5 balls for an average, and (6) give André's height to lock the grid scale.