Technology can help your golf game, but before you buy that $400 golf club, consider this: "It's not the hardware; it's the software."
So says Des Mahoney, director of golf instruction at Centennial Golf Course. Mahoney has discovered some new technology that could be the analytical break that many golfers need to move their game to a higher level.
"The best golfers exhibit incredible balance in their golf swings," Mahoney has observed. "People assume that balance is just a God-given skill, but it is in fact a learned skill. Without proper weight shift, you cannot properly control the club during the swing."
Earlier this year Mahoney was at the PGA Learning Center in Florida to see what advancements were emerging in golf instruction. There, he found a special mat with pressure-sensitive sensors imbedded in it. Wiring led from the mat to a computer and the monitor displayed the weight shifts of a golfer standing on the plate.
"It was fascinating," said Mahoney, after trying it out. "I was able to see how my center of gravity was moving in my golf swing." Within 10 minutes Mahoney had picked up 20 yards on his tee shots.
Mahoney searched for a company that was developing this technology and found the Weight Right force plate. It is now installed at the Centennial practice facility. The more he uses it, the more he thinks that this could be the best teaching aid since golf video.
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Tank Johnson/Staff
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Des Mahoney, director of golf instruction, demonstrates the Weight Right force plate at the practice facility at Centennial Golf Course.
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Mahoney described the concept. "Improper weight shift can throw off the swing. Standing on the mat, the golfer is able to see, hear, feel, and learn the proper balance throughout golf swing."
A computer program traces the student's center of gravity during the swing; at the same time it shows the degree of weight shift as it moves to the heel of the back foot, then the ball of the back foot, and on to the forward foot. That data also can be combined with video analysis, and burned onto a CD to be taken home and studied.
Mahoney has been cited by Golf Digest as Top Teacher in Tennessee and by Golf Magazine as Top Teacher in the Southeast. He plans to have an open house soon to introduce the Weight Right force plate to the public, but he is using it now in lessons.
For more information call the Centennial practice facility at (865) 483-2291, ext. 6; or e-mail desgolfer@att.net. Mahoney's Web site is www.desmahoneygolf.com.
Centennial Golf Course is located off Edgemoor Road at 100 Centennial Blvd.
