How to film your golf swing with just a phone

A camera a few feet off your target line changes how your swing looks. The club can appear steeper or flatter than it really is, and your hips can seem to move toward the ball when they didn't.

That matters most when you start drawing on the video. A shaft line or spine line is only as accurate as the camera behind it. If the phone is aimed left of target, every line you draw on the frame is skewed in the same direction.

What you want is a repeatable video: same spot, same height, same lens, every session. Then you can compare this week's swing with last month's and trust the difference.

Down-the-line means the camera sits behind you and points at the target.

1. Lay a club or alignment stick on the ground along your target line, then step to the side and set up as normal.
2. Place the phone behind you on a line that runs through your hands and parallel to the target line. Some coaches line it up with the ball instead. Pick one and stick to it.
3. Set the lens at roughly hand height at address, somewhere around belt to chest level. A lower or higher camera tilts the swing plane.
4. Point the phone straight down that line, not angled toward you.

What this angle shows

• Swing plane. Whether the shaft goes back and comes down on a similar path.
• Over the top. The club moving out and above its backswing path at the start of the downswing. See over the top.
• Early extension. Hips moving toward the ball and the spine standing up before impact. See early extension.
• Posture. Spine tilt at address and whether you keep it.

Face-on means the camera looks straight at your chest, as if it were standing opposite you across the ball.

• Put the phone directly in front of you, square to your chest, at roughly the same height as for down-the-line.
• Centre it on your body or slightly toward the ball. If the phone sits well off to one side, ball position will look wrong.
• Keep it the same distance away every time so you look the same size on screen.

What this angle shows

• Sway. Your hips or head sliding away from the target in the backswing.
• Ball position. Where the ball sits relative to your stance.
• Shaft lean at impact. Whether the hands are ahead of the ball, level with it, or behind it.
• Wrist angle in the downswing. This is the view you need to check for casting.

You don't need special gear, but a few settings make a real difference.

Slow motion or normal? Slow motion is better if your phone has it. It records more frames per second, so impact and transition show up as clear frames instead of a blur. On an iPhone, the Slo-mo mode in the Camera app records at 120 or 240 fps, which you choose under Settings > Camera > Record Slo-mo. Most Android phones have a Slow motion mode too, though the options depend on the model.

Normal video still works. You just get fewer frames around impact.

Landscape or portrait? Either works as long as the whole swing fits. Portrait suits a single golfer on a phone screen. Landscape gives you more room for the club at the top and the finish. Whichever you choose, use the same one every time.

Keep the full club in frame. Stand far enough back that the clubhead stays on screen at the top of the backswing and in the finish, with a bit of space to spare. A clipped clubhead makes the top of the swing impossible to judge.

Use the main lens at 1x. Don't zoom in, and avoid the ultra-wide (0.5x) lens. Ultra-wide lenses bend straight lines near the edges of the frame, which throws off anything you draw.

Lock focus and exposure. On an iPhone, press and hold on yourself in the viewfinder until "AE/AF Lock" appears. That stops the camera hunting for focus as the club moves.

A tripod is handy, but you can get a steady shot with what's in your bag.

• Golf bag. Stand the bag up and wedge the phone in a pocket or between club grips. Check it's level before you hit.
• Alignment stick. Push a stick into the ground and attach the phone with a rubber band or a cheap clip.
• Range basket or bench. Prop the phone against something at roughly the right height. A shoe or towel under it can fix the angle.
• At home. A shelf, chair back or stack of books works for indoor swings into a net.

If you do buy something, a small tripod with a phone clamp is enough. Whatever you use, mark the spot (a tee in the ground works) so you can set up the same way next time.

These show up all the time, and each one makes the lines you draw less reliable.

• Camera aimed at you, not down the line. Angling the phone toward the golfer makes the swing look flatter or steeper than it is.
• Zoomed in. Digital zoom costs detail and usually crops the club at the top.
• Camera tilted. If the horizon or a post isn't straight, your vertical and horizontal reference lines are off.
• Backlit. Shooting toward the sun or a bright window turns you into a silhouette and hides the club.
• Flickering indoor light. Some indoor lights flicker in slow-motion video. Daylight or a well-lit garage usually helps.
• Moving the camera between swings. Even a small shift means you can't compare clips.
• Too close. The swing should fill a good part of the frame without touching the edges.

Once it's filmed, open SwingMaster in your phone's browser and pick the video. There's no app and no account. The video stays on your device; only a single paused frame is sent if you ask for AI feedback.

A good first pass:

1. Check the angle. Draw the level line from the section above. If the camera was off, re-film before going further.
2. Slow it down. Set the speed to 0.25x and use the frame-step buttons to move one frame at a time.
3. Draw your setup lines. Pause at address and draw a line along your spine and one along the shaft. Leave them on screen.
4. Ask for a read. Pause on the top of the backswing or impact, tap AI on mobile or AI Coach on desktop, then Analyze Current Frame. You get the swing phase, up to three strengths, up to two fixes and one drill for that frame.

From there, the step-by-step analysis guide walks through all six checkpoints, and the slow-motion guide covers finding the exact frames.

Filmed it? Drop it in.