Getting somebody to coach your golf swing is tricky, expensive, and often inconvenient.
Rather than having to schedule your rounds to match the schedule of another person and pay extra for the service, wouldn’t it be much easier to get some insights yourself?
Enter one of the newest golfing trends. Nowadays, if you have some experience with golf already, you can use your smartphone to record your swings.
The data that you gather from this can help refine your play and improve your skills, without the need for outside assistance.
In this article, we’ll be examining:
- Why recording your golf swing is important
- The best phone holders to help you record your swings
- Some factors to consider when purchasing a phone holder
Let’s get into it!
Importance Of Recording Golf Swings
Recording your golf swing can lead to a variety of benefits. However, it’s important to remember that at the end of the day, you’re there to practice golf – not to practice recording.
To that end, make sure that when you’re using your phone camera to record your swing that you aren’t focusing on it; instead, play as usual and look at the footage afterward.
With that said, let’s get into some of the very useful benefits that you can get from recording your swings.
Self-Analysis
One of the more powerful benefits of recording your swing as an intermediate or experienced golfer – especially if you have worked with a professional coach before – is that it allows you to analyze your swing yourself, quickly and easily.
This is something that beginner golfers should be wary of, as they may not fully understand yet what makes a good swing and what they should be looking for to improve.
If you do want to try self-analysis as a beginner, it’s probably better to record a variety of shots and note the ones that were better than the others.
Then, see if you can see a clear difference between your good shots and your bad. If you can, then there’s something you can work on relatively easily.
Professional Feedback
If you are working with a professional coach, recording your swings on your own time can simplify the process of working in a session and can also give your coach more accurate data and a better idea of how to help you.
Rather than spend the first 20 minutes of a coaching session practicing swings without any clear direction, your coach can now come prepared with tips to get you off to a roaring start.
Tracking Improvement
If nothing else, recording your swing can be a great reminder of your golfing progress.
Especially on days when you’re feeling a little down about your game, looking back at some videos and seeing how far you’ve come can be a great motivator.
Best Four Phone Holders For Golf Swings – Reviews
1. GPOD Travel For Magsafe
The GPOD brand as a whole currently has a strong hold on the golf recording market, with a solid construction and effective magnetic phone holder that allow for optimal use when recording golf swings.
This travel model is no different.
One feature remarked on by reviewers is the magnetic strength; you won’t need to worry about your phone falling off the stand in windy weather as much as you might with a weaker magnet, like those provided by some other brands.
PROS
- Carbon fiber structure and size means the stand is fully travel-safe
- Easy to carry in a golf bag
- Strong magnet to ensure the phone is stable
- Good compatibility with newer iPhones via a MagSafe attachment head.
- Compatible with other phones as well with alternative mount.
CONS
- The MagSafe head can fall off with excess vibration.
The GPOD Travel is available for $121.00 including the tripod.
2. GPOD Mini
The GPOD Mini is another great choice from GPOD, particularly for those not looking to carry around something quite as large as the previous model.
Rather than coming with its own monopod and travel stand, this model is designed to attach to an alignment stick – something you’ll likely be carrying around anyway with the rest of your golf accessories if you’re serious about improving your swing.
PROS
- Small, portable, and will attach to just about any thin cylinder
- Easy to carry in your pocket
- Works with any smartphone or tablet weighing less than 3.5lbs.
CONS
- Doesn’t come with its own stand
- Not designed with MagSafe technology in mind.
Seeing as it doesn’t come with its own stand, the GPOD mini is considerably cheaper at just $49.00 – meaning it might be a better fit if you are looking to avoid forking out too much money upfront.
3. IRange Sports
The iRange Sports offering presents a similar makeup to the GPOD Travel that we discussed earlier in this guide.
With a specific stake to keep the monopod in the ground effectively and a MagSafe-compatible puck, there are very few surface-level differences.
Notably, this monopod is not collapsible – meaning it can be a bit of a hefty thing to lug around if you aren’t intending to carry your full club set at the same time.
PROS
- Compatible with all phone types
- MagSafe compatible
- Specifically-designed stake for strong stability
- Can add a collapsible indoor stand
- Currently, there is an offer of a free lesson (usually worth $120) with the purchase of this stick.
CONS
- Stake only extends so far into the ground, meaning maximum stability can at times be hard to achieve
- Not collapsible
- Relatively short (37 inches)
This offering retails at $69.99, making it significantly cheaper than the closest comparable offering from GPOD.
4. SelfieGOLF
The SelfieGOLF offering is considerably lower-tech compared with the GPOD, using a simple clip to hold your phone rather than a magnetic mount. However, if you’re a fan of an old-school approach, this might be exactly what you’re looking for.
The clamps are intended to attach to a club or alignment stick and also to your phone, allowing two-point stabilization of the mount.
PROS
- PGA-award-winning product
- Easy to carry and store
- Compatible with all phone sizes, golf bag sizes, and stick sizes.
CONS
- Does not come with a specific stake; this could lead to a lack of stability on harder/ less level ground.
The SelfieGOLF retails at $49.00, the same as the GPOD Mini. Considering that this is much lower-tech, that makes it a bit of a high price point.
Buyer’s Guide: Making The Right Choice
So, how do you decide which phone holder is right for your golfing journey? That depends heavily on exactly how you plan to use it!
If you are looking to purchase a phone holder just to record your swings for fun, you can probably get by quite happily with something low-tech, portable, and easy to set up and down – the SelfieGOLF clamp, for example.
If, however, you are aiming to take things to a more serious (or even fully professional-level), you’ll likely be better served by a proper stand with the ability to adjust significantly. In this case, the GPOD Travel is likely a better option.
In general, you should be considering the following when purchasing a phone holder:
- Price – How much are you willing to spend? Is it worth getting a stick that’s $100 more expensive when you could instead spend that money on golf balls?
- Size – Will it be convenient for you to carry to, from, and around the course or driving range?
- Customizability – Can you adjust it easily? Will it be suited to the variety of courses that you play on?
- Stability and strength – Will it hold your phone or tablet effectively? Is it likely to wobble when taking footage or in a strong wind?
- Compatibility – Will the stand or holder actually work with your phone? More than that, is it designed with your phone in mind?
Final Recommendations
Picking up one of the best phone mounts for golf is a great step towards getting more data to help you improve, whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned professional.
We’ve given four good options in this article to help you with your search, from three major brands: GPOD, iRange, and SelfieGOLF.
The variety of options available should help you find something that is right for you, whether that is the low-tech option of sturdy clamps or the high-tech magnetic holders.
No matter what, you can be sure that you’re well on your way to improving your swing if you are taking such an interest in analyzing it. Good luck on the course.
