Zepp Golf: Replicate Your Best Swings

12/11/2015

Learning to replicate your golf swing is what Zepp golf is all about.

There’s a great anecdote Mickey Mantle shares in Ken Burns’ “Baseball” documentary. Mantle is hanging out the All-Star Game when Ted Williams walks over to ask him some questions.

Now, Williams was famously meticulous with three things: fishing, flying and hitting. So at the Midsummer Classic, he wanted to find out how Mantle was so successful from both sides of the plate.

Williams started motioning with his wrists, wondering if Mantle used his top or bottom hand to generate power. The Mick was still a young player at this point and as a result quite impressionable. He answered Williams the best he could and then started considering his hitting techniques.

Once Mantle returned to the Yankees, he promptly endured one the worst slumps of his career. The point is this– sometimes thinking can do more harm than good when it comes to athletics.

Which brings us to Zepp Golf.

Zepp produces sensors that allow athletes to deeply analyze their movements (baseball, softball, tennis and golf are all advertised on the company’s site although hockey would be a practical addition as well). The sensor transfers data to users’ smart phones where they can watch a 3D rendition of their swings, while also considering things like swing speed. The app, when used with the sensor, also allows users to compare their swings against professionals.

Golf Digest recently called Zepp Golf one of the hottest gifts in the sport and it makes sense. It looks fun even to just mess around with.

Have a look at a product video below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kp-fHzSK4zk

The benefits of Zepp Golf are fairly self-evident.

By becoming familiar with your swing and understanding the intricacies of it, you can play more consistent golf. If coupled with professional instruction, you can start to internalize the often vague commands teachers may give you.

Hitting draws, fades, cuts or punches (etc., etc.) would no longer be a foreign concept. In other words, the best way to manipulate a swing is to understand it to the best of one’s ability.

Thanks! Excited to be part of the team!! https://t.co/LcdjN41ve3

— Michelle Wie (@themichellewie) October 30, 2015

Professionals Keegan Bradley, Brendan Steele and Michelle Wie have all endorsed Zepp Golf. Bradley and Wie’s vote of confidence should be enough. The former rose from obscurity to become a major champion. His intensity on the course reveals a man driven to do whatever it takes to get better.

Wie, on the other hand, struggled to find consistency after turning pro as a teenager. Now more than a decade into her career, she’s finally turning in the kind of results so many predicted for her, including her major championship at the US Open in 2014.

Their voices are enough to make us take notice.

Keegan Bradley working with Zepp

However, I opened with the Mantle story for a reason.

Perhaps I think of the high handicap player, because, in the words of Ty Webb, I’m a tremendous slouch. But sometimes we can get into our own heads, especially when it comes to golf.

So when we start thinking about swing plane, speed, rotating our hips properly and keeping the club face open as long as possible, that can lead to ugly results. At that point, Zepp Golf could become a bit of a burden. Can you go back to just doing what feels right at the time?

And yet, I can’t help but be intrigued. The app is easy to navigate (there’s a free option you can download at zepp.com), and the 3D-swing feature is undoubtedly awesome.

Maybe like the Mick you’ll endure a slump to start. But that’s okay. After all, it didn’t ruin his hall of fame career.

Always great 2 get a recommendation from @PGATOUR. Check out their Holiday Gift Guide here. #ZeppYourSwing #golf https://t.co/pKYSCfPVOD

— Zepp Labs (@ZeppLabs) December 9, 2015