Virtually all of the world’s best players rely on the Trackman to stay at their peak and thanks to Orange professional Sam Phillips, the central west’s golfers have the chance to take advantage of the state-of-the-art technology.
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After several years playing and coaching in Sydney Phillips has returned to his hometown and is now teaching out of Wentworth, using the game-changing tool to help golfers of all ages and abilities go to a new level.
Trackman uses radar to measure a huge amount of factors in a player’s swing – many the average golfer wouldn’t consider – before providing instant feedback in the form of raw data and video, immediately identifying any issues.
“No matter how good a coach you are there is always an element of guesswork when you’re teaching, but this takes that out by showing you exactly what’s going wrong,” Phillips explained.
“That, I think, is the best thing about it, the instant feedback and visual elements. You can always tell someone what they’re doing wrong, but being able to show them straight away makes a big difference in the coaching process.
“Most players do things in their swing they don’t realise they’re doing, that have a big impact on the shot. So we can identify them by tracking things like club path, face angle, clubhead speed, attack angle and spin rate, as examples, in one shot, and then go from there.”
Higher handicappers shouldn’t be daunted by the technology either, Phillips explained.
Most players do things in their swing they don’t realise they’re doing ... we can identify them in one shot.
- Sam Phillips
“It’s definitely for everyone, I actually think higher handicappers would benefit more from using it,” he said.
“Virtually everyone I’m coaching now are higher handicappers and we’ve seen some pretty big results with all of them.
“I’d used it before with my coach in Sydney and it’s just about being able to help the average golfer go to another level.
“There’s not many better indicators than the fact all the guys on the tour use this.”
Wentworth professional Todd Brakenridge endorsed it too.
“It’s very comprehensive,” he said, having added 16 metres extra distance with his wedge.
“The fact the golfer can then hang on to that data, refer back to it and keep working on things themselves is huge.
“It’s created a different dynamic for us here at Wentworth too. It’s a real point of difference in this area, as a coach I can get guys to a certain level but this can push them well beyond that.”
To book a lesson contact Phillips on samuelphillipsgolfacademy@outlook.com.
Matt Findlay
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
Formerly a sports specialist, I'm based at Orange and shift between wide-spread range of subjects here and, often, across the entire Central West region of NSW as well. I have almost a decade of experience in the media and marketing industries both here in Australia and internationally, along with journalism I have experience in content strategy, brand development, and digital and social media. Along the way, I've been fortunate to win a handful of media awards and be nominated for several others too.
