Review: 3Bays Golf Swing Analyzer (Pro and Putt)

A Better Swing = Better Results
The golf swing is a most fascinating study because there are all different ways to get the  same results.  No two swings are exactly identical, but there are some similarities that make some better than others.  The real key is consistency.  Can you repeat the same motion over and over?  Ideally a good swing that is repeated will yield the best results.  If you can build a better swing, you will get better results, guaranteed!  3Bays Golf Swing Analyzer can help you build a better swing.
The recent advances in mobile technology are put on display with the 3Bays products.  They have two tiny little plugs that you can install into the end of any of your club grips, driver through putter.  It pushed into the air hole at the end of your grip.  It fits snugly so you don’t have to worry about it falling out.  It is very light so you won’t feel any additional weight in your club.  It has a small arrow that you line up with your club face.  From there is it a simple connection via Bluetooth to your smart phone and 3Bays app.   Once connected, put your smart phone in your pocket and swing away.  You can either look at the analysis after each swing or just bang away and it will keep on collecting swing data.  Once you’re done hitting, it is time to figure what to work on to create a better swing.

While there a numbers, swing speeds, tempo and impact force; for me I wanted to work on my swing plane.  I noticed that I was getting flat again with my back swing.  I wasn’t too technical about everything, but I could see that it was low.  I worked on getting it up and out, instead of low and back.  It didn’t take too long with just a couple swing adjustments and the orange lines looked better.  While I might never be perfect, I can certainly get better.  As the plane became better so did my results.   While at times the screen might look like information overload, I think picking one thing to work on is ideal.  The app has an overlay feature of how a pro swings in green.  This can also be really helpful in understand where you fault is.  I learn that my swing is too flat and too narrow on the takeaway, while the return path is pretty good but the follow through is a little too compact. 

Add to that the automatic video capability and you can not only get a digital version with lines and details, you can get video details without having to have someone hold the iPhone or record all the wasted time on the range, just clips of each shot.   (You will need a stand or phone holder to accomplish this on your own.)  That combination of visuals really helps figure out what is right and what might be wrong with your swing.  You can also use their line drawing tool to help understand posture and planes on the video.

Once you get some of those details dialed in where you want them to be, then you can start using the other details like tempo.  I think there are a variety of tempos that can work for the swing, but consistency is key.  3Bays has some linked video helps that show some drill on how to work on consistent tempo.    You can move from tempo to speed, this also will help with yardage control.  The force number can be help for working on hitting the center of the face.

The swing speed numbers seemed very accurate.  I was working with my 3Bays and my Flightscope at the same time and the swing speed numbers were identical.  The 3Bays can’t tell you what the ball did, but your eyes will let you know if it was a good one or not.  3Bays then has a simple push of a tab to mark the really good ones so that you have a reference point to work from.

The 3Bays Putting Pro is another similar training aid.  The design is the same as the full swing analyzer but uses a different app.  This one too is really helpful in tracking the putter head throughout the entire stroke.  It shows every little motion that you make and how you turn the putter head, swing it, or what ever you are doing.  It is much more than just learning about what kind of stroke you have, it really can teach you how to get the best path for the putter head.  That doesn’t necessarily mean you need to make drastic changes to your swing, but just a little tweak can really improve you stroke.  While I have an arched stroke, which the 3Bays tracks nicely, I noticed an inconsistency in how much I arched.  It made a difference at the impact point and direction of each putt.  I decided to really focus on repeating the same arch over and over.  As I worked on that path and tempo, my putting got better.  It is all about repeat, repeat, repeat.

3Bays has a “cloud” feature that I didn’t spend much time with. While I do have multiple devices,  I really spent my time using the iPhone app.  The “cloud” features look really nice and I could see benefits of it, especially if working with a teacher, you could have them log in and look at your recent practice session to see what might need to be corrected. 

3Bays is an excellent training aid that can really improve your swing.  It is going to take some time at the range, some dedication to practice and ideally a little help from a coach.  While you might be able to self-diagnose with the graphics and video, a teacher will only enhance those with their ability to give you drills and point you in the right direction for improvement.  The 3Bays app and grip insert are well made and work incredibly well.  I didn’t have drop signals nor did I have to charge it up consistently.  It simply worked smoothly right out of the box and still does a couple months later.  If you want better results, it starts with a better swing.

For more information: www.3bayslife.com

Quick Hits
+Very accurate
+Simple app
+Lightweight and easy to install
+Comparison graphs really help
+Video recording features

–Takes swing knowledge and practice to use