The new wearable that’ll improve your golf swing

I’m old enough to remember when golf instructors began using video on a regular basis to help students understand their swing. Video-based instruction is still huge today. However, new technologies offer fascinating learning opportunities. The deWiz swing analyzer ($699), a wrist-based wearable, provides detailed data and analysis on every swing. To get started, simply download the deWiz app, answer a few questions about your game and swing away. Immediate readouts appear on your smartphone for tempo, transition, and backswing length on full or partial swings. Besides recording real-time numerical data (in inches, degrees, seconds, and miles per hour), the app enables players to hear the information, see their swings from three different angles, and even review the findings at a later time.

“A lot of people say the deWiz is like a launch monitor. But, it’s not,” said Markus Westerberg, a PGA of Sweden teaching pro and co-founder of deWiz. “This new wearable reports the actual swing’s DNA, whereas a launch monitor delivers data focused on impact and ball flight.”

In short, players get a crystal-clear picture of what needs to improve in order to hit shots longer, straighter and closer to the hole. “Once you set some benchmarks, you can start working on various aspects of your game,” said Westerberg, who also competed on the European Tour. If the goal is to increase power and distance, then focus on improving two numbers: backswing length and the time it takes from the start of your backswing to impact. By contrast, directional control boils down to other numbers: tempo and transition (which compares differences in swing plane between the backswing and downswing).

When the swing exceeds the parameters that you can set up within the app (i.e., shorter backswing than the minimum baseline measurement), the deWiz will transmit a quick electrical impulse to the wrist. “The Learning Stimuli helps rewire your brain and leads to new movements through improved motor skills,” said Westerberg. Make sure to set the jolt—1 (lowest intensity) to 7 (highest)—at a comfortable level. A word of caution: It’s recommended that people with medical devices (i.e., pacemakers or insulin pumps) or certain conditions (i.e., heart problems or pregnant) should not use the device with the Learning Stimuli enabled. You can still use deWiz and get audio feedback.

The app features three different learning modes. In the “Discovery” setting, players…