Swing training with the Garmin Approach S6
Improving your golf swing can be key in lowering your handicap on the green. You could spend many (expensive) hours with a golf coach to develop this part of your game, or you could use the first-of-its-kind swing metrics built in to the new Garmin Approach S6 golf watch.
Garmin SwingStrength
The SwingStrength feature on the Approach S6 golf watch is a swing metric that measures the acceleration and angular rates of your golf swing. It then compares your level with a known, normal swing to create a SwingStrength value. This represents a percentage of your “full power swing”.
To calibrate the SwingStrength feature on the Approach S6, you must wear the device on your leading wrist and complete a full swing in SwingStrength with each type of club to gauge your full swing range. You can recalibrate your SwingStrength levels at any time to keep them up to date with your game.
How can SwingStrength improve my game?
By measuring the strength and speed of your swing, the SwingStrength feature can help you improve consistency for your normal full swing. You could use the feature when practicing at the driving range, or on a round to see how your swing level varies. By feeding back with individual metrics, you’ll be able to compose personal data reports on your swing and see where you can make small changes to make a bigger impact.
You can also use SwingStrength when you swing at half power. Try this with different club types and see how it affects the distance of your shot. Taking a couple of practice shots at 50% before taking a full power swing can help your power and swing technique for ideal contact with the ball.
Tempo Training
The Tempo Training feature measures and displays your backswing and downswing times, as well as your swing tempo. This is the backswing time divided by the downswing time, expressed in a ratio. Each golfer will have a unique swing tempo based on their ability and experience. The ideal tempo, based on studies of professional golfers, is 3.1 or 3.0.
The Approach S6 uses three audible tones to demonstrate the correct swing tempo. These indicate when to start your backswing, when to start your downswing and when to hit the ball. Once you’ve recorded your swing tempo, a graph will display your times and correlate them to the selected ideal timing.
To find your ideal swing timing, start with the slowest timing and repeat your swing until the graph shows that you have the correct tempo – this is indicated as a green bar. When you are repeatedly swinging at the right tempo, move up to the next timing. Complete all of the swing tempo timings before choosing the one that is most comfortable for you. You can then use this feature to maintain swing consistency in your golf games.
As well as helping you develop your swing strength and tempo, the Garmin Approach S6 also keeps score, measures your shots and allows you to view any location on the course using the GPS-enabled CourseView feature.
When you’ve finished playing, upload your statistics to Garmin Connect where you can store your rounds and view more detailed information, including scoreboards, statistics, course info and customisable reports. You can keep this as a personal record or share with your friends.
