Using pressure plate data

Products
#1

Some of you may have seen this pair of insoles that function as pressure plates.

I have ordered a pair myself; they are coming today. As one who geeks out on golf data, I’m pretty excited. I’m adding this to my SkyTrak, Swing Speed Radar, Zepp, etc.

The key to having all this data, of course, is knowing what it means, when it signals that something is wrong, and how to use the data to work on your game. With most of my other devices, that’s pretty easy; I’ve read and learned enough to know how to use that information to improve.

But using pressure plates in the golf swing is relatively more obscure than some of this other data, and I have to admit that going into it, I don’t know what I’m looking for. Does anyone have a link to a tutorial or video on using a pressure plate to improve at golf? There are things that I’m sure I’ll learn through trial and error, but I’d love to have a running start.

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#2

I’ll be really interested to see the what you think because I’m looking into them for myself.
I think having the pressure data won’t really be telling us what we need to work on, but more so serve as a data benchmark and gauge for if we’re improving what we want to work on. Like if I’m working on my weight transfer, I should be able to see in the data where I was when I began and, as I work on it in practice, where I am later.

#3

My suggestions is to work with a good instructor, rather than try to figure it out on your own. In the hands of a knowledgeable person, it seems like this could be valuable information. In the hands of someone less knowledgeable, it could send you down the wrong road, trying to fix something that has nothing to do with any actual fault in your swing. I don’t read my own X-rays, and I don’t want to analyze my own swing videos or pressure plate tracks.

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#4

This is, no doubt, the correct answer. But given where I live, there are no instructors without driving at least an hour each direction. So my coaching is a lot of self-instruction (which is one reason I like guys like @jon and @Adamyounggolf and others for providing so much content), not because it’s better, but because it’s what I’ve got.

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#5

A savvy online instructor might be able to get good info based on the Salted Insoles.

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#6

I’ve only been on a pressure plate once, and according to the instructor I seemed to do things with my weight shift that was conducive to my swing.

That being said, I would have no idea how to interpret pressure plate data. Perhaps looking to a company like Swing Catalyst would help?

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#7

I saw those on sale this week and was sort of tempted to get them, but I figured my $$ would be better served going towards a launch monitor. I wonder if the soles could properly determine when I’m swaying vs turning, but the ballflight usually tells me lol.

There is actually a relatively inexpensive pressure mapping material that could be used to make something similar, but the trick would be in analyzing the data and providing useful feedback.

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#8

I’d go the route @CoryO suggests, find a good instructor online to review video of your swing. I think most will be good with just the video, but the pressure soles, when synced with swing video, could provide additional data and lead to better instruction.

#9

I’ve never heard of these. I’d be interested to know what kind of reading you get on really bad shots.

#10

If you don’t have a launch monitor of any kind, I’d recommend that assuming you spend time on the range. It was the number one thing that has helped me in my practice. You don’t need something super expensive if you are on a budget. Getting ball speed, clubhead speed, and carry distance (along with a notepad) can be really helpful.

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#11

Obviously you should use them to train yourself in aimpoint! Figure out your usual stance, then stand on angles and see where your pressure moves…

There seems to be a ton of interesting data on where your weight should be in the swing, but I’m not anywhere close to competent enough to offer advice.

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#12

I actually own these - I was beta tester for the company.

I love them and the data they produce. However, there’s very little use for it.

When instructors started getting this pressure information, I watched as they made the same mistakes as they have done in all other areas - shooting for pretty, symmetry etc. Many instructors defaulted (and some still do) to trying to create a linear trace, which was actually detrimental.

When you look at the top pros, their traces can be messy as hell, but in a functional way - messy is not always bad, and pretty is not always good.

There are some commonalities though - in top pros,

  1. the pressure will shift into the back foot as they swing back,
  2. There will be a drop in. lead foot pressure before they reach the top of the swing - as they are transferring their mass towards the target. YES, they are transferring MASS forwards, but pressure moves BACK during this phase
  3. the pressure in the lead foot will tend to peak by around lead arm parallel in the downswing, or slightly after.
  4. It also tend to transition into the lead ball of the foot (this helps with rotation and dynamic balance).

Apart from that, most bets are off.

I’d start with gaining an understanding of the difference between mass, pressure and center of pressure. Luckily, I wrote an article for that a few years ago - https://www.adamyounggolf.com/golf-and-cop-what-is-it/

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#13

Great info, thx for chiming in!

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#14

Deeply grateful for the information.

I’m nearly certain I had read or watched something from you already on the danger of looking for a “pretty” line with the pressure trace, so (happily) I had already be disabused of that idea.

I think the main thing that I’m looking for (like with a lot of tech) is the ability to tie “feels” to “measurables.” So right, now, I think I do a pretty good job getting my pressure to my lead foot at the right time. But there’s a (much greater than zero) chance that I’m wrong about that. Having a device that beeps when you get the pressure to 70% on the front foot (or whatever benchmark you want to set) is a way for me to say, “Oh, that’s what that’s supposed to feel like!”

I’m not expecting this to revolutionize my swing, but I love learning.

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#15

You’ll find some use. I didn’t want to make it seem as if there is no value - it’s just a small piece of a much bigger picture. You might end up chasing something in the trace that could make you worse, if it doesn’t fit in with the other match ups you have

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#16

Same. I’m pretty shifty in my swing, so I feel like anything that told me I’m doing it “wrong” would totally mess me up.

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#17

I’ve been thinking about this one quite a bit.

My tendency is for my weight to get hard into the heel of my lead foot, so that my toes spin out as I complete my swing. If I were to highlight current examples of footwork: mine would be more Bryson (footwork only, not length), rather than like JT or Bubba (jumping off their toes).

So Adam (or anyone else who knows): what do these different pressure patterns tend to produce?

#18

It’s not a bad thing. The pressure shifts in transition towards the ball of the foot in most, but then goes quickly towards the heel, so it’s ok for the toes to spin out a bit.

So many ways of doing it, not one is necessarily right.

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#19

Nope, definitely not thinking about one being right and then other wrong. I’m asking about tendencies/matchups: are there any swing tendencies that would typically accompany either of these
different pressure patterns?

#20

OK, so I’ve had a little chance to play with the pressure-sensing insoles. My initial impressions of the insoles themselves is positive. Unlike others that I have read, I’ve had zero connection issues (using a Galaxy Note 10 Lite). The live feed of the pressure seems very accurate as I stand there moving around, seeing how the pressure mapping changes on screen.

I’ve also learned that I have a lot of room for improvement in my pressure shift:

This, I think, is among the cooler features of the software: it easily allows you to annotate and share a video of your swing with the pressure data. For those who use online/remote coaching, this seems like a huge plus.

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