Swing Works’ High-Tech Green Gives You Something to Aim For

Jim Howe thinks most golfers spend too much of their practice time on the driving range working on their shot and not enough time on their swing.

They put results before technique, finding ways to compensate for deficiencies in their swing without ever addressing the underlying problems. Although that can result in an adequate golf game, it can block even serious golfers from moving their game to a higher level.

Howe tackles that tendency by moving golf instruction indoors. At his Swing Works in Irvine, a golfer’s swing is recorded on video and dissected by an electronic analyzer. Hitting into a net instead of aiming for some distant target, the student is encouraged to concentrate on mechanics.

“To me, half an hour in here is much better than a bucket of balls on the driving range,” said Howe, who was a golf pro for 18 years before opening Swing Works. His high-tech teaching aids “give me something to look at, rather than guessing on the driving range.”

By videotaping a student from various angles, Howe can play back the tape a frame at a time to evaluate the form at each point in the swing. With side-by-side monitors, he can compare a student’s swing with his own, or show students how their technique has improved.

The swing analyzer uses beams of light to measure aspects of the swing:

* Club speed (in miles per hour).

* Ball carry (the distance the ball travels in the air, in yards).

* Club face angle (the direction of the face of the club at impact, in degrees toward or away from target).

* Club path (the path the club head travels during the swing).

* Impact point (the point on the face of the club where impact is made).

* Tempo (the time from start of the swing to impact).

One common problem Howe finds in his students’ swings is an “outside-in” club path, which means that the club head strikes the ball after it has passed the apex of its outward arc. The proper swing is “inside-out”--the club is still moving outward, away from the body, when it hits the ball.

Once Howe or one of his other instructors has isolated the problem areas, the student will be taught some drills to help correct them.

“That’s the main thing,” Howe said. “You show people how to practice.”

Swing Works includes a five-station indoor practice range. Howe said a regular driving range still has its place, but the indoor range is helpful in working on swing mechanics without distraction.

Howe said he sometimes faces resistance from longtime golfers when he tells them they need to go “backward”--and rebuild their swing--to improve their game. Golf scores may go up in the short run, as the student learns to swing all over again, but should improve in the long run.

“They better come in here with an open mind, because I’m going to be brutally frank,” Howe said. But while the instructor is quick to point out flaws in a stroke, he speaks calmly and gives constructive criticism. In addition to swing mechanics, lessons cover everything from club selection to course etiquette.

Some retail golf outlets offer limited indoor instructional facilities, but Swing Works is the only full-scale indoor golf instruction and practice center in the county. It is also the only place in the county with a Par T golf simulator, a room-size contraption that allows golfers to “play” some of the top courses in the world.

An image of the course is projected onto a nylon screen; the golfer hits a ball into the screen, and a computer analyzes the shot and “places” it on the course. A transparency of the proper position on the course is projected for the next shot, and golfers can even putt when they get onto the green. Howe said the Pebble Beach simulation was in big demand during the most recent U.S. Open.

Howe said he developed his approach to teaching when he was working as a pro at a county golf course while also teaching at Cal State Fullerton. He noticed that his college students were learning faster, despite having limited practice space.

He came to the conclusion that because they weren’t able to hit for distance, they were better able to concentrate on the mechanics of the swing. It is this fact that forms the core of his philosophy: If the swing is improved, the shots will improve.

Private lessons at Swing Works run from $60 for a one-hour session to $300 for a series of six one-hour lessons and a range card (good for 11 half-hour sessions on the indoor practice range). A series of five semiprivate lessons is $160 per student (for groups of two) or $130 per student (for groups of three).

A series of six group lessons (with four students per group) is $90 per student. A range card by itself is $49. Sessions on the Par T are $25 an hour for two golfers or $30 an hour for three or more.

Swing Works is at 17332 Von Karman Ave. in Irvine. For information, call (714) 833-3066.

*

Speaking of Golf. A new bimonthly publication focuses on local aspects of the sport. Golf Orange County is the sister publication of Golf San Diego and is distributed free at golf courses and retail shops. The first issue of the bimonthly newsletter was published last month.

The focus includes coverage of local golf courses and events, stories on golf equipment and accessories, and articles on technical aspects of the game by local pros.