A Great View of That Lousy Swing

I attended the Arnold Palmer Golf Academy as a preteen (it’s suddenly so clear why I didn’t have a prom date) but only rarely get to play these days. So lessons were essential, but I wanted something that would really help, not just another pro with peculiar theories.

At Family Golf Learning Center at the Encino Balboa Golf Range, head pro Greg Osbourne has a new teaching tool: the $12,000 ASTAR system, complete with Pentium II processor, Sony Hyper HAD digital camera, 14 Sony Trinitron monitor, keypad and mouse all loaded in a kiosk on wheels.

Osbourne rolls it out to the driving range, sets up on the tee and aims the camera at me. There’s even a small mike to capture sound; both audio and video are recorded on a VHS tape.

Osbourne brings me over to the kiosk to watch as he uses a drawing tool to create circles around my left foot and my head, and a vertical line up the left side of my body. Now, as my swing runs in slow motion, it’s so easy to really see and understand the few--OK, many--things I do wrong. He then splits the screen and puts up one top pro after another, comparing their swings and stances to mine, until I get a really clear picture of how I’m supposed to do it. Now I can go home and watch it over and over on my VCR.

For information, log on to https://www.astarls.com or call (800) 278-2728, Ext. 130.