Swing Catalyst has enhanced the relationship between golfer and instructor by connecting technologies from three different platforms: Swing Catalyst Online, the Swing Catalyst App and Swing Catalyst video analysis software.

The trio, which the company calls an “ecosystem,” works in conjunction with the Swing Catalyst balance sensor plate, and allows for students and instructors to use Doppler radar launch monitors such as Trackman or Flightscope to further analyze the swing within the software.

The company is innovative in the golf industry because of its interconnectivity, allowing instructors to utilize various technologies using only one program.  The relationship between teacher and student is more efficient than ever because feedback can be immediate, with no restrictions of space or time.

While other companies have video software with analysis capabilities, Swing catalyst consolidates information and data in an interactive way like few others.

The student is able to send their instructor a video of their swing, along with shot specifics such as ball speed, swing speed, spin rates, smash factor, carry distance, etc., and the instructor can provide feedback through Swing Catalyst Online. Even more helpful, the software saves all of the information from every swing in the student’s database, allowing for future reference and comparisons between swings.

In an industry saturated with new instructional technologies, the Swing Catalyst balance plate is yet another innovative product that shows weight distribution throughout the swing. Golfers can use this as a new experience and intriguing look at their movement, while instructors can utilize the information to correct crucial fundamental mistakes at the core of a swing.

“The Swing Catalyst Balance Plate is a highly advanced sensor plate consisting of more than 2,000 high-resolution sensors, specifically designed for swing analysis,” said Tom Christian Lindvag, marketing manager for Swing Catalyst. “Although it has been designed to help golfers improve their game, it is powered by the similar technology being used at advanced hospitals and medical research facilities around the world, where accuracy is a must.”

The balance plate started as an aid for Norwegian olympians competing in ski jump events, and is also used in the medical field, according to Lindvag. The analysis of balance, movement and weight distribution turned out to be quite helpful in the golf swing as well.

At the 2014 PGA Merchandise Show, I had the pleasure of using the technology for the first time. Although the launch monitor software was not hooked up during the last hour of the event when I tested Swing Catalyst, the balance plate was still available.

Having never worked with weight distribution analysis, or ever really thought about it, the feedback from the first swing was eye-opening. My weight, after moving forward during the downswing, shifted back abruptly at impact, and remained on my toes for the majority of my follow through. After a few adjustments my weight remained centered, and I contacted the ball without struggling with a pull-hook for the first time in months.

“The Swing Catalyst Balance Plate has been instrumental in allowing me to look behind the curtain of video, and quantify what is really happening in the golf swing,” says Andrew Rice, director of instruction at Berkeley Hall in Bluffton, S.C. and one of America’s top golf coaches.

The Swing Catalyst balance plate can identify flaws in the golf swing that are not perceivable to the naked eye, even the trained eye of America’s best teachers. Combined with the “ecosystem” from Swing Catalyst, this system can’t help but improve the golf swing.