If you’re not bothered by wearing a watch on the course, you can wear the deWiz Golf device and get a round’s worth of feedback on your swing.
Courtesy of deWiz Golf
Ever been on a mundane car ride and the check engine light flashes? Questions suddenly permeate the mind, naturally focused more on the symptom than the diagnosis.
Of course, treating the symptom and not the cause only leads to frustration. It’s a fitting metaphor for the value the new deWiz Golf training aid brings, because it’s all about diagnosing and correcting swing issues.
The comprehensive swing analysis tool provides verisimilar data points backed up by every recorded swing. Simulators and launch monitors may track impact and flight patterns, but deWiz gets inside mechanics to illustrate where a swing may have gone awry—all through a wearable tech device resembling a watch that feeds data points to a complementary app.
“What we’re doing is helping golfers hit longer, straighter and closer,” said Markus Westerberg, co-founder and chief technology officer. “And to hit longer, we help them with the backswing and/or make the whole swing faster. We have a lot of tempo numbers and measure the start-to-impact time.”
When tuned into the app, an avatar swings in a templated area and mirrors each one taken by the user. It tracks the position and direction of the hands as they pass through a trace line, helping the golfer identify movement and irregularities that lead to unwanted shots.
The deWiz watch-like device feeds data to an app.
Courtesy of deWiz Golf
A compelling aspect lies in its “Learning Stimuli” feature. When a shot is off, the golfer receives real-time, haptic feedback that provides an electric pulsation via the device. The user also has the option of using instant audio feedback.
In terms of analytics, deWiz measures 11 swing data points on each swing. Golfers can review transition, backswing length and plane, maximum backswing width, maximum hand speed and five tempo measurements. Advanced metrics are available to teaching professionals and an elite players program.
It’s all heady stuff.
No surprise there since Westerberg is also a certified Swedish PGA instructor and former European Tour pro.
The product was borne out of coaching sessions with deWiz co-founder Christian Bergh, who had trouble correcting a slice. The teaching sessions within Westerberg’s studio were productive, but whenever Bergh tried translating the lessons to the course the slice continued rearing its ugly head.
Bergh suggested developing an apparatus that would pulse shock him each time he went over the top on his swing. The two toiled on a device and eventually met a Swedish neuroscience professor, who relayed they were on the right track—except rewriting the brain didn’t need to be painful. The brain would learn faster with instant reminders, leading to the Learning Stimuli feature created on motor learning science.
After devoting more than 50,000 hours to testing, developing proper algorithms and data points, deWiz launched a prototype in 2018.
“We were fumbling around in the dark, but we came out into the light,” Westerberg said.
Markus Westerberg is deWiz Golf’s co-founder.
Courtesy of deWiz Golf
Sharing the same coach as Westerberg at the time, three-time major champion Vijay Singh came on board early as an ambassador. Subsequently, the deWiz global ambassador roster has grown to include Bryson DeChambeau, Lanto Griffin, Yuka Saso, Annika Sorenstam and Henrik Stenson, among others.
Singh helped carve the device’s path, albeit unknowingly. A week after he received the prototype, Singh called Westerberg and said his app was broken.
The deWiz developers thought so too after seeing 7,000 swings, thinking it wasn’t possible. Singh, a notorious workhorse, indeed took the swings, yet Westerberg soon discovered the data needed to integrate with the cloud because of having so many swings.
Incidentally, last weekend Singh wore a prototype competition gadget in all three rounds at the PGA Tour Constellation Furyk and Friends.
“We’re doing this to help everyone get better, and we want to see what players can do in tournament play to see how they really swing under pressure,” said Westerberg.
The device received USGA approval for competition. However, it must go into “stealth mode” where the app goes black and feedback is disabled.
A preliminary analysis report by deWiz showed how Singh’s swing was faster, shorter, and less over the top during the tournament compared to his range session prior to a round. Looking ahead, this week Notah Begay will wear the tool at the PGA Tour Champions’ SAS Championship.
“To our knowledge, this is the first time a player has gotten comprehensive and exact swing data collected from a global professional tournament with the ease of a wearable technology,” said Laszlo Varga, CEO, deWiz Golf. “To call this a groundbreaking event for swing analysis may prove to be an understatement, as now golfers like Vijay and Notah, who are using deWiz, will not have to rely on guesswork or feel to understand precisely what happens within their swing during competition. “
For consumers interested in the product, the wearable tech device sells for $699 through the company’s website. The app is free for Android and iOS users.
Westerberg said he hopes it becomes a core product as “a household name in the golf community and be a part of as many golfers’ setup as possible, while helping golfers play better and see how fantastic they can be.”
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