LiveView Pro 2 Training Aid Review
Making effective swing changes is difficult, especially in light of the fact that what you think you are doing is often different to what is actually happening. Implementing a new swing plane, arm position or clubface orientation may feel drastically different, but often it is only a minor variance on what you were doing wrongly before.
Mirrors can help, but they’re difficult to set up and position. Recording your swing on your phone is a route many golfers go down, but you can’t view your new swing in real time and it can be a hassle to position. Step up the Live View Pro 2, a training aid which connects feel versus real by effectively live streaming a video of your swing to your smart device. This is a crucial advantage because you’re able to watch your movement while in your golf posture, something golfers often lose when looking in a mirror.
(Image credit: Tom Miles)
This swing mirroring device connects to your phone or iPad using WiFi. Place it wherever you want to view your swing from – down the line at around thigh-height is one of the more popular positions – and you can use the flexible tripod to either rest it on a bag stand on the driving range or attach it to the top of your golf bag. You then place your phone just in front of where you’re hitting from – I suggest propping your phone up on a couple of golf balls so it’s at the right angle and easily visible while swinging.
(Image credit: Tom Miles)
Upgrades from the previous Live View Pro device include a new shape – lighter in weight (less than 4 ounces), more streamlined and phone-like in design. This makes it super portable and the look is certainly more premium. It also records in 720p HD video so it’s supposedly less grainy, 120 fps and audio recording. The Live View Pro also features PURLNK – accelerated video streaming for smoother playback and less frames dropping out when viewing your swing.
I tried it with my iPad first and it was still quite blurry and not overly sharp. Thinking this was because the screen was much bigger, I switched to my iPhone but the problem remained although this could have been partially down to the misty, dim conditions I was testing in. The quality is good enough to see your body and club position, but not to see your club face angle with any certainty. The playback wasn’t jumpy and they appeared quickly after completing the swing, but I’m used to watching videos that are much sharper.
(Image credit: Future)
A cool feature of the Live View Pro 2 is how it uses the audio recording function to pick up the sound of impact and capture recording two seconds before and after. This means you’re not left with unnecessarily long video clips on your phone that take up lots of storage – the clips are much tighter in length. It uses AI to automatically ‘see’ your swing and record it even when you’re not hitting a ball. It can give you template suggestions on things like shaft plane and head position and recognizes different phases of your swing to break up and view parts quickly and easily. You can even draw lines and circles on your recorded swings and then see them live as you swing to make sure you achieve certain positions.
(Image credit: Tom Miles)
There’s no doubt this is an improvement on the Live View Pro in terms of quality and convenience. For golfers who like tinkering with their swing or want to see their movement in real time, it’s a great tool. Coaches will also no doubt use it to show skeptical students what they’re really doing. The app is fun to use and easy to navigate, but the video quality remains a little disappointing. We’re used to seeing crystal clear videos on our phone these days and the Live View Pro 2 still falls well short of this, which will deter some from making the $649 investment.
Be sure to check out the best Black Friday golf deals as we approach Christmas if you’re looking for a new piece of kit at cut prices.