iPing Review - Early thoughts

[Outcast]

Okay, as asked by one or two individuals, here is my first review on iPiing after one whole week of ownership:

I bought the iPing cradle coz I'm not very handy and despite the ease of the cradle described on Ozgolf I thought it beyond my limited ability....

The program, being a typical Australian male, I played with it first, then read the various help menus; To be honest whilst the help menus do explain the numbers the program gives you, to my mind it didn't really explain what the gadget was trying to do for me...

After some mucking around, try it out with a number of putters, get some numbers (it measures putting stroke arc, face angle at impact incl open or closed, and tempo between the back stroke and forward stroke) and a bit of a sit down an think about it, read the menus again, read the stats from the Ping Staff Pro's which are included and are dynamic (I believe) this is what I think iPing has done for me so far and will possibly do for me in the future.

Firstly, it is an analysis tool, it does not fix your problems, it simply helps you to quantify them in the three figures mentioned above. What it then does is provide you with a 'putting handicap' obviously the lower the better and a consistency score, where I think a higher number is better...

From this you then need to look at the bigger picture: don't get hungup on individual numbers it is the consistency issue that is the major factor and in my case, looking at the numbers, I am anything but, consistent which probably explains why I am a crap putter... My face angle at impact varies between about 3.5* open and 3.5* closed and all points in between. My putting arc (I have a strong arc and have always known that) varies between 8* and 15* and every digit inbetween (which probably also helps explain the wide range in impact angles). The one thing that is consistent is my tempo between about 1.7 to 1 and 1.8 to 1 which from the comparison data I read is pretty good and at least this has some consistency.

So, what now... well I need to figure out how to improve the consistency of my putting arc and also my face impact angle that would be that whole repeatable swing (in this case putting stroke) of which we all talk about so often. My challenge now is to figure out what to work on first and how to work on it..

I think the first thing I need to work on is my putting arc and get that consistent; I am now looking at various putting aids that might assist me in achieving that...

I'm also going to go through my collection of putters and do analysis with the iPing to see if any particular putter helps me find a little more consistency. So far three out of the six or so putters I own are consistent in my inconsistent results

So is iPing useful; well at this stage I think so but, only as an analysis tool to see what some of the problems might be and then as an analysis tool to monitor any work I do to improve my putting stroke. It is not a cure to poor putting; it simply helps to break down some of the issues and allow you to analyse what parts of your putting need work/help..

Have I got this right, well actually I don't really know and if you have an opinion on whether or not I have, please, please I implore you, share it with me and the rest of the forum coz if I have the wrong end of the analysis stick here then what I am planning to do next is pointless.

If anyone has any advice on putting aids to allow me to train a repeatable arc putting stroke (and I know there are many, many devices out there) please share it. Please understand I don't want to attain a straight back and thru putting stroke, or necessarily a shallow arc, or an excessively strong arc - I just want a consistent arc that is repeatable, then I can re-analyse face impact angles and see what I can do to improve that if necessary.

Cheers for now, I'll post more as I analyse other putters in my inventory and work on fixing the problems I think iPing has allowed me to identify. Hopefully future posts might not be quite so long winded

[TheTrueReview]

Your post is timely OC. I was wondering about an Ozgolfer's impression of the iPing. Well done.

[Outcast]

TTR,

thankyou but, have I got it right in my thoughts on what iPing is actually designed to do for you?? I ask this in all honesty as I am not a professional, just a bit of a hack really and I want to be sure that I am reaching the right conclusions with this tool and then heading down the right path to fixing my problems from sound analysis not just wild guesses or poor interpretation of data

[Chris32]

I saw the new ping putters are labelled to suit what type of arc / stroke you have according to iping, clever bit of marketing!

[Outcast]

Yep, I agree; and really who can blame them...

However, the info and advice the app gives you doesn't actually advocate a particular Ping putter, it simply describes the type of putter that best suits your stroke ie: Face balanced, toe down... This is stuff you can find out by other means if you know what type of putting stroke you have.

I have always known I have a strong arc (just not how much or one or how incosnsitent it is) and that toe down putters suit that stroke. I own about 6 toe down putters oh, and one face balanced coz I like the putter... Trouble is I am consistently inconsistent with the three of them I have tried out with iPing so far...

[TheTrueReview]

This is what MyGolfSpy says about the iPing (http://www.mygolfspy.com/iping-putter-app-review/).

http://www.mygolfspy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/iping-ping-putter-app-81.jpg
http://www.mygolfspy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/iping-ping-putter-app-18.jpg


"No…it’s not the first training aid built to measure your putting stroke and give you feedback regarding your stroke type, impact angle and tempo. But it is the first to measure your stroke on a smartphone, it is also the first to do so for free. And out of all the other devices I spoke about which I have tried it is also by far the most user-friendly and by leaps and bounds the most accessible.

... Improving your putting is all about consistency and this app WILL help you with that."

[Outcast]

Okay, so that suggests to me that my thoughts are heading in exactly the right direction about what iPing is designed to do for me (and the average punter)... Do you think I am on the right path in terms of trying to fix the putter stroke path as the first point in improving my consistency?

[Dazza]

Apple only I'm assuming?

[Outcast]

Oh and something I did forget in my review; the iPing cradle does not like any protective adhesive bits that you might have on your phone... I have some stuff (forget its name) that fits front, back and sides

It has made for an extremely tight fit in the cradle; today I stripped off the side protection stuff (which I didn't really want to do) and to be honest, it made naff all difference to the fit. This makes it a bit of a struggle to easily fit the phone into the cradle, means you have to extremely careful to then ensure the phone is sitting properly in the cradle (otherwise I think it will throw the figures out) and most frustratingly, it makes it very difficult to get the phone out of the cradle... I am debating removing the protective stuff but, for obvious reasons, I don't really want to do this for just one app and cradle

So far, this would be my only criticism... although in context, I guess they designed the cradle for the iPhone, not an iPhone with any number of brands of protective stick on stuff

[Outcast]

Apple only I'm assuming?

I guess so, haven't really looked at any others since I own an iPhone and therefore not an issue for me

[Dazza]

I guess so, haven't really looked at any others since I own an iPhone and therefore not an issue for me

Couldn't find anything on Android market, so I guess it is.

[reg]

There might not yet be an android based phone that has the hardware the iphone has, accelerometer etc.

+1 on the craddle not liking protective screens, very stubborn to fit, does fit easier without a protective screen on.

I think its great, it's not as advanced as a SAM puttlab, but it covers the 3 main aspects of putting, tempo, face angle and stroke path. It's also a lot cheaper, cheaper than a lesson too, but that's if you know what you are doing and can self diagnose your issues.

Definately worth buying.

[TheTrueReview]

Just thought I'd bump this thread a little.

Of those who bought the iPing, who are still using it?

Effect on your putting overall?

[IanO]

I won an iPing cradle in a raffle the other day and have tried it out. Outcast is right in that it doesn't fix anything for you. I found that i am pretty consistent in my putting stroke (according to the iPing) My issues are more to do with distance control (which has gotten way better over the past few months) and reading the green (this is also getting better but I lip out a lot of puts from the 8-10' range)

I like the iPing simply because it lets me monitor whether or not my stroke is staying consistent.

[Outcast]

I haven't used it in a while & despite my best intentions have not used it as planned. With a few home reno's going on, garden reshaping & a wife just out of hospital I simply haven't had the time or space to set up the putting mat & get down to business.

Unlike Ian, my distance control is generally pretty good & I'm happy with my green reading generally. My issue seems to be consistency of stroke which seemed to be confirmed with my early results with iPing. I just need to figure out how to fix that, find the time & space then use the iPing to monitor any results. Perhaps a new years resolution forming??

[LeftyHoges]

This may sound arrogant but I believe myself to be a pretty damn good putter. I don't drop the 30 foot bombs that some can but I'm consistent within 10 feet and rarely 3 putt (although I did have 3 X 3-putts in my 28 putts on Saturday, but that was another issue).

And this app confirms my belief. :mrgreen:

I average 4.1 degrees of stroke arc, 1.1 degrees open face at impact & 1.6 stroke tempo for a +2.6 h'cap.

So for me, this app actually does what I think it should. And as other people have said its not going to improve your amount of holed putts, its just going to improve the consistency of your stroke (which obviously SHOULD lead to more holed putts).

* Just on the stroke arc measure, please note that this is not necesarily the arc of your stroke, but also the rotation of the putter face during your stroke. Obviously stroke arc is inter-related with the opening and closing of the face but if you really wanted to you should be able to produce an over-exagerated arc and the app would still read that your arc was relatively straight if you maintained a straight putter face angle throughout.

[matty]

I used to putt pretty badly but since getting the app I've improved out of sight. I've gone from an average of 3 degrees closed to 1.5 degree closed. Putting hcap down to +1.6, arc around 5ish, tempo 1.6. I tried an interesting experiment the other night. Putted 60 balls. 20 looking at ball, 20 looking at target, 20 with eyes closed. Looking at ball was an average of 1.5degree closed, looking at target was .8degree closed, eyes closed .5 degree closed on average. It's made me aware that I have been pre-empting the strike. I'm concentrating on swinging through the ball as if it's not there. For me, this app has helped my putting.

[TheTrueReview]

Given that the cradle has been for sale for a while, has anyone sourced a place that has the 'best price' on them?