SmartSwing vs. iClub
Hey Jono,
Both systems have pluses and minuses. Both seem accurate (although the iClub is still pretty new to me) and both are very good swing to swing diagnostic tools. That said, I'd wait for the next generation if I were you.
More detail if you're interested:
Smartswing: The Smartswing design is better in that the electronics reside inside the grip of the club. The electronics can track and save a lot of swings, either on the range or on the course. You then download them to a PC for review and analysis.
SmartSwing was also great for reporting swing speed at each point in the swing. Very useful at showing you if max speed was prior to impact. (SmartSwing was great at showing how most people do not accelerate all the way to impact on many of their swings.)
Seemed to be pretty accurate at estimating distance your shots went too.
I liked the way they reported swing plane and path at various points and gave you Shaft angle at address and impact.
SmartSwing Limitations:
- No club face angle, as you mentioned. (the company told me this was possible, but was a very complicated piece of software to write --- lots of assumptions needed around setup geometry and frame of reference used to calculate relative motion.)
- SmartSwing clubs had a high failure rate --- sensitive electronics in a relatively harsh environment. I think the company underestimated warranty service costs and went belly up as a result. I had mine fixed about 5 months after I got it. After 2 years, it has stopped working again.
- SmartSwing could only be used on one club. (not interchangeable).
- SmartSwing also didn't report post-impact swing path. I do NOT believe the MEMS chips they used were capable of dealing with the extreme deceleration that occurs right at impact. iClub seems able to do this.
- You HAD to hit a ball to get Smartswing to record the swing. iClub will record practice swings.
iClub Notes - The software seems to only report one swing speed per swing (max or impact, I'm not sure yet). If it's max speed, it doesn't tell you where in the swing it happens.
Can be moved from club to club, but sticks out from the butt of your club and gets in the way of your lead hand grip. This will bother some people a lot, others not at all. It bugs me.
You MUST have a PC running nearby to wirelessly capture EACH SWING. So to use iClub on the course, you have to have a laptop computer along in your cart. Smartswing recorded all swings internally in the club for download later, which was better.
iClub software graphics are better than Smartswing, but you can't get to a lot of the info about the swing that I know is there (e.g. speed at each point in swing). Better software could do this.
It's also not totally clear to me what assumptions about address position the iClub is making. I generally use a forward press when I set up, and the start of the swing graphics don't show this position at rest.
It is nice that the iClub can be moved from club to club. However, the system to attach the iClub to your grip may not work with some grips.
Tracking putter swings with iClub seems to be very good, however I've only experimented briefly so far with this. Grip attachment issues could be a big problem for some putters.
IDEAL World: One of these outfits should make a system that resides inside the club grip and can be moved from club to club, and that stores 150 swings or so.
