Take your Golf Game to the Next Level with the Flightscope Trainer at Vista Mar
Are you an intermediate to advanced golfer? Flightscope, a Golf Launch Monitor, can help improve your golf game. Flightscope is a golf swing analyzer and is the most advanced teaching aid and club-fitting tool on the market. For the past year, golfers at Vista Mar Golf Resort, located in San Carlos, have had the opportunity take their golf game to the next level using Flightscope. This month at Vista Mar Golf Club a Flightscope analysis is included free with any golf lesson. To learn more about the Flightscope, Playacommunity set out to meet Juan Carlos Patiño, the golf director at Vista Mar. Juan Carlos is the only Flightscope-trained instructor in Panama, and one of three in all of Central and South America. He spoke with us about the benefits of using a tool like Flightscope for choosing the right clubs, and improving a player’s swing.
Patiño explained there are two ways Flightscope can improve one’s golf game. One is by using it in a lesson, making small adjustments to the player’s stance, swing and the way they strike the ball. The other is as a fitting tool; changing the equipment, shaft and/or club head, the player is using.
Juan Carlos told us, “Using the Flightscope during lessons removes the guesswork, replacing it with measurable data”. The data relayed incorporates twenty-four different variables, which are analyzed by Juan Carlos. With this data, the instructor can make adjustments in a player’s approach.
Accurate calculations of distance, ball spin rate, the angle of attack and club head speed offer a clearer picture of what is happening when a player strikes the ball. The Flightscope wirelessly connects to an IPad and provides this data in real time. Which, naturally, makes it easy for Juan Carlos to relay his advice to the player based on the data he receives.
Vista Mar Golf Club partners with Ping, Callaway and Titleist golf to take advantage of the Flightscope as a fitting tool for clubs. The accuracy of the data provided over many strokes at the driving range gives Juan Carlos the ability to fit a player to the right style and weight clubs.
In a fitting, golfers are exposed to over 200 different club head and shaft combinations. Juan Carlos begins the fitting by analyzing the player’s ability with his or her own clubs. Through a series of small tweaks, for example changing the firmness of the club shaft, or altering the weight/angle of the club head, the distance of a player’s drive could increase substantially.
Flightscope has changed the game for many professional golfers when it comes to how they train and practice. Patiño told us that golf professionals are now focusing on how the swing feels, when their Flightscope results are favorable, as apposed to focusing on how their swing looks in videos. Flightscope is also changing things for golf coaches. With so much measurable data available, lessons can now be taught over the phone. Finally avid golfers and tour professionals are using Flightscope for personal practice. With a user-friendly interface, Flightscope brings accuracy and technology to the player’s fingertips.
To try the Flightscope in a lesson or fitting contact the Vista Mar Golf Club at
