Feel vs. Real: Why Watching Your Golf Swing Is the Only Way to Improve

One of the most humbling moments in golf is watching your own swing on video for the first time. Sometimes not even for the first time, but after it’s been a while since your last check-up. 

It’s the moment you realize that what you thought you were doing, the move you’ve pictured in your head, rehearsed in the mirror, and felt on the range, isn’t quite what you thought. At least it doesn’t look like it feels. 

Most golfers convince themselves that their swing “feels good,” and for years, that’s enough. But golf is full of illusions. A swing that feels powerful can still be slow. A swing that feels like you’re hitting a draw can still be steep and over the top. Perception in golf rarely matches reality.

Seeing yourself swing, and truly seeing it, is the only way to bridge that gap.

Why Feel Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story

Golf has a way of convincing you you’re doing everything right. In the middle of a swing, there’s no time to process what’s actually happening; all you have is the feeling, and that feeling can be misleading. (And as we know best, it can all go south in the golf swing in a millisecond…)

That’s why coaches talk about “feel versus real.” The two are rarely the same. The only way to see your swing for what it actually is and start improving it is to watch it back and face what’s really there.

This video explains this perfectly…



(LINK: Feel vs Real! | This Is How You Make Swing Changes!)

When You Start Consistently Filming Your Swing

Spend a few minutes on the range at a PGA Tour event and you’ll notice something right away. Almost every player has a phone or a camera set up behind them. Rory McIlroy. Bryson DeChambeau. Justin Thomas. They all do it.

They don’t film their swings because they’re struggling. They film because it’s the only way to know, with certainty, what’s really happening. Even at the highest level, feel and reality don’t always match up.

For everyday players, building the habit of consistently filming your swing is one of the fastest ways to improve. You start spotting patterns sooner. You notice the little things that slip over time… Alignment, posture, grip, all before they turn into bigger problems. The best part is that you gain confidence knowing your practice is actually moving you in the right direction.

What to Film, and How to Do It Right

If you want to get the most out of your practice sessions, start by filming from the right angles:

Set up face-on to check your setup, weight shift, and impact. Move the camera down the line to see your swing path and plane. Don’t forget your short game, either — filming chips, pitches, and bunker shots can reveal the subtle mistakes that cost you strokes! The most underrated thing to film as well? Your putting stroke. This is SURELY worth a closer look, especially when it comes to alignment and rhythm.

And don’t make it harder than it needs to be. Propping your phone against a bag or balancing it on a range bucket only leads to frustration and bad angles. We’ve all been there. That’s why the STRIVON POD was created, the #1 tri-pod for golf swings!

A stable, golf-specific tripod keeps your phone steady, properly framed, and out of the way. It makes filming simple and effortless, so you can focus on what really matters and making progress.

Why It Matters

Your swing probably doesn’t look the way it feels right now, and that’s okay. That’s how progress starts. The sooner you start watching yourself, the sooner you can focus on what really matters!