André Rennes

1 Executive summary

2 Ball flight — range screen

Metric	André (Oct 28)	Report #1 (Oct 28)	LPGA Tour avg	PGA Tour avg
Ball speed	92.2 mph	92.2 mph	93 mph	109 mph
Club speed (est.)	~66–67 mph	~66–67 mph	72 mph	85 mph
Carry	116 yds	116 yds	119 yds	148 yds
Flat carry	115 yds	115 yds	—	—
Total	117 yds	117 yds	—	—
Launch angle	27°	27°	23.9°	20.4°
Spin	—	—	7589 rpm	8647 rpm
Apex	78 ft (26 yds)	78 ft	26 yds	30 yds
Landing angle	47°	47°	47°	51°
Curve	6 ft left	6 ft left	—	—
Hang time	5.2 s	5.2 s	—	—
Proximity	73 ft	73 ft	—	—

No ★ this time: every ball number equals report #1, so nothing beats it. Club speed and spin aren't on the screen. Club speed is estimated from ball speed at a typical iron smash of ~1.38–1.40, which gives about 66–67 mph (LPGA average 72). The screen also shows target markers at 102 and 129 yds. The ball could not be tracked in the video: at 30 frames per second it is gone between two frames after impact. Slow-motion (120 or 240 fps) would let the start direction be measured.

What it means: The flight is almost a copy of the LPGA 9-iron: same apex, same landing angle, ball speed within 1 mph. A launch about 3° above the LPGA average, with the same apex, fits a swing with a bit less speed than the average. The 3-yard carry gap to the LPGA average is small. More ball speed is the long-term way to close the gap to the PGA Tour carry (148), and a steadier head height is the way to make every strike repeat.

3 Timing & tempo — measured from the video

30 frames per second, so each time is accurate to about ±0.03 s. The backswing starts at frame 214 (first clear hand movement), the top is at frame 232 (33.23 s) and impact is at frame 238 (33.43 s).

Tour figure: John Novosel, Tour Tempo. One frame either way moves the ratio between ~2.6:1 and ~3.6:1. The 6.2:1 in report #1 used a much longer backswing window (1.23 s). This report times the backswing from the first clear hand movement, so most of the difference is how the start is defined, not a new swing.

What it means: A 0.60 s backswing and a 0.20 s downswing is a smooth, well-paced 9-iron, in the 'Good' band (2.5–3.5:1) and in line with his PW (2.7:1) from the same session. The downswing is quick but not rushed, and the same count can be kept in the other irons.

4 The reference frame — how this swing was measured

• Grid and scale: each square is about 5 inches (about 91 px). It is scaled from his body size (his height was not given and the mat's near edge is cut off), at 18.21 px per inch, so treat distances as ±1 inch.
• Center lines: a vertical line through the center of his stance (feet) and a horizontal line through the ball line. The gold center lines and the bronze corner diagonals all cross at the belt buckle at address, a fixed scaffold for balance and height.
• Depth rays: the mat edges extended to the horizon. Only one stick lies on the target line, so a vanishing point from the sticks can't be computed. Movement along the rays is toward the target, not sideways. The second red stick, almost level across the mat, marks ball position.
• Address references: the white line is the top of the cap (head height) and the orange dashed line is waist height. Dashed light-blue lines mark shoulder and knee height. The dashed red tush line is the back of the hips at address, so any move of the hips past it shows early extension.
• Trails and tracking: the red trail is the head path and the yellow trail is the hands' path. Body points were tracked automatically on 300 frames (from 25.5 s), then checked by eye at each key position. Shoulder and hip turn are visual estimates (±10–15°).
• Camera: it stayed still. The background moved less than 0.3 px (median), so no correction was needed.

5 Swing sequence

Nine key positions, filmed down-the-line from behind the hands. The target is straight into the picture. Times: address 32.57 s (frame 212), takeaway 32.90 s (222), lead arm parallel 32.97 s (224), top 33.23 s (232), arm parallel down 33.33 s (235), delivery 33.40 s (237), impact 33.43 s (238), release 33.53 s (241), finish 34.43 s (268).

Photos are numbered in the order they happen in the swing. The frames follow the standard swing positions.

6 Position-by-position biomechanics

Photo 1 — Address Good

• Tall, relaxed set-up: knees flexed, arms hanging, hands just ahead of the ball.
• Back of the hips sits on the dashed red tush line, the starting reference for the hips.

Photo 2 — Takeaway Head sinks

• One-piece start: hands and club leave together (hands about 4.5 in from their address spot).
• The head is already about 5.2 in lower and ~2.2 in toward the ball. The dip is mostly done before the club has gone far.

Photo 3 — Lead arm parallel Good width

• Wide arc, with the hands about 14 in from address.
• Hips drift only about 1 in away from the ball and rise about 1 in. The base stays steady.

Photo 4 — Top Full turn

• Shoulders turned about 85° and hips about 40°, so the X-factor is about 45° (estimates, ±10–15°).
• Head about 3.8 in lower than address, so it came back up ~1.7 in from the takeaway. Hips ~0.7 in away from the ball, so they turn and do not slide in.
• The hands leave the frame at the top, so the top frame was set at the last frame before the hands reverse.

Photo 5 — Arm parallel (down) Good

• Lower body leads the downswing: hips ~0.3 in from their address depth.
• The hands drop inside the line they went up on (yellow trail), about 22 in from address.

Photo 6 — Delivery Solid

• Club on a low, in-front path and the hands within ~2.2 in of their address spot.
• Hips are about 0.4 in toward the ball and have risen ~1.9 in. The rise starts here.

Photo 7 — Impact Watch the head

• Head ~5.5 in lower than address (Fix) and ~3.0 in toward the ball (Watch).
• Hips hold their depth (~0.1 in away from the ball) and the rear of the hips is ~0.2 in from the tush line (Good). They rise ~1.9 in (Watch).
• Hands are ~2.0 in from the address spot (Watch). Hips are about 30° open ahead of nearly square shoulders (about 10° open), a good sequence.

Photo 8 — Release Extending

• Both arms extend down the line and the chest keeps turning, with the hands ~12 in from address.
• Head stays down at ~6.2 in below address, the lowest point of the swing, instead of lifting out early.

Photo 9 — Finish Excellent

• Tall and balanced on the lead leg, trail foot up on its toe, belt buckle to the target.
• Head about 5 in higher than at address, so he stood fully up, and the finish was held.

Overlay — head at address, top and impact

Depth note: with only one stick on the target line, no vanishing point can be computed, and the mat-edge depth rays are only a rough guide. From behind, the head's ~3 in shift toward the ball is a mix of 'toward the ball' and 'toward the target', and one camera can't split the two. A face-on clip of the next swing will settle it (see Limitations).

7 Where the 9-iron sits in the bag

Heads-up: the 9-iron carried only 3 yards more than the pitching wedge (116 vs 113) and finished just 2 yards farther in total (117 vs 115), with 3 mph more ball speed. Neighbouring clubs usually sit about 10 yards apart, so the pitching wedge swing, or this 9-iron, may have been a little off its normal. A few more balls with each will show the real gap. The 8-iron has no report yet and sits in the 30-yard hole between the 7-iron (147) and the 9-iron (117).

8 Diagnosis

9 Next steps — keep it simple

10 Limitations & next capture

• One swing is a snapshot. The ball readout matches the screen shown right after this swing, and the numbers are identical to report #1, so this report re-examines the same shot rather than adding a new one.
• Spin and club speed aren't on the screen, so club speed is estimated from ball speed (smash ~1.38–1.40).
• The ball couldn't be tracked from the video at 30 frames per second, so no start direction is measured.
• Distances come from a grid scaled to his body in the frame (his real height is not given and the mat's near edge is cut off). Shoulder and hip turn are visual estimates (±10–15°).
• With one stick on the target line there is no vanishing point, and from behind depth mixes with sideways motion.

Next capture: Next capture, to sharpen the reference frame: (1) the same down-the-line spot with two sticks on the target line so a vanishing point can be computed, (2) a face-on clip at chest height, (3) the whole mat in the frame, (4) slow-motion (120 or 240 fps) so the ball can be tracked, (5) 3–5 balls for an average, and (6) André's height, to lock the grid scale.