Retest
A retest is a short follow-up protocol attached to each recommendation. It says how to repeat the test, what to compare, and what success looks like, so you can see whether a fix worked.
A retest is the mechanism that closes the loop between a recommendation and a confirmed result. When SwingVantage surfaces a primary recommendation, it also generates a retest protocol. For launch monitor data, the protocol sets a number of shots and the metrics to track. For video, it says how to re-film the same motion and which phases to compare. Both include a success criterion that tells you whether the recommended change achieved the intended effect. The retest is not a general "try it for a while" suggestion. It is a concrete evaluation structure that ends in one plain verdict. Improved: the fault no longer shows up. Some progress: it is moving the right way, but the fault still shows up. No clear change yet: nothing measurable has clearly moved. A retest can also read Regressed, when a solid comparison shows a clear drop, or Inconclusive, when the clips cannot be compared fairly.
Each verdict leads to a next step. After Improved, you lock in your next fix or start a new swing check. After Some progress, you keep going with the same drill. After No clear change yet, you can try a different drill or retest again. Inconclusive asks for a clean retest from the same angle, and Regressed prompts a closer look. Whatever the verdict, the retest produces actionable information rather than leaving you to guess whether the change was effective.
The retest is also the "one retest" in the "one fix, one plan, one retest" commitment. The commitment is a deliberate constraint on how the platform delivers recommendations. Instead of multiple tips at once or an ongoing list of things to improve, you get a single focused change confirmed by a structured test. This constraint reflects a common coaching principle: focused, verified practice on one element tends to beat divided attention across several changes.
Tips by skill level
Follow the retest protocol as written rather than self-evaluating whether the change felt better. Feeling is often misleading after a technique change — what feels different is not always what improved. The retest provides an objective check that either confirms the improvement or shows you more clearly what still needs work.
If a retest keeps showing No clear change yet despite honest effort, try a different drill when the app offers one. If that also stalls, the fault may be right but the fix may not suit your mechanics. That is a good moment to ask a coach to review it.
Example
After a slice diagnosis from launch monitor data, the retest asks for a set number of shots with the same club. It names the face-to-path change that counts as success.
How it shows up on video
A retest session looks exactly like a regular analysis session in video — same setup, same club, same number of swings. What distinguishes it is context. The retest is recorded after a focused drill block that targeted the primary fault identified in the baseline. It is compared explicitly to that baseline in the report.
Common mistakes
- Running the retest immediately after just a few range balls instead of a complete drill block. The retest measures whether the drill produced real change. It needs to come after the full prescribed drill volume.
- Changing conditions between the baseline and retest (different club, different range, different time of day) — uncontrolled variables make the delta uninterpretable.
- Not retesting at all and assuming the drill worked — the retest is the only objective confirmation that the session produced real mechanical change.
- Treating a positive retest delta as permanent confirmation. The post-drill retest confirms the session produced change. A follow-up retest in the next session confirms whether the change was retained.
In SwingVantage Motion Lab
In Motion Lab, the retest protocol tells you how to re-film the same motion and which phases to compare. It also says what success looks like and roughly when to retest. When you film the retest, Motion Lab compares it with your baseline clip. It then gives one plain verdict, such as Improved or No clear change yet.
Frequently asked questions
How many shots does a typical retest require?
It depends on the data. A launch monitor retest names a set number of shots with the same club; for golf faults that is usually 20 to 30. A video retest in Motion Lab asks for a clip of the same motion, filmed the same way as your baseline. If that clip suggests the fault is gone, the app asks for one more clip to confirm.
What if I cannot complete the retest protocol exactly as specified?
Retest with what you can, keeping conditions as close to the baseline as possible. Motion Lab checks whether the two clips can be compared fairly. If the setup differs too much, it marks the change as directional or reads the retest as Inconclusive. A partial retest is more informative than no retest, as long as the comparison stays fair.
Related terms
- Recommendation EngineThe recommendation engine ranks possible fixes by impact and confidence so you get one high-leverage priority fix — not twenty competing tips.
- Confidence ScoreA confidence score rates how much to trust a finding, based on how much good evidence supports it. SwingVantage shows it as a word, such as High, Moderate, or Low, rather than a number.
- Retest DeltaA retest delta is the change from your pre-drill baseline to your post-drill retest, on the metric your fix targeted. It shows if one session moved the needle.
- Progress TrackingProgress tracking is the longitudinal record of how your key metrics change over multiple sessions and retests, displayed as a timeline that shows improvement, plateaus, and regressions.
See it in a real analysis
Try SwingVantage on one of your own swings — free to start.