Swing Decode
Swing Decode is SwingVantage's golf analysis view. It splits the swing into phases, from address to follow-through, and notes the mechanics detected in each.
The AI Swing Report gives a holistic picture. Swing Decode is a deeper, phase-by-phase breakdown designed for golfers who want to understand exactly what is happening at each position. It segments the swing into standard checkpoints: address, takeaway, top, downswing, impact, and follow-through. It displays the skeleton overlay at each position. It also calls out specific fault patterns, like a flat takeaway or an early extension through impact, with their evidence labels. Swing Decode is golf-only. Baseball and softball use the Motion Decode view, and tennis, pickleball, and padel use the Racquet Decode view within Motion Lab.
Start with the "Impact" phase card. It is the most diagnostically important position in the swing and the one most likely to show your primary fault clearly. Understand impact before working through the other phases.
Use Swing Decode to compare the "Transition" phase card across multiple sessions chronologically. Transition is where most sequencing faults originate, and the phase-by-phase format makes it easier to spot micro-changes between sessions than reviewing continuous full swings.
Example
In Swing Decode, the "Impact" phase card shows the face angle, path, and hip position at the precise contact frame, labeled as estimated from video.
How it shows up on video
Swing Decode shows the skeleton overlay isolated at each phase position — compare the "Top" position skeleton to standard reference positions in coaching materials. The phase-by-phase view makes positional faults much easier to see than watching continuous full-speed playback.
Common mistakes
- Reviewing all six phase cards in Swing Decode with equal attention instead of focusing on the phase most relevant to the diagnosed primary fault.
- Treating phase cards as absolute position requirements rather than as reference checkpoints with normal ranges of acceptable variation.
- Not using the timeline link in each phase card to see the full context around that position. The phase card shows one frame. The timeline shows how you got there.
- Using Swing Decode for non-golf sports — Swing Decode is golf-only; tennis, baseball, and other sports use their own phase breakdowns within Motion Lab.
In SwingVantage Motion Lab
Swing Decode is accessible directly from the Motion Lab interface after any golf session analysis. Each phase card links back to the specific frame in the timeline where that position was identified. This allows you to cross-reference the 3D avatar with the original video at any checkpoint.
Related terms
- Motion LabMotion Lab is SwingVantage's in-browser 3D motion analysis tool. It turns your video into a 3D avatar and timeline you can rotate, scrub, and measure.
- AI Swing ReportThe AI Swing Report is the comprehensive analysis document SwingVantage generates after processing your video, combining the deterministic engine's findings with optional AI-enhanced commentary into a single, prioritized report.
- Pose EstimationPose estimation is the computer-vision process that detects the positions of major body joints (keypoints) in each video frame. This produces the skeleton that SwingVantage uses to measure angles and movement patterns.
- Skeleton OverlayA skeleton overlay draws your detected body joints, and the lines connecting them, over your video. It shows exactly what the system tracked.
Put this into your swing
SwingVantage can spot this in your own swing — free to start.