Frame Rate (Video Capture)

Standard smartphone video typically records at 30 or 60 frames per second, meaning the camera captures a new image every 33 or 17 milliseconds. A full golf swing takes roughly one second from takeaway to impact, and the clubhead is moving fastest of all right around impact — fast enough that even at 240 frames per second, the club can travel a meaningful distance between two consecutive frames.

This matters directly for swing analysis: a lower frame rate means the actual moment of impact might fall between two captured frames rather than landing squarely on one, which limits how precisely position, timing, or tempo-ratio calculations can be pinned down. Many modern smartphones support a slow-motion mode (commonly 120 or 240 fps) specifically because it gives analysis software far more temporal resolution to work with around the fastest parts of the swing.

Frame rate is one of the most controllable variables in getting good swing analysis feedback — unlike lighting or camera angle, which may be constrained by where a golfer is practicing, switching a phone to its slow-motion recording mode before filming is a simple, free way to improve analysis reliability.