Wearable Sensor (Golf)

Wearable golf sensors are small devices attached directly to the golfer or their equipment. They are commonly worn on a glove, fitted under the grip, or clipped to a belt. They use internal motion sensors, similar to what a smartphone uses to detect orientation and movement. They measure swing characteristics like tempo, swing plane, and clubhead speed directly from the device's own motion through the swing. They do not analyze a video image afterward.

Wearable sensors measure motion directly rather than inferring position from a camera image. As a result, they can be less affected by the lighting, camera angle, and framing issues that limit video-based pose estimation. The tradeoff is that they usually report a narrower set of specific numeric metrics rather than a full visual reconstruction of body position. They also require purchasing and correctly attaching a physical device before every session, rather than simply pointing a phone camera.

Wearable sensors and video-based analysis are complementary approaches to the same underlying goal: quantifying the swing. Some golfers use both together, cross-checking a sensor's tempo reading against what a video overlay actually shows.