Putt Zepp In Your Practice Step

ZEPP is a range rat’s dream. It relies on a Bluetooth connection and a cozy relationship with your trusty sticks to get the job done, and what a fine job it is — notching, in real time, truly illuminating details about your swing from club to club. If you didn’t have a clue what your “hand plane” was, or couldn’t successfully gauge your swing speed through the bag without visiting a high-tech pro shop and getting hooked up to a state-of-the-art machine, you will now. Every move is captured by a nifty little motion sensor that hooks onto your glove’s Velcro strap and offers decent power efficiency between USB charges. Sure, you can just stick the free app on your iPhone and still enjoy access to a myriad of swing tip videos, record your own move and even compare it to Tour players like Michelle Wie, Keegan Bradley and Brendan Steele. But drop an extra $150 on the sensor and Zepp really comes alive as a full-fledged digital teacher. It takes just a few minutes to set up an account online, go through the bag and match up your clubs with Zepp’s database (or go generic if your model isn’t there). Our first practice tee session with a new iPhone 6S on board was a revelation — open the app, set the device in a safe spot next to the ball-feeder or tee marker, and start swinging. Remember to choose the proper corresponding club on the app as you work through the bag and you’ll get accurate figures on tempo (shown as a backswing-to-forward swing ratio), backswing position (in degrees), club and hand plane comparison and clubhead speeds for driver, fairway woods, hybrids, irons and wedges. The app’s Lab Reports and Insights sections offer side-by-side comparison of all the numbers. Then record your swing in 3D and seeing how the feedback and practice are working for you. Nothing beats the well-informed eye of a living, breathing swing coach to get a bead on your current faults, but Zepp is an amazing, intuitive and fun-to-use tool.

$149.99 (app is free) www.zepp.com/en-us/golf/