Gibbons will film
your golf swing
Video analysis at Bigwood
There’s no better way to improve your golf
swing than to study it on video.
That’s what Bill Gibbons of Westwood,
Mass. believes, and he puts his belief into action with his Sports Graphics
International business that creates a video analysis of a golf swing.
Gibbons, 72, a golf instructor for 33
years, is coming to the Sun Valley area next week. He is taking appointments for
video taping sessions, to be held Oct. 6-14 at Bigwood Golf Course north of
Ketchum.
This is the first trip to Sun Valley for
Gibbons, who is interested in helping golfers achieve their full potential using
the latest in technology.
And if you book a session with Gibbons, be
sure to ask him about baseball Hall of Famer Ted Williams. The Splendid Splinter
taught Gibbons how to hit a baseball 56 years ago outside of Boston.
Gibbons applied some of the same
principles of hand-eye coordination to the golf swing.
Williams taught him that the key to a
consistent swing is the moment of set—the split second when the batter or golfer
stops all motion and prepares to belt it. All motion is stopped. The swinger
sees the ball clearly.
The one-on-one sessions that Gibbons has
developed in his work as a golf instructor are designed to point out the
strengths and weaknesses in the golf swings of each person.
Each appointment will take about 45
minutes, Gibbons said Monday from Massachusetts, where he was getting a new
transmission for the van he’ll be driving to Sun Valley.
Once here, he’ll use the van as an editing
studio and then he’ll take off for a five-week stay in the Phoenix, Az. Area.
A golfer will spend the first 15 minutes
preparing his or her swing. The video taping itself takes another 15 minutes.
After watching the swing, Gibbons gives some advice and instruction, which takes
15 minutes.
From the "first generation video tape,"
Gibbons said, he makes a "second generation tape," that becomes a permanent
document for the golfer.
The permanent tape features the latest in
computer analysis along with an overlay of graphics in seven colors plus audio
commentary by Gibbons.
Gibbons said he will attempt to have the
tapes finished for delivery to his Bigwood customers in anywhere from 24 to 48
hours. Cost is $200, which includes the session and tape.
He said, "This is a good time for this.
Before golfers put their swings to bed for the winter, they like to get a
document so they can see ways to improve." While here, Gibbons will visit his
daughter Amy Taylor of Ketchum. She is an inactive golf pro and former U.S. Open
competitor who is the "serious golfer," among the three Gibbons’ children,
although Bill’s two sons also play golf.
Taping sessions will be held Monday
through Wednesday, Oct. 6-8 at Bigwood, and also on Saturday and Sunday, Oct.
11-12. The other days of Gibbons’ weeklong stay will be devoted to making video
tapes, he said.
To sign up for an appointment, call Amy
Taylor at 726-8313 and leave a message.
Although he is currently traveling to
Idaho and Arizona for his instructional clinics, Gibbons is also working on a
yet untitled book about the emerging technology of golf.