André Rennes — 7-Iron · Full Swing Analysis

1 Executive summary

Bottom line: a very good 7-iron. 147 yards total, 144 carry, and a curve of 0 feet: the straightest shot in André's whole logbook. Ball speed was 104 mph, exactly the LPGA Tour 7-iron average, and the carry beats that average by 3 yards. The set-up station (feet stick, target-line stick, ball-position stick and towel) did its job.

What's left is the same pattern as his other irons: the launch is high (22° vs a 15–18° window), the head drops about 5 inches by impact, and the tempo is about 2:1. One more finding: this 7-iron flew almost as far as his 6-iron (149 total), so the gap between the two clubs is only 2 yards.

Strength

Dead straight

0 ft curve, 47 ft from the target, with a full, balanced finish.

Priority 1

Stay tall

Keep the head at its address height through impact. It's also the key to a lower launch.

Priority 2

Flight it down

Hands ahead at impact, aiming for an 18–19° launch and more carry.

2 Ball flight — range screen

Metric	André	LPGA Tour avg	PGA Tour avg
Ball speed	104 mph	104 mph	120 mph
Carry	144 yds	141 yds	172 yds
Total	147 yds	—	—
Launch angle	22°	19°	16.3°
Apex	83 ft (28 yds)	29 yds	32 yds
Landing angle	44°	46°	50°
Curve	0 ft	—	—
Hang time	5.5 s	—	—
Proximity	47 ft	—	—

Flat carry (elevation-adjusted) showed 143 yds. Club speed isn't on the screen; at a typical 7-iron smash of ~1.33–1.37, 104 mph ball speed means about 76–78 mph of club speed, right at the LPGA average (76 mph).

What it means: his ball speed and carry already match a tour-level women's 7-iron. The ball comes out about 3° higher than that benchmark, though. Turning some of that height into forward speed (more shaft lean) is worth roughly 5–8 extra yards.

3 Timing & tempo — measured from the video

30 frames per second, so each time is accurate to about ±0.03 s. Takeaway starts at 36.47 s, the top is at 36.93 s, and impact is at about 37.17 s.

Group	Backswing	Downswing	Ratio
André (7-iron, today)	~0.47 s	~0.23 s	~2:1
André (PW #2, Oct 11)	~0.60 s	~0.22 s	~2.8:1
PGA Tour (Tour Tempo, "24/8")	~0.80 s	~0.27 s	3:1

Tour figure: John Novosel, Tour Tempo. One frame either way moves the ratio between ~1.8:1 and ~2.3:1.

What it means: the downswing speed is the same as his best wedge, but the backswing is shorter and quicker, so the ratio is back to his usual ~2:1. The 2.8:1 from the wedge came from a slower, fuller backswing. That's the piece to carry over to the longer clubs.

4 Swing sequence

Nine key positions, filmed down-the-line from behind the hands. The target is straight into the picture.

P-numbers follow the standard 10-position swing model.

5 Position-by-position biomechanics

Set-up station

The white stick runs along the feet line, parallel to the target. The second stick is the target line just past the ball, and the cross stick marks the ball position in the stance. The towel sits at the ball, as a visual marker and to catch a steep or outside-in strike.

P1 — Address Good

Feet parallel to the white stick, so the body lines up square to the target line.
Athletic posture: knees flexed, back straight, arms hanging under the shoulders.
Ball at the cross stick. The exact spot between the feet can't be judged from this angle.

P2 — Takeaway Good

One-piece start: arms, hands and club move away together.
The club stays outside the hands, with no early inside roll.

P3 — Lead arm parallel Good width

A wide arc, with the wrists setting on time.
The trail knee keeps its flex, which is a stable base.

P4 — Top High hands

Full shoulder turn, with the hands finishing above the head.
The head sits about 3 inches lower than at address.
The shaft stops short of parallel, which is a good length for control.

P5 — Lead arm parallel (down) Good

The wrist angle holds as the arms drop.
The lower body starts the downswing.

P6 — Delivery Solid

The club comes down from the inside, along the target-line stick.
The arms stay in front of the chest.
This path is why the ball didn't curve at all.

P7 — Impact Watch the head

Clean strike: 104 mph ball speed and 0 ft curve.
The head is about 5 inches lower than at address and ~1–2 inches closer to the ball.
The hips move slightly toward the ball (about 2 inches), a mild early extension. It fits the high launch.

P8 — Release Full extension

Both arms extend down the target line.
The chest keeps turning.

P10 — Finish Excellent

Tall and balanced on the lead leg, with the trail foot up on its toe and the belt buckle facing the target.
Held, as in every report.

Overlay — head at address, top and impact

The white line is the top of the cap at address, and the gold line is the back of the head at address. The camera didn't move. Distances are estimated from his body size in the frame, so treat them as ±1 inch.

6 Where the 7-iron sits in the bag

Club (best report)	Total	Carry	Ball speed	Launch	Curve
4-Iron · Oct 7	183 yds	167 yds	110 mph	20°	39 ft
5-Iron · Oct 2	169 yds	159 yds	108 mph	19°	20 ft
6-Iron · Oct 6	149 yds	140 yds	103 mph	23°	11 ft
7-Iron · today	147 yds	144 yds	104 mph	22°	0 ft

Heads-up: today's 7-iron carried 4 yards farther than the 6-iron did on Oct 6, and the totals are only 2 yards apart. A normal gap is 10–15 yards. The 6-iron launched even higher (23°), which cost it distance, so it likely has more to give. A 6-iron with ball data next will tell us.

7 Diagnosis

Direction is solved for this swing: square station, inside delivery and 0 ft of curve.
The head dips about 5 inches, starting in the backswing. It's the same "sinking" seen in his driver, 4-, 5- and 6-iron and wedge videos. To find the ball from a lower head, the body has to stand up through impact, which adds loft. That explains the 22° launch.
Tempo is back to ~2:1. The wedge proved he can make a 2.8:1 swing, and the difference is a slower backswing.

Confidence: high on ball flight (range screen) and tempo (measured); moderate on head and hip distances (estimated from body size).

8 Next steps — keep it simple

Priority 1 · Stay tall

Cap-on-the-line check

Same camera spot as today. Mark the top of the cap at address on the screen, then hit 10 balls trying to keep the cap on that line until the ball is gone.

Feel: "chest stays over the ball, knees keep their flex."

Priority 2 · Launch

Hands-ahead punch

Hit five half-swing 7-irons with the hands ahead of the ball at impact and a short, low finish. Watch the screen: aim for 18–19° launch.

Lower launch with the same speed means more carry.

Tempo

Wedge rhythm, longer club

Count "back-2-3, down-1", the same count as the 2.8:1 wedge swing.

Slows the backswing without slowing the downswing.

Keep

The full station

Feet stick, target stick, ball stick and towel for every club.

It produced the straightest ball in the logbook.

9 Limitations & next capture

One swing is a snapshot. The ball readout matches this swing, as it's the screen shown right after it.
Spin and club speed aren't on the screen, so club speed is estimated from ball speed.
A camera from behind can't judge ball position between the feet or shaft lean at impact.

Next session: 5 balls with the same club for an average, a face-on view at chest height, and a 6-iron with ball data to settle the gap.