StripeyThe ball leaves the face and a glowing line follows it into the sky. That line is a shot tracer, and for years it took a crew and a truck. Now it takes a phone.
This guide covers how to add a shot tracer to a golf video, what makes the result look good, and the questions to ask before you pick an app.
What a shot tracer actually does
A tracer draws the ball's flight on top of your video, frame by frame, so the line grows as the ball travels. Done well it does three things:
- It makes the ball visible. A golf ball is tiny on a phone camera. Two seconds after impact nobody watching can find it. The line shows the shape of the shot without squinting.
- It shows the shape. A high draw and a low cut look identical in a raw clip. With a tracer, the curve is the whole story.
- It makes the clip worth posting. A traced shot reads like highlights, not like a practice video.
Two ways tracers get made
Automatic tracking. The app tries to find the ball in every frame on its own. It is fast when it works, and it works best with a clean sky, good light and a still camera. On a busy driving range, into low sun, or with trees behind the ball, it loses the ball and the line wanders or stops.
Manual tracing. You show the app where the ball is at a few points in the flight and it draws the line through them. It takes a few more seconds per clip, but the line goes where the ball went, every time, regardless of the background. Stripey works this way for exactly that reason: the line should never guess.
How to add a tracer with Stripey
- Film the shot from behind the golfer, phone held still, with as much sky behind the ball as you can get. There is more on filming in how to film your golf swing for a shot tracer.
- Import the clip. Open Stripey and pick the video from your camera roll. Nothing is uploaded, the video stays on your phone.
- Mark the flight. Step to the frame where the club meets the ball and mark it. Step forward and mark the ball a few more times through the flight, then once where it lands. Stripey fills in the line between your marks and paces it to the real ball, fast off the face and settling at the end.
- Pick a look. Choose a color, a glow, and how the tail fades. Set it once and every swing gets the same look.
- Export. The clip renders at full resolution with sound, with the tracer drawn into every frame, and saves to your camera roll ready to share anywhere.
What to look for in a golf shot tracer app
- Full-quality export. Some apps export a compressed copy or add a watermark. The traced clip should look as good as the original.
- Control over the line. Color, thickness, glow and fade decide whether the result looks finished or like a marker pen.
- Works on real range footage. Test it on a clip with a cluttered background. That is where automatic tracking falls apart.
- Privacy. Your swings do not need to live on someone's server to get a line drawn on them.
- Honest pricing. Look for a clear price, and try before you pay. Stripey is free to download and trace; exporting the finished clip is the paid part.
Common questions
Does it work on old videos? Yes. Any clip in your camera roll can be traced, as long as the ball is visible for at least part of the flight.
Do I need a tripod? No, but a still camera helps. Lean the phone on your bag or a bottle if you do not have one.
Can the tracer follow the ball out of frame? With a manual tracer you can mark the ball as it leaves and re-enters the frame, and the line follows.
Stripey is coming soon to iPhone and Android. Join the waitlist and we will email you the day it lands.