Birdia product page (in beta) · reviewed 12 Oct 2026
Birdia (our product, in beta) has dedicated chip/pitch, putting and bunker modes, with different criteria from the full swing. With the camera it currently measures weight and stance in the chip, and head and body stillness on short putts. It can't see the putter face, the line or the green, and it tells you so instead of making it up.
What Birdia does for this
Chip/pitch mode: detects weight hanging back or a full-swing stance (doctrine from Stan Utley and Dave Pelz).
Putting mode: detects the head and body moving early on short putts (Dave Stockton).
Bunker mode: analyzes sway as in the full swing; the sand and the entry point aren't visible, and Birdia says so.
"What is your ball doing?" covers chips and putts too: from your miss to its likely causes and their drill.
Cited short-game entries: decelerating in the chip, scooping, wedge distance control, reading break, putting rhythm…
Drop your trail foot half a step back, resting on the toes only, with 80% of the weight on the lead foot. Hit chips from that base: leaning back is impossible. Then return to your normal stance keeping the weight distribution.
On putts under 2 m the head and eyes dart toward the hole before impact and the stroke shrinks: a normal backswing and a timid follow-through that dies at the ball.
What it does to the ball
The putt comes out weak and off line: a ball without speed on a short putt obeys any break and hangs on the edge.
How to fix it
Keep staring at the spot where the ball was until you HEAR it drop: with the head still, the stroke completes itself and the face arrives stable
Sources
Dave Stockton (con Matthew Rudy) — Unconscious Putting · Harvey Penick — Harvey Penick's Little Red Book
Place a coin on the green and the ball on top of it (or just in front). Hit 1-1.5 m putts with a single rule: after impact you keep looking at the coin until you hear the ball drop in the hole. No lifting your eyes to watch. Ten putts in a row looking at the coin — whether they drop or not — to finish.
In the chip, deceleration and scooping depend on the club and the wrists, which 2D pose can't see well: Birdia does not measure them. On the green it can't see the putter face, the line or the break.
The web app runs at golf.birdia.app. The Android and iPhone apps are in beta: sign up and we send you an invite.
Frequently asked questions
Can an app analyze the short game?
Partly. A camera can see weight distribution, stance and whether your head moves early, which explain a lot of fat or thin chips and missed short putts. What a phone camera can't see is the putter face, the line or club speed at impact.
Why do I chip it fat and thin?
According to Stan Utley and Dave Pelz, a very common cause is copying your full-swing setup: weight centred or back and the body leaning away from the target, which makes the low point erratic. The fix is a chipping setup with 70-80% of your weight on the lead foot, staying there for the whole stroke.
What does Birdia measure on the green?
Stillness: whether your head and eyes swing to the hole before impact on short putts. Dave Stockton's advice is to keep looking at the spot where the ball was until you hear it drop. Stroke tempo is shown as data, not scored, and the face, line and green aren't measured.
How much does Birdia cost?
There is a free plan. Premium costs €14.99/month or €99/year and Pro-IA €29.99/month, VAT included. Payment happens only inside the app, through the App Store or Google Play. Birdia is in beta.