When I first explored swing based mechanics, I thought an arm based swing mechanic would provide a fun challenge for players.

I researched the physics behind golf swings:

If the goal is to simulate golf, you can model a simple golf swing with a wrist and arm system.

I thought it might be possible to create a simple swing based mechanic through the movement of a mouse or tap/swing (for mobile).

I didn’t fine-tune the wrist movement. I had a few ideas on enabling wrist precision through coiling. I also pondered if I could use ideal swing paths (kind of like how fps mechanics use recoil patterns). However, I decided that design wise the system would need to be predictable.

Unfortunately, I determined that the system may be too complex and difficult to use in its current state. I had not implemented striking yet, for example.

I then tried a separate swing system, which is based purely on movement of the club head. It would be more direct, where you set the loft and then simply strike the ball.

But, this also proved challenging for the UI implemented. It just feels jarring. If I have the camera zoomed in only on the ball while swinging, that does not help.

In the end, the simple player drag implementation seems to be ideal.