Whether you’ve been playing golf for 40 years or just a few days – every golfer has a universal aim – to get better at it!
The age-old question is what’s the best way to go about getting better? Do you simply take the swing that nature gave you and practise it at every available opportunity; so you have some hope of repeating it under the pressure of winning one of your golf club’s board competitions? Or do you spend an obscene amount of money having lessons with your club professional, most of which try and make you conform to the way they grip and swing a golf club? Which you know isn’t right when you see how many different swings there are just amongst the professionals who play this great game, let alone the amateurs.
Thankfully, whilst these used to be the only two options available to most golfers, science has allowed golf enthusiasts to invent a third option – Golf Swing Aids! And here are our favourite 5.
Swing Boss
When we’ve hit a bad-shot on the golf course it’s sometimes difficult to know why – but the new Swing Boss golf training aid certainly provides you with the insight. By using ultra-lightweight practice balls and Velcro recorder-pads it allows you to make your normal swing and see where the ball hits the club-face – as it sticks to it. The Swing Boss also comes with extensive tips on how to correct off-centre hits, and it’s great for using in the garden, or anywhere you’ve got room to swing a golf club.
Not really any negatives as it lets you work out your own faults; knowledge which is ideal for correcting mistakes when you’re out playing a round of golf.
Zepp Swing Analyser
In a world where most of us have a smart phone, iPhone or tablet, this golf swing analyzer is a pretty good idea. The sensor simply attaches to the back of a golf glove and, when you make a swing, it measures and analyzes it and sends the data being to your mobile-device via its wireless function. You can then view your swings in 3D from a variety of angles, measure your club-head speed and club-shaft angle.
It was hard to fault the functions but, as a Freddie Couples-esq none glove wearer – it had an obvious drawback for me. I also felt I still needed a pro to help me analyze the data and correct my faults.
The Swingyde Trainer
This golf swing trainer is cheaper than a golf lesson and has just one simple function – to help golfers create the correct hinging of the wrists on the backswing. This then helps you create club-head speed and release the club better at impact. Professionals on the PGA, LPGA and European Tours use it as a warm-up aid and, it’s one of the better cheap golf swing training aids out there.
The downsides are it’s a bit one dimensional in today’s world of constantly improving technology, and doesn’t offer feedback on poor shots.
PGA Pro Sticks Training Aid
Sometimes the simplest things can make a big difference, and these sticks are a great piece of golf training equipment to take down to the range with you to aid your practise drills – especially with your alignment.
Negatives are they don’t give you any feedback on swing faults.
Eyeline Golf – Golf Metronome
Different to the other products as this golf training aid concentrates solely on improving the tempo of your golf swing. Features sound and visual aids designed to help you swing the club with the same tempo time-after-time – and should prove useful if this is something you struggle with.
Negatives would be wearing earphones whilst swinging, and it didn’t tell me why I’d hooked or sliced one.
