The Sand Trap » Training

Benderstik Training Aid Review

Mike McLoughlin — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 00:00:00 +0000

What if I told you that after the first five years of playing golf the odds of lowering your handicap by three strokes or more, is unusually rare? It almost never happens. The reason is because golfers revert back to our old habits. That's why trying a tip in the latest golf magazine or listening to the Golf Channel doesn't improve people's games. Here to help is golf's new training aid, the Benderstik. It's designed to help you consistently working on a better motion by giving you instant feedback.

The Benderstik is literally a stick that is adjustable, bendable, and has a large foam ball attached to one end. It can be set it up for each golfer's individual swing needs and if you revert back, there will be immediate feedback. You can set the Benderstik in the ground and adjust it where your head is against the foam ball to work on keeping your head steady or adjust it to avoid hitting the foam ball in the backswing or followthrough.
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Pipoe Review

Mike McLoughlin — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 15:00:47 +0000

Search the Internet for "golf training aids" and you'll find a variety of gadgets that attach to your body, your club, the ground, your golf bag, etc. You'll find flimsy and bulky devices ranging in price from $5 to $500. These training aids usually only fulfill a couple purposes, whether it's fixing swing plane, ingraining an effective putting stroke, or improving swing speed. Hopefully from this review we'll see how the Pipoe differs by offering an affordable, multi purpose practice aid to golfers, that can be used for as long as you play the game.
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AimPoint Swinkey Review

Erik J. Barzeski — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 16:00:00 +0000

The lyrics for the song used to help advertise the children's toy the Slinky included the line that "for fun it's the best of toys."

If the Swinkey - dubbed "The Golfer's Toolbox" - were the product being marketed by a song, the line would read "for golf it's the best of tools" or something, and except for the fact that many would be unable to get the damn song out of their heads, it wouldn't be far from the truth.

Training aids in golf are expensive. That's because if you're in the market for a golf training aid, you're more than likely able to afford an expensive one. At $99, the Swinkey is an expensive training aid if you view it as "a stick." But the Swinkey is more than a stick, and this review may convince you that $99 is a reasonable price.
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Next Generation with Sean Foley DVD Review

Erik J. Barzeski — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 16:00:00 +0000

Sean Foley made a splash in 2010. Though he was known prior to this year as the coach of Sean O'Hair, Justin Rose, and Hunter Mahan (along with lesser knowns Stephen Ames and Parker McLachlin), Foley's dim star became noticeable at dusk as rumors that Tiger Woods, dumped by his coach Hank Haney, was going to begin working with the 36-year old Canadian. When the arrangement became official around the time of the year's final major, the Foley star became one of the brightest in the sky.

Capitalizing on his new-found fame (and helping charity - see comments), Sean Foley has put together a Blu-Ray/DVD instructional video that shares his understanding of the golf swing with the masses. Tiger's already shown remarkable improvement, despite remaining winless in 2010, but with solid performances in the Ryder Cup, Australian Masters, and his own Chevron World Challenge. For about $50 USD including the $12.50 S&H charge, you too can learn from Sean Foley.
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Taly MIND Set Review

Erik J. Barzeski — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 14:00:00 +0000

The world of golf training aids is vast. Sometimes it seems as though every serious instructor has his name on some gadget or another. Some work. Some work really well. Others do not.

Then there are the guys who don't teach golf for a living. Sonic Golf comes from a scientist. And the item pictured just above/to the right, the "Taly MIND Set," comes from a slightly better than average golfer named Taly Williams. He's also not an instructor.

Does that make the "Taly" (even the inventor prefers to call it the "Taly" instead of the official "MIND Set" name) better or worse than the others? Let's find out.(...)
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Sonic Golf System Pro-1 Review

Erik J. Barzeski — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:00:00 +0000

Several years ago John Novosel released a book called "Tour Tempo." The book has been a big help to many golfers, including those in the Reading Room section of our forum. The premise is that most PGA Tour players swing at about a 3:1 ratio, and that you should as well.

The "Tour Tempo" training regimen involves swinging to a series of beeps, spaced at a 3:1 ratio and at whatever total speed best fit your personality. Though the practice undoubtedly helped some golfers, I personally found swinging to beeps to be annoying and ungratifying. Plus, so long as you hit the beeps at the right time, your swing was deemed to have good tempo, regardless of how quickly you snatched the club away at the start of your swing or how smoothly you accelerated from the top.

As a decent golfer, I realize the importance of tempo, but I've yet to discover a great way to teach and learn tempo. I was excited the first time I heard about Ph.D. scientist Dr. Bob Grober's Sonic Golf system, which converts the rotational movement of the club into a sound gradient. Vijay Singh used it to win the 2008 Deutsche Bank tournament and the FedExCup, making the Sonic Golf system a legitimate $10M idea.

Read on to see what we thought of the Sonic Golf system.
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Z Factor Perfect Putting Machine Review

Erik J. Barzeski — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 13:00:00 +0000

You've probably seen Dean Thompson on The Golf Channel's Fore Inventors Only. Or maybe you didn't hear about him until we conducted an interview with him after the show was over. In the eyes of many, Dean's Z Factor Perfect Putting Machine (hereafter called simply the "Z Factor") should have won the competition, or at least finished higher than fifth place! After all, golfers from the PGA Tour to the local muni spend about 40% of their strokes on the putting greens, so a reasonably priced putting aid should be of interest to golfers of all levels.

Dean has spent years traveling the world, sharing the Z Factor with PGA, Nationwide, LPGA, and European Tour stars. Fore Inventors Only served as a coming out party of sorts. Now available for sale at perfectputtingmachine.com for $299, I've taken an in-depth look at the Z Factor. Has it improved my putting? Is it worth three big ones? Read on to find out…
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Golf Mind Software Review

JP Bouffard — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 14:00:00 +0000

When I heard about the Subconscious Training Corporation and their mental training series for golfers, I knew I had to try it. As a physician and skeptic of the millions of herbal remedies, supplements, and outright snake oil that gets pushed on a gullible public, I was determined to assure that no such quackery made its way into the homes or dented the bank accounts of golf enthusiasts.

So, after a thorough review, what is the verdict? To my surprise, I'm here to say that one out of one physician agrees that, while unlikely to turn an uncoordinated chopper into Gene Littler, Golf Mind Software can definitely help your game. That is, if you let it.
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Boomerang Putting System Review

Dave Koster — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 17:00:00 +0000

I'm one of the best carpet putters during the winter time, even in North Carolina. I usually have a couple putters and a ball in my TV room ready to go.

You can understand why I was excited to review the Boomerang putting system. Instead of putting at a coffee table leg or the corner of my dusty treadmill, I could use something that was not only more realistic, but could help my game.
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Golf Stretching for a Better Swing DVD Review

Jack Waddell — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 15:00:00 +0000

It's no secret that physical conditioning is more important to your game than your equipment. While that doesn't necessarily mean you need to be as cut as Tiger Woods or Camilo Villegas, it's worth considering that even doughboy Phil Mickelson works out.

Strength and flexibility are obviously the keys to the golf swing and Mike Pedersen, a trainer and author specializing in golf, aims to loosen you up in his newest video as he leads you through an extensive stretching routine.

With an ever-growing number of DVDs and websites like the Titleist Performance Institute devoted to golf fitness, Pedersen's offering faces considerable competition. Here's how we think it stacks up…
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