Down Under Board?

[zimmerbz]

I keep seeing advertisements on social media for something called Down Under Board.  I did a search and all i can see is people using it or people saying how it changed their game but doesn't really tell you what it is for and how to use it.  I think it is for balance, but I can't really tell.  Can someone that uses it explain if it is good or if it is just a gimmick?  Having said that, wouldn't you be able to just make one with ply wood and save about $140?  How do you know what is the right size for you?  Thanks, just curious. 

[iacas]

It’s literally a board right? I’m not even sure what it does. Does it have a fulcrum?

[zimmerbz]

  On 8/15/2020 at 2:10 PM, iacas said:

It’s literally a board right? I’m not even sure what it does. Does it have a fulcrum?

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Pretty much.... I am not sure what it does either but apparently people say it changed their game.  Scam?

[iacas]

  On 8/15/2020 at 2:30 PM, zimmerbz said:

Pretty much.... I am not sure what it does either but apparently people say it changed their game.  Scam?

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Who can say? Nobody even knows what it is.

[CarlSpackler]

  On 8/15/2020 at 2:30 PM, zimmerbz said:

Pretty much.... I am not sure what it does either but apparently people say it changed their game.  Scam?

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This has been said about thousands of useless golf training aids. 

[Darkfrog]

  On 8/16/2020 at 11:29 AM, CarlSpackler said:

This has been said about thousands of useless golf training aids. 

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But it’s Brendon Todd who’s said it...just looks like a board, can you patent a board??

I’m kind of confused about the product tbh 🤷‍♂️

[CarlSpackler]

  On 8/16/2020 at 2:00 PM, Darkfrog said:

But it’s Brendon Todd who’s said it...just looks like a board, can you patent a board??

I’m kind of confused about the product tbh 🤷‍♂️

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Having a patent makes it unique, not necessarily useful. 

[Darkfrog]

  On 8/16/2020 at 2:24 PM, CarlSpackler said:

Having a patent makes it unique, not necessarily useful. 

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Yeah - total sarcasm on my part. Who knows, maybe it’s a revolutionary training aid.

[etakmit]

It is just a piece of wood - you can easily recreate them with plywood.  They're a few sizes - 12x18 being the most common 'adult male' size (smaller ones are available for those with smaller stances).

The general idea is that it helps you quiet your lower body - killing swaying and the like.

You basically put it between your feet and use pressure from the insides of your feet to "hold" the board while you swing (obviously releasing as you rotate through).  

Like many training aids it's just another way to work on a feel for your golf swing.  This one is lower body related.

There plenty who love it including Brendon Todd and Harold Varner.  But as with any aid - you may find it's not for you.

 

I personally have not tried one yet myself so I have no dog in this show and no opinion of it's usefulness for me.

[Jimmybogey8]

I have  the board and I guess you could make one but I prefer to have my feet straddling a plastic board than wood and the board is adjustable for different clubs . 
As far as effectiveness I like the board and it does teach you to use the ground . I feel like I have improved my ball striking and I also think my backswing has shortened a little bit but  I haven’t lost distance due to the better striking . I think it’s a training aid that I will use often and not one that gets thrown in the garage after a few weeks . 

[iacas]

Bradley Hughes was just on Swing Expedition, and he used the Down Under Board on the show.

I don't entirely agree with the way he says to use it, particularly the trail foot. It doesn't do what he said it did in the golf swing, but "feel" ain't real.

[mvmac]

Keeping the inside of both feet pressing against the board from address to impact doesn't make sense to me. Not saying you want the feet to roll to the outside edge but pressing "in" at address makes it harder to get balanced at setup and load into the hips. If anything you want to use the insides of the feet to torque outward.

You see more setups and backswings like these, with the femurs more "bowed out" (knees over the feet) than kicked inward. I think the board could be useful for some downswing feels, specifically from about A5/6 to impact.