Tour Striker Training Aid

[erock9174]

Theory question here:

I was planning on buying the Tour Striker in order to increase lag and to learn how to hit down and compress the ball.

Say I accomplish this and my swing changes and becomes better.

I currently game TM Burner Plus irons that have a large sole which makes them more forgiving.  and Currently I rarely take a divot (have more a sweeping swing).

A Buddy of mine said, if you learn how to hit down on the ball with more lag won't you need more of a players iron (aka blades).  I said good question.

So that is my question to you guys.  Will my Game Improvement clubs still work with a better more descending swing?

[applejr]

Hitting down on the ball with more lag just hits the ball with more of the club face. That would help regardless of what type of iron your hitting.

***Disclaimer*** I don't take divots either, so take it for what it's worth.

Originally Posted by erock9174

Theory question here:

I was planning on buying the Tour Striker in order to increase lag and to learn how to hit down and compress the ball.

Say I accomplish this and my swing changes and becomes better.

I currently game TM Burner Plus irons that have a large sole which makes them more forgiving.  and Currently I rarely take a divot (have more a sweeping swing).

A Buddy of mine said, if you learn how to hit down on the ball with more lag won't you need more of a players iron (aka blades).  I said good question.

So that is my question to you guys.  Will my Game Improvement clubs still work with a better more descending swing?

[Topper]

I tried the Tour Striker at Golf Galaxy and it wasn't that difficult to hit.  Then again, nothing is difficult off matts.  It did give feedback on miss hits that was more dramatic on significant miss hits.  Then I realized that my normal irons gave me plenty of feedback even though the feedback might not always be as dramatic.  Like most of you, I can tell a miss hit by the feel and sound at impact.

I know I need to hit the ball while the club is descending.  If my regular clubs tell me when I'm not doing this properly then I couldn't justify the expense of a tour striker.  I suppose if someone is having trouble feeling the difference on miss hits then a tour striker could help by providing more obvious feedback.  Maybe I'm missing something.

[mchepp]

Originally Posted by Topper

I tried the Tour Striker at Golf Galaxy and it wasn't that difficult to hit.  Then again, nothing is difficult off matts.  It did give feedback on miss hits that was more dramatic on significant miss hits.  Then I realized that my normal irons gave me plenty of feedback even though the feedback might not always be as dramatic.  Like most of you, I can tell a miss hit by the feel and sound at impact.

I know I need to hit the ball while the club is descending.  If my regular clubs tell me when I'm not doing this properly then I couldn't justify the expense of a tour striker.  I suppose if someone is having trouble feeling the difference on miss hits then a tour striker could help by providing more obvious feedback.  Maybe I'm missing something.

The difference between mats and grass is very big in my opinion. One could hit that thing pretty easily all day off mats. On grass quite a different story.

Plus one should work with the pro version. The only combination that really works for me is off grass and with the pro.

[handlez42]

Originally Posted by mchepp

The difference between mats and grass is very big in my opinion. One could hit that thing pretty easily all day off mats. On grass quite a different story.

Plus one should work with the pro version. The only combination that really works for me is off grass and with the pro.

i have also found it easier to get the ball up off of a mat. I have the 8 iron +1long+1up in regular flex. I think because a mat wont let you bottom out early and in some cases allows the club to drag along the ground and hit the ball still somewhat properly. but to TOPPER, the best results are seen of actual turf. i can honestly say as soon as the sun came out and i was no longer hitting off a mat, my confidence was shaky. I have seen alot of people saying that this club doesn't help in any way and that sometimes you can still "flip" your hands slightly and get the ball up. Although that is true, it wont go nearly as far or penetrate nearly as well compared to a properly hit ball.

QUESTION!!!

I have a question though, to anyone who might use or have seen the 8 iron. Does it seem to have a slight offset? i know its for mid-high handicappers and slower (90s) swing speeds mostly directed at the easy to hit cast cavity back clubs, but aligning the damn thing is so impossible to me. it looks offset vs. the 7 iron pro which i could only assume has little-no offset. Im hitting wilson staff fg tour irons that have a minimal progressive offset from pw(no offset) to 3 iron(which i dont use anymore but has slight offset to make long irons easier to hit). so my compared 8 iron has essentially offset only seen on a microscope.

[bunkerputt]

I just bought the Pro 5 iron tour striker after running into a guy at the range who owned one yesterday.  He let me take a few swings with it.  I thought I would do fine because I haven't been struggling with forward shaft lean lately, but NO WAY MAN!  I was having a particularly off day, couldn't get my legs working, had a lot of soreness, and was struggling with overswinging, couldn't find my tempo or rhythm and had no idea what the club was doing (one of those days) and I was really tired.  Plus, that particular range just seems to get into my subconscious and my focus falls apart.  It was a very humbling experience to say the least.  Obviously I was flipping it because I could not get the thing up in the air in about 5 swings.  I hit it pretty low on the face anyway, so I knew it would be a struggle the minute I put it in my hands.  It was fun to watch the guy, who was about a 5 handicap hit it.  Looked like a normal ball flight.  I told him, "I remember when I was a 5 handicap two days ago.  Today I'm playing off 30."  Anyway, I ordered one just to overcome the challenge on days like that.  If you're reading this, great product Martin.  Can't wait for mine to arrive.

[handlez42]

anybody still struggling to get dead center or "bottom center" of the grooves? i seem to barely contact with the elevated sweetspot (maybe bottom 3 grooves) and get the ball up but still dont feel im getting enough. ive tried everything.

im also struggling to aim this club as well as lie angle or distance from the ball.... and it almost seems to have an offset to my eyes...anybody notice?

any suggestions on how to get a little more in the sweetspot of the 8 iron?

obviously hitting the sweetspot on my normal irons is no problem but im curious to find out if im still

[bunkerputt]

Originally Posted by handlez42

anybody still struggling to get dead center or "bottom center" of the grooves? i seem to barely contact with the elevated sweetspot (maybe bottom 3 grooves) and get the ball up but still dont feel im getting enough. ive tried everything.

im also struggling to aim this club as well as lie angle or distance from the ball.... and it almost seems to have an offset to my eyes...anybody notice?

any suggestions on how to get a little more in the sweetspot of the 8 iron?

obviously hitting the sweetspot on my normal irons is no problem but im curious to find out if im still

I had some trouble with it visually.  It looked like I was trying to hit it off the toe.  I'm used to aiming more towards the hosel/center of the face, so this looked weird to me.  Like all training aids, I'd say try to focus on your motion and results and not so much on what your eyes are telling you.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by bunkerputt

I just bought the Pro 5 iron tour striker after running into a guy at the range who owned one yesterday.  He let me take a few swings with it.  I thought I would do fine because I haven't been struggling with forward shaft lean lately, but NO WAY MAN!  I was having a particularly off day, couldn't get my legs working, had a lot of soreness, and was struggling with overswinging, couldn't find my tempo or rhythm and had no idea what the club was doing (one of those days) and I was really tired.  Plus, that particular range just seems to get into my subconscious and my focus falls apart.  It was a very humbling experience to say the least.  Obviously I was flipping it because I could not get the thing up in the air in about 5 swings.  I hit it pretty low on the face anyway, so I knew it would be a struggle the minute I put it in my hands.  It was fun to watch the guy, who was about a 5 handicap hit it.  Looked like a normal ball flight.  I told him, "I remember when I was a 5 handicap two days ago.  Today I'm playing off 30."  Anyway, I ordered one just to overcome the challenge on days like that.  If you're reading this, great product Martin.  Can't wait for mine to arrive.

On days like that, I find it best to start with "chip" length swings (admittedly, decently long chip length swings) to keep finding the "clubface" and slowly ramp it up from there. If you fail, step it back a little.

[RyderJ]

This is exactly what I do on off days. Fantastic advice!

Originally Posted by iacas

On days like that, I find it best to start with "chip" length swings (admittedly, decently long chip length swings) to keep finding the "clubface" and slowly ramp it up from there. If you fail, step it back a little.

[handlez42]

Originally Posted by RyderJ

This is exactly what I do on off days. Fantastic advice!

i agree 100%...i also do the same! luckily the range i usually go to gives me a decent distance pin/green with bunkers to start short punch/pitch/knockdowns. then i start going after the 155 green which i think might be around 165-175 in distance cause the shortest iron of my forged irons that can get there comfortably is a 5

but i agree, short pitch shots are the way to get the approach angle down perfectly. as well as adjust to whatever mistakes you might be making.

Originally Posted by bunkerputt

I had some trouble with it visually.  It looked like I was trying to hit it off the toe.  I'm used to aiming more towards the hosel/center of the face, so this looked weird to me.  Like all training aids, I'd say try to focus on your motion and results and not so much on what your eyes are telling you.

for me it could be a combination of being a short-iron and the sweetspot being elevated, that gives it the look of offset. but i truly believe it has offset. when im hitting well im hitting the center of the sweetspot but occasionally hit low. its no longer become visually discerning, but more so hard to aim.

so i know your pain in some sorts ha

[bunkerputt]

Originally Posted by iacas

On days like that, I find it best to start with "chip" length swings (admittedly, decently long chip length swings) to keep finding the "clubface" and slowly ramp it up from there. If you fail, step it back a little.

That's good advice.  Also good is to head back to bed for some rest.  Even chip shots fail me on some days when fatigue takes a mental toll.  One of the most difficult things for me, getting into the relatively low singles hcp is dealing with the heightened expectations that it brings along.  It was easier mentally to go from striking the ball like crap with an occasional decent strike to slightly less crap and even more occasionally good strikes.  What's really tough is going from 97% decent strikes to 3% because of obscure but obviously important reasons like fatigue or physical exhaustion.  A huge lesson I'm learning that I think needs learning before I can get down to scratch:  I don't deserve good shots just because I've been striking the ball well lately.  At any moment extraneous issues can take it all away.  Some days, chip shots are all you can tolerate.

[bunkerputt]

Tour striker came in the mail a day early!  I bought the pro 5-iron with a +1 stiff metal shaft and standard grip size.  Much to the chagrin of my neighbors, I took it straight out into the neighborhood with some foam practice balls.  I had to play the ball forward some, but managed to actually hit a few shots with it.... I mean, really hit, where your hands are forward.  Roughly half actually got in the air, so I've definitely got some work to do.  When I managed to get it high, it's a straight, rising fade and launches pretty low, as would be expected.  It seems to be every bit as effective with the foam balls as with real balls for forcing forward shaft lean and rewarding you when you get it right.  Taking it to the range today for some practice.  Expecting humiliation.  I hope the range is crowded just so I can sandbag with a few topped shots.

[bunkerputt]

Back from the range.  A little humiliated, but also a little excited about the prospects.  First shot with the striker pro 5 iron, aimed at a tree downrange about 220 yards.  Ball started off dead center with the trunk and faded about 3 feet, just barely missing the right edge but landing in the leaves.  Looked at the contact mark, dead center and pure.  Ballflight was low and slightly rising with about a 1 yard fade.  Second shot, topped it.  Third shot, topped it.  I didn't hit another one pure in 25 balls.  A few hooked left and a few sliced right.  I think that's what happens when you catch the beveled edge of the face.  In order to hit this thing, not only do you have to have very very good forward shaft lean, you also have to hit the dead center of the face.  I even had trouble hitting it with 1/4 swings.  Granted I was experimenting a bit turning the left shoulder down more instead of around...  Then I tried hitting a normal golf club and it was too easy so I stopped. .

The only part of my game that was on was chipping though.  I started doing this drill where I try to land it in the cup on the fly from about 50 feet away.  I hit the flag 4 times in a row and didn't miss any further away than a hula hoop.  I was also trying to get my left shoulder turning down here a bit too...

[DublinMeUp]

Hopefully not hijacking the thread, I'm new back to the game, I'm pretty sure i understand what you're trying to achieve here. the very center of your club head hitting the middle - top half of the ball while the blade of the club cuts into the grass at basically the same position as where the ball sat on the grass, is this correct? ( sorry if that sentence was a tad unclear ) Anyone know of any good vid's that explain this in fairly simple terms? I know i wont be hitting like this for a long time but still better to know about it than ignore it and fly my shots a mile high forever =)

[DublinMeUp]

sorry forget my last post, the vids on the tour striker site showed what i was looking for..

[bunkerputt]

Originally Posted by DublinMeUp

sorry forget my last post, the vids on the tour striker site showed what i was looking for..

No problem.  I'm an extremely skeptical person, haven't ever bought a golf gimmick, but highly recommend this product.  The golf products that I have bought, I haven't felt passionately enough about them to actually write about it, but this one's different.  It's such a simply brilliant idea that I can't believe it hasn't been around for 50 years.  The free video that comes with it is also pretty decent.  I think I may have forgotten about maintaining lag pressure points in the last few weeks, so I'm getting early throwaway.  That's probably where my difficulties are coming from.  I picked that up (was reminded) from the video.  Definitely worth $100 if you can afford it.  That's cheaper than a new wedge and will improve every club in your bag.

[jamo]

I'm not sure about the Tour Striker. I used it for about 10 minutes at a Golf Galaxy, and managed to flush every shot while still flipping, or at least whatever you call the movement of my hands at the bottom of my current swing.