Tour Striker Training Aid

[DublinMeUp]

really helps bunker, cheers mate

[DublinMeUp]

Tour Striker Pro 7 ordered! please ship fast =)

[rustyredcab]

Got my 7-iron pro in today's mail. One hour later I'm on the range -- matts only and 24+ MPH cross and quartering wind and 55*.

First few swings, nothing to this. Ball goes high and seems to bore through wind pretty well. Then, a lowish mishit. A few more get up as they should. Then a bunch get up high and higher -- like a very high 7-iron. Range balls in very high winds may be spinning too much? Thinking this might be too easy. Then about five or six awful shots in a row that hardly get off the ground and it hits me...

This swing aid may not teach me how to hit the ball with good shaft lean because I already know how. But I have a feeling that by the end of this winter's indoor season, practicing mostly with the Tour Striker, I'll be doing what I know how to do very consistently. That is the perfect mirror of my game right now, great shots with a few stinkers thrown in to mess up a round by turning a par into a triple. What if the stinkers were less stinky and happened much less often? How much better would my distance control be if every shot was struck solidly and compressed the ball instead of once in a while looking good but feeling a bit thin.

Finished today's bucket with three very bad shots followed by five really good ones as my last five balls. I think this aid will really help me become a more consistent ball striker by the end of a few months work.

[bunkerputt]

Originally Posted by rustyredcab

Got my 7-iron pro in today's mail. One hour later I'm on the range -- matts only and 24+ MPH cross and quartering wind and 55*.

First few swings, nothing to this. Ball goes high and seems to bore through wind pretty well. Then, a lowish mishit. A few more get up as they should. Then a bunch get up high and higher -- like a very high 7-iron. Range balls in very high winds may be spinning too much? Thinking this might be too easy. Then about five or six awful shots in a row that hardly get off the ground and it hits me...

This swing aid may not teach me how to hit the ball with good shaft lean because I already know how. But I have a feeling that by the end of this winter's indoor season, practicing mostly with the Tour Striker, I'll be doing what I know how to do very consistently. That is the perfect mirror of my game right now, great shots with a few stinkers thrown in to mess up a round by turning a par into a triple. What if the stinkers were less stinky and happened much less often? How much better would my distance control be if every shot was struck solidly and compressed the ball instead of once in a while looking good but feeling a bit thin.

Finished today's bucket with three very bad shots followed by five really good ones as my last five balls. I think this aid will really help me become a more consistent ball striker by the end of a few months work.

Have you tried it on grass yet?  Better yet, put it on hardpan or in a divot.  I found it really easy to hit off mats.  Good shots on grass didn't go nearly as high in my experience.  I think the reason for this is that bounce edge hits the mat, lifting the ball some making it easier to hit higher on the center of the face, so you get a higher shot.

[rustyredcab]

Originally Posted by bunkerputt

Have you tried it on grass yet?  ...

Give me a break. I've only had it 24 hours. Give me a day or two to find grass.

I know matts are not best, but matts are what I'm likely to get until springtime."... really easy...?" I promise you that I can release early on matts too.

Is it worth picking up a used 7 ProX to make it even harder?

[erock9174]

Gents

I was talking to a club builder in my area and I mentioned I wanted to try out the tour striker and he claimed that the only thing the aid promotes is hot to hit knockdown type shots.

He also said this is the same concept taught with the Stack and Tilt method.

Said if I want to hit the ball like Paul Azinger then these will work for me but he didn't recommend it.

Any truth to these statements he made?

[Harmonious]

Originally Posted by erock9174

Gents

I was talking to a club builder in my area and I mentioned I wanted to try out the tour striker and he claimed that the only thing the aid promotes is hot to hit knockdown type shots.

He also said this is the same concept taught with the Stack and Tilt method.

Said if I want to hit the ball like Paul Azinger then these will work for me but he didn't recommend it.

Any truth to these statements he made?

None that I can see.  All I can say is that, since I've been working with my Tour Striker (Pro-X 7 iron) I have greatly improved my ball striking, hit more greens, and dropped a couple of strokes off my handicap.  Whatever works.....

[iacas]

Originally Posted by erock9174

Any truth to these statements he made?

Nope.

Pros hit with a little forward shaft lean. Amateurs don't.

[Harmonious]

Quote:

Gents

I was talking to a club builder in my area and I mentioned I wanted to try out the tour striker and he claimed that the only thing the aid promotes is hot to hit knockdown type shots.

I wanted to follow-up on this statement by your club builder (would be interesting to know his playing level).  Anyway, I know a fellow who used to take lessons from Brian Mogg, a very well-respected teacher in the Orlando area, as well as the Cialis golf lesson guy on TV .

My friend said that Mogg told him a great drill to instill the feel of a good golf shot was to take a 7 iron and try to hit shots as low as possible.  In other words, try to hit extreme knockdown shots.  This drill will instill the feeling of forward shaft lean which is necessary in all good shotmaking, not just knockdowns.

[DublinMeUp]

Got mine today! couldn't wait to get to the range.

Have to say I'm a bit more confused now than i was before. I got around 100 balls of which 40-50 where hit in my normal wedge - driver progression, so i had 50 to hit with my tour striker. Unfortunately i was hitting from a mat as explained in a previous post somewhere. This is supposedly easier correct?

Anyway, my first shot was a 70% full swing that i did get up in the air but it didn't "feel" ( please no discussion on feel ;-) ) right, like i hit it off center or something. After that i just went for it it with a normal swing and managed to strike it clean, dead straight and possibly 20-30 yards further than i've ever hit my 7i. I obviously thought " this is too easy" and tried again only to top it 40 yards in front of me.

This was one of only 3-4 duff type shots which i was surprised by. i would say 70% of the balls i hit went up a normal height or slightly lower but either had a slight slice or just bad connection / short, ie stung my hands a tad. I did manage way more good shots than i thought i would with my last 8-10 shots being what i would consider near perfect, for me anyway.

So i just want to clarify, when using this I am again looking for those great feeling shots "where it hardly feels like the ball is even there when struck" right? I'm still kinda worried that even on those good shots im doing something wrong or I'm just compensating for the face of the club, idk. One real positive i got from it straight off was when i swapped out to my normal 7i i seemed to crush every shot, it was soo easy lol.

I've been planning on posting my swing for a while but have no camera, when i arrange one i'll be sure to include a few tour striker shots.

Lastly and i found this quite amusing, I was in the range with my friend. whom I've been kinda jealous of since i started back. He seems to have a natural draw plus can hit every club better and further than me. His flaw though, and i've told him, is that he's a sweeper of the ball. I didn't even think you could draw the ball hitting like than but he really does. Anyway he wanted to hit the TS when i showed him it so after i hit a few i gave it over.

He proceeded to top / duff 5-6 shots before handing it back. This process happened two more times with the last time me being asked for help on how to hit it. Out of about 20-25 balls he got maybe one in the air and it was only about 30 feet up. Finished out the session with him watching me hit my last 8 or so "great" shots with a slightly jealous look on his face :-)

[newtogolf]

I've been working with the Tour Striker Pro 7 for about two weeks and found it's definitely easier to hit on thicker mats with the simulated grass.  On thinner mats and actual grass the results are not nearly as good.  On the thicker mats with simulated grass I usually hit about 70% well.  On the thinner mats it's about 50% and on grass (wet) maybe 40%.  I'm guessing the mats absorb some of the bounce where as on wet grass it digs.  I have noticed an improvement in distance with my irons but still looking for the consistency.

I may have to wait til next year to continue my practice as I slightly tore my left bicep at the gym last week doing concentration curls and re-injured it today only worse than the original injury.  I'm off to the doctors tomorrow to see what the prognosis is.  At least it's near the end of the season so I hope not to miss too much.

[DublinMeUp]

I should mention that these mats are thin and rock hard, its like hitting off a carpeted cement floor, sure there is bounce from them but if anything i feel they amplify the bad shots more than help the good ones.

I'm not so worried about the surface I'm hitting from but more about whether I'm using this training aid right, like do good feeling high and long shots basically mean yes i am hitting it correctly a small percentage of the time.

[bunkerputt]

Originally Posted by DublinMeUp

I should mention that these mats are thin and rock hard, its like hitting off a carpeted cement floor, sure there is bounce from them but if anything i feel they amplify the bad shots more than help the good ones.

I'm not so worried about the surface I'm hitting from but more about whether I'm using this training aid right, like do good feeling high and long shots basically mean yes i am hitting it correctly a small percentage of the time.

Basically, yes, but clarification follows below.  In my experience, shots off mats go higher.  I don't have high-speed camera evidence of the dynamics of golf shots off mats, just experience.  My limited experience with this club makes be believe it's easier to hit off mats.  On mats, 95% of my shots are "great" and very high.  On grass, maybe 70% are great and much lower.  I let a mini-tour player hit it and it went high, so it could be me, or an off-day, or whatever.  I've only had it a few weeks.

Originally Posted by DublinMeUp

Got mine today! couldn't wait to get to the range.

Have to say I'm a bit more confused now than i was before. I got around 100 balls of which 40-50 where hit in my normal wedge - driver progression, so i had 50 to hit with my tour striker. Unfortunately i was hitting from a mat as explained in a previous post somewhere. This is supposedly easier correct?

Anyway, my first shot was a 70% full swing that i did get up in the air but it didn't "feel" ( please no discussion on feel ;-) ) right, like i hit it off center or something. After that i just went for it it with a normal swing and managed to strike it clean, dead straight and possibly 20-30 yards further than i've ever hit my 7i. I obviously thought " this is too easy" and tried again only to top it 40 yards in front of me.

This was one of only 3-4 duff type shots which i was surprised by. i would say 70% of the balls i hit went up a normal height or slightly lower but either had a slight slice or just bad connection / short, ie stung my hands a tad. I did manage way more good shots than i thought i would with my last 8-10 shots being what i would consider near perfect, for me anyway.

So i just want to clarify, when using this I am again looking for those great feeling shots "where it hardly feels like the ball is even there when struck" right? I'm still kinda worried that even on those good shots im doing something wrong or I'm just compensating for the face of the club, idk. One real positive i got from it straight off was when i swapped out to my normal 7i i seemed to crush every shot, it was soo easy lol.

I've been planning on posting my swing for a while but have no camera, when i arrange one i'll be sure to include a few tour striker shots.

Lastly and i found this quite amusing, I was in the range with my friend. whom I've been kinda jealous of since i started back. He seems to have a natural draw plus can hit every club better and further than me. His flaw though, and i've told him, is that he's a sweeper of the ball. I didn't even think you could draw the ball hitting like than but he really does. Anyway he wanted to hit the TS when i showed him it so after i hit a few i gave it over.

He proceeded to top / duff 5-6 shots before handing it back. This process happened two more times with the last time me being asked for help on how to hit it. Out of about 20-25 balls he got maybe one in the air and it was only about 30 feet up. Finished out the session with him watching me hit my last 8 or so "great" shots with a slightly jealous look on his face :-)

Check the ball mark on the face, or use impact tape or baby powder.  If you caught it in the middle, you hit it right.  The contact area of this club is rounded.  You can have forward shaft lean and still hit it off-center, in which case the ball can look topped with a left or right movement.  Center face contact is just as important for this club as forward shaft lean.

Originally Posted by rustyredcab

Give me a break. I've only had it 24 hours. Give me a day or two to find grass.

I know matts are not best, but matts are what I'm likely to get until springtime."... really easy...?" I promise you that I can release early on matts too.

Is it worth picking up a used 7 ProX to make it even harder?

.  Just jerking your chain.  BTW, the foam practice balls work too.  You can hit them in a field or park or so if you can find one.

[handlez42]

my buddy recently took up golf. even though he had brief group lessons as a child, he used to play for fun with those old drivers and fairway woods the size of a hybrid. and some old macgregor forged irons. he had a really nice swing with those clubs creating nice contact and solid tempo all around just not the best control. he could hit a 5 iron around 180 which i believe is pretty decent for a guy that barely plays.

he recently decided to buy a new complete set of irons (walter hagen s2) i agree wouldnt be the best he could buy. already dented the driver. but as he was trying to get used to the irons, his swing completely changed. he was lifting up more and topping the ball. and the straightest club in his bag was a hybrid. that is if he swung very slow and put little on it. where if he made good contact it would sky nicely but push right very badly.

we went to the range the other day after he went out for a round of 9 and apparently played terrible. so i met him and decided to hit some of my own to ensure i didnt lose any of my game before my florida trip. i went through my usual sequence. starting with pitch shots with my tour striker. then knockdowns. then full shots. in which i notice a huge difference in distance. (8-iron) about 160 vs. my forged irons a 160 club is probly a 6-iron. maybe a 7 if im lucky or feeling good. anyways

i gave him my 8-iron. told him to try to hit it. he topped it and it darted off to the right. i wished he noticed it go to the right, cause it might have in a long sense helped him with his slice. then i gave him a brief summary of what the club is made to do. help a player knowingly teach himself to hit down on the ball. he also had a problem with ball position when it came to changing throughout the bag....it didnt. he usually kept the ball in the same spot (between his center and his front foot) for his 9 iron all the way to his driver. he then slowly started to lean the shaft, hold his wrist angle (slightly), and had one solid shot where he made the correct type of contact. i could tell he was more amazed because knowing what he had done a few shots later, hitting this club seemed like a mountain of a task. i was really happy. he hit a few more. i just reassured him that it took time, almost up to 2 weeks just to get the body familiar with this fundamental. he then took out his hybrid which he had struggled with. as i was hitting i noticed him divot some turf up on what seemed to be a solid shot and asked him, "did you just throw some dirt up?" he responded with a yes and that he had made a slight divot.

when i bought this club a year ago fitted (+1" 1*up) that i was putting quite a bit of faith into it. its not cheap. i was hopeful. and it WORKED! i remember using it and being successful quickly but my consistency wasnt quite there. this club is something everybody thats scratch----> 20+ hdcp. should have. and its not a one and done. use it to warm up like i do. sometime down the road your ballstriking will be poor for some reason you cant explain. take this out. and your game will be revived. and for you slicers and hook-ballers out there, this club will help with that too.

[handlez42]

Originally Posted by DublinMeUp

I should mention that these mats are thin and rock hard, its like hitting off a carpeted cement floor, sure there is bounce from them but if anything i feel they amplify the bad shots more than help the good ones.

I'm not so worried about the surface I'm hitting from but more about whether I'm using this training aid right, like do good feeling high and long shots basically mean yes i am hitting it correctly a small percentage of the time.

keep at it. i noticed when i started with my TS 8 iron (which is more than enough for me) that i could do what was advertised. but, my consistency was "decent". and im being nice to myself haha this club also helped me with my short game like greenside shots as well as 50 yard pitch shots that would do that classic 1...2..3...and check and roll maybe 2 feet after.

try doing pitch shots as say a 80-90 yard target. maybe a little further since you have the 7i. knockdowns are more like it with a club of that length. ive considered getting the 7 iron but i figured "why make contact more difficult when i already have forgiving forged cavity backs?" still considering it though cause id like to play a few tournaments maybe a mini tour down south. this northeastern weather is killing me.

[handlez42]

Originally Posted by erock9174

Gents

I was talking to a club builder in my area and I mentioned I wanted to try out the tour striker and he claimed that the only thing the aid promotes is hot to hit knockdown type shots.

He also said this is the same concept taught with the Stack and Tilt method.

Said if I want to hit the ball like Paul Azinger then these will work for me but he didn't recommend it.

Any truth to these statements he made?

i think knockdowns are deffinitely capable. the only reason that they may seem incapable is because of the material, or metal, they are made from . knockdowns are control shots mostly by say a forged iron. the Tour Striker is cast much like a massive cavity back by ping or taylormade or wilson staff.. but its not built to be forgiving on the edges of the face, because there arent any edges! haha knockdowns are in short just pitch shots. tour pros are able to do knockdowns without losing more than 10 yards. they are able to release the club later in the swing (creating less loft much like leaning the shaft with the TS) and still take a full on, high clubhead speed swing.. this club teaches you how to hit down on the ball, then creating more ball speed, swing speed, and a lower flight. transfer that method to your normal irons is supposed to be almost instant. knockdowns become a feel type play. i now can hit knockdowns because ive found the correct contact angle and am able to control my swing better.

[rustyredcab]

Is a Tour Striker conforming? If I use it to warmup before a round, and it is counted as one of my 14 clubs, can I leave it in my bag or do I need to put it back in the car?

I have a training club with a molded grip that is not conforming because of the grip. When I use that club pre-round, I need to put it in the car before teeing off.

[newtogolf]

I believe it's considered a training club so I don't think it would be allowed.  I had checked this when I got it, and couldn't find the answer on their website.

Originally Posted by rustyredcab

Is a Tour Striker conforming? If I use it to warmup before a round, and it is counted as one of my 14 clubs, can I leave it in my bag or do I need to put it back in the car?

I have a training club with a molded grip that is not conforming because of the grip. When I use that club pre-round, I need to put it in the car before teeing off.