Pure Ball Striker Training Aid

[iacas]

Update November 29, 2018: I no longer (and haven't for a few years) recommended the PBS, or any home-made version of the PBS. It's been a few years since I said "Lag Happens" and as we grow to learn more and more about what causes lag, what causes its release, etc., I've come to determine that the PBS and anything that encourages pressure at PP3 or below the coupling point of the hand is actually more likely to cause lag to be thrown away than to "drive the handle forward" or whatever else TGM fans may think.

Howdy members of the forum,

In the past I've talked about a few swing aids that really help and are relatively inexpensive. I like training aids, but I like simple, easy-to-use, and relatively inexpensive training aids the best.

It occurred to me the other day that one of the best is the Pure Ball Striker by Jeff Evans.

As many know, "lag" is one of the most often discussed topics here on the forum. We see it in various forms, but "flipping" is perhaps the most prevalent. Lag is somewhat related to the idea of "lag pressure," which is one of the imperatives in The Golfing Machine (along with a flat left wrist and a straight plane line).

As Lynn Blake says in the video below, "You start to throw the club. You set up convulsive throwing pressures instead of steady driving pressures. It's all about pressure.... It's all about pressures in your hands. You have to sustain the driving pressures in your hands."

Lynn also says (paraphrased): "Once you lose your lag pressure, you're just throwing the clubhead at the ball." You're violating one of the imperatives of the golf swing.

Jeff Evans is a well known instructor out of Macon, GA.

Basic Motion with the PBS:

Intro to PBS:

Aiming Point:

Trigger Finger:

A bit of a quote from Jeff referring to a Hogan video:

Jeff Evans said:

The concept of the Pure Ball Striker is based on the universal laws that govern each of us.

We can use the laws to our advantage by understanding them and allowing them to help direct/guide us or we can fight them, resist them, and always struggle. With the PBS on your club the struggle becomes more guided. It allows you to now sense the direction of the club and hands. It's imperative that each player has clubhead lag pressure and be able to monitor it. The PBS training device gives us, as player's the feel of being able to Load, Store, Deliver, and Release the power needed, both for distance and accuracy.

Mr. Hogan's makes some outstanding observations in this video! He states: "There is very little pressure on the right hand index finger and thumb". He is very specific in what he says next "You get the pressure of the right hand from this butt pad of the index finger; going through." That is the clubhead lag pressure point on the trigger finger that Mr. Hogan is referring to "it just follows" meaning the clubhead is following or being dragged through.

The Pure Ball Striker is a friction fit training device that allows the player to sense their unique clubhead lag pressure. This training device can be used on all clubs. It is held on with the pressure formed from the right hand butt pad of the index finger the "trigger finger." This pressure can be heavy or light and allows the player to direct and sense their clubhead, clubshaft, and clubface from the start-up of the swing through impact and to finish.

Jeff will be joining us here in the forum and can answer your questions. Zeph, you had a good one about flipping vs. driving - so go ahead and ask that one when you can.

Bio
Jeff is a native of West Virginia but has called Middle Georgia home for 20 years. He enjoys the challenges of golf instruction and takes much pleasure in the sharing of his knowledge. He instructs PGA Tour Players and novice golfers a like. After graduation from West Virginia University Jeff moved to Middle Georgia to follow his interest in becoming a professional golfer and has spent time working at many area clubs.

In 2008 Jeff traveled on the PGA Tour marketing his new training device called the Pure Ball Striker. While on tour Jeff spent time with players like Brian Gay, Will MacKenzie, Jay Williamson and Garrett Willis. He just finished a new 90 day golf training program called Pure Ball Striker PBS-90X and is currently writing his first instruction book called "One Motion Golf - No Emotion Golf". Jeff, works with up and comers, Blake St. John a 25 year old from Scotland and Christine Cho a 20 year old player on the LPGA Future Tour.

Jeff is the former coach at Mercer University 1994-1998. He has spent much time in junior golf, writing the junior golf certification program for the National Junior Golf Foundation, "Balancing Life Balancing Golf the Junior Golf Experience" 1996. He also, is a Master Instructor for Medicus Golf Institute, a certified instructor of the Bobby Clampett's Impact Zone Golf Schools, and an Authorized Instructor of The Golf Machine.

Besides earning his certification as a Medicus Master Instructor, Jeff has served as Director of Golf for the Men's and Women's Golf Team at Mercer University. Jeff was also the 1st assistant rpofessional at Perry Country Club, Bowden Golf Course, the Director of Instruction at The Club at River Forest, and Servered as the General Manager for Oak Heaven Country Club, and currently, he is based out of Houston Lake Country Club in Perry, GA. Jeff is also a published writer, Golf Georgia magazine, has conducted clinics for the Special Olympics, and is lead golf instructor for the Boys and Girls Club of Central Georgia.

[Jeff Evans]

Hello to all The Sand Trap members and thank you Erik it is an honor to be here sharing golfing concepts.

Mr. Hogan on The Grip

[dave1269]

I bought a PBS in the spring. It is a wonderful training aid, it has really helped me understand lag and grip pressure. Highly recommended!

[Jeff Evans]

I bought a PBS in the spring. It is a wonderful training aid, it has really helped me understand lag and grip pressure. Highly recommended!

Thanks for the support Dave!

[cbrian]

I've been meaning to get one of these for the longest time. Love the concept and the simplicity.

[Jeff Evans]

I've been meaning to get one of these for the longest time. Love the concept and the simplicity.

If interested I could offer the viewers of The Sand Trap a BOGO Buy One Get One Free Offer!

Starting at Mid-Night EST November 28th, 2010 and Ending Mid-Night EST December, 8th 2010. When ordering note under special instructions note that you are a viewer of The Sand Trap. Go to: http://www.pureballstriker.com

[cbrian]

Sounds good. I meant to take advantage of the same offer before, but kept forgetting.

[Shindig]

If interested I could offer the viewers of The Sand Trap a BOGO Buy One Get One Free Offer!

Should we add two to the cart, or one to the cart and make the note?

Also, if I'm reading the site correctly, it's under $15 for one of these. That seems a fantastic deal.

[wrx_junki]

It's late and nothing seems to be registering into my head. Even after going to your site, I am not understanding how this helps with keeping the lag. I'm a sucker for deals so I'd probably go through with the purchase as long as I understand the concept.

[Zeph]

Zeph, you had a good one about flipping vs. driving - so go ahead and ask that one when you can.

I will, thanks for making this thread Erik. I too am a fan of training aids, especially the ones that work.

My question regarding the PBS and it's use is this: I've tried the PBS concept, but found that I had trouble distinguishing between when the PBS lags and put pressure on my finger, and when the hand and finger flip and put pressure on the PBS by throwing the club out. In both situations, there will be pressure on the pad of the right index finger, but how can you feel the difference? As a flipper, I got pressure on my right index finger, but for the wrong reasons. Oh, and I've not been able to find a store which ships outside America yet. On the PBS site, only USA and Canada are available.

[Jeff Evans]

Should we add two to the cart, or one to the cart and make the note?

Good Question: Ok, you Buy One Get the Other for FREE! So, one in the Cart and make a notation under Special Notes that you are a viewer from The Sand Trap.

BTW with S&H; total is $20.90 USD.

[walk18]

Does it fit midsize grips?

[Jeff Evans]

Does it fit midsize grips?

Yes the PBS may fit a bit tight but works very well!

[Phil McGleno]

Great training aid. Use it all the time in my own practice and with my students. I think through the years I've obtained about twelve of them and my wife, god bless her, gets tired of finding them in my pants pockets when she does the laundry.

[JerseyThursday]

Is it against the rules to use this in an actual round?

[Danattherock]

Yes the PBS may fit a bit tight but works very well!

It fits on 1/8" oversize grips too:) Good to see you here Jeff!! Great thread Erik, this will surely add to your already great forum. When I took a serious interest in the game for the first time last year, three things helped me more than anything else. 1. Bobby Clampett's book, "The Impact Zone". 2. The PBS training aid. 3. A day spent with Jeff down in Augusta,Ga. Sidenote, The Impact Zone page 104, very bottom line, and the following several pages should have came with the PBS. The info I read in those few pages helped me understand the benefits of lag, pp3, and the PBS better than anything I read online, including the many Youtube videos Jeff has out. People learn differently, but these few pages of TIZ made it "click" for me. Soon afterwards, all my shots had that extra something. I call it whip crack;) My time with Jeff this past Feb started a cycle of good things. Snowball going downhill if you will. I have been getting better and better ever since. Still have much work to do, but I am on the right path for once. I plan to spend another day with Jeff soon. For anyone curious how a PBS can effect a high handicapper, see my review (from last year) below. Seeing Erik introducing Jeff here confirms my interest in this forum. Many of us have much to learn from these two guys. Pure Ball Striker review through the eyes of a 20 handicapper... Well Jeff, where do I begin. I have been playing golf for 20 years on and off and never got below a 20 hcp. I have had one lesson in my life. Luckily for me, that was with David Orr, and he helped me a ton last June. But point being, I am not a technically correct golfer as it pertains to swing mechanics. I learned how to play with a cooler of beer. The first club I ever bought was John Daly's Wilson "Killer Whale". Shorts and tee shirts. You picking up what I am putting down? A bit more civilized now, but my early years in golf did little to prepare me to play better. At 6'6" 310 lbs, I have always struggled with fundamentals, swing mechanics, and more recently lack of flexibility. My tendency is to hit shots a bit fat, loosing 10-20% of my energy. When not hitting slightly fat shots, I will put a strong draw on irons that will miss on green left and with woods, that strong draw is a hook that is a tree knocker. Got your PBS in the other day and read everything I could here on the forum. Many old threads, one containing some 40 pages of ramblings. I sent PM's to about 8 very helpful forum members begging for insights on exactly what I was supposed to do with this little orange piece of rubber. While I understand my swing to an extent, I have a difficult time wading through all the BS and golf terminology. Pressure point #3, got no clue what that means. Lag, not until a PM using a boat pulling a skier on a curve and the skier then going faster than the boat did I really get what it meant. To the person that sent me that PM, god bless you. But this morning I spent 1.5 hours pounding balls at the range. Some with the PBS, some without, some with, some without, etc... The good news, I hit iron shots straighter than ever. The better news, I did this repeatedly, over and over and over, some with the PBS on the club, some without. The EVEN BETTER news, I hit the ball further than ever at the same time I hit it straighter than ever. The bad news, I don't know why. No fat shots, I was hitting the ball making a "crisp" sound with which I am not familiar. I will put this in 20 hcp laymans terms and you (or anyone using the PBS) can tell me what the hell happened. First of all, while using the PBS, it never came off the grip during my swing. On about 5-8 times (of 150 shots), the top of the PBS rotated to the left. meaning after the shot, I look down the shaft with clubhead on the ground, and the top of the PBS rotated 15-20 degrees to the left. In other words, it had rotated counter clockwise. Other than these few times, it remained parallel to the club face during and after the full swings with my 7 iron. I took the club back as normal, graceful (for a 6'6" 310 lb 20 handicapper gorilla), and near the top of my backswing, I felt a bit out of control. So I compensated by slowing down the backswing, and gradually building up speed on the way down, as opposed to my normal quick swing tempo and transition (jerky at top). With a slower take away and smoother transition, I was able to bring the club down with a comfortable grip on the PBS. After that minor tweak that took about ten balls, I then focussed on "lag" (whatever the hell that is) and focussed on feeling pressure/weight in the downswing on the club head that was now clearly behind my hands in the downswing. The more I tried to create this feeling, the better I felt the pressure/weight of the club. The longer I stored the energy (for a lack of a better term) the more power (compression??) I was putting directly onto the ball at impact. At some point, it was almost a game, a very fun game, to see just how late I could release this... whatever it is, until I would push the shot because I waited too late. What happened next is what made me rush home and type this. I felt the clubhead for the first time in 20 years of playing golf. I am a big guy, got the jumbo grips (that feel small), and I don't usually feel anything in my golf swing. Well, I feel the air moving and the earth's axis spin, but you get the point. In other words, I swing very powerfully, but I am not in touch with it. Yet this little orange thing on my grip let me feel the golf swing. So I sit on a bench contemplating life for about five minutes. Generally thinking about what a great guy you are and how I wish we had been friends years earlier so I could be a scratch golfer now instead of a duffer. You know, normal stuff like that. I go back to the mat, do it again, and again, etc.. I take the PBS off and do it again, and again, and again, .... I am hitting my 7 iron a good solid 15 yards further than normal and they are either perfectly straight or have a slight 5 yard draw. My 7 iron is my favorite club and I know what it normally does. A smooth swing is 160-165 yards with a slight to strong draw, often missing on green left or left fringe if I am lucky. I get cocky and aim at the pin, I miss left. I aim right of the green to compensate for the inevitable draw, I accidentally hit it straight and miss on green right. How does one ever break 90 doing this? I can tell you with certainty, they DON'T. Golfing this way is just a big exercise in futility. But today, I could have knocked the pin down and the average carry is 175-180. With crappy range balls off a mat into a 10+ mph headwind no less. I swear guys, I couldn't (and wouldn't) make this stuff up. I consider myself of higher than average intelligence yet I had an extremely hard time deciphering the logic behind the PBS. The only reason I ordered one was due to all the positive buzz about it. I read everything I could and saw the Youtube videos. Now I get it. Not how or why it works, but I "get" why I didn't get it. What Jeff has here is an extremely simple device that addresses an extremely complex aspect of the golf swing. How do you articulate what "lag" or "feel" should be? You can't. You have to feel it for yourself. It is now understandable why the commercial ran for three weeks on the Golf Channel and sold 7 units. Nobody knew enough about what the PBS does for your golf swing to justify buying it. Marketing such a device must be difficult. How do you convince folks to buy a PBS if they don't know what the feel is, or the fact that they lack it in the first place. And how could a good golfer communicate this need to a lesser golfer? They can't. They likely don't know that they are doing things correct and the lesser golfer is not. You can't tell someone what to "feel". It is a very subjective thing to say the least. Today I felt something alright, I just don't understand how my golf swing and shots changed so drastically as a result of it. If someone would be so kind as to explain what the hell happened to my golf swing today I would greatly appreciate it. I won't sleep a wink tonight if someone doesn't chime in. I have bought 4-5 training aids over the years and zilch. I get a $15 piece of orange rubber and the stars are aligned for the first time. BS. How? -Dan

[Jeff Evans]

Great training aid. Use it all the time in my own practice and with my students. I think through the years I've obtained about twelve of them and my wife, god bless her, gets tired of finding them in my pants pockets when she does the laundry.

At my house my wife keeps all of money found in our pockets as payment. This may come across as bold but finding a PBS is like finding a piece of gold or at best a 20 dollar bill!

[iacas]

Is it against the rules to use this in an actual round?

Uh, yes.

But, if you're just out practicing and not posting the score and your buddies don't care (if you're betting), go for it.