New offering by Martin Chuck

[Hacker James]

This plane station aid looks pretty handy. A bit pricey, but I like it as I can multiple uses for it. Apologies if it has been posted before, but I did not see it when I searched. You could DIY, but its not that easy to drill precise angled holes without a jig.

 

[nevets88]

Didn't watch the whole video, skipped around, but like this better than the Swing Plane Perfector overall but wonder if the fixed angles is a limitation. The Plane Station is $60, the SPP is $200 (Chuck was smart to undercut the SPP), the SPP you can set it to any angle but the Plane Station has more features and the sticks extend longer so you can do the keep head steady drill and it can be placed in some positions the SPP can't. Also, would like to see what happens if the club hits the stick to see how stable the foundation is. I'm probably going to buy this if I can convince myself the fixed angles aren't a limitation.

 

[iacas]

3 minutes ago, nevets88 said:

Didn't watch the whole video, skipped around, but like this better than the Swing Plane Perfector overall but wonder if the fixed angles is a limitation. The Plane Station is $60, the SPP is $200, the SPP you can set it to any angle but Martin's has more features - the sticks extend longer to help you with keeping the head steady and can be placed in positions the SPP can't. Also, would like to see what happens if the club hits the stick to see how stable the foundation is.

You can use longer sticks in the SPP too.

Because of the increase in functionality, I like the SPP. It's more stable, too - you can put a pool noodle over the stick in the SPP, while the PS would fall over.

[nevets88]

4 minutes ago, iacas said:

You can use longer sticks in the SPP too.

Because of the increase in functionality, I like the SPP. It's more stable, too - you can put a pool noodle over the stick in the SPP, while the PS would fall over.

I guess you could just duct tape two alignment sticks together for a DIY extension. I didn't see extension sticks that come w/the SPP but not a big deal. I like that the SPP looks like it has a really heavy base.

OTOH, if you don't mind lugging a brick or something around, you could place something heavy over the Plane Station. 

Overall, it's good there are more options on the market.

[Hacker James]

1 hour ago, nevets88 said:

I guess you could just duct tape two alignment sticks together for a DIY extension. I didn't see extension sticks that come w/the SPP but not a big deal. I like that the SPP looks like it has a really heavy base.

OTOH, if you don't mind lugging a brick or something around, you could place something heavy over the Plane Station. 

Overall, it's good there are more options on the market.

Prior to seeing this, I had built something similar out of a 1 x 3 using two sticks set in parallel with a cross member between them. I then nailed the wood strip to a square section of lumber. It is stable enough, but drilling the angles was a bit dicey and the angles did not evenly match. The rods look almost identical to the ones that came with a golf net I got a few years ago, that popped up like a tent, you can piece them together as he shows. The pool noodle is a good idea, but the thin rods present a less cluttered appearance and possibly not as distracting. It is very light weight and I am sure if you accidentally made contact on the downswing, it would go flying (or break).

[iacas]

22 hours ago, nevets88 said:

I guess you could just duct tape two alignment sticks together for a DIY extension.

They sell 6' sticks here at Home Depot/Lowe's. Plus if you have a pool noodle you can always set that over it and make it about nine feet long if necessary (4' stick, 1' overlap, 6' pool noodle).

22 hours ago, nevets88 said:

OTOH, if you don't mind lugging a brick or something around, you could place something heavy over the Plane Station. 

Overall, it's good there are more options on the market.

Generally speaking, it's wise to avoid putting the sticks too close.

And outside, remember, you can just… stick the stick in the ground.

[RFKFREAK]

14 minutes ago, iacas said:

And outside, remember, you can just… stick the stick in the ground.

For my own personal purposes, this was pretty much my thought.  I don't have an indoor net so even using my net outdoors or at the range, all I have to do stick the sticks into the ground. 

[nevets88]

1 hour ago, iacas said:

They sell 6' sticks here at Home Depot/Lowe's. Plus if you have a pool noodle you can always set that over it and make it about nine feet long if necessary (4' stick, 1' overlap, 6' pool noodle).

Generally speaking, it's wise to avoid putting the sticks too close.

And outside, remember, you can just… stick the stick in the ground.

 

51 minutes ago, RFKFREAK said:

For my own personal purposes, this was pretty much my thought.  I don't have an indoor net so even using my net outdoors or at the range, all I have to do stick the sticks into the ground. 

 Unfortunately, some ranges, and I suspect for those who live around big cities, there's no ground to stick in, it's mats on concrete for the most part.

 

[RFKFREAK]

2 hours ago, nevets88 said:

 

 Unfortunately, some ranges, and I suspect for those who live around big cities, there's no ground to stick in, it's mats on concrete for the most part.

 

I'm not sure where you live but I used to live in NYC (which I think qualifies as a big city ) and was able figure a way out.

I also don't think these products are made for a niche market of people who don't have cars and therefore can't regularly drive to a range where they can stick a stick into the ground. 

Ultimately, and for some it will take more effort than for others, if there's a will, there's a way. 

[Hacker James]

3 hours ago, nevets88 said:

 

 Unfortunately, some ranges, and I suspect for those who live around big cities, there's no ground to stick in, it's mats on concrete for the most part.

 

and Martin more or less said the same thing. OTOH, his video for this product is worth a watch just for technique(s) on how to use the sticks. It takes the place of several of his drills using towels, swing under planes e.t.c. in that you don't have to have a bunch of training aids laying around, but you can use his swing plane for multiple tasks. Simplicity. It also appeals to me in that my practice area is now on 100% artificial turf which would preclude sticking the rods into the ground. Is it worth $60 ? probably not, but to me, worth the convenience.  Awhile back, I used to have rods stuck in the ground all over the place. I had set up a diamond pattern in the back yard and would practice hitting draws and fades towards the side points of the diamond and curving back to the center. I had one in the middle also. Total distance was about 45 feet. Not as good as full shots on a range, but did allow me to practice the techniques, paying attention to face angles relative to path e.t.c. 

[nevets88]

59 minutes ago, RFKFREAK said:

I'm not sure where you live but I used to live in NYC (which I think qualifies as a big city ) and was able figure a way out.

I also don't think these products are made for a niche market of people who don't have cars and therefore can't regularly drive to a range where they can stick a stick into the ground. 

Ultimately, and for some it will take more effort than for others, if there's a will, there's a way. 

My point was the opposite - it's great these products work in places without grass - they don't need grass. If you only have alignment sticks, you need to have grass. I do drive to grass ranges. There are none open at the moment, and if they are, it's not a short trip driving anywhere around NY.

[RFKFREAK]

1 minute ago, nevets88 said:

My point was the opposite - it's great these products work in places without grass - they don't need grass. If you only have alignment sticks, you need to have grass.

I'm just unsure of how many places there are where it'd be difficult to find grass.  Like I said, even when I lived in NYC, I was able to find grass.  Maybe other cities aren't like that. 

But I suppose this is a great product for those that don't currently go to a place where there's grass and don't care to explore finding a place where there is some. 

[nevets88]

15 minutes ago, RFKFREAK said:

I'm just unsure of how many places there are where it'd be difficult to find grass.  Like I said, even when I lived in NYC, I was able to find grass.  Maybe other cities aren't like that. 

But I suppose this is a great product for those that don't currently go to a place where there's grass and don't care to explore finding a place where there is some. 

I know where grass ranges are and use them, but they are not as quick to get to compared to someone who lives in most areas of the rest of the country. And you'd be hard pressed to find a grass range open off season, like now.

> don't care to explore finding a place where there is some. 

Yep, that's me in a nutshell. I'm hopelessly lazy and have zero initiative.

[RFKFREAK]

1 minute ago, nevets88 said:

I know where grass ranges are and use them, but they are not as quick to get to as they are to someone who lives in the midwest. And you'd be hard pressed to find a grass range open offeason, like now.

Which I suppose is similar to my comment about people that don't care to explore finding a place where there is some.   

Like I said, I don't know where you live but I know a couple of places in the Albany area which pretty much are mats only for 2-3 months of the year.  Otherwise, they're outdoors year around. 

[natureboy]

Both clever little designs. If nothing else, Chuck's vid has a bunch of drill ideas you can use with a regular alignment stick.

[Hacker James]

On ‎12‎/‎21‎/‎2015 at 2:34 PM, natureboy said:

Both clever little designs. If nothing else, Chuck's vid has a bunch of drill ideas you can use with a regular alignment stick.

"ditto".  I follow Martin Chuck's  videos frequently. I like his straight-forward, non pretencious, methodology. No nonsense, easy to watch and understand.  As for the products, some a little pricey, but he has no problem with people who try to DIY.