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John Novosel’s Power Tools – REVIEW


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John Novosel's Power Tools – REVIEW

An Official MyGolfSpy.com Review

http://www.powertoolsgolf.com/

 

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The Tool for Power

If you ask my instructor, I have issues with tempo. In searching for a way to develop a correct tempo for my golf swing, I came across the Tour Tempo app for the iPhone. I won't get into how those tones work in this review, but listening to the tones while practicing gave me a whole new way of looking at timing the golf swing. The connection to the Tour Tempo app and this review of the Power Tools training club is that they share the same creator, John Novasel. To be fair though, it was not John's name that drew me to the Power Tools, but rather a Google search for training aids that can help combat the over-the-top swing that I have come to know and “love”. After reading more about the Power Tools and the testimonials on their website, I knew that I had to give this club a go.

 

Here is a video showing the operation of the Power Tools training club so you can see how it works before we go forward.

 

 

When you first look at the club, you will likely notice that it looks like a hinged club with a big rubber band attaching the head to the shaft.

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In a subsequent phone conversation with John, he said that the tool came about somewhat by accident. That “accident” was the addition of the rubber band to the club, and it is what really separates the function of the club from other hinged clubs on the market. I have played around with the other hinged clubs and, from what I understand, the whole point is to keep the club from becoming unhinged during the swing. The Power Tools is a different hinged club in that you are supposed to have it hinge and unhinge during the swing. By allowing the club to do so, you develop feel for what the swing should feel like.

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Not only should this help with the OTT move, but it is also advertised to help you to develop proper wrist position during the swing (Power Angle) and in doing so add more power to your swing.

 

Once again, the system that I am using to rank the training tool will be based upon the PGA guidelines for teaching professionals.

Specifically, these five criteria:


     
  1. Validity: Is the device designed for something really important to success in the swing or the game?
  2. Reliability: Does the device provide consistent results when used in the same manner?
  3. Simplicity: Is the device easy to use and understand by the instructor and the learner?
  4. Durability: If the teaching aid is used regularly, is it made well enough so that it won't require early replacement?
  5. Cost Effectiveness: Are the product's benefits worth the price?

 

Validity (20 Points)

Is the device designed for something really important to success in the swing or the game?

One of my favorite things about swinging over the top occurs when instructors tell me that not a single tour pro swings over the top. Now we know that I will only be on tour as a spectator. However, if this is a huge no-no in the golf swing, then the tool is addressing a valid component of a successful golf swing. Obviously power and the distance that comes from it are other valid concerns. The game gets easier if you can get a club longer.

Validity Score: 20/20

 

Reliability (20 Points)

Does the device provide consistent results when used in the same manner?

Based upon my experience with the Power Tools, I would say that it's a very consistent tool. Realistically, it is simple in structure with a single hinge and the connecting rubber band. When swung correctly, it will perform the same motion over and over. Although this may touch on the “Durability” category, the construction of the Power Tools club is such that neither the hinge nor any other component has loosened or shifted at all since I started swinging it around.

Reliability Score: 20/20

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Simplicity

Is the device easy to use and understand by the instructor and the learner?

One of the most encouraging things that came from my conversation with John was the fact that just swinging the club would be enough to reap it's benefits. We had a discussion about feel in the golf swing and how difficult it can be for someone to develop the correct feel during the swing. I am the perfect test subject here. I “know” what I should be doing during the swing, but I can never really tell by feel if I have done it correctly. Ball flight is my measuring tape. John told me to just swing the club so that it straightens on the back swing, re-hinges at the top so you know when to start the down swing, extends again at impact, and then finally re-hinging again at the finish. The club promotes a takeaway that uses your body, as it won't extend if you just use your hands and arms to take it back. However, you don't have to think about that. If it extends, you are doing it right.

 

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The Power Tools also came with a DVD that contains some specific drills that one can also perform with the club. John suggested two drills that would help my OTT move and also build up some power. Even then though, he reemphasized that just swinging the club will help. John did email me this photo of Adam Scott showing the proper club position relative to the right arm for one of the drills.

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That was the only real specific instruction and the only part that I had a hard time assessing without someone to watch me. I need to get a big mirror on the side of my house or something.

 

Other than that, grip it and swing it are pretty simple instructions.

Simplicity Score: 19/20

 

Durability

If the teaching aid is used regularly, is it made well enough so that it won't require early replacement?

I found the Power Tools club to be very well made. As mentioned before, the parts did not loosen or break during the operation. What I didn't mention is that the club is actually made for hitting balls with it. You remove the rubber band and you are ready to go. I can tell you that I did hit some fat shots with this at the range and the club survived nicely. It felt strange to hit balls with a hinged club, but once I made some good contact, I gained some confidence. So even with some unintentional abuse, the club remained intact and fully functional. Although longevity has not been personally tested, I feel confident in the speculation that the club will last through at least a few seasons. Because it has moving parts and you hit stuff with it, it will eventually wear out, just not anytime soon.

Durability Score 19/20

 

Cost Effectiveness (20 Points)

Are the product's benefits worth the price?

The package with the Power Tool training club, DVD, and additional web content access code lists for $169. This puts it above most other training clubs. Answering the value question is always a tricky one. As always, I look at lesson pricing as a guide. $169 would get me three half-hour lessons at the local course one-on-one with a pro. The Power Tool is an interesting tool to compare to the pro because while the pro can point out swing issues and give one drills to correct them, they may not be able to truly be able to convey feel to the student. If the tool truly allows one to get rid of the OTT move and adds power and distance in the process, the price seems OK to me. Still, I would be much more enthusiastic if this came in closer to $100 or $120.

Cost Effectiveness Score 15/20

 

Total Score: 93/100

 

Hey Dave, you forgot something...

In reading back through this review, I realized that I just gave something 93/100 without actually saying if it worked or not. Perhaps this scoring system needs revision, LOL. To answer the “works?” question I give the Power Tools a resounding, “I think so”. Not the most definitive statement, but it is the one that I think works the best right now. This is what I believe has happened since I started using the Power Tool club:


     
  • I have a better feeling for loading my wrists at the top of the swing and for holding the lag through the swing.
  • I believe my swing path has improved, although I was taking it away too far inside last week and ended up OTT again.
  • My distance has jumped with my irons. I am now hitting 8i toward the 155-yard mark. For me this was a 7i or even a 6i sometimes.
  • Swinging the club prior to playing and practicing has been a great way to loosen up and get warmed up for hitting balls.

While all of that sounds great, during the time that I have been using the training club I have also changed a bunch of other things. I have switched irons from the Ping G10's to the Callaway Razr X. I have mixed in a few lessons on iron play. Most of all, I lack numerical data to support the improved distance and likely swing speed. The other variables aside, I do feel like the Power Tool has had a positive effect on my swing. I have changed irons in the past and never did the 8i from the Mizuno MX300's, TM Rac OS2's, TM 09 Burners, TM Burner 2.0, Ping G5, or the Ping G10 carry 150 yards. The Callaway Razr X irons are awesome, but something more than new irons is going on here. I think that this tool designed to give me more power in my golf swing has done just that.

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Volvo Intorqueo

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  • 2 years later...
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Thanks for digging this up RP. Timely too as my OTT has snuck back into the swing a bit. I just dusted this off and started using it again yesterday...

Volvo Intorqueo

All the cool kids follow me on twitter: @GolfspyDave

If you are not a cool kid, following me on twitter will make you cool...

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Golfspy Matt's Tour Tempo Review

 

Here is the link for those who want to read it.

Driver:   :callaway-small: Epic 10.5 set to 9.5 w/ Tour AD-DI 44.5

FW:   :cobra-small: F6 baffler set at 16º

Hybrid:  NONE
Irons:   :taylormade-small:  3i 2014 TP CB  4-PW 2011 TP MC w/ TT S400

Wedges:   :nike-small: 52º :nike-small: 56º  :edel-golf-1: 60 º w/ KBS C-Taper XS Soft-stepped

Putter:   :ping-small: Sigma G Tyne 34 inches Gold dot

 

 

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  • 2 years later...
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So this is a deep review bump, but I needed to bring the Power Tools iron up again since it may have fixed my swing.

 

Short story, my timing got lost somewhere in the last month, and air I could hit were weak slices. This after not slicing the ball for a few years. I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong and was basically stuck in a swing death spiral. 

 

Found the Power Tools in the garage and started swinging it. It's been neglected like lots of garage golf toys. Immediately it made a difference.

 

I could feel path, timing, and weight shift improve. Bucket of balls yesterday, alternating the Power Tool iron and my usual irons, and I can see myself getting back on track.

 

YMMV, but this thing was so magical for me this week that I thought it deserved to be resurrected from the review archives.

Volvo Intorqueo

All the cool kids follow me on twitter: @GolfspyDave

If you are not a cool kid, following me on twitter will make you cool...

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I don't have one, never used one, and probably wouldn't buy one. But..... I have other "tools" laying around like you do Dave. I say if the thing works for you that's all that matters. I'm not the least bit hesitant to get out something I own and like; knock off the dust and use it. Glad to hear it's helping. Goodbye slice!

(I'd had never see the review before today. Nice job.)

My Sun Mountain bag currently includes:   TWGTLogo2.png.06c802075f4d211691d88895b3f34b75.png 771CSI 5i - PW and TWGTLogo2.png.06c802075f4d211691d88895b3f34b75.png PFC Micro Tour-c 52°, 56°, 60 wedges

                                                                               :755178188_TourEdge: EXS 10.5*, TWGTLogo2.png.06c802075f4d211691d88895b3f34b75.png 929-HS FW4 16.5* 

                                                                                :edel-golf-1: Willimette w/GolfPride Contour

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Just my two cents, but I find training aids speak to me when I look at them and think. Ah-ha! That's it. I always felt like I did x and needed to resolve it. Example: DST compressor. 

 

One look at this thing and it looks like a dorm room drinking trophy. What the heck am I looking at.

 

If it works then great, but from a marketing stand point it looks strange and weird and homemade

Bag: Bennington Quiet Organizer 9-Lite (link)

Cart: :Clicgear: 3.5+

Driver:  :cobra-small:  F9 speedback, Accra iWood

Woods:  Sonartec GS Tour 14*, Fujikura Six S
DI:  :titelist-small:  T-MB 2 iron, KBS Tour-V 120 X,
Irons: :Miura: PP-9003SN 4-GW, Nippon 1150GH Stiff
Wedges: :Miura: 1957 K-grind SW, LW, Nippon 1150GH Stiff
Putter: :odyssey-small: EXO Indianapolis (link)
Ball: :Snell: MTB
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