RoyN

This should be a fun one folks!  Golf goes from a social event to a 1 second performance event in a split sub-second - making it awful hard to repeat on command.  Consistency is what we all strive from from shoes, to clubs to balls to technique.  This year I started off fantastic and have gone backwards a bit due to inconsistency of play;  This toolkit may allow us to find out together where I am straying AND how to correct it!!

Congratulations testers!

Congrats to a great group of testers! Waiting to see if I should consider adding one or more of theses to my training routine.

Congrats testers!!! I have the ball, but haven't really used it. I'll be really curious to see if any of the others are worth investing in, plus I look to see how you all use the ball. Good luck!!

Congrats guys!  should be an interesting one to follow!

Introduction

Thank you to MyGolfSpy and Tour Striker for allowing us to be a part of another great opportunity.

My name is Royce, 40yo, and I reside in Palm Desert CA, aka the Greater Palm Springs area or the Golf Capital of the US. With over 120 courses that includes stops on the PGA & Champions Tours and the former home of an LPGA Major. Golf is year round here, if you can handle the summer heat.(117° yesterday!)

For me, golf has become a way of life, since I now work in the industry. When I am not at home with my wife of 10 plus years and our special needs 9yo son. I am either trying to sneak some time in on the course or at work. I am currently a manager for a golf retailer but started out as a club builder. And I constantly remind people the guys who build the racecars don't drive them on Sundays. Same goes with golf clubs. I have had the opportunity to build or work on clubs for PGA & Champions tour pros, current & former professional athletes coaches and broadcasters.

My game has come a LONG way since I really picked it up almost 5 years ago. I only dabbled with a local 9 hole par 3 course growing up in LA. Not until 2019 did I actually really try and take up the game. I had never swung anything longer than a 7i before. Unfortunately March of 2020 put a hold on my new found passion. But I have been playing consistently for the last three and half years. Starting at almost a 40 index, I am playing to about a 17 now.  I am mostly self taught. With the exception of 3 or 4 actual lessons over the years. A lot of time spent watching YouTube videos and grinding on the range trying to learn this incredibly difficult game. I am every bit of the average golfer. Club head speed is about 93-96mph with driver. My 7i goes 147-154 yards. But I know there is more in the tank and haven't tapped into it yet.

As a gear junkie and someone who is always looking for anything that will help me improve, no matter how small. I am ecstatic to be able to review all these different Tour Striker products. Not only am I looking for what will improve my game but what could help someone else's game. Let's be honest, we are golfers, we are always looking for a simple fix!

Training aids.  Do they work? Can they help your golf swing, or are they mere band-aids that fail to heal your swing once they’re taken away? The golf instruction community, and golf as a whole, is divided on the subject. Some swear by a good training aid, while others are convinced they have no lasting benefit. Add to this dynamic the fact that there are plenty of cheap low-cost and low-quality products promising big gains in yards and accuracy, and it’s easy to see how everyday golfers can get confused and frustrated.
TourStriker and its founder Martin Chuck are at the forefront of making high-quality training aids with true potential to help your game, however. If tour pro use and validation is your metric, look no further than the prevalence of the TourStriker Smart Ball. Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose, and Max Homa are just a few of the big names of professional golf who have been seen using the Smart Ball. Now, the MyGolfSpy Forum will put several of TourStriker’s products to the test in a unique custom-built opportunity specifically for the forum.
For this testing opportunity, testers will receive one of each of the following devices:
1)      The TourStriker Smart Ball Sleeve with Smart Ball.  The Smart Ball may be the most popular and successful training aid going for teaching a golf swing that synchronizes the arms and body. Now with the debut of the Smart Sleeve, Martin has taken the ball off the lanyard you used to wear around your neck, and dramatically expanded the use and benefits of the Smart Ball!
2)      The Impact Sling. The Impact Sling is the modern version of the classic and universally loved “rope swing drill.” The Impact Sling uses a golf grip handle and weighted resistance bands to work on tempo, timing, and many other aspects of your golf swing.
3)      The Toolbox. The Toolbox is an all in one training device that will help golfers of all skill levels with alignment and ball position, stance width, swing plane, and fitness & stretching among others.
4)      The TourStriker 7-Iron. This unique club is designed to teach golfers the correct way to deliver the “sweet spot” of their clubs, requiring the forward shaft lean at impact common among all great ball strikers.
5)      The FlexClick. The FlexClick shows you what the ideal impact position feels like so you can begin to train proper wrist conditions, a proper grip, and improve your long game, short game, and putting.
In addition, each TourStriker product is accompanied by a series of lesson protocols created and presented by Martin Chuck himself. In these protocols, Martin takes you through a progression of drills to help you get the maximum benefit from the training aid.
Please welcome and congratulate our testers!
@Michael.Sandoval33
@billpierce
@RoyN
@goaliewales14

Tour Striker Training Bundle
Official MyGolfSpy Forum Member Review by Michael.Sandoval33
Greetings once again from sunny Southern California!
For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Michael, 34 years old, an enthusiastic golfer with beginner-adjacent level skills, and thrilled to be diving into my second official MyGolfSpy member testing experience. Earlier this year, I had the incredible opportunity to test the Taylormade Qi10 Max driver, and it was an absolute blast. That experience was invaluable, and I’m eager to take what I learned and apply it as I review the Tour Striker Training Bundle.
A little about me
When I’m not on the range or the course, I’m usually studying for my degree in Software Programming or spending quality time at home with my fiancé and our little guy, Mr. Pickles. Since picking up golf 10 months ago, it’s become a near-daily passion for me. My commitment to improving my game has become so that my friends have even joked about needing to put up “missing” posters around Los Angeles.

As for my game? It’s a bit of a stitched-together show.. somewhere between a beginner and a bogey golfer. My progress to date has come through a mix of self-practice, tips from friends, a few lessons, guidance from online instructors, and, of course, the ever-reliable YouTube. 
And what about the test?
One of the key reasons I’m particularly excited about this testing opportunity is that I’ve always been somewhat skeptical about training aids. What actually works for someone like me? What doesn’t? That’s what I’m hoping to uncover while testing the five Tour Striker Training Aids that I’ve been provided with. I have watched some videos on the training aids since I was selected as a tester, but that is as far as my knowledge of Martin Chuck, Tour Striker, and the products go. That will all change once testing gets underway!
My plan for this review is to evaluate each training aid on its own merits but I will also be considering how effectively they work together during practice sessions. In partnership with the physical training aids, I will be using the provided video protocols to make sure I am getting the full range of use from each product. I’ve set high expectations for the Tour Striker Training Bundle, and I’m committed to only continuing to use these aids if, by the end of the testing period, I genuinely feel that they’ve made a noticeable improvement in my game.
So, without further ado, let’s get started! I want to extend a huge thank you to both MyGolfSpy and Tour Striker for this fantastic testing opportunity. I’m genuinely excited to embark on this journey and share the experience with all of you and my fellow testers. Play On!

Tour Striker Training Bundle Testing

 
My name is Bill Pierce, and I am thrilled to participate with the Tour Striker Training Bundle evaluation.  I do have some experience with Tour Striker gear as I purchased the older prototype of the current smart ball design... to help me with some connection and sequence challenges in my golf swing!  The ball works quite well.  I have also followed Martin Chuck as an instructor for about 15 years now.  
I want to thank the team at Tour Striker for supporting us in this testing and providing what should be a great opportunity to learn and improve.  It would also be remiss of me to forget to thank the MGS leadership and community as this is my THIRD testing opportunity!  For those that read my reviews for the putter or shoe evaluations, welcome back to Bill's world. I am sure we will have fun on this endeavor, just as we did with those tests.

For those that do not know me, a little about me:
Have I made the demarcation into 'senior' golfer yet? At 62, that train is coming! I play golf predominantly in the North East now, and spend my time North of Boston and up into Maine. I started this year with a bang and had the handicap around 12.6.  We have climbed a few strokes in last two months due to rust from Covid and a thumb injury and some flaws that materialized again. The largest negative impact appears to be in the short game. So, while I straightened out the drive and am hitting more fairways… the pulling of wedges and three putting has crept in to elevate my scores.  Sound familiar?  If so, take this journey with me and see how we use this tool kit to identify and correct swing flaws.  Note: Correcting my issues has not been a strong suite for me and often takes weeks for me to get my swing back once a flaw creeps in – ouch!
I am mostly self-taught, but from 2012-14, I decided lessons were needed as frustration crept into my game and inconsistency was frustrating. I enrolled in Golftec and the video-based learning was very helpful for me to ‘see’ my flaws.  The adage “feel is not real” summed my swing up perfectly. 
The two largest issues were:                  
1.     Weight Transfer and not getting onto left side    
2.     Spinning out or coming slightly over the top
These creep back into my game at times - particularly the out to in path issue, so the use of a Smart Ball and aiming sticks and other tools that we leverage back with Golftec --comes in handy. I also have a hitting matt, net and a home-made swing station. 
Recently, I gained access to a GCQuad at the local YMCA and I plan to continue to use that this winter.
A deeper look at my swing and injury history for awareness:
I managed to go most of my entire life injury free, but during those golftec years, when I turned 51, I managed to tear the common flexor tendon and had elbow surgery. That led to some shoulder issues, and it took me years to rehab and work through those two challenges.  More recently, when I turned 58, I sustained a back injury and compressed two discs.  For our older readers, I can be a great conduit for you regarding using these aids and detailing that experience --when the swing is not what it once was and the flexibility is a challenge. All of this may sound hopeless, but I can still hit it decently – my 7i is 145-65, my 4 hybrid is 165 -200, and driver (the most impacted due to shoulder and back) at 200-230.  As I have been trying to amp up my swing speed, I have noticed a flaw creep in: I pull the ball at times, particularly the wedges. Yet my 50 degree, I can hit 120 plus at times. While I like the power, the 20 yards plus left does not help the score!  Some things to work on, and I will document my approach to this and progress.
 
Initial thoughts on my testing approach:
1.     I will absolutely follow the protocols, as how can you ignore the excellence of Martin Chuck?
2.     The flaws mentioned above will be called out so weight transfer and path will be looked at.
3.     I plan on crafting a matrix of all the tests and some form of identifying what works best for fixing my particular issues. Perhaps even an effectiveness ranking ..if I can figure that out!
4.     I will always summarize my ‘experience’ and thoughts to take the reader on the journey with me.
5.     I am thinking as this is late in season for me – how to leverage the GC Quad and provide real data from a simulated environment.
6.     I hope some on course data can be used, the weather may decide that fate!
7.     I will provide separate perspectives of each tool, and hope to not overload you or myself.
Closing thoughts and some humor:
Those who know me or have read some of my past material, realize that I enjoy a good joke and yes even some sarcasm.  Let the testing begin -->as the current scoring and handicap trend is not what I desire!

Introduction
Hello fellow spies!  I want to thank MGS and Tour Striker for this amazing testing opportunity!  For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Mike, or Goaliewales14.  I live in Indiana with my amazing wife of almost 12 years. 

If you guys don’t know, I was first introduced to Tour Striker with my first ever review for MGS.  I had the extreme honor to review Martin Chuck’s Tour Striker Academy.  I’ll post the link below in case anyone would like to see how some of these products are used during lessons.
That being said, I do have some previous experience with these products such as the Smart Ball and Toolkit.  I will note that the Smart Ball did not have the sleeve when I used it, so that will be a new experience for me.
I owe a lot to Martin and MGS for where my golf game is today.  The Tour Striker Academy completely rebuilt my swing for the better.  Since then, I’ve also purchased the Planemate and Martin’s Simple Strike Sequence.  This has led me to win three tournaments in the past two years.  It all started because MGS and Martin picked me to review the Tour Striker Academy.  Here’s a short video just to show how dramatic my swing has changed since that all started.
Testing
With there being multiple different training aids, my plan for testing and grading is to focus on each of them individually.  That means I will try to do the protocols one product at a time to truly understand the intent of each of the aids and what they are trying to show/correct.  This also means that I will be scoring each of the individually and then take the average score as the “total score” for the bundle.  With some of the products that I've previously used due to the Tour Striker Academy, I will also try to compare the protocols to how they were used in person.

Congrats!  Looking forward to dropped handicaps from all!

Congrats testers, here's to improving your game with Tour Striker! When I first got started getting serious about golf I used the heck out of one of their 7-irons that forced forward shaft lean and I loved it as it worked wonders for my game. I hope this bundle helps you just as much!

Really interested in seeing how the reviews turn out.  I'm quite the training aid fan

Congratulations!!

Congratulations testers. Looking forward to seeing if these training aids are worth the investment.

Congrats testers!!  I am always interested in training aid effectiveness.

Congrats! @goaliewales14, I believe this is your second tour striker test. Curious how you are able to builder of the first with now having all the aides. 

Nice, congrats testers. Have fun, hopefully see some good results from the training! 
 

Congrats guys. Can’t wait to see the process!

Congratulations everyone!!!

Congratulations everyone!

Congratulations testers! Let the training begin!

congratulations

I'm super excited for this as I used a few of these when I went out to Martin's school to review it!  I've been a huge fan of Martin and all of his Tour Striker products ever since!

congrats guys ... this will be a fun one to follow