All My Training Aids

[lamorak24]

Apparently I am a training aid junkie.  I see something I think can help me, and I generally have no self control and will buy it.  I figure I might as well post the list here and my thoughts on it in case someone is struggling with a decision to buy or not buy.

 

Eyeline Speedtrap -  I probably use this training aid the most.  I use this more for promoting ball first contact than shot shape, mostly because with the rods set up for "straight" or "fade" the Foresight GC2 can't see the ball.  I spent the winter hitting indoors at the PGTASS, so when I'd clip a rod and it went flying, it wasn't a big deal.  On the range, I've only hit with the board, I don't trust that the rods won't go flying.  I've been meaning to drill a tiny hole in them and put some string through.  My one issue with this aid is I personally have a hard time determining if the clunk I hear is related to me hitting it fat, or clipping the sides with an off center strike.

 

Eyeline Putting Mirror(small) - When I originally ordered this in March, it was backordered and I was so impatient waiting for it.  Since it arrived in April, I have probably used it 3 times.   It's a great training aid, I just am always rushing from the range to my tee time with only about 5 minutes to putt.   I really need to dedicate some time to using this. 

 

Skilz Smart Glove - This bad boy has a brace on the back of it to keep me from cupping my left hand.   For a while I was cupping my wrist at the top of my backwing real bad, and this helped clean it up.  I still will throw it on from time to time at the range to help reenforce the feeling of a flat wrist.  

 

Zepp 2 - When I heard about this, I just had to have it.  I've probably used it 3 times.  Stats it records - Club plane(gives a percentage for how far off your downswing was from your backswing), Hand plane, (same as club plane but for your hands ), Tempo, and backswing(how far you take the club back compared to address), club speed, hand speed, and hip rotation(if phone is in pocket).  Club Plane and Hand Plane are probably the two biggest for me because I am working on having my shaft less steep at impact. 

 

You can use it either during a round or at the driving range.  I tried it in a round but it was too frustrating for me, but maybe I just need to read the instructions.  At the range works well though.  The biggest thing is to remember to tell it when you are changing clubs.  You can even set your phone up on a tripod, and it will record each swing for you.   While you are hitting its easy to see the swing data for each shot, but going back historically, you can see your averages for each session, but its not very easy to find individual shots.

 

Garmin TruSwing - I got this one about probably 2 seasons ago, around the time Golf Smith was going out of business a friend was able to pick it up for $40 bucks and passed it on to me.  This measures a wealth of data, Club head speed, tempo, path at impact, face to target, shaft lean at address, shaft lean at impact, shaft angle at address, shaft angle at impact, dynamic loft.  It also shows you what your swing planes look like.  The problem is, Garmin doesn't provide any info to let you know what good metrics look like or how much difference should occur between address and impact. 

 

For a long time, I used it at the range and thought I was doing pretty good.  But then when I compared it to the data from Trackman, it turned out some of it was way off, particularly path and face to target.  Probably due to how I was putting it on my shaft, but I couldn't find much from Garmin to validate or invalidate the way I was doing it.  

 

I did a comparison between Trackman, Zepp2, and TruSwing so I could determine if the data was different between each for the same swing.  At some point I will do a quick write up and throw it on here.

 

Watson Hanger - I think of this as the Pro version of my Skilz glove.  I got this because I sometimes suffer from an open club face at impact.  The hope was that it would really help me get it together.  I used it a number of times during the winter and do I think it helped.   My one grip with it is that for me personally, I struggle to make good contact with it on, so I found it worked best for me to put in on my 8 iron for practice swings, then hit balls with my 9.  I lent it to a friend who has the same problem, so hopefully it will help him too.

 

Foot Spray - I bought this to help me figure out where the ball was hitting the club face.  Unfortunately, some comes in clear and some comes in white.  I got the clear so its tough to figure out where impact is...

 

Longshot Golf Impact Tape - I got these to replace the foot spray.  They work great and don't leave any residue on my clubs.  The ones I have are for irons, and work OK on my driver, but I might pick up some bigger ones for my driver.

 

I also have a ton of alignment sticks that are really the rods I use to mark the curve in my driveway during the winter.  In addition, I have tripod to hold my phone, a couple pool noodles, a nerf football I put on an alignment stick, a Callaway 7ft net in the backyard, and one of those 8ft x 1ft putting greens.  

 

I am also currently considering a Midsize Orange Whip.   Beyond the swing benefits it boasts, I think it would be a great addition for quickly warming up before those 6 am rounds where I don't want to, or can't, hit the range.