DownUnder Board

[edingc]

Got my DownUnder Board today - the 2.0 "Tour Edition" that is adjustable and accommodates flared feet at setup. Took almost two weeks from my order, although the initial order email said they were estimating at least seven business days to ship, so they were pretty much spot on.

I'll do a first impressions post after I use it (probably this weekend), but initial thoughts are positive. It's definitely something that you could DIY with fairly common tools, however. But the quality is solid.

I'm looking forward to getting to work with it.

[GolfSpy MPR]

9 minutes ago, edingc said:

definitely something that you could DIY with fairly common tools

[edingc]

1 minute ago, GolfSpy MPR said:

Figured it'd be right up your alley!

When it's light out tomorrow I'll try to grab some more pictures. But at it's core the training aid really is what the name says - a board.

[RickyBobby_PR]

1 hour ago, edingc said:

Got my DownUnder Board today - the 2.0 "Tour Edition" that is adjustable and accommodates flared feet at setup. Took almost two weeks from my order, although the initial order email said they were estimating at least seven business days to ship, so they were pretty much spot on.

I'll do a first impressions post after I use it (probably this weekend), but initial thoughts are positive. It's definitely something that you could DIY with fairly common tools, however. But the quality is solid.

I'm looking forward to getting to work with it.

Bradley actually used a piece of plywood for among time before teaming up to do the downunderboard

[edingc]

Some additional pictures from today:

As you can see, the 2.0 version of the board is two pieces of what I'm guessing is molded 1/4" ABS plastic, joined with two thumbscrews and wing nuts with slots for adjustment.

From a purely looks standpoint, replacing the sticker (which isn't applied perfectly straight anyway) with a laser-etched logo would going a long way toward making the board more professional and premium.

I've been messing around with 9-to-3 swings in the basement using the board. It's a nice reminder to rotate and not sway. This is something I'm working very hard on this offseason. I also took it outside fully extended and tried a few "dry" swings with my driver without a ball and think it will be helpful with maintaining balance with my longer clubs.

Is it worth $110+ with taxes and shipping? That questions still remains to be answered during my winter practice sessions. I have these very specific problems that I'm working on, and I think it will help me. I also have the Planemate lying around that is almost solely for takeaway practice, and I also have the DST Compressor 8 iron that until recently hadn't been swung in almost a year. I'm no stranger to training aids, but they have specific purposes for my game.

 

[dlow206]

I get that a lot of folks would rather make a DIY version, but I also see nothing wrong with buying it for how much ever it cost if it does in fact work well. The creator of it should be rewarded if it is a useful tool.

[edingc]

1 hour ago, dlow206 said:

I get that a lot of folks would rather make a DIY version, but I also see nothing wrong with buying it for how much ever it cost if it does in fact work well. The creator of it should be rewarded if it is a useful tool.

Certainly. The board is very solid. Definitely more sturdy than what I would have DIY'ed. 

[RickyBobby_PR]

2 hours ago, dlow206 said:

I get that a lot of folks would rather make a DIY version, but I also see nothing wrong with buying it for how much ever it cost if it does in fact work well. The creator of it should be rewarded if it is a useful tool.

In some of Bradley’s old videos he gave out the dimensions of the diy board which is what he used for years. Several of his older YouTube videos has the plywood board in them. Iirc he has the plywood version in his secret golf videos too

[Peaksy68]

Do you get access to Brad's videos when you purchase the board?  I'm not a big fan of video instruction, but Brad Hughes keeps it simple and really knows his stuff.

[edingc]

6 hours ago, Peaksy68 said:

Do you get access to Brad's videos when you purchase the board?  I'm not a big fan of video instruction, but Brad Hughes keeps it simple and really knows his stuff.

You get access to a ~15 minute video that takes you through how to use the board (kind of a mini lesson in itself). No additional videos are provided.

[edingc]

11 hours ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

In some of Bradley’s old videos he gave out the dimensions of the diy board which is what he used for years. Several of his older YouTube videos has the plywood board in them. Iirc he has the plywood version in his secret golf videos too

The dimensions for all of the boards are listed on the website. If I was making the non-adjustable sizes I'd go with 3/4" plywood as the material, perhaps stacked and glued 1/2" plywood if you wanted them a little taller.

Blue Board - 10.5" x 14.5"
White Board - 12" x 16"
Black Board - 12" x 18"
"Pro" Adjustable Board - 10.5" x 14"-18"

[RickyBobby_PR]

20 minutes ago, edingc said:

The dimensions for all of the boards are listed on the website. If I was making the non-adjustable sizes I'd go with 3/4" plywood as the material, perhaps stacked and glued 1/2" plywood if you wanted them a little taller.

Blue Board - 10.5" x 14.5"
White Board - 12" x 16"
Black Board - 12" x 18"
"Pro" Adjustable Board - 10.5" x 14"-18"

12x18 with 3/4 is the size that Bradley used for years as the standard. All of his videos he uses that size board.

The white board and black board were the first two released as part of the downunder brand. The black for long irons (3&4) the white for mid irons (6&7) the blue board was a recent release and what I’ve seen him using with some of his junior students.

Based on my experiences with the black and white boards, I think most people could get away with using the white board especially since most don’t carry long irons.

If someone is going to follow Bradley’s drill series the black board would be the one that’s needed based on the use of a 3 of 4 iron to do the drills

[tony@CIC]

16 hours ago, edingc said:

Some additional pictures from today:

As you can see, the 2.0 version of the board is two pieces of what I'm guessing is molded 1/4" ABS plastic, joined with two thumbscrews and wing nuts with slots for adjustment.

From a purely looks standpoint, replacing the sticker (which isn't applied perfectly straight anyway) with a laser-etched logo would going a long way toward making the board more professional and premium.

I've been messing around with 9-to-3 swings in the basement using the board. It's a nice reminder to rotate and not sway. This is something I'm working very hard on this offseason. I also took it outside fully extended and tried a few "dry" swings with my driver without a ball and think it will be helpful with maintaining balance with my longer clubs.

Is it worth $110+ with taxes and shipping? That questions still remains to be answered during my winter practice sessions. I have these very specific problems that I'm working on, and I think it will help me. I also have the Planemate lying around that is almost solely for takeaway practice, and I also have the DST Compressor 8 iron that until recently hadn't been swung in almost a year. I'm no stranger to training aids, but they have specific purposes for my game.

 

I'm intrigued. Can we get you to post a video of you using it? 

[Tom the Golf Nut]

2 hours ago, edingc said:

The dimensions for all of the boards are listed on the website. If I was making the non-adjustable sizes I'd go with 3/4" plywood as the material, perhaps stacked and glued 1/2" plywood if you wanted them a little taller.

Blue Board - 10.5" x 14.5"
White Board - 12" x 16"
Black Board - 12" x 18"
"Pro" Adjustable Board - 10.5" x 14"-18"

I can't help myself… I was an Engineer and the son of a carpenter. I have all the materials available at the house. I'll build one this afternoon.  

[edingc]

2 hours ago, tony@CIC said:

I'm intrigued. Can we get you to post a video of you using it? 

I'll grab some for you sometime this week/weekend, probably when I head up to the heated range. 

[Tom the Golf Nut]

8 hours ago, Tom the Golf Nut said:

I can't help myself… I was an Engineer and the son of a carpenter. I have all the materials available at the house. I'll build one this afternoon.  

Well this was a quick project. The hardest part was the paint job. OK I might be in trouble.... Moderators let me know if I should delete the photo. But here it is!

[MattF]

12 hours ago, Tom the Golf Nut said:

Well this was a quick project. The hardest part was the paint job. OK I might be in trouble.... Moderators let me know if I should delete the photo. But here it is!

Got any other pics showing it in action? Also, what did you use for the top? Plus, I like your shoes...I have 2 pairs of the same ones but the black and white version.

[Tom the Golf Nut]

2 hours ago, MattF said:

Got any other pics showing it in action? Also, what did you use for the top? Plus, I like your shoes...I have 2 pairs of the same ones but the black and white version.

No action shots yet. Waiting on the paint to dry. Then I will clear top coat it tonight. I used 1/2" plywood on the top with another 1-1/2" strip on each side underneath to get to a total height of 1". It will be ready for action by the weekend. 

I have another pair of those shoes in all black.  

[cjeffs12]

Not gonna lie, I’ve been looking at $20 cutting boards on Amazon that match the sizes of the set boards. If the concept for the board helps I’m gonna do it. 

[RickyBobby_PR]

7 minutes ago, cjeffs12 said:

Not gonna lie, I’ve been looking at $20 cutting boards on Amazon that match the sizes of the set boards. If the concept for the board helps I’m gonna do it. 

The board and drills from Bradley Hughes got Brandon Todd from off the the tour and ranked something like 2000 in the world to two recent wins 

[cjeffs12]

2 minutes ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

The board and drills from Bradley Hughes got Brandon Todd from off the the tour and ranked something like 2000 in the world to two recent wins 

Wow, I didn’t realize that. Thank you, looks like I’m making an order and start putting in some off season work 

[RickyBobby_PR]

35 minutes ago, cjeffs12 said:

Wow, I didn’t realize that. Thank you, looks like I’m making an order and start putting in some off season work 

If you are on Instagram downunderboard has a bunch of videos of pros and others using the board. Bradley’s YouTube channel has older lessons with the diy version of the board too

[cjeffs12]

37 minutes ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

If you are on Instagram downunderboard has a bunch of videos of pros and others using the board. Bradley’s YouTube channel has older lessons with the diy version of the board too

I’m gonna check that out

[edingc]

@cjeffs12

I might recommend something just a bit thicker than a cutting board. I know there are some aluminum cake pans that are around $20 on Amazon that are 12x18 as well, and they are a little taller than the cutting board would be.

[cjeffs12]

12 minutes ago, edingc said:

@cjeffs12

I might recommend something just a bit thicker than a cutting board. I know there are some aluminum cake pans that are around $20 on Amazon that are 12x18 as well, and they are a little taller than the cutting board would be.

Oh I didn’t even consider depth, that’s a good idea, I was gonna make something out of wood but I didn’t want to mess up my shoes lol cake pan would be good 

[RickyBobby_PR]

7 minutes ago, cjeffs12 said:

Oh I didn’t even consider depth, that’s a good idea, I was gonna make something out of wood but I didn’t want to mess up my shoes lol cake pan would be good 

If you are going to spend $20 just get you a piece of 3/4 plywood cut to 12x18. That’s the board size used by Bradley forever before the downunderboard board. If you want a smaller one then cut 12x16. If you don’t have the equipment to cut the plywood Home Depot and Lowe’s make 2 cuts for free

[Tom the Golf Nut]

8 minutes ago, cjeffs12 said:

Oh I didn’t even consider depth, that’s a good idea, I was gonna make something out of wood but I didn’t want to mess up my shoes lol cake pan would be good 

I used a router on the edges of the wood so I wouldn't mess up the shoes. But I have about 8 pair of golf shoes so I could have dedicated a pair to the drill.  I've tried it out yesterday and earlier this morning to see what all the benefits are. Frankly I don't get it!  Maybe because I am stable to start with and rotate properly. I tried the squeezing the board between my feet tip from the down under site. But I'm going to watch a few more videos to make sure I am using it correctly. I can see the benefits if you are not stable, or step out of the shot, or sway. But at this point I'm glad I built one instead of spending the money. Like I mentioned in an earlier post all it took was a little time, materials were free.

[cnosil]

1 hour ago, cjeffs12 said:

Oh I didn’t even consider depth, that’s a good idea, I was gonna make something out of wood but I didn’t want to mess up my shoes lol cake pan would be good 

I just sanded the edges of the board.   Haven't used it a lot but it doesn't seem to mess up my shoes. 

[cjeffs12]

27 minutes ago, cnosil said:

I just sanded the edges of the board.   Haven't used it a lot but it doesn't seem to mess up my shoes. 

Good to know that, I think wood will be a lot cheaper in the long run

[edingc]

On 12/2/2020 at 10:23 AM, tony@CIC said:

I'm intrigued. Can we get you to post a video of you using it? 

Here's my Cobra "driving iron" today with the DUB. 

It's amazing how much my ball striking improves with the board between my feet. I still need to work on transferring those feels to swings without the board.

The biggest difference for me is that with the board I seem to get my pressure shifted around really well. No sway, I get a good turn into my back leg and the pressure transfers forward into the inside/front of my forward foot on the downswing. Without the board, I really struggled getting a good turn that's not really a sway, and as a result I end up shifting weight into my heel and throw my path left.

Basically, with the board today I hit a lot of really nice shots that started to the right of my target and drew back left. Without the board I had a case of the hooks, which really is just the path moving left with the same face-to-path.