SlingShot Speed Training Aid - Unofficial Review

[morningteesheet]

Hi fellow MSGers!

I’ve just recently had the pleasure of receiving all 3 models of the Slingshot swing speed trainer from the founder of the product, Tony. First off, what a guy. He loves the game and he’s had this swing trainer in the works for a couple of years. He told me it has gone through many iterations and rounds of feedback from coaches and he only released it now because it’s ready. He had a tour rep debut this at Torrey Pines recently and I hear the response from players and coaches was pretty exciting.

Let’s start with the philosophy of this training aid and photos to get everyone on the same page. There are three models out right now:

1.      All Star Model: 40” flexible shaft. Meant for juniors and/or slower swingers.

2.      Pro Model: 45” flexible shaft. Meant for adults with slower tempos.

3.      Tour Model: 45” carbon fiber stiff shaft. Meant for faster tempos and swing speeds 105mph+.

All three work the same way. They have weights at the head of the club and a ball in the shaft. There are two weights in the head to allow you to do light, medium, and heavy speed training. The ball in the shaft locks via a magnet to about the end of the grip of the club. This will stay in place with a good tempo on the backswing and then will snap into the bottom at the impact spot if you don’t cast or release too early. It’s a combination of speed training and timing, which is genius if you ask me.

Photos:

 

My experience:

I’ve been using these for a little over a week now and I’m in love with this product. My driver swing speed is around 110mph so I use the Tour Model most often. The shaft feels a lot like swinging your driver, which I like. Slight flex but nothing that’s totally different. After using this, my initial reaction of what this does is something I’d call “responsible speed training”. You could have SuperSpeed sticks and be swinging as hard as you can to then find out later that your timing is way off. This solves that, it forces you to swing with the right sequence while also gaining speed. Additionally, the two weights at the end are easy to swap out and it means you don’t have to carry around multiple sticks, just one.

One surprise I found is that I actually really like the All-Star Model (video of me using it). I keep that in my gym that has shorter ceilings and less space. It has a nice whip to it and lets me focus a bit more on tempo with an iron swing.

I’ll rate this product in three areas from 1-5 after my first week of using it:

1.      Usability: 5/5 – I took this out of the box and it was ready to go. You get the idea right away.

2.      Repeatability (will I use it for a long time): 4/5 – you can focus on more than just speed and this will stay in my bag for training but also warm up sessions for a long time. My one knock on this is that the company needs to create a training regimen around it to keep people using it. There should be guidance on the best way to use the various weights, what drills to do, and maybe exercises to incorporate. This is a brand-new company so I think they’ll get there soon.

3.      Look and feel: 4/5 – It’s a 5/5 for the Tour Model in the black carbon. That’s really slick and looks expensive. The other two models have clear shafts that don’t quite convey the same quality, but they aren’t as expensive as the Tour Model.

In summary, I’m incredibly impressed by this training aid. I’m not all that into training products and things like the Orange Whip and the Tour Striker ball have been short lived for me, but this is staying with me for a long time.

The next step:

Results are what’s important. Unfortunately, I only have a Voice Caddie SC200 without the swing speed mode. What I can do is track speed increases on actual shots and I plan to do that. My garage is small but I can fit a Rukket net in there to hit balls with less than driver. I’ve started by generating an initial set of results for my strong 4 iron (21* Hogan Ft Worth 15) and that’s below. In a few weeks I plan to follow-up with another set of results to see if there have been gains. But it's worth noting that these results below are after a few days of using the SlingShot and they definitely feel elevated.

Baseline Speed from 2.8.21 - 4 iron (21*)
Shot #	Swing Speed	Ball Speed	Total Distance
1	92	133	235
2	100	135	237
3	94	133	236
4	96	135	238
5	94	136	239
6	100	137	241
7	95	136	239
8	99	131	233
9	100	138	243
10	100	133	235
Average	97	134.7	237.6

 

Edited February 9, 2021 by morningteesheet
moved a picture

[fixyurdivot]

Nice review, thanks for sharing!  It's the first I've heard of this product and looks to be a nice combination of speed training and release point.  That's smart in that poorly controlled swing speed = No Bueno.

[BMart519]

If you make swings without a ball on the SC200, it will give your swing speed. It just reads as ball speed, which throws your distance off. But I use it for tracking, it can be picky in terms of setup. But it seems reasonably consistent once you are swinging through the zone it reads. 

[Bucky CC]

Very cool.  Seems like we're destined for a Most Wanted Speed Training article from MGS with the Slingshot, SuperSpeed, The Stack System, Orange Whip LightSpeed and I'm sure about 10 more that will pop up in the next few months.

Looking forward to it!

[morningteesheet]

1 hour ago, BMart519 said:

If you make swings without a ball on the SC200, it will give your swing speed. It just reads as ball speed, which throws your distance off. But I use it for tracking, it can be picky in terms of setup. But it seems reasonably consistent once you are swinging through the zone it reads. 

Oh interesting. I had read that only the SC200 plus can give you true swing speed. I'll give it a shot.

[morningteesheet]

Overdue update:

I've been using this training aid for almost two months now and I've thoroughly enjoyed it. It's the first training aid that's lasted more than a few weeks. I'm lacking a swing speed measuring device as my Voice Caddie just isn't that reliable for swing speed but I did get on a Trackman recently. I didn't have a driver with me but I noticed that my 3 wood was jumping up to 107mph which is around 5-7mph faster than normal for me. What's been most important throughout my entire bag is strike. I'm seeing smash factors and overall contact just get better and better. I'm gaining speed and timing is getting better.

What I didn't expect was to find that I really enjoy the shortest Slingshot. It let's me really work timing and speed with something that feels more like a long iron and I love that. The owner of Slingshot now makes that model in a carbon shaft, which is exactly the improvement that was needed. I would highly suggest any of the models but for me the Tour Model is my preferred option for working on driver speed/timing and the All Star Model for the iron swings.