Unofficial Review: Power Shift Board

[mpatrickriley]

This week, I should be taking delivery of a new training aid: the Power Shift Board. For those who are interested in such things, weight shift boards are nothing new. We have one thread about them here and one example of a homemade version here. I have also made a DIY board (no surprise to longtime members here); I'll try to get a picture uploaded to this thread.

But I went ahead a purchased this version of the training aid for a few reasons. It was discounted (always important). The second reason is that it is different from a basic teeter-totter; this one has a spring-loaded "foot" on the front side.

This does two things: it clicks audibly when engaged (meh; I could tell when the front of my board hit the floor), but it also supplied resistance. In general, I favor training aids that actively resist you making the correct move. Some training aids force you to make the correct move, others assist you to do some. Some are neutral, but provide feedback as to whether you have made the correct move. But trainings aids that push you in the "wrong" direction, I have found, are best for giving those lightbulb moments: "Oh, that's what I have to do to make that move!"

So I think this is an intriguing tweak on a simple concept.

The final reason that I pulled the trigger on this is that a couple of lines of evidence have convinced me that pressure shift is something I need to work on. My coach has noted my tendency to simply spin out on my front foot, instead of using the ground productively. And when I do Stack workouts, my "step" swings tend to be slower than my normal swings. At best, this suggest a profound lack of coordination; I'm not taking proper advantage of the step, which likely suggests that in my "normal" swings, I'm also not using the ground well.

So when this board arrives (midweek, I think), I'll do a little unboxing and keep everyone posted as to whether this particular board offers enough advantages to make it worth consideration.

[Thisway84]

Looking forward to your review! I’ve been intrigued by training aides targeting efficient ground forces since I started using SuperSpeed. I’ve had a similar spin out issue and have been trying to solve it on my own without the use of a training aide. I have been considering checking out SuperSpeeds ground force pedals with their protocols for this very reason although the slight resistance and click sounds from the Power Board could be nice feedback. Hoping it brings some positive results!


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[Preeway]

This will be interesting to follow. I’m planning to do a write up on the DownShift board I bought but I’m still looking for some videos to help me gets the most out of it. Are you finding info on YT or the website for this product? 

[mpatrickriley]

14 minutes ago, Preeway said:

This will be interesting to follow. I’m planning to do a write up on the DownShift board I bought but I’m still looking for some videos to help me gets the most out of it. Are you finding info on YT or the website for this product? 

Happily, the seller (golftrainingaid.com) has a whole series of explanatory videos: 

 

[Preeway]

Great intro video. Like the auditory feature as well. 

[jbern]

Very interesting! In have never used one of these before, but I’ve seen versions! 

[Shapotomous]

@GolfSpy MPR i would be interested in a pic of your diy board if you can manage it.  I am a diy type person and most of my golf time these days is hitting into a net and i am looking for rhings to keep it interesting.

[taylorjonasher]

3 hours ago, Preeway said:

This will be interesting to follow. I’m planning to do a write up on the DownShift board I bought but I’m still looking for some videos to help me gets the most out of it. Are you finding info on YT or the website for this product? 

The Downshift board is $20 off right now - let me know how you like it, I've been on the fence but have heard some pretty  good things about it. My misses are typically fat shots due to staying on my back foot, so it kinda seems right up my alley. 

[Preeway]

21 minutes ago, taylorjonasher said:

The Downshift board is $20 off right now - let me know how you like it, I've been on the fence but have heard some pretty  good things about it. My misses are typically fat shots due to staying on my back foot, so it kinda seems right up my alley. 

I really like it. If you are a kinesthetic learner, it’s perfect. It doesn’t really “force” you to shift your weight but it does in a sense, make it happen. If that makes sense. Right now I’m working on getting that feeling to happen without the assist. Just need consistency in practice to help get it ingrained. 

[Raymond Wagoner]

In terms of a new training aid, recently received the Straight Stick I have yet to use it and wanted to get some feedback 

[cksurfdude]

I also did a quick & dirty DIY a while back after a lesson where the instructor put me on the one he had ("Sheftec" I think?).

Here's my compilation pulled from the scrap bin (square cross piece not round dowel)...

.. and now I'm thinking maybe add a little piece of foam on one end to add some resistance. Thx MPR!!

[StrokerAce]

looking forward to the follow up on this. I tried a DIY version and your description of a teeter-totter (sp?) is apt. 

I've found that I don't shift enough forward on my downswing (always afraid of the dreaded slide vs rotation) so I'll be curious how this helps.

When I focus on transferring my weight forward and rotating I find that I hit the ball straighter and farther. 

[mpatrickriley]

And here she is, side-by-side with my DIY version (@Shapotomous)

Early impressions:

• The plastic gives every indication of being of adequate strength. The board really doesn't flex, which is good. For the record, I'm currently about 170lbs.
• The green surface on the PSB is suitably grippy. I like it.
• Right now (with limited use): I'm liking the little spikey bits on the bottom of the PSB. One of my biggest issues using my DIY board is that it would spin out (the board would turn counterclockwise as I attempted to use the ground in the downswing). I am going to have to give some attention to whether the PSB affects the carpet underneath it.
• The spring system works as advertised. It's not ridiculously hard to press down, but you notice it. The "audible" indication that you've gotten adequate weight to the front side is there, but it's relatively quiet.

Looking forward to putting in some work here. I know I need to get to my lead side earlier in the swing. So I'm going to be doing a lot of sequencing work on this in the weeks ahead. I also have a Stack session scheduled for today, so I intend to do some warming up on the PSB. I'll try to report back with how that affects my speed numbers.

[mardukes]

I might think you would want something more rounded than the square stop.  Perhaps butt up two pieces of door jamb stop?

[Josh Parker]

1 hour ago, GolfSpy MPR said:

And here she is, side-by-side with my DIY version (@Shapotomous)

Early impressions:

• The plastic gives every indication of being of adequate strength. The board really doesn't flex, which is good. For the record, I'm currently about 170lbs.
• The green surface on the PSB is suitably grippy. I like it.
• Right now (with limited use): I'm liking the little spikey bits on the bottom of the PSB. One of my biggest issues using my DIY board is that it would spin out (the board would turn counterclockwise as I attempted to use the ground in the downswing). I am going to have to give some attention to whether the PSB affects the carpet underneath it.
• The spring system works as advertised. It's not ridiculously hard to press down, but you notice it. The "audible" indication that you've gotten adequate weight to the front side is there, but it's relatively quiet.

Looking forward to putting in some work here. I know I need to get to my lead side earlier in the swing. So I'm going to be doing a lot of sequencing work on this in the weeks ahead. I also have a Stack session scheduled for today, so I intend to do some warming up on the PSB. I'll try to report back with how that affects my speed numbers.

For grip, go to a skate shop and buy a piece of griptape. Maybe $10

For the little spikes, are you using indoors or on grass?  Could always put screws thru it and grind down the points into round.

Looks good!

[mpatrickriley]

One observation: I have a pronounced and unfortunate tendency to lurch toward the ball in transition. Don't think classic early extension, where you thrust your hips toward the ball. Rather, my entire body tips forward: in a DTL line video, my head will move 4–6 inches across a line drawn at my head at address.

My still-early experience with this board seems to push back on this tendency. To really engage the spring on the front of the board, I need to squat into my lead side. Simply shifting down the target line (away from the camera in a DTL video), doing what I typically do in tipping forward, I lose balance.

I sent this to my coach (Jayson Nickol) and he was pleased that it was helping with the stuff we've been working on.

[Donn lost in San Diego]

My 2 cents:  1 cent:  Paloff press and variations on it is a simple way to strengthen your core muscles and train you to keep the core in place against sideways movement.  You never hear about Paloff press but search it and presto, you find bunches of videos.

2nd cent: at the range with the big flat black rubber ball holder alongside the hitting mat, I line up with my head in line with the edge of the rubber doodad. I focus myself on keeping my head motionless during the swing, especially the down swing and follow thru, keeping it in line with the big rubber edge that is pointing at me.   On grass, find something that won't move like a water bottle or a sleeve of balls,  line up with that.

[mardukes]

6 hours ago, GolfSpy MPR said:

One observation: I have a pronounced and unfortunate tendency to lurch toward the ball in transition...

I think this drill addresses your issue: How To Use The Ground For Leverage – Hit Longer Drives 

[fixyurdivot]

On 3/28/2024 at 9:46 AM, GolfSpy MPR said:

One observation: I have a pronounced and unfortunate tendency to lurch toward the ball in transition. Don't think classic early extension, where you thrust your hips toward the ball. Rather, my entire body tips forward: in a DTL line video, my head will move 4–6 inches across a line drawn at my head at address.

My still-early experience with this board seems to push back on this tendency. To really engage the spring on the front of the board, I need to squat into my lead side. Simply shifting down the target line (away from the camera in a DTL video), doing what I typically do in tipping forward, I lose balance.

I sent this to my coach (Jayson Nickol) and he was pleased that it was helping with the stuff we've been working on.

I absolutely love the practice facility .  I suddenly had a vision of Father O'Reilly, who was one of the priests at our church back in the 60's, and who was often seen around the rectory taking practice swings.  

In addition to improving weight shift, do you think the device helps with leveraging "ground force"?

[mpatrickriley]

19 hours ago, fixyurdivot said:

In addition to improving weight shift, do you think the device helps with leveraging "ground force"?

Yes. But at least in my case, I'd still add: it's hard. When I do it properly, I can see a jump in club head speed (measured with Mevo+) without additional effort. But it's not just a matter of telling myself to "use the ground." It's a re-sequencing of the swing, from just before transition and on. If you watch any of Mark Crossfield's videos on ground forces, one of the things he emphasizes repeatedly is that most amateurs don't get in—and especially back out—of the ground nearly early enough to make any difference in their swing.

So I wouldn't say that the PSB has revolutionized my game. But it has let me feel the difference between a simple weight shift and actually pressing the lead foot down into the ground. It has a job; in my case, I'd say it's done its job successfully, because I learned to feel something in the swing that I thought I was doing that I clearly wasn't.

I'd add: this is the advantage of the PSB over a homemade board that simply teeter-totters. Having to press against the resistance provided by the springs is a sensation I never would have gotten from my DIY board (or, I suspect, the commercial products that are similar to the DIY version).

[fixyurdivot]

30 minutes ago, GolfSpy MPR said:

Yes. But at least in my case, I'd still add: it's hard. When I do it properly, I can see a jump in club head speed (measured with Mevo+) without additional effort. But it's not just a matter of telling myself to "use the ground." It's a re-sequencing of the swing, from just before transition and on. If you watch any of Mark Crossfield's videos on ground forces, one of the things he emphasizes repeatedly is that most amateurs don't get in—and especially back out—of the ground nearly early enough to make any difference in their swing.

So I wouldn't say that the PSB has revolutionized my game. But it has let me feel the difference between a simple weight shift and actually pressing the lead foot down into the ground. It has a job; in my case, I'd say it's done its job successfully, because I learned to feel something in the swing that I thought I was doing that I clearly wasn't.

I'd add: this is the advantage of the PSB over a homemade board that simply teeter-totters. Having to press against the resistance provided by the springs is a sensation I never would have gotten from my DIY board (or, I suspect, the commercial products that are similar to the DIY version).

Interesting point from Crossfield about amateurs not getting into and out of the ground quick enough.  I've never done so, but it would be interesting to find a swing training facility that can measure "ground force and timing".  As much I think I'm getting benefit, I might be surprised to find out I'm getting little or nothing.  

While I'm aware of it being part of my swing thoughts, I try not to let that be the principal focus. When I do so things usually go bad.  I think it must be one of the more subtle, hard to refine and integrate pieces of the puzzle.

[mpatrickriley]

@fixyurdivot: I learn a lot about using the ground watching my son's swing. He's the only person I know personally whose driver clubhead speed in mphs exceeds his weight in lbs. Someone on Twitter the other day said his swing is a combo of John Daly and Scottie Scheffler, which made me laugh. He definitely has a lot of the "old-school" footwork with his lead foot coming off the ground in his backswing, but for the purpose of this thread, look at the way he re-plants it hard into the ground while his lead arm is still about 10:30. By the time he's at last shaft parallel on the downswing, he's clearly unweighting his lead foot.

I used YouTube to upload this, because you can use the caret keys on the keyboard (<>) to step through frame by frame.

 

[fixyurdivot]

4 minutes ago, GolfSpy MPR said:

@fixyurdivot: I learn a lot about using the ground watching my son's swing. He's the only person I know personally whose driver clubhead speed in mphs exceeds his weight in lbs. Someone on Twitter the other day said his swing is a combo of John Daly and Scottie Scheffler, which made me laugh. He definitely has a lot of the "old-school" footwork with his lead foot coming off the ground in his backswing, but for the purpose of this thread, look at the way he re-plants it hard into the ground while his lead arm is still about 10:30. By the time he's at last shaft parallel on the downswing, he's clearly unweighting his lead foot.

I used YouTube to upload this, because you can use the caret keys on the keyboard (<>) to step through frame by frame.

 

Holy Mackerel!! Where was Kirke in the Cobra Challenge "rotation maximus" event ? @GolfSpy BOS and @edingc, are you seeing this? 

If I were able to get my shoulders and trunk turned that far I wouldn't care about additional benefits of ground forces .  

Yes, he definitely has a Scheffler-like foot work move.  Out of curiosity, what is his average driving distance?  

[mpatrickriley]

1 minute ago, fixyurdivot said:

Holy Mackerel!! Where was Kirke in the Cobra Challenge "rotation maximus" event ? @GolfSpy BOS and @edingc, are you seeing this? 

If I were able to get my shoulders and trunk turned that far I wouldn't care about additional benefits of ground forces .  

Yes, he definitely has a Scheffler-like foot work move.  Out of curiosity, what is his average driving distance?  

These days, his driver speed is pushing 75, his ball speed can touch 110, so a normal drive will finish 160–175. He had one at 191 for Drive, Chip, and Putt this year, but I think the fairway was somewhat downhill.

[fixyurdivot]

1 minute ago, GolfSpy MPR said:

These days, his driver speed is pushing 75, his ball speed can touch 110, so a normal drive will finish 160–175. He had one at 191 for Drive, Chip, and Putt this year, but I think the fairway was somewhat downhill.

That's awesome.  Hopefully he'll keep at it and we'll be seeing updates of him playing JGA events.