Claire is a 19.4 handicap who plays 3-4 times a week and practices 1-2 times a week. Her goal is to get her handicap down to 15. She is currently working on the consistency and power of her drives, and approach shots from 70 yards.
I have taught Claire on and off for over five years, she is a fantastic student who is always striving to challenge herself and get better, which makes her the perfect woman for the job of testing out my four chosen training aids.
The Orange Whip
What Is It?
Created by PGA Professional Jim Hackenberg after years of watching his students and tour player friends become too obsessed with club position at the price of them losing their natural rhythm and balance. The Orange whip is designed to put the focus back on motion and promote the feeling of hitting through the ball rather than at it.
We have the Orange Whip Mid-Size to test which is suitable for men, women, seniors and teens and shorter players. With a comfortable grip, golden counterweight, super flexible shaft, and the signature weighted orange ball.
(Image credit: Emma Booth)
In Action
We start with the recommended warm-up of the torso twist to loosen up hips, feet, knees, and ankles. After 10-15 of those we move onto the one-handed tennis forehand drill that helps to develop the feel of correct hinging and rotation, along with warming up your wrists, shoulders, and hips, another 10 – 15 reps are required.
Then it is time to put it all together by putting both hands on, hover the Orange Whip and to slowly build up to full swings, Claire completes another 10 – 15 reps. Finally, we put it all together by going back to a real club, the driver is recommended. Another 10 -15 swings with the same rhythm as the Orange Whip and to finish some individual swings.
Claire’s Verdict
I like the simplicity of the product and the instructions. Performing each level of the exercises was a good workout and I could feel my balance improving the more I did. I had often heard it talked about your power comes from the ground up and for the first time I was able to feel and understand what this meant. When I went back to my own club my swing felt smoother and my follow through was better. I would consider buying one as a warmup tool and to improve my rhythm.
Coaching Verdict
I was already a big fan of the Orange Whip having used it in my coaching for many years. However, confession time…after losing my original I was using an imitation of the original. I must say after having the original back in my hands it really does feel much better, the weighting feels more balanced and the build quality is superior. I like to keep things simple when I coach, the Orange Whip is the perfect tool that allows me to do that. I look forward to helping many golfers improve their speed, rhythm and power using this.
Perfect For
Anyone who often finds themselves in a rush up to the first tee and needs a quick warm up routine.
People who want to develop a more rhythmic balanced swing.
Not For You
If you have any back or wrist issues, unless under the guidance of a qualified physio.
PGM Golf Swing Training Ball
What Is It?
Essentially this is a small inflatable ball with a neck lanyard. Fresh out of the packaging it looks slightly underwhelming in its deflated state but the provided pump quickly brings it to life. The PGM Golf Swing Training Ball may not be the original ball of this nature but with its exceptionally reasonable price, it has quickly become one of the most popular versions.
The purpose of the ball is to be worn around the players neck and the inflatable ball placed between the forearms. It can be used to hit balls with and is designed to increase players awareness of and improve their body arm connection right through the bag from putter to driver. One of the biggest selling points of this product is that it can be used to hit shots with, providing instant feedback.
It may sound and look like a gimmick but this little ball packs a punch and has already proved itself by being a huge hit on Tour with many players being found with this around their necks on the practice ground.
Price: £9.95 on Amazon
(Image credit: Emma Booth)
In Action
This product does take a little getting used to, so we start with something simple and work on pitching which is perfect for Claire as it is what she would like to improve. It takes Claire a good few attempts to get the knack of keeping the ball between her arms while swinging, once she has the hang of that we introduce the golf ball.
After a few topped shots Claire quickly finds her groove and soon gains confidence to hit longer, harder pitch shots. We have been trying to improve her commitment through pitch shots and to not quit on them and the PGM ball really seems to help this as there is nowhere to hide when using this, the feedback is instant.
Claire’s Verdict
I admit I was sceptical when I first saw this and became even more so after trying to swing with it, but that quickly faded away once I got to grips with the feel of it. I often struggle with the dreaded chicken wing and not turning through, but this really helped me to feel the correct impact. After ten minutes, I was completely sold on the benefits, when I went back to trying shots without it, I could still feel the improvements. At just £10 I will be purchasing one.
Coaching Verdict
I have used similar products in the past to this so was already aware of the improvements that can be made through practicing with it. I have found people can be a little put off by the initial awkwardness of getting used to swinging and hitting but once they do golfers of any level can experience the benefits. Did we mention this version is just £10! I’m sure if you walked into any teaching bay you would find one of these which is a testament to its usefulness.
Perfect For
Anyone who lacks arm and body connection throughout the swing and wants to rid themselves of the dreaded chicken wing.
Those who enjoy super portable training aids. This takes up no space at all when deflated and even when inflated to be honest, and its super light.
Not For You
If you are not prepared to miss quite a few shots initially and weather the awkwardness stage of getting used to it.
HackMotion Core
What Is It?
HackMotion is a small wrist sensor that is worn on the golfers leading wrist, so for a right handed golfer it is worn on the left wrist for a left handed golfer it is worn on the right. The sensor is used with the accompanying app to track the wrist angle throughout the swing, with focus being placed on three key positions: address, top of backswing and impact. The App also provides live audio feedback, practice drills and swing improvement tips. In the box you get the device, a glove clip, a hand strap and charging cable.
There are three different packages available the Core, Plus and Pro, the Plus allows you to get Putting data, the Pro unlocks even more features. You can upgrade your package at any time to unlock more features.
Price: $295 / £230
(Image credit: Emma Booth)
In Action
I have heard and seen many coaching videos on this device but had never actually used one so was excited to see it in action. Claire decided to use it without her glove. The App was downloaded quickly and filling out the player profile did not take long at all.
Then it was onto calibration. This is where the device needs to register the flat angle of your wrist in front of you. I managed to make this more difficult by holding the phone at the wrong angle, which made the subsequent measurements wrong but after righting that initial glitch we were away!
We set it up in player mode so Claire could get the full experience of trying to use this herself. We propped the phone in front of her so she could see her wrist angle at set-up and get clear feedback of the red or green screen for top of swing and impact.
After lots of red screens, meaning Claire’s wrists were out of position Claire was quickly able to stop and self-adjust to improve the position. The instant feedback was fantastic for Claire being able to self-monitor, make changes and see the improvements register. The impact numbers were the most satisfying to see improve.
Claire’s Verdict
I was slightly apprehensive when I first saw this, in terms of golf tech, a rangefinder and using some of the TopTracer features is as far as I tend to go. I wasn’t sure how knowing what my wrists were up to could actually help me either. I found the initial calibration stage a little fiddly, but we probably wouldn’t have made the same mistakes if I was on my own because I would have been holding the phone, so I blame Emma!
Once up and running though I found it very straightforward and liked the simplicity of the live feedback. I loved the streak mode that tracks how many in a row you get in range, I found it really addictive! The price point would put me off purchasing it for myself, but I will be asking to use it again with Emma in future lessons.
Coaching Verdict
I have seen and read lots about the HackMotion wrist monitor but had never seen one in real life before. The coach’s mode is something I would like to explore further. Using any training aid that can be used while hitting balls is always beneficial when coaching. The swing is over in seconds, is very impulsive and all too often what players think they are doing and what they are doing are two different things, this device really removes a lot of in swing mystery.
Once we had both gotten used to the app layout and feedback it felt very intuitive to use and we both quickly got sucked into seeing the screen light up green with the accompanying ding sound that signifies and in range (good) wrist motion.
My only word of caution with this device would be to not lose yourself and become too obsessed with getting good feedback. Golf is a game of rhythm and it’s natural for all of us to have quirks in our swings and make them work despite them through good practice. That being said, it’s a wonderful bit of kit to gain knowledge and understanding of how the wrists work through the swing.
Perfect For
Golfers who are prepared to invest, are devoted to improving their swing and upping their practice regime.
You like to keep track of your practice sessions and a record of your progress.
Not For You
If you like to keep things simple are not prepared to learn the ideal wrist positions in the golf swing
SuperSpeed Golf Ladies Training Set
What Is It?
SuperSpeed Golf is a swing speed training system that claims you can gain serious yardage when used in conjunction with your practice for 4 – 6 weeks. In the box you receive 3 golf shafts of different colours and weights. The yellow shaft is 20% lighter than the mass weight of a standard women’s driver, the green 10% lighter and the Blue 5% heavier.
The premise of the product is for the user to partake in overspeed training which trains your body and brain to swing the club faster than you are used to, the repetition helps the user to feel more comfortable and confident swinging at faster speeds and ultimately result in faster swings and ball speeds when hitting. It all sounds good to me!
On the SuperSpeed website there are free online tutorials that take you through a variety of training regimes. It is recommended you purchase the PRGR Portable Launch monitor to accompany the sticks so you can record you swing speeds, but we don’t have that so will be using Toptracer to record our distances.
Price: £159.99 from superspeedgolf.co.uk
(Image credit: Emma Booth)
In Action
Before we get started, we decide it would be sensible to get some baseline stats of how far Claire hits it, we opt for the driver because that’s where we would like to see improvement.
We record Claire’s average driver yardage as 170 which she says is fairly typical and would very much like to improve. Then the work begins! We start with the lightest shaft, the Yellow at 20% lighter. Here is the first set of recommended exercises:
· 5 Full individual swings right handed (so not constant swinging) as fast as you can
· 5 Full individual swings left handed, so you need to switch your grip around and your body, again swinging as fast as you can.
· Repeat the above process with the Green, 10% lighter
· Repeat with the Blue 5% heavier
· All of this should be done without any rest time at change over
· It will take approximately 6 – 8 minutes to complete
· Ideally you do this routine every other day or a minimum of 3 days a week
Switching to the left-handed swing was a little tricky for Claire as she had never tried to do this before, but she soon got the hang of it and got faster and smoother. We then returned to Claire’s driver which felt very strange after all that work. The result was instant, the My Practice feature on Toptracer showed Claire gained on average 12 yards!
Claire’s Verdict
I had never heard of or seen SuperSpeed shafts before but was very keen to give them a go as would love more distance, I mean, who wouldn’t?! The shafts felt quite strange to swing initially with the weight at the end. I consider myself fit but 5 minutes in, this was a real workout! The left-handed swings really threw me and I felt completely useless at first but surprised myself with how quickly I managed to do fuller swings and I enjoyed the balance of swinging both right and left handed on the body.
By the last round with the heavier blue shaft, I felt more balanced and stable when making faster swings. When I went back to my driver it felt so strange, it felt lighter and so much easier to swing, I felt faster and to my joy saw some longer drives. As someone who enjoys keeping fit I would be keen to keep up the training to see if I can maintain the longer yardages out on the course.
Coaching Verdict
I have heard nothing but good things about SuperSpeed golf shafts so was very excited to have a set of the real deal in to try. I was impressed with the build quality, they felt like a premium product and very stable to swing back and forth.
As a coach who predominantly works with ladies this product is fantastic for helping them to unlock more speed and power. A common complaint I get from lady golfers is that all their clubs seem to go the same distance and that is due to not creating enough swing speed. The SuperSpeed training method gives permission to throw caution to the wind, go for it and swing for your life!
Being the responsible coach, I am I would advise you warm up thoroughly before using and do not use them if you have any back issues or ailments that could be aggravated by the exercises. This is a full body workout. I was delighted to see the progress made by Claire after just one round of the exercises but know in order to truly benefit and make lasting change it will take commitment to the program for the recommended 4 – 6 weeks.
Perfect For
Use at home.
Anyone who is prepared to put the work in to get some sustainable gains in yardage.
You like to keep track of your practice sessions and a record of your progress.
Not For You
If you have any physical limitations
Final Thoughts From Claire
I have loved having the opportunity to try out all of the training aids. My favourites would have to be the PGM ball as I saw instant improvement and for ten pounds you can’t go wrong. To my surprise I also really loved the HackMotion wrist sensor which is the one I was most wary of initially I loved the streak feature which appeals to my competitive side.
The biggest thing I’ve learnt though is to get stuck in and give things a go! It’s all too easy to dismiss new things as too tricky but I’ve gained so much knowledge and understanding of my own swing by giving these products a go.
Final Thoughts From Me
The world of training aids can be overwhelming, as if just playing golf wasn’t tricky enough, how are you meant to know which one is right for you? What can be a further put off is that it’s a very male dominated market which was further confirmed to me when I researched which products to test, often there would be no images or videos of women using them so why would women think they were for them?
But ladies, you mustn’t let this lack of vision from the training aid industry stop you from having a go. I am pleased to tell you that all the above products tested did have images or video tutorials of women using them and fantastic customer service and support to boot.
In terms of which training aid I found to be the best, my coaching hat is firmly on when I say they can all be hugely beneficial if the golfers needs require work on a particular area the training aid is designed for. So, when you have your next lesson ask your pro what training aid you think would most benefit your game, it will undoubtedly level up your practice and could lead to some real improvements out on the course.