The game of golf is played with 14 different clubs. Each is designed to propel the ball a certain distance at a particular loft angle and height. No single golf training aid helps teach everything, so training aids typically focus on one specific aspect of the game.
Most golf teachers agree that the best part of your game to work on is putting, because putting is the key to a better game. If you are missing too many long putts, you might like the Varispeed Putting System, a putting mat that teaches the classic “ladder drill.”
There are thousands of golf training aids on the market, each made to improve a specific area of the game. All are designed to be used only when practicing and never when playing. Here are four of the areas most golfers would like to improve.
Everyone wants to hit the ball farther, especially with the driver. There are many different golf training aids that help you develop faster swing speeds, including clubs that have adjustable weights and special shafts. The best of these have gauges that show your swing speed so you can track your progress.
Develop your swing tempo with training aids that are designed with shafts so flexible they whip. Develop your rhythm and reduce your tendency to swing too hard with the tempo you learn using these whippy shafts while practicing. Swinging with a whippy training aid also increases your flexibility and helps coordinate your arms and body.
A simple golf training aid that helps you establish proper alignment is a set of alignment rods. Place these fiberglass sticks on the ground, set them parallel to each other like railroad tracks and align your toes with the shafts. When you use an alignment device every time you practice, you learn to aim properly without your training aids out on the golf course.
Putting is the most important part of the game and putting aids are a way to practice anywhere.
Launch monitors are electronic devices that measure the golf ball’s direction, height, distance and other bits of flight data. You place them on the ground outdoors where you are practicing and they track your launch angles, spin rates and more with radar. By analyzing your launch monitor data, you know which areas of your game to work on.
Look for golf training aids that are made to solve one problem at a time. The only devices that help in all areas of the game are the ones that help you develop better rhythm, tempo and balance. Otherwise, look for golf training aids that are made to increase your swing speed, aim better or keep your arms and body synchronized.
Look for better quality materials in all golf training aids. Thicker putting mats are better than thin ones. Neoprene rubber arm and body bands are better than elastic. Metal parts on all golf training aids should be resistant to all kinds of weather.
You can find hundreds of tools and devices from around $20 to $100 or so. Fancy nets and launch monitors quickly run up to $400 and more. Computer video golf simulators start at around $2,000.
A. No, just like there is no one tool that can be used to fix every problem.
A. Yes. Devices that teach good rhythm and tempo help all parts of your game. So do alignment devices and elastic bands that keep your arms and body connected.
What you need to know: This is a purpose built 10 foot long and 20 inch wide training aid that teaches the same principles as the famous ladder drill.
What you’ll love: Golfers learn to control the distance of their putts by putting to a series of targets set at varying distances. The surface material of this putting mat is made with a nap that reveals the path of the golf ball and plays fast in one direction and slow in the other. The alternating green and black stripes help golfers judge distances to the hole and practice putts of different lengths.
What you should consider: The nap must be brushed back between putts to keep the ball from following in the tracks of earlier putts.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
What you need to know: Year after year, the Orange Whip has been voted the #1 Teaching and Training Aid by PGA and LPGA professionals.
What you’ll love: The weighted orange ball and the whippy shaft give this product its name. Swinging it increases your flexibility and increases the coordination between your arms, upper body and lower body. As you swing it over and over, you develop a smooth tempo and a well balanced swing that produces more consistently good shots on the course.
What you should consider: Like most golf training aids, this product works equally well for men and women, old and young.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
What you need to know: This training aid teaches you to keep your arms and body in sync.
What you’ll love: Too many amateurs swing with their arms when they should be swinging with their bodies and allow the swing to come along naturally. The stretchable neoprene band wraps around both upper arms in front of the chest. This golf training aid keeps the arms close together to act as a single unit with the body, promoting a full turn and a powerful swing.
What you should consider: One size fits most, so be forewarned if you’re very small or very large.
Where to buy: Sold by Amazon
Sign up here to receive the BestReviews weekly newsletter for useful advice on new products and noteworthy deals.
David Allan Van writes for BestReviews. BestReviews has helped millions of consumers simplify their purchasing decisions, saving them time and money.
