Golf Made Simple - The Wisdom of Solomon

GOLF SWING TRAINING AIDES

"Marc, I am constantly seeing infomercials on the Golf Channel about different devices that are supposed to help me get a better golf swing. Thegolf companies claim that if I practice with these devices, that they will help me improve my game. Which ones are good?"

David P. - Seattle, Washington

David, Training aides are a great way to improve your golf game. They can help give your swing the feel of a good motion. When we use the training aides, it gives us a distinct movement to work on. A lot of times when we practice just hitting golf balls, it is easy to get sidetracked. We go to practice with the intention of working on something specific and then we start tinkering with other aspects of our swing. Eventually we start to have too many thoughts in our mind and we forgot why we came to the range in the first place.

Training aides are outstanding because most of them can be used away from the practice range. There are some good training aides that can be used within the house without worrying about putting holes in the wall or "flogging the light fixture". Practicing at home is a great concept because most people don't have enough time to go to the practice range after work. As a result of their jammed schedule, their golf game suffers. Using a trustworthy training aid at home for a few minutes at night will keep your game in shape.

I am not sure which training aides are being advertised on television because I don't have a television. We took the television out of our house about a year and a half ago. But, I do get quite a few brochures through the mail from companies that want me to try their products. I also get a catalog from a company that specializes in training aides.

Although there are some really good products for sale, I have found that some of the best aides can be found around your house or are cheaply priced items from Wal-Mart. I use more homemade aides in my Golf School than aides that were specifically designed for golf. My favorite training aid is the "Apple in the Sock". It was shown to me by former PGA Golf Instructor of the Year - Charles Sorrell. Mr. Sorrell being a "Good ol' boy from Georgia" would actually use an apple in a sock. I use 3 golf balls in a headcover.

This training aid will help you to become very fluid and efficient in your movements during the golf swing. It will teach you timing, tempo and technique. Put 3 golf balls in a headcover and push them down as far they will go. Grip the sock part of the cover, letting the headcover hang towards the ground. Take your stance (knees bent, feet wide apart and good posture).

Now start to slowly swing the headcover back and forth. At first let it go as high as your knees as it swings back and forth. Then let the momentum build and let it go as high as your hips. Keep the motion going, don't stop. Then let your hands go as high as your shoulders. This is when it starts getting tough if you aren't using your hands and arms correctly.

If you are moving your body to much, the headcover will probably come back and whack you in the head. But as you continue practicing, you'll figure out how to prevent the apple from landing on your head like it did to Newton.

Eventually, bring the motion into a full swing. The headcover should hit you on the back of your left shoulder on the back swing and on the back of your right shoulder on the follow through. If the headcover is not hitting you in these two places everytime, you are probably using too much of your body to swing it. Another reason you might not be hitting these two spots everytime, is you probably aren't stretching your arms enough in the swing.

This training aid might not sound like much, but it has helped many golfers in my Golf School. As you practice this motion you might become a little obsessed with it. It is an addicting drill because you can "feel" the fluid motion that you "see" when you watch Ernie Els swing a golf club. I really can't describe in words how good this training aid is. You have to try it yourself.

The other aid you can use is a hula hoop. You can probably buy a hula for about two dollars at the store. Use it to practice a good turn on the back swing and through the ball.

Get set-up and put one side of the hula on the back of your neck resting on your shoulders and hold the other side with your two outstretched hands. Now swing back using your hands and letting your shoulders be pulled by the hula. This will help you feel how to have the upper parts of your body work together. Sometimes I see golfers try to swing part of the way back with their shoulders than the next part with their arms than the next part with their hands. That is a very uncoordinated movement. The hula teaches you to move them all together, efficiently.

Like I wrote before, there are many good golf specific training aides for sale. There unfortunately are, along with the good ones, a lot of bad ones. These are the training aides that you might use for as long as you used that exercise bike that you sold at your last garage sale. I also know people that have bought those "Swing Rings". You know those big, white pvc tubes that you rest your club against as you swing. The ones that "teach you the proper swing path and swing plane." I also know a few people that have asked me if I could use their swing rings for my classes because they don't use theirs anymore. "Oh Marc, it is just sitting on my back porch collecting dust. Sometimes my wife hangs her stockings on it to dry."

There are no gimmicks in improving your game, just hard work and an apple inside a sock.

Below Are Seven Additional Wisdom Of Solomon Articles

Eye On The Ball

Wedges

Driving Distance

>Slow Rhythm

Bad Alignment

Training Aides

How To Fix Old Habits That Have Come Back