TAG | golf swing trainers
A golf swing trainer is just what the name suggests—a special club, shaft, or appendix designed and built to help players modify or improve his or her swing on the links. These devices are made to help a player improve anything from a drive swing to a putt and several stops in between, even chip shots, wedge shots, and backswing trainers.
For several years certain weighted golf clubs were favored to help improve swing power, but recently an egg-shaped weight known as the Power Golf Swing Weight Trainer, designed and marketed by Mike Pedersen, has been gaining influence. At $30, it is far less expensive than weighted clubs, and the weight clips onto the shaft of a club, allowing a player to use his own clubs comfortably. It can be attached near the grip for release exercise, in the middle of the shaft for what golfers call the swing tempo, and toward the head to help build strength and power.
Golf champion Vijay Singh has endorsed the Speed Stick, a kind of javelin-like shaft with a golf grip that is weighted and is designed for twenty exercise swings in succession as fast as possible. Critics, however, say the Speed Stick can harm as well as help your swing because it emphasizes and trains pure power at the expense of other more critical mechanical swing improvements.
The Swing Fan club is getting somewhat more positive reviews. A club with fan-like blades that you try to swing faster, critics seem to like the device because while it helps you build swing speed it also keeps you in mind of distance and accuracy in head-to-ball contact as well.
A somewhat unique swing trainer catching more attention, however, is the Power Golf Swing Trainer. This device—basically, a pair of upper arm bracelets attached to the ends of an adjustable shaft—keeps a golfer’s arms in the best position to maintain what the sport likes to call the upper body triangle, preventing the arms from being the complete source of the swing and helping the golfer use the right balance of upper body, arms, and hands. It comes with a guide featuring drills and exercises to be done with the device, and sells for $79.75, which is about the same range as many weighted golf clubs. You can find more information about golf swing trainers and other types of sports training equipment at the Sports Bag Blog.
