Here are some of the best golf swing training aids that we recommend. We have personally used all these and highly recommend to anyone wanting to measurably improve their golf game.

We tried to select the simplest, most “non-gimmicky” training aids that have stood the test of time. Some you might recognize and some you might not. We did throw in just a few “cooler” aids that we really believe in.

Here’s our top 10 (and in no particular order):

	The Momentus This is the one training aid that I don’t think I could do without (and, by far, it’s the one I have most used). Why? it’s just so damn simple. A weighted club. But, might I add, it’s evenly weighted – no weighted donuts or any of that crap that might fly off and cripple someone. It’s excellent for feeling the “slot” in the swing and for general loosening up. I also like the fact (unlike the weighted donut) is that the weight is evenly balanced throughout the club. Get the iron, get the driver . . but get one. And don’t feel like you have to write me and tell me I was right – I know I am. Don’t be afraid to swing it fast, though. Get one now!
	Swing Fan This is another great training aid. It has four “fins” with a handle and uses resistance from the wind to groove your swing. I really like the fact that you can feel your swing building and you just “can’t” swing it that hard. Great for smoothing out your swing and feeling it’s innate tempo. Besides, it’s cool looking. And it you feel a bit embarrassed swinging it, just tell your neighbor you have a new device clearing the area of bugs. Get one now!
	Gyro Swing My vote for the coolest golf training aid ever. And it made the list because it works. It’s just so weird – I mean weird in the sense you feel like you have a live rattlesnake in your hands and your afraid to let it go. I guess that what you get when the gyroscope is spinning at 20,000 RPM! It’s designed to really make you feel the proper (note I said “proper”) swing plane and release. The Gyro Swing includes rechargeable batteries and accompanying battery re-charger pack, acclaimed teacher Rick Smith’s instructional DVD (this includes product usage guidelines, golf instruction fundamentals and Gyro Swing drills) and Head Cover. Get one now!
	Alignment Sticks I really like simple training aids and alignment sticks (or rods) are about as simple as you can get. Look at any pro nowadays and chances are they have some alignments sticks at their practice sessions. They are just so much easier to use then laying your clubs on the ground. Alignment is so critical to a proper functioning golf swing that it is something you have to constantly monitor – just like the pros. So get some of these immediately and more importantly USE them at each and every one of your golf practice sessions. Get one now!
	PivotPro This is a fairly new aid that I really like. It was the recent recipient of PGA “New Product” Award. This training aid is all about “loading” your right side (for right-handed golfers) and learning to properly coil. I’m convinced this is the source of so many “power-leaks” – I know it was for me! If your not powerfully loaded you just can’t get into the ball with any impact or power. This somewhat silly training aid will really get you to fell solid and prevent the dreaded golf sway/reverse pivot. You’ll learn to stay tightly “in-the-barrel” and be hitting strong, powerful golf shots in no time. Promise! Endorsed by golf instruction legend Jim McLean and comes wit ha terrific instructional CD. Get one now!
	SwingRite I use this training aid ALL the time. It’s actually been around since 1960 (that’s over 50 years!) but I picked it up somewhere and just instantly appreciated it’s value. It works like this: you receive feedback where your release point is by a little click sound. Then you just re-set it and swing again. You can also adjust a little gear to make it harder to hear the “click” sound as your swing speed increases. It’s fairly light, compact, easy to travel with and I have had mine for over 4 years now (I know I have left it in the rain a few times) and it still works like a charm. In my opinion, one of the most underrated and under-used golf training aids. Period. Get one now!
	Impact Bag I’ll probably get poo-pooed for having this one on my list but truly believe in it. Nothing could be simpler. A solid bag (this one you just fill with old clothes, towels or some other suitable material) that you hit into. I think this is one of the best ways to learn how to keep your forward hand flat at impact. That’s the position you want and the position that is going to help you hit those dead solid, piercing irons we’re all looking for. One caveat: It’s one device that, in my opinion, you need to be cautious of because it can help ingrain a feeling of “stopping” at the ball – which, of course, you don’t want. If you use it sporadically, you’ll be fine. Get one now!
	Swing Tempo Metronome This training aid definitely fits the “cool” category. Probably not enough attention is given to the golf swing tempo. All great players seem to have an innate sense of tempo, whether you are quicker like Nick Price or slower like Ernie Else all know proper tempo provides balance and consistency in the golf swing. This device can really help you not only measure and ingrain your optimal tempo. That’s the position you want and the position that is going to help you hit those dead solid, piercing irons we’re all looking for. One caveat: It’s one device that, in my opinion, you need to be cautious of because it can help ingrain a feeling of “stopping” at the ball – which, of course, you don’t want. If you use it sporadically, you’ll be fine. Get one now!
	Inside Approach Anytime Jack Nicklaus endorses a golf training aid it might be prudent to listen. Hey, the greatest golfer on the planet doesn’t HAVE to put his name on anything but chose to put it on the Inside Approach. That maybe reason enough to get it. This training aid is all about learning the proper path into the ball. You receive immediate feedback by either knocking the breakaway cushion away (by producing an “over the top” or too steep a swing path) or you’ll come on a powerful inside path and hit the snot out of the ball. The product also comes with a very good and information DVD featuring Jack and Jim Sowerwine. Get one now!
	Golf Hitting Net A hitting net – big deal, right?! Does it really qualify as a training aid? I say it does if you use it and it produces measurable results in your game. Once you get a hitting I really believe your game begins to change because you always have to opportunity to hit real golf balls. How many of you like to hit the range after watching the Masters or some other pro event. I know I do. Now I just head to the back yard and can immediately swing away. There are many nets out there but this one from Callaway has some of the strongest netting made in golf, (which, believe me, is important!) and is easy to assemble (and take down). Comes in 3 sizes and it’s unique shape is designed for wedges through the driver. Get one now!

Related posts:

1. Learning Aids for Amateur Golfers
2. Training Tempo With Eyeline Golf’s Metronome Pro
3. Core Performance Golf: The Training Program That Will Set Your Game Free

Golfing in Scandinavia is one of the thrills when I visit Europe – mostly due to the almost 24 hours of light in the land of “the midnight sun.”

We are actually heading to beautiful Sweden, in the heart of the summer (end of July-Beginning of August), to stay at a friends in Västerås, a quaint little town about an hour or so outside of Stockholm.

I actually worked there for a bit (when I worked for ABB) and made a number of friends – including the family we are staying with. Let’s face it – any European vacation that is longer than 2 weeks is welcome for us Americans.

Truth be told, we were not sure where we were heading in Italy but I did want to incorporate at least *some golf. So we talked about a Thailand golf holiday or possibly golfing in Italy or maybe even golf in Dubai (which I would love to do!) but we settled on a trip to Sweden because our Swedish friends have been bugging us to visit and we are also going to incorporate a cruise to St. Petersburg (from Helsinki)

One I am dying to play is the Bro Hof Slott Golf Club located about 30 minutes North of Stockholm (see aerial view of course above). Bro Hof consists of 2 courses the Stadium and the Castle course both created by world-class designer Robert Trent Jones (his first course in Sweden)

As Mr. Jones says about the (stadium) course:

Mother Earth must have created this area for a golf course. All I had to do was to walk around this beautiful landscape and see where the holes would fit in.

Playing the courses doesn’t come cheap, however. It will tag you somewhere in the range of $140-250 to play. The higher fee is for the more mature, Stadium course.

Other noteworthy things about he course: The Scandinavian (Nordea) Masters will be played there during from 2010 – 2017. The course is very eco-friendly, has inclined fairways to prevent water logging and bunkers of crushed marble. Nice!

The other is Falsterbo Golf Clubin Southern Swedenabout 20 miles South of Malmö on the scenic Falsterbo Peninsula.

This is my “nice-to-have” course to play in Sweden but I have heard so many good things that I’m determined to play it. It’s the third oldest golf club in Sweden and the course is consistently ranked as one of the top courses in Sweden and among the Top 50 courses on the European continent.

Here’s how the course is described on the website:

Falsterbo is a classic example of the original Scottish golfing terrain – links. Sand dunes with sparse vegetation intervenes with lower lying areas where under decades a natural and fine turf has come forth. The natural water hazards, many large sand bunkers as well as depressions and the fast running greens are some of the characteristics of the course . . .

Read the excellent: Golf Club Atlas Review of Falsterbo GolfKlubb

Anyway, can’t wait to get to the land of Absolute vodka, the super-fun crayfish parties, have my favorite djungelvrål candy and, who knows, maybe I’ll be lucky enough to run into the Swedish Bikini Team!

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1. Golf in Sweden

With the new year fast approaching it means that golf season and the Master’s are just around the corner. The new year brings a chance for change and buying the latest, coolest equipment for the upcoming season.

If you’re heading into your garage or garden shed to find a dusty, neglected pair of golf shoes, it’s probably the time to start looking for a shiny, new pair.  

Golf shoes need plenty of care and attention to keep them at their best performance, and if yours are looking a little dated, and your just not getting the performance out of them you’re looking for, you may find the new technology advances and standard of shoes could improve your game in a very measurable way.

So to help you make a wise and well-informed decision, let’s take a look at the new Nike golf shoes out there with the best technology and trends for the 2012 season:



Nike Tour Premium Golf Shoe


The Nike Tour Premium golf shoe brings together a traditional, classic golf shoe with the new performance enhancing technology that you expect from Nike Golf. You can walk the golf course in both style and comfort with these new shoes, designed to provide even better stability and balance on uneven ground (where you are most of the time, right?!)



Made from a rich full grain leather upper, they have been designed to offer you a soft and supportive fit so you feel stable and balanced throughout your swing. The heel located Nike Zoom unit is part of the Nike Air family which is a lightweight and durable design which provides you with extra cushioning and comfort.

Enhancing your stability during the quick movements of your swing is just one benefit this shoe offers (and one of the most important!)

 The ‘Power Platform Technology’ gives you greater balance, smoother weight transfer and a stronger push through impact, this technology is used by Tiger Woods who was also instrumental in its testing.



A full length contoured sock liner with ‘poron’ inserts, moulds to the shape of your foot so you have maximum support and comfort whilst wearing the Nike Tour Premium shoe around the course.



The full length Phylon midsole has dual capabilities that provide stability in your heel and cushioning from your mid-foot to the toes. The mid sole has been developed to support each part of the foot accurately.

I’ve already put my order in, what about you?




Nike Zoom TW Golf Shoe



Here’s the shoe named after one of the game’s best players, so it has a lot to live up to! The Nike Zoom TW shoes have a number of features to ensure that they are comfortable and dependable, whilst the latest technology makes sure you can be at the top of your game.  

They have been revamped and packed with technology to ensure better support, traction, stability and control.  



The Nike Zoom TW is made from the highest grade, full grain Sadesa leather uppers which have had a hydrophobic surface applied which keeps your feet dry and protected whilst playing golf on those wet days.



Nike’s biomechanical experts have placed their next generation Flywire technology at the fore foot with ultra-light, high-strength fibers to provide lateral stability right where you need it during your swing.  



These shoes also use the Nike Zoom unit in the heel giving a lightweight and hard-wearing design, providing you with responsive cushioning, making sure you maintain stability during your swing.

Whilst the full-length Phylon midsole provides a plush, king size foot bed with exceptional cushioning and comfort for a day on your feet.



Nike Power Platform TW stabilises the foot for better balance, smoother weight transfer and more power through impact.  It provides maximum flexibility in the outsole, allowing more ground contact and maximum power to the golf ball.



The Nike Zoom TW 2012 also has the full length contoured sock liner that provides comfort with ‘poron’ inserts, which mould to the shape of your foot for the life of the golf shoe.

Here’s to playing your best golf ever in 2012! Start by getting a pair of updated, performance-based golf shoes.

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2. You Need A New Pair Of Golf Shoes
3. Plastic Golf Spikes Suck!

In the not-to distant future a new golf app will be launched. It’s going to be very special. It allows golf fans to interact with their favorite pro golf tournaments.

It’s been something I have wanted to do for quite some time now but like anything else I just have not had the time.

I really can’t say too much about before it’s launched. But I DO encourage you to sign up at our launch page to get early access and pleasantly infrequent updates via email and Twitter.

We also encourage you to spread the word via your social media outlets. Heck, it’ll be fun to spread some golfing joy throughout the internet and it sure beats a lot of the “doom and gloom” news out there today.

You can access the page here: Divotr Home Page

Thanks again and Happy Holidays!

Doug

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The local pro comes up to me yesterday and says, ‘Great looking shoes, what are they?’ Pretty impressive when a 30 year PGA pro sees something new on the course.

This year, right before the Masters, Nike sent me a pair on their Lunar Control golf shoes with Master’s green highlights in the sole (check them out at Nike HERE). Unfortunately, my wife and I were in the midst of moving at the time. They got packed away and I forgot about them, until this week when they were discovered in a box we were unpacking. Now that I’ve worn them for 45 holes, I’m sure glad they showed up.

Let me assure you this is not a paid piece. Doug and I have tried out many products and we pride ourselves on calling them as we see them. We’re not about to damage our reputation for honesty and accuracy just because we got a product to try out. Having said that, I love these shoes. They just got promoted to ‘every day’ status.

My favorite shoes until now were old Etonics. I mean old as in 10 years old, before they went under and were subsequently resurrected by another company. Why did I like the old Etonics? Because they fit my feet. I have a wide forefoot and narrow ankle and haven’t found a golf shoe that really fits since those Etonics. The closest I came was in an Ecco, but even they pinched my little toe and the sole/platform didn’t feel stiff enough for me. Because of these issues, when I wasn’t wearing the Etonics I was in a trail running shoe.

I’m also an odd size -12.5 – which no one really makes. Normally 12′s are too small and 13′s are too big. Because of all my ‘fit’ issues I wasn’t expecting much from the Nike’s.

Man, was I surprised. The first time out I decided I’d walk 9, I didn’t want to commit to 18 and have my feet screaming in pain. No problem with the Lunar Control shoe, not even a break-in period. They felt great on the first tee and just as good today after 18.

There’s a lot of technology that goes into a modern high-end golf shoe, but in the end it’s how they feel. This is a comfortable shoe, about like my house slippers in that regard. They’re also extremely light and there is no foot fatigue after 18 holes, which I do get even from my old trusty Etonics. When I’m finished walking, the first thing I usually think about after the last putt is getting out of my golf shoes. If the Nike Lunar Controls didn’t have spikes, I’d wear them home, they’re that comfortable.

Besides comfort, these shoes keep you low to the ground and create a great connection with the earth. I feel more securely anchored with these shoes than anything else I’ve ever worn on the course. The shoe comes with Scorpion Stinger spikes which are great out of the box. If they wear well, I’ll use them on my other shoes at replacement time.

The outer sole looks like it’s plastic, so it should last a long time. It really isolates the foot from all of the little undulations, stones, twigs and what have you that you step on during the course of a round. I’m sure part of the comfort comes from the full length contoured sockliner. Whatever it is, it works. I wish I had a pair of sneakers that felt as good.

I haven’t tried the shoes in really wet conditions yet, but the one piece plastic soles should really help in that regard. They also come with a 2 year limited waterproof warranty, but that’s to be expected with a shoe that lists at $190. While that price may be a bit steep at first blush, it’s well worth it if they perform for 3 or 4 years as they have so far. If you’re like me, you’ve bought too many pairs of $100 shoes to save money, only to have them last one season before the footbed is shot or they start to leak.

If the Nike Lunar Control fits your foot, I highly recommend you give them a try. I’m confident after the first 9 holes you’ll know you made the right choice. Now if I can get my wife to let me buy a pair in black…..

Get your very own pair here: Nike Lunar Control Golf Shoes

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2. You Need A New Pair Of Golf Shoes
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Truth be told, there will probably never be a ‘last word’ on Ben Hogan’s swing. As long as people play this game there will be speculation and unquenched curiosity about one of the game’s greatest and most mysterious players. There’s a new book – Tom Bertrand’s ‘The Secret of Hogan’s Swing’ – that is the best I’ve ever encountered on Hogan’s fundamentals.

If you are a golf swing student and/or a Hogan fan, then you need to read this book whether you ever incorporate Hogan’s style into your game or not. It’s straightforward and easy to read with just enough photos to get key points across but not confuse. If you’ve read any Hogan biographies, I guarantee you’ll find some new and interesting nuggets about him as well.

The first portion of the book sums up Hogan’s swing secrets as taught to one of the few golfers to ever break into Hogan’s inner-circle, namely John Schlee. Schlee was a tour player who came in second and almost beat Johnny Miller at Oakmont when he shot his famous 63 in the final round. Unfortunately, that was the high point of his professional career. He spent most of his life afterwards learning Hogan’s trade secrets from the master himself and trying to teach them to anyone who was interested via his Maximum Golf School.

The book’s author, Tom Bertrand, spent seven years as Schlee’s right hand man, and uses the middle portion of the book to chronicle John’s life as it was inextricably linked with Ben Hogan and his famous swing philosophy. Bertrand ability to shed new light on Hogan’s swing couldn’t have been accomplished without chronicling Schlee’s life for it’s his private relationship with Hogan that uncovers ‘the missing link’.

The last section of the book is a great instructional piece on how to learn and incorporate Hogan’s swing thoughts into your own game. It’s not as complicated as you may have been lead to believe. It also sheds the most light I think we’ll ever get to what swing ‘secrets’ or ‘missing links’ Hogan unearthed in his relentless search for perfection. His tee to green stats are probably the best of any golfer that ever played the game, so no one should take his ideas on the swing lightly.

I’ve read a lot of golf books in the last years and this one goes right to the top of the list as a ‘must read’ if you are a student of Ben Hogan and/or the basic fundamentals of the full swing. The instructional part is not hard to understand. Tom Bertrand, who worked with Printer Bowler to write this book, has done a masterful job of focusing on what’s important and then saying it simply and clearly.

I found this book fascinating, for it’s insights into the golf swing, new information on Hogan’s Secret and the unusually poignant story of John Schlee’s life long journey through the world of golf. In this book we once and for all are shown everything there is to be known about Hogan’s swing. The instruction part alone is worth the price of the book many times over, whether you ever try to swing just like Hogan or not. There are fundamentals here that any swing method has to http://www.thesecretofhogansswing.com/://www.thesecretofhogansswing.com/Me, I’m already working on Bertrand’s ideas and think there’s some gold to be ‘dug out of the dirt!’ I’ll let you know in a couple of months if I’veThe Last Word on Hogan’s Swing?had any success. Stay tuned for that,http://www.thesecretofhogansswing.com/but in the meantime read the book and check out Bertrand’s Legendary Golf System!

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It’s an odd thing to be thinking about playing golf in Cape Cod in the middle of the winter but I’ve been planning a getaway in midsummer to play some of my favorite Cape Cod Golf Courses, most of which I haven’t played in years.

See, I live in Western, Ma, which is about 2.5+ hours Southeast from here. It’s not a bad ride but nothing spectacular either. But once you cross the Bourne Bridge – ah, Cape Cod awaits you.

I have a lot of fond memories of the Cape as my parents used to take my brothers and I on vacation there almost every year. This was back in the early 70′s so it’s been quite built up since then but somehow the charm and good memories always linger for me.

I would love to get out there more often and actually the off-season (October-March) it’s like you have the whole place to yourself! But the plans are in the works to play a number of courses I’ve played a few times (but not in years).

One I am most looking forward to is Highland Links* in Truro. It’s almost at the peak of of the Cape, just minutes away from Provincetown. It’s truly a gem of a course. It’s a true links course with some stunning ocean views and a beautiful and charming light house (that you walk right by). You’ve thought you’ve died and gone to golfing heaven. Although only a nine-holer, the front and back tees make it look like 2 different courses. Just get there. You can thank me later.

Another of my favorites is Cranberry Valley Golf Club in Harwich. It is a great test of golf. It’s a bent grass course with water hazards on three holes of the back nine. The fairways are tree-lined with ample sand bunkers. The natural terrain includes marshes and cranberry bogs. It was designed by Geoffrey Cornish and Brian Silva, built in 1974. I love Cornish courses and this is one of his best.

Another course I have been wanting to play is Ballymeade Country Club, in North Falmouth. Actually, I’ve played it but that was perhaps 10 years ago or so. It’s much more groomed and a resort course than the other two I mentioned. It was designed by Jim Fazio/Chi Chi Rodriguez and opened in 1989.

I think it was the views that really got me as there are some spectacular views of Buzzards Bay on a number of holes. It’s tough, so if your not a mid to low handicap you might want to take a pass.

Finally, I plan on visiting Olde Barnstable Fairgrounds in Marston Mills. It was formerly the property that was home to the Barnstable County Fair, hence the name. It’s next to a small airport and in the summer I just remember these cool bi-planes flying in and over. Voted as one of Golf Digest’s “Best Places to Play,” there’s no way you’ll have a bad experience at this lovely course.

Those are the courses I’m planning on playing this summer and already in the process of making accommodations. I can’t wait to get back to the Cape to play some of the loveliest courses I know. While there, I’ll take in the fresh salt air, have a fresh Atlantic Ocean lobster and wash it down with a few Sam Adams. Sounds good to me!

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The average amateur golfer typically comes to the game of golf casually. Maybe you’ve had some professional instruction along the way, but usually not too much.

You probably own some golf instruction books and you’ve read your share of ‘how to’ articles in golf magazines. Bottom line; you’re still confused about what makes up a good golf swing and can’t remember how to hit all the various shots that a typical round of golf requires.

I even used clip and save articles thinking I’d refer to them later – wrong. Sometimes I’d pull out a book and try to find the right chapter to refresh my thinking, but usually that was more effort than I was willing to make.

Finally, there’s a cure for all of this. I happened to discover a great application for the iPad when I got mine. It’s called Everyday Golf Coach HD. It’s what the name implies - a competent instructor at your fingertips to show and tell you about most every aspect of hitting a ball from the full swing to all the different shots you might encounter during a round including putting.

What’s great about the application, besides the $6.99 price, is that it’s simple and straightforward, with clear explanations and wonderful visuals. By my count there are 32 different videos from approximately 2 to 5 minutes long. Forget how you’re supposed to play a ball above your feet – no problem, there’s a nice 3:48 minute video to show and tell you how. Not only will you know how to play this shot, but you’ll know why!

Noes Rousseau who put this together at ‘perish the thought golf’ did a terrific job. I can’t stress enough how well done this product is and how convenient it is to use. Sometimes I just watch the basic swing motion over and over to let it seep in to my subconscious, which really works if you’re a visual learner.

Before I go practice I’m likely to watch a couple of minutes of video to put a good swing image in my mind. If my swing goes out of whack, I’ll review the appropriate video and I can usually spot what I’ve done wrong.

Bottom line, I don’t think there’s a better way to spend $6.99 in golf. That’s probably what one drink costs you from the beer cart and, believe me, your game will be more likely to improve. The application now includes a Swing Analyser. I haven’t used it yet, but if it’s like the training videos it will be first class.

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1. Tiger Doesn’t Need A Swing Coach

Are you a golfer or a player? Here’s the difference: A golfer gets up on the first tee thinking about arm angles, plane, rotation and a lot of other ‘swing thoughts’.

A player steps up to the first tee thinking how he or she is going to take whatever swing they have and use playing strategy and smarts to get the most out of their skills. Imagine how you’d do at chess if you spent all your time learning to move the pieces, but studied nothing on strategy and tactics!

If being a player instead of a golfer resonates with you, then Laird Small, Director of the Pebble Beach Golf Academy has written a book that will help tremendously. This book is about learning to be a player.

Play Golf The Pebble Beach Way is packed with strategy that Laird, a PGA Teacher of the Year, has gleaned over a lifetime of playing and teaching. It’s also contains plenty of anecdotes he’s heard from the game’s greats that helped them play the ‘smart’ golf that made them champions.

The book starts with a how-to on conquering first tee jitters. This is a problem faced by every golfer, even the best players in the world – ask Corey Pavin about teeing it up his first time at a Ryder Cup. Often that first swing sets a mood for the early holes and can be the difference between a good start and one that leaves you in a self-made hole.

Laird gives you 7 lessons that will help you keep it in play even if your legs feel like limp noodles because you’re playing in front of thousands at a Pebble Beach Pro-Am! The remaining chapters address every aspect of playing smarter golf. For a look at the table of contents click HERE.

One of the things that makes this book so different is that all of the teaching is applied to the holes at Pebble Beach with plenty of great pictures to clarify points. This is particularly helpful in visualizing how to correctly use strategy. (It also makes you drool to play Pebble Beach.) It’s very interesting to compare Laird’s comments on how to play each hole to what happened to specific players during this year’s U.S. Open.

After reading the book from cover to cover, I thought it was a shame that the approach wasn’t incorporated into this year’s Open Amateur Challenge to see if a 10 handicapper could break 100 playing the Open setup. How interesting it would have been to see what two players working with Laird for a few days on strategy would have done versus two who didn’t. The PGA should consider it for next year as it behooves them to help amateurs learn to play better.

I was fortunate enough to get some time on the phone with Laird to ask him why he wrote the book. It was primarily in response to the well established fact that amateur golfers haven’t improved a lick in 30 years even though there has been an explosion in technology and enough golf ‘how-to swing’ articles and books to fill a small warehouse. He believes that too much time is spent on swing mechanics and too little on learning game strategy. Sound like you?

Most sports in this country have pretty good junior programs that teach kids skills and mechanics, but also how to ‘play the game’. Unfortunately this is not generally the case in golf. Nowadays many golfers don’t take up the sport until after 20 and never formerly learn any playing strategy or even the rules! Most could knock 6-10 strokes off their round with their existing swing if they just played smarter.

I have only a few issues with the book and they are primarily cosmetic. There should have been more white space in the layout, it’s a little claustrophobic. The summaries of each chapters lessons should be at the end, not after the first page. It would have been helpful if Laird hand included an upfront strategy for integrating all the advice in an organized way into ones game.

On the whole, this is a great book for anyone who’s serious about the game, even playing pros. It’s a significant work because it addresses an area of golf that has been neglected in this country for too long. If you practice what Laird is teaching you’ll score better, but more importantly you’ll have more fun. I’ve already benefited from tips I’ve picked up. For instance, when you have limited time to warm up before a round, practice lag putting to a general area – not a hole.

Then sink a few 4 foot putts and you’re ready to go. I’ve started doing this and have consistently had better speed control right out of the box. Do yourself a favor, forget about swing mechanics for awhile and read this book! The chapter on ‘How to Major in Architecture’ is worth the price alone. You’ll have a much better idea of how the course architect is trying to get the better of you on each hole.

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Ok, here’s an update on my recent post The Quest for a New Driver.

I’ll cut right to the chase. The Ping G15 driver I initially purchased was sent back the day after I took it to the range. I just could not hit the club. Everything was a slice or peeled off to the left (I’m left-handed) with a severe loss in distance.

This is probably due to the wrong loft. I purchased an 8.5 degree when I usually hit a 10.5. 2 degrees is not a lot but when it comes to a flatter face club like the driver it makes all the difference. I believe the shaft flex is still OK with a R shaft.

I think emotion really got the better of me. I was looking for more distance but I should have known that loft was not suited to a recreational player like me – oh well!

Needless to say I was very disappointed because I loved the look and feel of the G15. Very classic and very confident feeling at address. Before I hit it I felt like it was going to go 300 yards on the first swing – not quite.

First, I was glad I ordered from TGW with the 30-day playability guarantee. This means (on selected clubs) you can play it for up to 30 days and then return it for another club it the one you purchased does not suit you.

Well, the caveat to this guarantee is that you can only do it once – which I did not know. The customer service rep said “people will play for 30 days and just keep returning it for a new one” I can understand what she meant but I am curious if this is really being done and is supported by facts.

I am sure you will have the occasional customer who has nothing better to do then package and repackage clubs in order to keep getting a new one but, for me, (and I suspect many others) I just want to find the right driver for ME. I am not interested in playing games with ordering a new club every month. Once I find it I want to keep it – for a long time.

So I don’t really understand this guarantee of returning a club only once. If it takes me a few clubs, so what, they still get my business because there is no cash return (only credit)

This is definitely an issue for me. I know there are some companies who do have demo programs where you can try clubs for X amount of time the return them. You can do this as many times as you like.

Otherwise you have to be aware of and attend demo days in your area. Really the only way to test a club is at the range. There is no way you can get any feedback from hitting in one of these little indoor hitting areas.

So, to sum up. First mistake was not not getting tested (see article I mentioned above) Second was getting caught up in thinking I am a different player than I am (the loft issue)

Third, I should have investigated an alternate demo program with unlimited return because now I’m stuck with a $300 credit at TGW and really don’t want to purchase another driver in fear that’s it’s the wrong one.

I already used my one-time “30-day playability guarantee” so I’m screwed if a get a driver that I cannot use again. It would probably end up on Ebay for a fraction of it’s new price.

I’ll keep you posted on next steps.

Related posts:

1. The Quest for a New Driver
2. Alpha Golf Driver Test
3. Alpha V5 Driver Review