What’s the Best Golf Swing Trainer?

Stuck in the office all day?  Have a few minutes to spare and want to work out some of the kinks in your swing?  These golf training devices will help you fix your slice, increase your swing speed, hit straighter drives, and hopefully help you shoot lower scores on the course.  Below are some of best golf swing trainers available on the market.

The 6 Best Golf Swing Trainers

SKLZ Gold Flex Strength and Tempo Swing Trainer

sklz gold flex strength and tempo trainer best golf swing trainerWhat it does:  The SKLZ Gold Flex Strength and Tempo Trainer helps you create clubhead lag for longer drives, build core strength/flexibility, and develop a better tempo in your golf swing.  Overall, this swing trainer will help give you flatter swing plane, which in turn will help eliminate slices.

Who it’s for:  The SKLZ Gold Flex is a great tool for all players, especially those struggling with slicing.  In fact it has even been used by PGA tour players such as Vijay Singh, Matt Kuchar, and Fred Couples.  It is also great for older players to increase torso flexibility.  The Gold Flex is perfect device for stretching before a game, and to get a good swing rhythm before teeing off.

Overall rating: 4.6/5

 

 

SKLZ Tempo and Grip Trainer

sklz tempo and grip trainer best golf swing trainerWhat it does:  Here is another great tool from SKLZ that does exactly as the name implies — improves your grip and swing tempo/rhythm.  This small training club (approx 30 inches long) has a molded grip to ensure that your hands are always in the exact proper position.  Changeable weights allow you to simulate swinging either irons (heavy) or woods (light), while also developing your flexibility and golf-specific muscles.  Using this trainer will help give you a flatter swing plane, and elimiate unwanted slices.

Who it’s for:  The small size of this tool makes it the best golf swing trainer for practicing indoors at your office or home.  It’s also very reasonably priced at only $25.  If you don’t have time to get to the range before the game, then a few swings with the SKLZ Tempo and Grip is the perfect warmup. Note that this tool is only made for right handed players.

Overall rating: 4.5/5

 

 

IZZO Smooth Swing

izzo smooth swingWhat it does:  Helps elimate the dreaded “chicken wing“.  The IZZO Smooth Swing keeps your arms and body together for a tighter, more efficient swing.   With a tighter swing, you will start to hit consistently longer, and more accurate shots.

Who it’s for:  Anyone that has that ugly chicken wing form in their golf swing.  It is a simple, and cheap device that works.  If you don’t mind looking a little bit dorky at the driving range, then you should try out the IZZO Smooth Swing.

Overall rating: 4/5 – Simple device that does what it’s supposed to do, but you could also just use a large rubber bands to simulate the same effect.

 

 

SKLZ Smash Bag

sklz smash bagWhat it does:  Helps you practice making proper club contact, and provides instant visual feedback.   Just take a full swing at the SKLZ Smash Bag. then look at the angle of the target map to see how you did.  If your swing was straight/true, the bag will remain aligned. If your swing missed the target or hit at a skewed angle, you will feel the miss, and the bag will also show with a skewed indentation.

Who it’s for: If you’re struggling with hitting thin/fat, slicing/hooking, then give the Smash Bag a try. It is particulary good for beginners who want to get the feel of making proper impact.  It is perfect for practing in your house, backyard or at the range.

Overall rating: 4/5 – Great priced hitting bag, especially for beginner and intermediate golfers.

 

 

 Swingyde Golf Swing Training Aid

swingyde golf swing trainerWhat it does:  The Swingyde helps your arms and wrists stay in the proper position throughout the golf swing.  It will help you develop a flatter swing with correct clubface alignment.  This will allow you to make square contact, and consistently hit more accurate, straighter shots.  The Swingyde is particularly useful for your backswing, when you can’t see your wrists.  It will let you feel if your hands are in the proper “hinge” position.

Who it’s for: The Swingyde is the best golf swing trainer for players that struggle with making square contact (clubface angle is too open, or too closed), or have problems keeping their front arm straight on their backswing.  It is a very simple device and has been used by pros like Zach Johnson and Charles Howell III.  The Swingyde can be used by left or right handed players.

Overall rating: 4/5 – Simple device that works well, but a bit overpriced for a piece of plastic.

 

 

 Momentus Speed Whoosh Golf Swing Trainer with Training Grip

momentus speed whoosh golf swing trainerWhat it does:  The Momentus Speed Whoosh helps activate your “fast twitch” muscles, which in turn helps you increase your swing speed and hit more explosive drives. The Speed Whoosh weighs the same as an average driver, but swings 20+ MPH faster.  This unnatural speed helps activate your normally unused fast twitch muscles, and prepares them for use.  After swinging the Speed Whoosh six times in a row, then switching to your normal driver, you will see an increase of 7-10 mph in club head speed.  This can translate to an extra 20-25 yards of distance.  The timing ball on the Speed Whoosh also lets you know if you are releasing on your downswing too early or too late.

Who it’s for: The Speed Whoosh is best golf swing trainer for players trying to increase their swing speed and hit longer drives.  It has been used by long-drive champions as well as many PGA tour professionals.  It is not so useful for absolute beginners who are still working on their swing fundamentals.

Overall rating: 4.2/5 – Will give you a extra yards on your drive, but won’t fix your slice/hook or other swing flaws.

 

 

Choosing the Best Golf GPS Watch

Hate carrying additional things around in your pocket?  Don’t mind wearing a watch when you play?  Want to see what time it is, and how far you are from the green in one glance?  Then, a golf GPS watch is the tool for you!  The convenience, portability, and power of many GPS watches on the market today have begun to make  traditional handheld devices obsolete.  So, what’s the best golf GPS watch available?  Well, that depends on what kind of golfer you are:

Top-of-the-line:  Garmin Approach S6

If you don’t mind spending the big bucks, and only want the best of the best, then the new Approach S6 Golf Watch (released September 2014) from GPS specialist Garmin is the device for you.  It comes in three different colorways, and has all the latest bells and whistles: a full color, sunlight-readable, touch screen interface (glove friendly), smart notification for emails and texts, and fantastic battery life (10 hours on GPS mode).  It comes pre-packed with over 38,000 courses from around the world, and does everything you would expect from a top GPS:  pinpoint accurate distances to greens, layups, and doglegs, score/stats keeping, and customizable yardage points.   This watch even calculates your swing strength and tempo, so you can train yourself to swing more consistently. The watch also just looks fantastic, and will definitely draw the envy from other golfers.

If the $400 price tag doesn’t make you flinch, and you want the latest, greatest tech available, then this is the best golf GPS watch for you.

Golfers on a budget:  GolfBuddy WT6

Looking for something a bit more affordable? The GolfBuddy WT6 GPS Watch is a great, no-frills alternatives to full featured watches like the Garmin S6.  It has all the basic features you need, including 38,000 preloaded courses, and decent battery life (6 – 8 hours on GPS).  It will give you measurements to front/back/center green, as well as your shot distance.  It’s a bit bulky to wear, and will definitely not help you make any fashion statements. But, for just a little over $100 on Amazon, you can always use the money saved to buy some great looking clothes instead.  The WT6 gets the job done, and is our choice for the best budget-friendly golf GPS watch.

 

Best value for money:  Bushnell NEO XS

Want the best value for your money?  The NEO-XS Golf GPS Watch from Bushnell is for those discerning golfers who are always try to find the best balance between price and quality.    The NEO XS is incredibly accurate, comes preloaded with over 33,000 golf courses from around the world, and has absolutely fantastic battery life (about 12 hours or three rounds of golf on a single chrage).  It looks great, is one of the lightest Golf GPS watches on the market, and is very comfortable to wear.  It gives all the basic distance measurements (front/back/center of green), as well as hazards and layup distances.   If you don’t need some of the extra frills of the Garmin S6, the Bushnell NEO XS is easily the best value-for-money golf GPS watch available today.

 

 

Best value #2:  Garmin Approach S1

garmin s1 golf gps watch

If you don’t mind using an older model, then the original Garmin S1 Golf Watch is a  a great buy.  The S1 was originally released in 2011, but still looks great and performs up to par with most newer golf watches.    It comes preloaded with over 14,000 courses (US or Canada), and can be loaded with more for free online.  The S1 has a sunlight-readable screen, and will always provide you with pinpoint accurate measurements thanks to Garmin’s patented GPS technology.  It has also has various features like an odometer and automatic time-zone adjustments.

Despite its age, the Garmin S1 is still one of the best golf GPS watches available…especially if you can find a used one.