Equipment
Top 3 full swing training aids of 2019—and a new one for 2020
The title says it all. I have tried a bunch of training aids at this point, and frankly, I have really liked most of them. In this day and age, the amount of thought that goes into these training devices is enormous and one thing that is true for all of them is that if they are used correctly and consistently, the intended change will come. There is enough out there now that you can identify exactly what you need to work on and find something to help groove it in.
I based my list on overall ease of use, the ability to use it unsupervised (i.e. by yourself without the help of a coach), and at-home convenience. So, to be fair to the market, the title could be a bit more granular and perhaps I could have done a list for each category, but it’s the holidays and I felt this was a fair assessment.
Here we go…
The Tour Striker PlaneMate
David Woods and Martin Chuck demonstrating the use of the Tour Striker PlaneMate
This thing is RED HOT in terms of sales and overall marketing presence but truth is, the buzz is earned. It’s a fantastic product IF you know how to use it. The given protocols and system must be followed and if you do and become an expert on what to do, it WILL make a positive change in your action. For some, it’s a backswing fixer, for the tour guys it’s face control and exit point, and for the general golfer, it’s a swing plane educator with proper feedback. The PlaneMate is a good “in the mirror at home” aid, which for me is always a big plus living in a polar vortex half the year. Can’t go wrong with this one.
Created by: Martin Chuck and David Woods
Price: $162.99
GForce Swing Trainer
This one was a nice discovery for me. As someone who gets very handsy in my golf swing, finding a timing device that I can use at home and that helps me focus on rotating, instead of whatever it is I do, is big.
The idea is simple, its a 7-iron (Also comes is driver/wedge/putter) with a REALLY whippy shaft in it. My old teacher from Seattle had one he built and we would use it when things would get way out of sync. That’s what this thing does, it simply gets your body moving in harmony again. The flex of the shaft demands it and if you get out of harmony, the ball will go all over the place. Yes, there have been aids like it in the past, but this one is the beefed-up version and it is well put together. This product can be used on and off the range which is awesome for most people.
Creator: Stuart Small
Price: $119.99
SuperSpeed Swing training System
Unless you have been living under a rock this past year, it’s hard to have not seen these things everywhere. The system has legit benefits for anyone and like the rest of the gear on this list, if used responsibly IT WILL HELP YOU. I have seen players use this over a season and get swing speeds up 5-10 MPH. That’s a big jump, and I like how the system keeps you from overdoing which is something you can definitely do with these. There are sets for men, women, and juniors, and once again they don’t require hitting a golf ball to be effective.
Creators: Michael Napoleon and Kyle Shay
Price: $199.99
And this is the one that I think will create some buzz in 2020…..
George Gankas G Box
As I’ve gotten older, I just don’t turn like I used to….this is the first device I’ve tried in a long time that gives me points of reference to turn properly. Designed by arguably the hottest instructor out there, George sent me a prototype a few months back, and as someone who loves to work on stuff in the mirror, the G Box took that work to the next level. It needs to be said that this may not be for everyone, at least right outta the box, but like anything with George Gankas, there is plenty of content to explain what and what not to do with it.
The idea is simple, there are points of reference built into the blocks. The blocks are strapped to your midsection in a specific way and there is literally a map to follow that puts you in a loaded position at the top (without cheating) and a map to rotating properly on the downswing. It’s that simple. Like the Plane Mate, the G Box will help better players with face control and exit path—and the best thing is no ball hitting is required to use it and it works in the house.
Creator: George Gankas
Release date: Late January 2020
Price: $99.95 to $199.95
- LIKE45
- LEGIT14
- WOW7
- LOL0
- IDHT3
- FLOP0
- OB4
- SHANK27
Equipment
TOUR REPORT: J.R. Smith’s purple Bettinardi, JT’s new 1-of-1 Scotty, and Ping Raw wedges spotted
Welcome to Wilmington Country Club in Delaware, host site of the 2022 BMW Championship. While the golf media was abuzz this week over a secretive player meeting that Tiger Woods flew in to attend, I was busy checking out the equipment that BMW Championship participants had in the bag.
Unexpectedly for this time of year, there were plenty of interesting gear switches, new products spotted, and fresh custom one-off prototypes to hold us over until next season. Justin Thomas made a surprising putter change, we dove into former NBA player J.R. Smith’s golf bag to find an unbelievable (and very purple) 1-of-1 putter, and Ping unveiled fresh raw wedges.
Let’s stop wasting time and get right into this week’s Tour Report from the BMW Championship.
JT’s ultra-custom Scotty Cameron putter
View this post on Instagram
It seemed that Justin Thomas was perfectly content with his custom 1-of-1 Scotty Cameron Phantom T5 putter that he used to win the 2022 PGA Championship. That was until Tuesday at the BMW Championship when the Scotty Cameron rep delivered him another custom 1-of-1 T5 Proto with a custom black sole plate, his logo in the back cavity, a custom Tour Only “Thumb’s Up” logo and his initials on the outer toe, cherry bombs on the back bumpers, a knuckle neck, and a lightly milled face with some more cherry bombs on it.
Tough life switching from one custom Tour Only putter to another, huh?
The custom additions are undeniably awesome, especially if you’re JT, but the real purpose for the switch is the shorter length; the new 1-of-1 is 0.5 inches shorter than the old one. He’s switching from 34.5 inches into 34 inches.
JT explained his reasoning for the shorter length on Wednesday, saying his arms and shoulders sit more comfortably with a slightly shorter length.
GolfWRX profiled the switch over on PGATOUR.com’s Equipment Report this week.
More in-hand photos of JT’s new putter here
Ping unveils new Glide Pro Forged Raw wedges
It’s been years since Ping has offered a raw wedge option, but with enough player demand on Tour, Ping finally delivered. This week, Ping unveiled a slew of Glide Forged Pro Raw wedge options for Tour players. Joaquin Niemann and Taylor Moore wasted no time putting a set of them in the bag.
According to Ping Tour rep Kenton Oates, the raw wedges will rust over time, so we’ll keep an eye on how long that takes and update with photos at a later juncture. Until then, enjoy the photos of Niemann’s wedges below, or check out the full lineup of lofts and grinds here.
NBA star J.R. Smith’s purple Bettinardi, and full WITB
View this post on Instagram
J.R. Smith showed up at the 2022 BMW Championship Pro-Am with dyed orange hair, a matching orange sweater, and a Rolex watch with the diamonds dancing. It was his putter that stole the show, though.
We went deep into the details of the putter over on PGATOUR.com, with comments from J.R. himself, so if you want more info than just the photos, I suggest checking that out. But if you get stuck fawning over the in-hand photos, I completely understand.
Between J.R. and JT this week, it’d be a tough decision which custom one-off putter I like better. I’ll leave that argument to the comments instead.
J.R. Smith WITB
Driver: Titleist TSi3 (8 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD-IZ 6 X
3-wood: Titleist TSi3 (15 degrees)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD-BB 7 X
Hybrid: Titleist TSi3 (20 degrees)
Shaft: KBS Tour Hybrid Prototype 95 X
Irons: Titleist T100 (4-9 iron)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Onyx X100
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM9 (46-10F, 52-12F, 56-10S and 60-04L)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue Onyx X100
Putter: Bettinardi Inovai 6.0 “J.R. Smith” custom purple
No Laying Up co-founder Chris “Soly” Solomon makes an appearance
While some may argue Solomon needs a putter upgrade or re-shaft ASAP, I personally believe…well, you’re probably right. That being said, I love the look and character of old and used equipment so much that I’ll give him a pass. Plus, it takes some serious Tour Sauce to show up to a Pro-Am with that flatstick.
In case you don’t know who he is, Solomon is the co-founder and co-host of the No Laying Up podcast. He played alongside J.R. Smith and Tony Finau in the Wednesday Pro-Am, and he was flashing some really cool, old-school inspired headcovers.
Check out all the photos of Soly’s gear here
Additional photos from Boise
While I was holding it down on the east coast at the BMW Championship, GolfWRX photographer Greg Moore was out in Idaho covering the 2022 Albertsons Boise Open.
And cover it he did.
Greg took 27 photo galleries full of WITB photos, as well as 5 other general galleries, and a forum thread of Scotty Cameron’s custom potato headcovers.
If you wanted Korn Ferry Tour photos, you definitely got them this week. Check out all of the photos here.
Cameron Young’s absurd driver numbers
View this post on Instagram
I’d be curious to know whether Cameron Young would be willing to trade driver launch numbers with me. I don’t have much else to add, those numbers are perfect.
And with that, we say goodbye to Delaware…and Boise. We’ll see you next week in Hotlanta for the Tour Championship where the big money is on the line.
See all of our photos from the BMW Championship and Alberstons Boise Open
- LIKE9
- LEGIT2
- WOW1
- LOL0
- IDHT0
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK0
In conjunction with Hasbro, Bettinardi Golf has collaborated with one of America’s most iconic board games, Monopoly.
The two have produced a wide range of products that will launch online over the course of three days and include putters, wedges, headcovers, metal accessories, bags, and apparel, as well as the first-ever Monopoly board game machined entirely from one piece of metal.
“Playing Monopoly with my family was an absolute staple growing up in the Bettinardi household, like many kids around the country. It’s all about nostalgia, and I really wanted to bring Monopoly’s iconic designs and branding, with the fun factor of what we do at The Hive to not only our customers but Monopoly’s fanatical customer base as well. The iconic game pieces, colorways, and characters, along with our own beloved Bettinardi icons, made the design process exciting, but also endless with the amount of fun we had designing this amazing release.” – Sam Bettinardi, President of Bettinardi Golf
Additionally, Bettinardi Golf plans to pay homage to the game itself by including a “Game of Chance” purchasing opportunity in which customers can test their luck to receive a myriad of strikingly designed products.
This limited-edition collaboration will be launched across three days, beginning on Tuesday, August 23rd at 10 a.m. CST, with additional launches on Wednesday, August 24th, and Thursday, August 25th at 10 a.m. CST.
Each launch day will present new items available for purchase, and all three launches will be available exclusively in the Hive at www.bettinardi.com. Early token-gated access will be available for Bee Keeper Society NFT holders.
- LIKE11
- LEGIT4
- WOW8
- LOL0
- IDHT0
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK3
At GolfWRX, we are a community of like-minded individuals that all experience and express our enjoyment of the game in many ways.
It’s that sense of community that drives day-to-day interactions in the forums on topics that range from best driver to what marker you use to mark your ball. It even allows us to share another thing we all love – buying and selling equipment.
Currently, in our GolfWRX buy/sell/trade (BST) forum, there is a listing for a TaylorMade Sim MAX 7-wood
From the seller (@AceDad): “Excellent condition Taylormade Sim Max-D 7 wood 22* with Tour AD GT-7S shaft. Plays 41.5” and shaft tipped an inch. Solid and fun club for sure. Can split head and shaft if buyer for both. $224 “
To check out the full listing in our BST forum, head through the link: TaylorMade Sim MAX 7-wood
This is the most impressive current listing from the GolfWRX BST, and if you are curious about the rules to participate in the BST Forum you can check them out here: GolfWRX BST Rules
- LIKE2
- LEGIT0
- WOW0
- LOL0
- IDHT0
- FLOP0
- OB0
- SHANK0
‘Your tee times at Augusta are numbered’ – Wife of Masters legend lashes out at Bryson DeChambeau
Major champ urges Cam Smith to turn down reported mammoth offer to join LIV
Phil Mickelson brutally heckled on opening hole of latest LIV event
Justin Thomas slams Will Zalatoris’ mentor for ‘egregious and aggressive’ tweets attacking NBC duo
‘You don’t mess with that guy’ – Bryson reveals the last golfer he would want to fight
Tiger Woods WITB 2022 (July)
‘I’m again broke’ – Bryson reveals how he’s been spending his $125+ million LIV money
YouTube sensation ejected by Brooks Koepka at Open Championship party
Jordan Spieth disqualified at JP McManus Pro-Am
‘We just won’t play’ – Major champ says PGA Tour pros could strike if LIV ban is overturned
Jacob Bergeron WITB 2022 (August)
Jacob Bergeron what’s in the bag accurate as of the Albertsons Boise Open. More photos from the event here. Driver:...
Scott Stallings WITB 2022 (August)
Scott Stallings what’s in the bag accurate as of the BMW Championship. More photos from the event here. Driver: Titleist...
Anthony Quayle WITB 2022 (August)
Anthony Quayle what’s in the bag accurate as of the Albertsons Boise Open. More photos from the event here. Driver:...
Will Zalatoris’ winning WITB: 2022 FedEx St. Jude Classic
Will Zalatoris what’s in the bag accurate as of the FedEx St. Jude Championship. More photos from the event here....
-
19th Hole3 weeks ago‘Your tee times at Augusta are numbered’ – Wife of Masters legend lashes out at Bryson DeChambeau
-
19th Hole3 weeks agoPhil Mickelson brutally heckled on opening hole of latest LIV event
-
19th Hole4 days agoJustin Thomas slams Will Zalatoris’ mentor for ‘egregious and aggressive’ tweets attacking NBC duo
-
19th Hole2 weeks ago‘We just won’t play’ – Major champ says PGA Tour pros could strike if LIV ban is overturned
-
19th Hole3 weeks agoPhil Mickelson’s LIV heckler is revealed…and here’s what happened next
-
19th Hole3 weeks agoLPGA major champ hits out at Bubba Watson and his wife over decision to join LIV
-
19th Hole1 week ago‘No hard feelings or anything like that ‘ – Rickie Fowler explains decision to split with longtime caddie
-
19th Hole2 days agoControversial ESPN host says he’s ‘disgusted’ by Tiger Woods in unpopular rant
Gunter Eisenberg
Dec 25, 2019 at 8:45 am
For me, the best training aid in my 19 years of golf is Youtube videos.
ButchT
Dec 24, 2019 at 9:39 am
Too damned expensive! Plenty of profit at half the price!