Best Golf Training Aids of 2022

Best Golf Training Aids of 2022

The simple answer is they go out and practice specific parts of their game in order to improve.

Sure, it may seem easy, put the little ball in the bigger hole. Unfortunately, it isn’t as easy as it seems. Yet, there are millions of us trying each and every day to get just a little bit better. We are all out here trying to shave off one stroke here and there just so we can go out and beat our friends into the dirt. Whether it’s to show off, because you are competitive and want to win everything, or you need to make some cash from the bets you place on the course, you are always attempting to play just a little better. So how does a player get better? The simple answer is they go out and practice specific parts of their game in order to improve. The best players have a set of tools they use in order to get better in the most efficient way possible. My personal favorite training aid is the CTRL Swing Master! It’s the very best available for working on your tempo.

The Purpose of a Training Aid:

A good golf training aid is able to help you focus in and improve a very specific aspect of your game. They can help you take a more consistent putting stroke, they can help you start the ball off on line and they are great with helping you complete a drill. A training aid is as simple as a golf tee place in the right spot or as complex as the CTRL Swing master. Many people have different needs and thus use different training aids. The training aid you use doesn’t matter as long as it develops the skill you are working on at the moment. The overall purpose is to develop a skill and then to help transfer that skill to the course. Once you do that, your scores will go much lower.

 

The Best Training Aids I use:

I’ll start with my favorites and elaborate on why they are my favorite, and what scenarios I use them for.

CTRL Swing Master

The CTRL Swing Master is a complete training aid that helps drill in consistency in every part of your game. They currently provide full swing feedback on your ideal tempo, clubface, and club path. For me, there is no better way to start a range session than by getting my tempo set right. Whether I’m warming up for a tournament round, a fun round with friends, a round for work, or just getting ready to start a training session, there is no better trainer to help you swing your best swing. CTRL believes everyone has their own idea swing and they should practice that. Instead of telling you that your ideal tempo needs to be a 3:1 ratio backswing to downswing, but CTRL disagrees. They believe everyone has their own unique ideal tempo and they capture it as you set up your baseline model.

To use CTRL, you slide on the sleeve, pop in your sensors, connect to their state-of-the-art phone app and create a model. Once the model is created, you take swings and tell the app where the ball went and if it was an ideal shot or not. After 10 good shots, you exit to a training session and start hitting balls while the app gives you clubface feedback, club path feedback, and tempo feedback on every single shot. My favorite part is the metronome that is set to your ideal tempo. You can match that and your feedback will be perfect!

 

Pelz Putting Tutor

This is a Dave Pelz training aid and can be purchased at most golf stores or even on Amazon. The putting tutor is simply the best way to start your ball off on the right line. Putting is made up of 3 parts. Reading the green, speed, and direction. The other two will not matter if you don’t start the ball on your line. Once you are able to start the ball on your line every time, reading the greens become easier as you know you didn’t push or pull it, instead you know that the green broke more or less at the start of the putt than you thought. Once you can hit your line, you know how much speed to apply based on your line. Should you hit it a little harder to make the putt break less? It’s up to you, but it’s a lot easier to settle on speed when you know which line you are going to hit. This device also helps you set up in the exact same spot every single time.

The putting tutor is a simple wedge-shaped piece of plastic with a starting line, and some lines around where you place the ball. It also has 3 round indents for the marbles that make this training aid so good. You put the marbles on these indents on both sides and it creates a gate with multiple difficulty settings. I started on the widest setting and hit 5 through in a row, then the middle setting and hit 5 through in a row, then the closest setting and hit 5 through in a row. Now I just use the closest setting since I’ve gotten so good with it.

 

Tour Striker Ball

The tour striker ball has several different iterations, but it is basically a ball you put in between your arms to help you hold the triangle on the way back. You can release it after impact. You hold this ball between your forearms and your body stays in sync with itself. This is useful for sequencing, and just staying on the same note with your whole body. It helps to compress the ball and take much better swings.

 

Alignment Aid

One of the best things you can do for your golf game is to know where you are lined up. I know what you’re thinking. I’ve been playing for years and I know where I’m aimed. BUT, even seasoned veterans that play on tour work on their alignment almost daily. I find it prudent to set up an alignment stick every time I practice to work on it. I find most people that don’t work on it often line up pointing the wrong way on the range. It only gets worse on the course. Aiming the wrong way is catastrophic for your golf game. When you aim wrong, your body subconsciously tries to make up for it and you end up in an even worse spot or you go until you create a massive swing flaw that will cause undo burden on your game at the most important moments.

So get an alignment aid and USE IT. They are dirt cheap so there is no excuse not to use one! At worse stick a club on the ground.

 

To Wrap it Up:

The great part about these three training aids is they work really well with each other. These training aids are invaluable in keeping up your fundamentals. They seem simple, but getting and using these training aids will absolutely change your weekly rounds. It helps lower your score and keep it there, as you can build consistency.

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