Want To Improve Your Swing and Putting Skills?

 Take a look at what’s new on the market in training products that actually do work!

As one can imagine, Golf Industry Online.com (www.golfindustryonline.com), is inundated with scores of “the best new swing training devices ever created”. Suffice to say, we do investigate and research these game improvement devices whether identified by ourselves or submitted to Golf Industry Online.com.

Not unexpectedly, the two most sought after pieces of instruction, whether to teach or to learn, are about the golf swing and putting – how do I improve/teach the golf swing and putting? The only path to golfing excellence is through correct practice. Until now, only the Touring Professionals could afford to have their swing and putting mechanics consistently and correctly monitored by a teaching professional.

At Golf Industry Online.com, we have “discovered” three extremely useful and easy to use teaching devices for your swing as well as two teaching/training aids that will increase your putting skills. Each of these offer the golfer at least one method that will work for that golfer’s visual learning requirement.

The Inside Approach

Developed by Jim Sowerwine, (Director of Instruction, Rick Smith Golf Academy @ Tiburon, Naples, Florida) and endorsed by none other than Jack Nicklaus, the Inside Approach swing trainer offers beginners and advanced students the unique ability to know instantly, whether they have swung the club on the correct path.

Not only does the Inside Approach visually empower you, but for hedonists, the instant gratification is marvelous, plus the instruction cd/video is superbly crafted.

The Inside Approach is also ideal for improving your chipping technique.

The Inside Approach comes with a handy custom tote bag that easily fits into any size golf bag so that you can take it wherever you take your clubs or wherever you can make swings. In addition, the video(s)/DVD'(s) that are offered with the Inside Approach, give you rare insight from Jack Nicklaus as he shares some of the fundamentals he was taught when he learned the game, as well as insight from some of today’s greatest teachers (ranked by Golf Magazine and Golf Digest) as they share their thoughts on addressing golfers most common swing faults. These videos are invaluable for simplifying your understanding of the golf swing and ultimately your future success and enjoyment of the game.

The Inside Approach is the first golf training aid that guarantees to cure your slice, increase your distance and lower your scores in just 6 swings or less and comes with a 30-Day Money Back Guarantee.

Price: $79.98

Visit www.insideapproach.com

The Golf Swing Tracer:

The Golf Swing Tracer is designed to evaluate your swing path and provide instant feedback allowing you to track and correct your swing. Unlike many bulky or difficult training aids, the Golf Swing Tracer is easy to use, adjustable, and portable.

For many, the most difficult aspect of golf is consistently and properly striking the ball squarely. It is nearly impossible to visually see your swing path and be able to determine if you are swinging properly and striking squarely. By using the Golf Swing Tracer you see exactly what path your club takes in the critical area (belt high on down swing until belt high on the follow through), which allows you to adjust your swing properly.

The Golf Swing Tracer is chockfull of benefits; such as it’s ease of use for the entire family (pros, beginners, women, children), it can be used with or without ball, be used at home, office, driving range, or any convenient area and allows you to practice anytime – day or night.

More importantly, it teaches you how NOT to slice or hook, as well as HOW to slice or hook. It will also teach and help you hit the ball squarely, analyze your impact zone and it helps you increase your club head speed. The Golf Swing Tracer works with any club (Irons and Woods).

The picture below shows how easy it is to evaluate your swing. Simply compare the numbers you hit on the six flippers on the board to the numbers on the chart provided and you’ll instantly see what you are doing wrong. From this instant feedback, you can adjust your swing to alleviate a hook, slice and over-the-top action. The Tracer is also ideal for improving your putting motion.

With the purchase of the Golf Swing Tracer you will also receive additional tips on correcting your swing ($149.95)

A separate driver conversion track can be added to the Golf Swing Tracer, so you can practice using your driver ($49.95).

www.swingtracker.com – 1.800.228.0401

The Plane Stick:

Extra! Extra! It’s been forty-five years since Ben Hogan popularized his swing-plane theory in Five Lessons- now there is a practical training device that teaches his swing-plane concepts – the Plane Stick.

A golf club swung on the correct swing plane gives a golfer the best chance of hitting shots that repeatedly go straighter and longer. Research has shown that 90% of all amateur golfers suffer from swing plane related problems.

With this in mind, Matt Molloy, a former mini-tour player and a teaching pro at the Golf Training Center at Aberdeen Ridge Golf Links in Pinehurst, NC, developed the Plane Stick as a tool for trying to save one of his students from himself. It turns out that his invention works for ALL golfers of all abilities.

The Plane Stick’s main feature is a telescoping aluminum rod that can be adjusted from 33 inches to 46 inches in length and can match the lie angle of any golf club. There is a foam and nylon sleeve covering a breakaway spring on the final 18 inches of the rod. This allows golfers to swing at balls and groove the feel for the proper plane without worrying about hurting their sticks or themselves.

Besides its primary design of eliminating the dreaded over-the-top move, The Swing Plane can also be set up to cure flaws with the set up, follow through, hip sway, excessive head movement and about any other ailment that a golfer can breed and need exorcised.

“The main benefit of the product is that it gives a student the visual and kinesthetic feedback that they wouldn’t otherwise get just hitting golf balls,” said Molloy. “It gives them spatial reference points, so they know exactly what their body is supposed to be doing and whether it’s doing it correctly throughout the swing.”

The Plane Stick comes with its own attractive carrying bag. MSRP:$149.95

www.planestick.com 1-866-794-6475

The Zen Oracle Putter:

The new model of the Zen Oracle Tour marries three amazing design innovations with one of the only ways to effectively improve your putting stroke.

With the Zen Oracle Aperture incorporated in the design, the golfer can use the same proven putting training methods used by pros and amateurs worldwide over the past three years to subconsciously groove a high-performance putting stroke.

The Zen Oracle Tour is the only golf putter-training device that’s also a USGA conforming championship putter. Over 60 PGA pros and thousands of amateurs around the world to lower their golf scores are using it. The Zen Oracle Tour’s revolutionary “Zen Aperture” provides immediate sensory and visual feedback for perfecting your putting technique.

It is most definitely one of the best teaching and training aids currently available on the market today. The putter comes with four simple Zen Oracle practice drills that are guaranteed to improve your putting! It also is offered with a thirty-day money-back guarantee. MSRP: $159.80

www.zenoracle.com 1.888.988.2274

Dandy Putters – The Complete Answer to Putting

Allan Strand, a concert pianist and athlete turned putter designer, may be setting the stage for the next generation in putter design. His approach to putting is unique, as is the fundamental design of his putters. Having been influenced strongly by his father, a science teacher with a Master’s degree in physics, Allan’s Dandy putter is perfectly balanced at setup and at impact and immediately induces overspin at impact.

What makes this possible is the Dandy’s patented onset design. With the shaft attached just slightly behind the true center of mass, golfers are able to see the entire putter face at address for easy alignment and effortlessly pull the putterhead back on the takeaway. Once in motion, gravity becomes an additional ally and along with its heel/toe weighting makes the Dandy putter extremely forgiving on off-center hits.

According to Allan, “the putter influences the putting stroke. In fact, it determines what the putting stroke can be. Balance and energy transfer are key elements in creating a putter that allows each of us to perform at our highest personal level.”

But being unique has also been quite challenging for the Dandy Putter Company since most golfers are drawn to brand name putters and tend to shy away from making the necessary changes that ‘true innovation’ require. Therefore to make change easier, each Dandy putter comes with a setup trainer, which snaps onto the bottom of the putter and enables the putter to stand in the correct address position with a built-in forward press, and an instructional video hosted by Allan with special guest Dr. Gil Morgan, 2nd All-Time Money Leader on the Champions Tour. Morgan has worked closely with Allan in testing the performance of the Dandy putter and has 22 wins to show for it, almost half of them playing the Dandy in competition once it was fully ready for competition. Vijay Singh also played a 35″ prototype Dandy to win the 2000 Masters putting left-hand low.

Each Dandy comes with a unique LIFELINE grip and supports time-tested fundamentals that many of the games greatest players believe in. For more information about the Dandy and what makes it unique in the game of golf, you can visit their Web site at www.dandygolf.com

Dave Pelz’s O-Ball and New Book “Ten Minutes A Day To Better Putting”

For $29.95, Pelz’s new book is well worth the investment. The self-styled short-game guru has definitely put together a coffee stand book that will benefit your putting skills.
Every golfer knows that improving your putting will lower your scores, yet it has long been one of the most elusive goals to achieve in golf.

According to Dave Pelz, it can be done, and you can see how in this book. Its not just a matter of time, it is time well spent … with feedback on what you’re doing right, or wrong. Pelz guides you through a versatile process – from creating a workspace, defining your focus, using proper tools, and finally, making it easy to find that most precious of commodities – the time to make it happen. Pelz demonstrates how you can reap tremendous benefit from proper practice conducted in a positive environment – in increments as small as 10 Minutes a Day!

The book contains 208 pages with over 400 full-color photos and illustrations.

A tip to the wise – Get yourself custom fitted for a putter. It is money well spent. For a previous article on this subject, visit www.golfindustryonline.com under their “Equipment Reviews” link.

After you have read and studied Pelz’s book, you should definitely purchase a sleeve of his new O-Balls. The balls are an excellent visual training tool that will accelerate your putting skills, as they definitely make aiming and putting on-line easy. They improve your putting stroke and help your green reading.

Each O-Ball™ is marked with a unique (U.S. Patent Pending) pattern of O-Rings around their equators and poles in order to provide feedback on how well you stroke every putt. Then, after you learn the feel of your good strokes, and make more of them, O-Balls™ help you learn to read greens better.

The O-Balls™, manufactured by Wilson, are long, straight and conform to the USGA Rules of Golf. They utilize 4-piece high-energy internal V3™ core construction (DuPont HPF™ Polymer) for distance, a thin Urethane cover to maximize short game spin characteristics, and True-Balance™ technology for the best putting roll in golf. MSRP: $59.95

Barry Lotz, J.D., Ph.D. is the director of the Professional Golf Teachers Association of America. He is a member of the Golf Writers Association of America, the California Golf Writers Association, and serves both as a Consultant and Mediator to the golf industry. He is also the author of numerous books, including “333 Best Web Sites for Golfers” and his current book, “How to Build Business Relationships Through Golf” is in the Top Ten Golf Business Book’s best seller list.

He can be reached at www.pgtaa.com or drlotz@cbsgolf.net