Swing Coach Club- A Golf Swing Training Aid
In the novel Golf In the Kingdom, Michael Murphy’s now classic novel about the spiritual/psychological/mental and religious aspects of golf, the book’s guru cum golf instructor Shivas Irons says that the ball and the sweet spot on the club are “joined afore ye started playing.” This image of the ball fitted to the club face prior to the golfer making a swing “helped settle me down,” says Michael, the novel’s narrator.
Indeed, the literary gives way to the literal with The Swing Coach as this mid-iron length practice golf club (with its plastic driver shaped head) uses a two-pronged gripper inserted into the clubface area to hold an actual golf ball. In essence the clamp marries the clubface and ball together before a golfer makes a swing. The product’s accompanying instructional material instructs them to make a smooth golf swing capable of hitting a ball only about 130 yards, when golfers do swing the club and to focus their attention on making a complete and smooth swinging motion. When the golfer executes a well-timed release during this “The Swing Coach” swing, i.e., one as close as possible to one would an actual ball would lie on the ground (or on a tee) when hitting an actual shot with a real golf club, their release will fling the ball out of its clamp and propel it straight down the fairway. By design, the ball will fly about fifteen feet in the air and sail forty or fifty yards down the range or fairway.
Right off the bat…no pun intended…golfers will experience the feel of how removing this “hit” impulse helps them produce smoother and more evenly paced swings quite easily.
That said, propelling the ball straight toward one’s target this isn’t as easy to do as it sounds or would seem. Yet herein lies the trainer’s true value. But first a brief digression.
Though rather light in weight, The Swing Coach simulates an actual club, and rather than restrain force or motion in any way, the goal asks golfers to make their own natural swings
Many swing trainers use mechanical hinges or levers or plastic movement restraining or controlling barriers to force golfers into motions and/or swing positions and/or alignments that result in beautiful shots. Others provide cloth straps or other wraps that attach to the golfer’s body. The problem with these appendages arises when the practicing golfers removes them, because doing so often results in their original swing problems rebounding more strongly and becoming magnified. This happens because the inefficient and/or misaligned energy that these training corral and “correct” now, with nothing there to constrain them, really runs wild and severely throws off their swings. Think of water rushing forward with increased force after the dam breaks down.
Though rather light in weight, The Swing Coach simulates an actual club, and rather than restrain force or motion in any way, the goal asks golfers to make their own natural swings. By observing the direction and trajectory that the club hurls the ball down the fairway (or range) golfers will learn how to analyze several key elements of their swings. These include: the path of the club through the impact zone, the quality of their pivots,the smoothness of the downswing from the top of the swing to the finish, and the angle of the clubface at the point of (a simulated) impact. Most importantly golfers with get direct feedback as to whether they have successfully released the clubhead at the optimal point in the impact zone, again, ideally occurs as close to (what would be) an actual ball as possible.
The Swing Coach is, by necessity, a very precise swing trainer, which means that if golfers tighten up, swings out-to-in, or hold on and don’t release the clubhead rhythmically in a well-timed manner just prior to “impact” the prongs will launch the ball high and to the left. This happens because the player will have initiated and exerted their release thrust and action too late well past what would be the proper impact point near the ball. Should golfers cast the club, i.e., uncock their wrists and straighten their right arms (or left arms for lefties) too soon in the downswing and in so doing accelerate the club too soon, their release point will occur well rearward of the ideal and the practice ball will take off low and to the right of a straight path.
A small round “chip” called “SAM” for “Swing Acceleration Marker) comes with the product. Golfers will place this marker on the ground 4 inches in front of their forward foot ad address for a mid-iron shot. The chip serves as an alignment marker over which golfers must release and swing their clubs. Players will hopefully remember how the great Jack Nicklaus on every full shot would pick out a small piece of grass or a leaf as lying between his ball and his the line on which he intended to start his shot. Clearly The Swing Coach borrows this effective alignment method from the great Golden Bear. Soft practice balls are available that will allow for backyard or indoor practice sessions, as well as with a small rubber “plug” that when inserted into the center of the clamp mechanism pushed the ball forward to make it release more easily when golfers make pitch shot speeded swings.
The Swing Coach is fun to practice with, though it does take some time to get used to a ball actually flying forward without actually having hit it. What’s more, the device seems designed to work best…that is to say, it “throws” the ball straight down the fairway…when swung at a very specific speed, once more, more that would hit a real ball 130 yards. Of course, means that golfers of different strengths would need to exert differing amounts of force to practice with The Swing Coach effectively, though most golfers possess the strength to hit a 130-yard shot.
Golfers will need to conquer their egos and impatience over the possibility that at first they will find themselves “throwing” wayward shots all over the place with this trainer. Once they do this, The Swing Coach will help them moderate and modify their motions until they achieve the coveted smooth rhythm motion and desired straight ball flight. What’s more, when they return to actual golf clubs and golf balls, golfers will find that their work with The Swing Coach translates into better actual shots rather quickly.
Dean Reinmuth guides golfers through how to most effectively practice with a Swing Coach Club
The legendary and world class golf instructor Dean Reinmuth explains and demonstrates The Swing Coach in a series of short videos found at www.swingcoachclub.com/learn. In them, and with characteristically friendly, gentle and brilliant teaching style Reinmuth guides golfers through how to most effectively practice with this trainer.
All told, The Swing Coach stands as one of the more creative and inventive swing trainers on the market today. Again, golfers shouldn’t expect to pick it up and find their swings producing balls that fly straight right away (if they can do this, they wouldn’t need the trainer in the first place!). However, after working with it combined with consulting Dean Reinmuth’s video lessons, and by alternating practicing with The Swing Coach and hitting balls with actual clubs, they will find their swings and ball striking skills improving well to their liking.
-Andy Brumer is a writer living in Pasadena, California. He writes on golf and other subjects, is the former editor of Golf Tips Magazine and Peteresen’s Golfing Magazine. In addition, he is the co-author with Bobby Clampett of The Impact Zone: Mastering Golf’s Moment of Truth, and the author of The Poetics of Golf, a book of essays on golf.