Video summary
In this special episode dedicated to testing affordable training aids from Amazon, the host evaluates five products designed to improve specific aspects of a golfer's game without breaking the bank. The first item tested is a rigid wrist brace priced at $9.99, intended to restrict unwanted flipping motion in the lead wrist during both the backswing and impact. While the device creates an immediate feeling of restriction that prevents the common mistake of letting the right hand overtake too early, it successfully encourages keeping arms straighter through contact. Although the host notes that ball strikes while wearing it are not ideal for actual play due to its rigidity, he gives it a thumbs up as a valuable tool for building muscle memory and achieving more consistent face control at an extremely low cost.
The second product is a foam grip trainer attached directly to the club handle, which forces the user into a neutral grip position rather than their natural strong or weak stance. The host finds this uncomfortable initially but acknowledges its potential in establishing correct hand positioning early on for beginners or helping long-term players retrain muscle memory at the driving range. Moving to the third item, a chest-strap device resembling a straight jacket is tested to prevent loss of connection between the arms and body during the swing. Despite some fit issues causing it to slide around uncomfortably, the concept effectively keeps the trailing arm connected to the torso, promoting better rotation; however, due to these comfort concerns and availability of potentially superior versions for slightly more money, this product receives a thumbs down as an entry-level attempt at stabilization.
The fourth aid is an inflatable rubber ball placed between the forearms to maintain structural integrity and prevent wrist breaking during impact, while the fifth item is a magnetic alignment tool attached to the clubface that reveals significant setup flaws in the host's aim. The posture correction device feels somewhat robotic but helps enforce proper arm shape for better strikes at $10, earning another thumbs up despite minor fit frustrations. Finally, the most expensive option at £15 serves as an eye-opener by exposing a persistent issue where the host was consistently aiming left of center even when believing they were square to the target; this revelation highlights how crucial proper setup is before swing mechanics can be corrected.
Overall, all five products are deemed excellent value for money, with prices hovering around ten pounds each and offering tangible benefits that could significantly enhance shot consistency without financial risk. The host concludes that while some aids feel restrictive or uncomfortable during practice swings, they serve as effective diagnostic tools to identify bad habits like improper grip strength or misalignment at address. By incorporating these inexpensive training devices into a regular routine, golfers can make substantial improvements to their swing mechanics and impact quality before translating those changes onto the actual course.
Read the full video transcript
So, welcome to a special edition of
testing the tips because I won't be
testing tips in today's episode. I will,
in fact, be testing the top five
training aids on Amazon and I'm going to
see if either of them, five of them that
is, help my game or actually a sheer
waste of money. I'm also pleased to
announce this series is brought to you
in partnership with Seed Golf. Let's
start with product number one.
Right, that is in fact a pro skills
wrist brace. It's $9.99 on Amazon, so no
big spend on any of these products
you're going to see in this video. And
the wrist brace is fairly
self-explanatory. You attach it to your
lead wrist. It's easy to slip on. That's
the first thing. It's uh very noticeable
you've got a steel or rather rigid board
that sits from your four iron across the
top of uh of your wrist. And what it is
intended to do is to reduce unwanted
wrist movement. So, if you all tend to
be a little bit wristy on the the back
swing and also through in pact. I think
this thing has possibly got uh some
method in its madness in restricting
that because when you get to the top of
your back swing, for me there's a
tendency to move that lead wrist over a
little bit on the top and start to flip
a little bit. Now, when you do that, if
I do that in the swing, you'll get uh
very much a restrictive
feeling that's rigid rod will impact on
your ability to do that.
When you then come down through impact,
again, what it's trying to get you to do
is keep your wrists ahead of the ball
and no sort of flipping through impact.
Now, that's the bit that I like more
than anything. It's not something I've
noticed at the top of my back swing.
It's more through when I can feel
[snorts] it there where I start to let
the right hand overtake and start to
flip a little. You start to feel the
impact
and it
it means you've got to sort of keep the
arm straighter through [snorts] impact
and through your swing. And I love that.
So,
for me, you can see a visible change.
Now, that ball strike wasn't very good
at all. We've got Penny now getting
excited cuz a golf ball has been hit.
But that's the idea.
Obviously, to see some improvements,
it's something you're going to have to
practice with. But I like the concept.
And for 10 quid,
I think that's very much a thumbs up in
terms of a training aid that can help
you get your strike a little bit more
consistent. Next up, quite possibly the
best money you'll ever spend, this
little
plastic foam that attaches to your grip.
It has a very simple process of getting
it aligned to your club face. It's
really important that you get that
square to the club face and it sits in
the right position. It is, of course, a
grip trainer. If you've got a
particularly strong or weak grip, you'll
certainly realize that when you put this
onto one of your golf clubs. Because it
effectively sticks you in a position
which adopts a neutral grip and a very
much a correct position. Now, for me, I
know straight away that that is not my
natural grip. And it feels a little bit
uncomfortable.
So again, it's something that you can
practice with.
You can start to get a little bit of
muscle memory into those hands. And next
time you start to pick the golf club up
without this in, it's important that you
remember to remove it from your club
when you're playing competition, you
might start to see a change in your
grip. Now, again, for me, it feels a
little bit uncomfortable.
Well, that was a really good strike. But
it gets me in that neutral position. And
I think that is something that
works in one of two ways. If you're
starting the game of golf, it's
absolutely imperative that you get
something like that into your system
early doors and start the right way. If
you've been playing golf a long time
like I have, I think it's going to be
slightly more difficult to adopt, but I
would certainly consider sticking that
on every time I went to the driving
range and seeing how much having the
correct grip would improve my strike.
And again, is this $7.99, hun?
Absolute money well spent. I'm giving
that another thumbs up. We've got two
from two so far. Let's go on to number
three. Now, no, this isn't a straight
jacket, although it certainly feels like
one and it's a little bit difficult to
get Not necessarily to get on, it's a
little bit difficult to get to your
size.
I should also point out that the
products that you're seeing in these, I
think are very much let's call them
copies of uh
yeah, the the uh the original and the
more expensive versions. Now, my idea
behind that is is that if I found out
one of these to be really good and
productive, then maybe you'd want to
take a leap and invest in the uh the
original product, which I would imagine
will be a little bit better fitting.
Anyway, as you've seen, it fits across
the chest and then your trail arm uh
goes into this additional loop. Now,
this is connected to a sliding um
system.
Very simple thing across the chest.
We all know, or again, if you don't,
what what happens can be a real negative
is
you can lose connection. I can't do that
right now cuz I've just attached myself
into the straight jacket, but if your
elbow starts to move away from your body
too far, both in the backswing and in
the downswing, it can be it can be
really negative in terms of the impact
that has and in a lots of different
ways. So, the idea with this is, and I
would suggest that you try this without
a golf ball to start with and with some
small swings, is that it keeps you
connected or your arms connected to your
body. Now, one of the things you'll
notice is this is I'll keep on nudging
this up because I can't get something
that is a really good fit and it keeps
sliding on me. But anyway, you move, you
keep your right arm in my case connected
to the body.
It still allows a little bit of movement
cuz it shouldn't be sort of tucked in
that it's not removing moving
whatsoever. And then through the swing
again, it keeps you connected and makes
you turn.
I think the concept is really good. I'll
hit a ball or at least try to as long as
Penny stays still. So,
stays connected. I really like the way
it feels and again
interesting this and the the the grip
that I used earlier been a real great
connection on the ball itself. And it
does keep the whole body tied in. The
one thing I don't like about this
version is that it keeps moving on me
and I'm a bit uncomfortable I have to
continually sort of nudging back up
again. So,
good. How much is this, Hannah?
11.59. It's kind of it is what it is in
terms of the price point. It's a good
entry level to see if you like this
concept, but I would definitely think
there are better versions of that
available for a little bit more money.
So, for me, I'm giving that the first
thumbs down. Right, we now have a
posture correction training aid. At
least that's what it's called. Now
again, the way you start with this thing
is it's in
a little box. You pump up what is
effectively a rubber ball and I'm
looking down here cuz I'm trying to get
this to the right position.
You stick your head through it and the
ball sits here and then we adopt our
sort of grip position by placing it
between the two forearms. Now, one thing
to mention, I did this incorrect first
of all. I pumped the ball up as much as
I could meaning it'd be rock solid and
really struggled to fit it anywhere in
any great position. You inflate it to
90% so there's a little bit of give in
it which allows your forearms just to
grab it a little bit. Took me a while to
work that one out. Anyway, the idea with
this is not too dissimilar to that sort
of sliding effect in keeping the arms
connected. We're trying to sort of
maintain a position
through the swing and again keep our
arms connected and not start to break
into this kind of situation. So again,
a lot of inconsistency
both through the backswing
uh into impact is this breaking of
wrists. And if we can keep those in a
kind of constructed
um position throughout, then
in theory, it should lead to much better
and more consistent strike. So,
if I grab the club, put the two the
beach ball in between, get my position,
I'll do a little bit of a practice swing
actually. So, it's This one for me is a
little bit more robotic. I feel a little
bit more
restricted.
It sort of continues the theme of where
you maintain uh wrist angles, but also
the your the shape of your arms through
impact again, which will feel a little
bit alien for many of you. It does at
least anyway.
Once again, this is a cheaper version.
I'll have to keep on asking Hannah how
much is this?
10 quid. Good investment. I'd almost
like to give it a sort of thumbs up for
the concept. But once again, as I've
been using this prior to filming, the
kind of height of the ball continually
moves and I feel like I'm constantly
messing around trying to get it in a
position. But again, to feel like
whether you uh to see whether or not you
like the concept, 10 quid. I think
realistically, I'll give it a thumbs up
for that kind of money. Try it. Take it
down the driving range and see what it
does in keep in in in in the form of
keeping that shape into your swing. And
I'm pretty sure that your impact will be
a lot more consistent than it perhaps
has been. Right, we'll swap out the iron
and we'll move to a wedge because this
is uh this little tiny ramp is angled at
15° and it's placed at the rear
on your rear foot.
And what it does is it shifts your
weight over onto that left-hand side and
it's specifically designed at training
you to strike your wedges better.
Price, Anne?
>> £8.30
>> £8.30. So, many of these are coming
around a tenner. I think all of them are
well well and truly worth that kind of
value and no real danger or risk in
terms of losing a lot. You'll see the
way that my
right foot is sat, it shifts my weight
onto the left side. It's a very simple
concept because if you try to move back,
it'll also reduce the swaying. You can't
really sway back without causing you a
little bit of pain over your right knee.
So, it keeps you in a forward position
and straight away you'll start to feel,
at least I do, more of a downward blow
on your wedges. I'm not going to waffle
on about it. I think it's a no-brainer.
It's a great way to introduce a very
different feel to your wedge play than
perhaps you've got currently.
It's very noticeable it's there and it's
very noticeable the shift in weight over
onto that left-hand side to a sort of
more 60/40 split, which is where we
should be and I think you'd easily
translate that onto a golf course. So,
once again,
for that kind of money, massive thumbs
up.
Right, we'll switch back to uh to an
iron.
Um and I'm going to grab something that
you'll have seen many times before in
most of any PGA golf instructor's uh
wardrobe of these kind of training aids,
you'll probably seen something like this
that is a magnetic element that attaches
to your uh to your club face.
And this was
like I said, I've seen this for years.
I've used it many times when I've been
for some coaching.
And then I ordered this from Amazon for
how much?
>> £15
>> £15? Really?
>> Yeah.
>> Jesus.
Well, that's more expensive than I
thought it was going to be. So, we'll
evaluate the cost in a minute, but
out of all the products, which to be
honest with you, I I pretty much like
them all, this was the one which had the
most telltale impact on my own issues.
With most of my shots, but predominantly
irons, and the shorter the iron gets,
when I set the ball at address, what
should happen is that this um uh let's
call it an alignment aid should point to
the target.
So, I'm pretty much in a position there
that we're pointing straight down the
middle of the net.
What I did was when I first put this um
onto an iron, and I set it at address
and adopted my position, what I realized
was, and I'm pretty much there right
now, is my aim would have been to left
of center.
And literally every time I put a club
down, I'd swap round, have a little bit
of a natural, try not to force anything
or position anything, when I look down,
I would be aiming left of center.
Now, when you try and work out on a golf
course all the problems you've got going
on, and you're looking at your swing,
and you think you're doing this, and
you're doing the other, you're closing
the club face, you're over-rotating.
But if you haven't even got it set up
right
in the beginning,
then we're really onto a bit of a
struggle. So, for me, this highlighted a
major problem that I've had, and it's
something that I've been trying to
practice over recent weeks since this
thing arrived, and that's getting to a
position where when I'm at address, if
I'm honest with you, I feel like I'm
opening the club face up a tad, but what
in reality is happening is that it's
square to address. I'm not going to hit
a golf ball. I'm a bit surprised it was
15 quid. It is a decent bit of kit,
this, I will say. The others are a
little bit on the cheap side, if you
like. This is well put together. 15
quid, if that highlights an issue for
you, then it's money well spent, and I'd
be really interested to pass this round
a load of golfers, get them to set up
their irons at address and see exactly
which way they are aiming because
it could be quite alarming.
That's me done. I'm not sure how many we
got through. Was it six in the end?
Anyway, either way, bit of a different
episode, but I think some valuable stuff
in there that without breaking the bank
could make a big difference to uh the
consistency of your swings. Now, what
I've done, all these products are linked
to Amazon in in the the section below
the description. Click on the link and
you'll should get confirmation of all
those prices or somewhere thereabouts of
what we've just uh confirmed in today's
video.
That's me done.
I enjoyed that, you know, somewhat very
different, but uh I feel like offered
you there a great bit of value and uh
hoping any of you take note and it
improves your swing.
Good luck and I'll see you soon.