The golf swing is arguably the hardest technique to master in golf, even though most people would think that swinging golf clubs to hit the ball is relatively easy to do. What makes golf swings difficult is that players would often struggle to keep a consistent golf swing, which means that the direction, angle, and power of their swings would stay the same even after hitting the ball multiple times. So, consistency is the aspect of golf swinging that is hard to master, and you wouldn’t even be able to get this consistency even after playing golf dozens of times.
Training is important in order to have a consistent golf swing, and this training would often come in a variety of forms, including golf training camps and instructional videos. However, you can also train yourself in improving your golf swing by having training aids while you are at home or on the golf course. To know what these aids are, here is a list of the most common and practical training aids to help you with your golf swing.
Butter Knife Aid
An old school technique, the butter knife aid is done by placing a dull butter knife vertically on top of the back of your lead hand, although you would need a watch or a wristband to hold the knife in place. The knife placed at the back of your lead hand (usually the left hand if you are right-handed) would prevent your wrist from moving too much, thus allowing you to have a more stable swing.
Holding a Cookie
The cookie aid is an unusual technique that is done by some beginners to lessen the tension in their bodies before they swing the club. Whenever we would brace ourselves to swing the golf club, we would often feel a little bit nervous and tensed up, and this tension that our body is feeling would often affect the consistency of our swings. To combat this tension, some golfers would hold a cookie using the upper and lower portions of their front teeth, and the goal of the golfers is to prevent the cookie from breaking before, during, and after swinging the golf club. If the cookie breaks, it means that your body is too tense, so you would be able to train yourself to be more relaxed by preventing the cookie from breaking.
Flashlight Technique
This technique doesn’t require you to hold a golf club, but you would need to hold a flashlight backward, which means that the light of the flashlight should be aimed towards you. To do this technique, you must first hold the flashlight like a golf club, and then the light must be on your stomach. To know if you have a stable golf swing, the light of the flashlight must travel in a straight line.
Holding a Soccer Ball
The soccer ball aid is another old school technique where you would have to hold a soccer ball between your forearms in order to prevent yourself from doing the chicken wing stance, which is a position that is undesirable in golf. You must make sure that the soccer ball doesn’t fall to have a more consistent golf swing.
Holding a Towel
The towel technique is similar to the soccer ball aid, as it also prevents you from doing the chicken wing stance, but instead of the forearms, you would have to hold the towel by tucking it under you’re the part of your arms close to the armpit. The towel would help you have a more consistent stance before and during your golf swing.
Exercise Ball Technique
The most common mistake that beginners make when they are practicing their unusual swings is that they would often use their upper bodies too much. To have a more consistent swing, veteran golfers would move their lower bodies more in order to not change the position of the arms and the golf club. To practice moving the lower body more, you should place an exercise ball between a wall and your hips (left side if you are right-handed and right side if you are left-handed), and you must be able to compress the ball using your hips while you are performing a golf swing with or without a golf club.
String Guide
The string guide is often used in golf camps because of its effectiveness in training young golfers to hit the ball with consistency. To train with the string guide, you must first stick two pencils or sticks on the ground, with one being placed to where the ball is while the other one is located at the area that the ball should reach. You must then wrap the ends of each string on the sticks to form a vertical line. Afterward, the ball that you will hit with the golf ball must travel on a straight line while following the vertical line formed by the string. You must do this technique multiple times until the ball consistently travels on a straight line.
Those are just seven of the most popular training aids used by beginners to improve their golf swing. There are many other training aids that you can find online, with some being more practical, while others are more peculiar or unusual. Choose the training aids that are more comfortable for you to apply to your training so that you will have a more enjoyable experience practicing your golf swings.