Recently, a friend of mine visited from the UK.  As he bragged about golfing all year around, we shifted the discussion to what else besides playing he was doing to improve his golf game.  He talked about practicing many of the regular things like chipping, putting, working on the range and focusing on course management while hitting the lins.  All these things seem benign, but actually they have really helped him be more consistent and lower his score.  I think he is going to have to give me a couple strokes a side next time we play!

During the many hours of golf talk, he mentioned going to a practice range and working on his swing plane.  Of course, this new topic immediately caught my attention and I eagerly shifted the discussion to this new topic.  He mentioned a swing plane trainer.  It was a large circular device that keeps your club on the right plane during your swing.  He explained how his body movements were out of alignment and how his arms, legs and torso were not working together as well as he thought.  I told him that I have never used a swing plane trainer and he highly recommended that I gave it a try.

After a bit of research here is what I found:

The Swing Plane Trainers permit student and teacher to monitor correct swing plane & shaft angle. By keeping the shaft in continuous contact with the dual arcs, the player allows the club to travel on a proper swing plane while maintaining a correct shaft angle. The Pre-Swing Set Up, Arc, and Plane of the golf swing are the most important and basic elements to be learned by the beginner golfer. Just as important are these basic fundamentals for the intermediate and advanced players, to re-train these proper positions of the golf swing. Using the Swing Plane trainer will help create a consistent set-up position and the muscle memory necessary to perform a more repetitive golf swing.

The Golf Gruva.  The GOLF GRUVA is the ultimate golf swing training system. It leads the entire body through the experience of the modern, multi-plane golf swing. Whether a beginner or advanced golfer, the Gruva system is an invaluable tool for improving your golf swing.  This system seemed very interesting.  The description in the video helps describe a professional golf swing.

There are many more such training aids, but only you can decided if they are right for you.

If you are a more traditional golfer who likes drills and tinkering with your swing on the range, why not try Quarter Drill, Back to Wall Tip, The Tour Sticks Drill, or the tips from Hitting It Solid.  Again, the internet is full of drills, the above few caught my attention and I am going to try them this spring.

Talking to my friend about golf is a favorite thing to do.  Our conversation opened up a new area of growth and for that I am grateful.  Learning something new everyday is awesome; Learning something new everyday about golf is priceless.  Thanks for the tip my friend!

I am a grateful golfer.  See you on the links.