Experienced recreational golfers know that they can spend a LOT of money on their favorite game. They also know that sometimes expenditures do not always benefit one’s performance.
There are dozens of gadgets created with the express purpose of improving a player’s swing, but some of them are more “gadgets” (a novel idea with uncertain results) than they are tools (gadgets that work).
It is our job to indicate which golf tools we know will serve the purpose of improving your golf swing. We also take it upon ourselves to warn you against the gadgets that are cute and innovative but that yield mixed results in terms of their performance and how they improve your performance. Visit our website recommendations to see which tools are best and which are best for your level of golf.
Gadgets That Will Improve Your swing!
Swing tracker: There are many on the market and we provide recommendations on the best ones, but a swing tracker is a camera that records your swing and reports back on several aspects of that swing, including power, launch angle, and spin rate. It can also track the flight of the ball. It can be handheld or set up on a stand. There is definitely a difference between the more sophisticated swing trackers and the less sophisticated ones.
Range finder: This won’t improve your swing, but it will help you approximate the club to use. This binocular-sized device measures distance, many with the use of precise laser technology, letting you know how far you are from the hole, from a bunker or sand trap, any landing spot you have in mind.
Impact simulator: The benefit of video game technology, a golf simulator puts you out on a golf course when you are stuck in your garage or basement. It has a projector to project the scene of a golf course and a screen to provide the visual display. An impact simulator allows you to actually hit a real golf ball into the screen, which is built to withstand the impact of the ball hitting the screen. This device requires enough room for a pair of mesh “walls’’ on either side of you for any errant shots, but it is much more useful than devices that have you swing at imaginary or plastic golf balls.
Hitting net: A perfect backyard device, a hitting net is for getting in as many swings as you like in a small area. It allows you to take a full swing without worrying about where the ball is going to land, because the net will catch your shot, including those that go the wrong way. A hitting net is an essential piece of equipment to go with the following device. It is also very transportable, so you can go out to a local park if you don’t want to divot up your backyard.
Launch tracker: This is a video device which sits next to you at a driving range or in your backyard and monitors your swing, providing reports to you via an app so that you can remain in place, looking at your smartphone, to read what the launch monitor reports.
Swing analyzer: This device attaches to your club, records and in some cases videos your swing, then reports to you via a smartphone app. While most such devices concentrate on full-swing analysis, some swing analyzers also report on putting stroke.
Which device do I buy?
As with all golf gadgets, quality matters. It is our job to provide you with the best information about such gadgets so that you do not waste money on a device that does not deliver, or is more sophisticated than you need at this stage of your game.