Each year a new range of golf training aids hits the market. Most are takeoff’s or improvements of an existing product but in some cases you will find an original patented device. If you peruse the Golf Channel, you will see many of the newer golf training aids being advertised for a number of months before being replaced by another upcoming hot selling product. I am lucky enough to test out, review, or try some of these golf gadgets so I thought I might show a few of the golf training aids that have either made into my home, golf bag, or wish list this upcoming golf season.

Medicus Power Meter      
The Medicus Power Meter measures club head speed at the point of impact with a golf ball. This is one of the golf training aids that I use on a regular basis only because it is so simple to use. Just put in the batteries, adjust your height and the length of the club you will be using, attach the Medicus Power Meter to your club as per the instructions and start swinging. I can honestly say that I’ve used the Medicus Power Meter in my backyard this winter to see progress in my club head swing speed. While most amateur men golfers swing at about 86 miles per hour, our professional counterparts are somewhere around 110 to 112 miles per hour. Increased club head speed equals increased distance with all of your golf clubs.

Swingyde Golf Swing Training Aid
This is a plastic device which costs around $35 or so. You will find a few videos on Youtube showing this product in use. This is one of those golf training aids that I originally wrote off as something that I thought was cheap and was going to break. I was wrong. I now find the Swingyde Golf Swing Training Aid as the product I reach for when my swing has gone awry. From making sure that your swing stays on plane (my issue) to creating the lag which is so important in regards to club head speed, this device will keep or get your swing on track.

Hank Haney Plane Finder

If you’ve watched the Golf Channel at all lately, you’ve seen Hank Haney with the Haney Project teaching golf to the likes of Charles Barkley, Ray Romano, Rush Limbaugh, and more recently, Bill Cowher. While not many of us can get the one on one attention from Hank Haney, you can certainly work with one of the golf training aids that he supports. The Hank Haney Plane Finder. Swinging on plane is key and is also part and parcel to having both a powerful and consistent golf swing.

Dancin Dogg Optishot Golf Simulator
One of my favorite golf training aids that I’ve used this off-season is the Dancin Dogg Optishot Golf Simulator. Feel like playing a round of golf at home? This is the product you need. Want to get a round of golf in before work in the morning? With the Optishot you can play a round in about an hour. You will need a ceiling about 8 1/2 feet tall and an area of about 10 feet around you. I recommend hitting into a net, although I’ve heard of folks using a mattress. Yes, you are really able to hit golf balls with your own clubs just like you might with the golf simulators that you find at golf stores. Plus you will get statistics showing distance, face angle, tempo and more. Just check out the image here. So if you are tired of playing computer golf games and truly want to use your own clubs to play some of the worlds top courses, look into the Dancin Dogg Optishot.

I hope that you’ve enjoyed just a few of the golf training aids that I’ve put together today at a variety of price ranges. Sure, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the great golf gps devices that are out on the market today as well as the new clubs and balls that come out each and every year. But that is another day…

Garmin Golf Watch

If you just turn on the TV to watch some golf, you can see a number of new golf gadgets which hit the market on a nearly weekly basis. Most are being advertised by one or more paid professionals simply as a marketing stunt. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed but there are a new set of products that have been all the rage on the golf course. A while back, someone came up with the great idea of combining golf and GPS. Most of the products look like binoculars and I have to admit that they work quite well. The one caveat is that some of these devices require a membership fee which is why you sometimes see bad reviews on these products. What I’m talking about today has to do with golf and GPS and a watch.

Enter the Garmin Golf Watch

It used to be that a watch would simply tell time. Then we had watches that included a stop watch with intervals and just in case you felt like diving into the bottom of the nearest lake, because some of them are waterproof, you didn’t need to take your watch off. How cool (or useless) is that? I guess it is good if you want to take a shower or bath with your watch on. Enter 2012 and the Garmin Golf Watch. To be more precise, the picture on the left shows the Garmin Approach S1W GPS Watch while the picture on the right is the Garmin Approach S1.

Now what makes a golf watch tick? How about a watch with a built in GPS system and a whole bunch of courses preset into the watch. The Garmin Golf Watch is the first of its kind and only make of a golf watch to my knowledge as of the end of January 2012. This cool looking product comes pre loaded with 14,000 courses and will let you know how far you have to the front, middle, and back of the green. So, if you are clueless like me and think that the white marker means that you are at the 150 yard mark, just have a quick look at your wrist and you will know whether you should be pulling out your 7 iron or 6 iron (or whatever works for you). Because you may have 150 yards to the front of the green and 165 yards to the rear, which is where the pin currently sits.

Now I’m a small guy. So what I like best of all about the Garmin Golf Watch is that it is a lightweight watch that is not overly bulky.

Garmin Golf Watch Features:

• USGA and R&A compliant (legal under the Rules of Golf)
• No need for downloads or subscriptions
• Distance to the front, back, and middle of the green
• Pre-loaded with 14,000 U.S. and Canadian golf courses
• Measure individual shot distances
• Track how far you walk the course
• Functions just like a normal watch
• Alarm to wake you up in the morning
• Rechargeable lithium ion battery lasts up to 8 hours in GPS mode and 3 weeks in watch mode

Now I’m a golf gadgets geeky kinda guy. I wasn’t that way just a short time ago and I’m far from being a teenager. Being such, I really like the Garmin Golf Watch and the Garmin Approach S1 (the black watch) is my favorite. Having said that, it is my opinion that there are better products on the market but they do not come in the form of a watch. For instance, if you want a more all around device, I recommend checking out the Garmin Approach G5.

What you will find are maps of the courses, a digital scorecard, and a more accurate reading (up to the pin) on yardage. Here is a picture of the Garmin Approach G5.  This product did get very good ratings and just like the Garmin Golf Watch, you do not need a subscription (no monthly payment). I particularly like seeing the course on the screen. Of course you will have to put out a few more dollars for this device but most users give it the thumbs up!

Another product worth checking out is is the Bushnell Hybrid Pinseeker.

With 16,000 pre loaded courses and no membership fees, Pinseeker technology allows for + or – one yard accuracy when looking at the pin. I regard this as one of the finest GPS/Laser products on the market today, mainly because you get as close to exact distances as I’ve seen in a golf gps unit.

Final Thoughts:

Every product has its pros and cons and the Garmin Golf Watch is no exception. If you take a look at the products above, you may say that their benefits look pretty sweet in that you can either see the course on a screen or nail down distance right to the pin. I can’t disagree with that. However in-so-far as ease of use and convenience is concerned, nothing beats simply looking at your wrist with the Garmin Golf Watch.