Ok, so learning to fix your swing is hard, there’s probably no surprise there. But there is a way and the key thing here is to get instant feedback. And by “instant” I really do mean right away. The problem with a lot of golf instruction, is you’re not getting correct feedback right away.

– You get told you did something incorrectly after you hit the ball. This is too late.
– You see a video of your swing after you’ve hit the ball. Way too late.
– You see the ball flight and assume you made a mistake. You then make some corrections. Not ideal.

But when you receive feedback instantaneously, learning/improvement/success becomes so much easier. Check this out.

The Swing Trainer

This is the only device in the world that has been specifically designed to help you achieve the FSP. And it forces you to learn it by giving your system no other option. If you make a bad swing you strike a sponge – and this my friends is instant feedback. You’ll know right away something was amiss and you’ll make the necessary adjustments.

The set-up. Nothing too exciting here

 

When you start the swing correctly you maximise the chances of hitting a great shot. The image below shows a good backswing. The sponges have NOT been hit so you know you’re on track.

A perfect backswing increases your chances of a great shot

 

And when this happens you’re more likely to perform the rest of the golf swing correctly.

A perfect swing. You’ve missed the sponges back and through and the ball will be on its way to the target. Success!

 

But it’s far from an easy game. Sometimes things don’t always go to plan.

Taking the club too far on the inside is not a good thing.

 

Or maybe you go the other way.

Outside take-away leads to all sorts of problems.

 

Notice on both of these two swings you’ll get instant notification you’re off track? Making corrections now becomes so much easier. There’s no guessing involved – this cuts learning time.

Let’s say that you negotiate the club correctly on the way back but then spin out from the top of the swing (it does happen). This by the way is the number one cause of a slice and lack of power. From this position good golf is all but impossible.

The dreaded over the top move. Guess what’s gunna happen next?

 

You guessed it….

Smash! You hit the sponges and get an instant reminder that something didn’t go to plan.

 

Are you getting this? Can you see how effective this learning tool is? When you make a bad swing you are being told right away that something wasn’t correct. And most of the learning is happening at the subconscious level – you’ll naturally start to avoid hitting the sponges. You have a clear objective – “swing through the sponges” and you’ll figure a way how to do it. Instead of making the same mistake time after time (because you really don’t know what is happening), you’ll instinctively adjust. In the fastest time possible you’ll be able to develop your own version of a perfect swing.

The perfect swing. When you can swing through the sponges without hitting anything, your swing will be close to perfect.

 

And it doesn’t matter how you grip or stand. Ultimately it doesn’t matter how you swing, as long as you can get the club between the gates you’ll have a perfect swing. How good is that? You can focus less on all those crazy things you have been thinking about in the past and focus your attention on ONE simple objective – “get the club between the gates”.

All this leads to achieving The Flat Spot Principle. The FSP puts less sidespin on the ball and pure backspin. All this equals longer and straighter shots. You’ll have way more control and the ball will find the target by default. If you’re thinking this is how the best players are able to make the game look so easy, then you’d be correct.

The Flat Spot Principle

Let’s look at the crucial phase of the swing in more detail. For you to achieve the FSP you must increase the time your clubface and clubhead are traveling along the target line. If your golf is not as consistent as you’d like it to be then I can almost guarantee you have no (or very little) flat spot. A longer flat spot MUST give you straighter shots. Straighter shots also gives you more distance (because the ball isn’t spinning off into the trees or water).

The FSP keeps the clubface and clubhead on the target line for a longer period of time during the crucial impact phase.

 

If fixing your swing is important to you then you MUST take the FSP seriously. It’s almost the only swing principle you need because if you get this part of your swing right, the rest of your game is practically irrelevant. Do you really care if you have some funky move in your golf swing but can keep delivering the clubface squarely to the back of the ball?

Here’s one last image for you to look at. I’ve reversed my swing to a right-handed version (looks very strange) to give the vast majority of right handed players a better view. Notice how square the clubface is at impact (the ball is only going one place) and even after impact the club is still relatively square – there is no major closing of the clubface (like many golfers have).

Cameron Strachan’s swing as a right hander and achieving a nice flat spot.

 

Maybe you’re super talented and can go away and think about the FSP and integrate it into your game. Chances are “thinking” alone won’t help. Everything is moving too quickly during impact for you to get any meaningful feedback – you are going to need some help. This is where the Swing Trainer will help.

Why I like it and you should consider getting one for your game.

 

  • It’s an objective based learning tool. There’s nothing complicated to do or remember. If you can swing the club between the sponges your swing will improve.
  • You’re forced to learn a better swing. Some swing trainers physically guide the club into the correct positions – this isn’t helping you. With the Swing Trainer there is nothing touching your club – you are actually learning the correct swing all by yourself. This ensures changes are long lasting and permanent.
  • You get instant feedback. Each time you make a bad pass at the ball you’ll know about it. From here corrections are a million (yes, a million) times easier.
  • It will help you cure your slice, hook and even a shank.
  • If you’re able to swing the club between the sponges (you will absolutely be able to do this because it’s a relatively simple objective) you’ll develop a better swing. It possibly can’t get any easier than this.
  • All parts of your swing will improve naturally. You won’t slide or lunge (because you’ll hit a sponge). You won’t spin out (because you’ll hit a sponge). You won’t over rotate your forearms (because you’ll hit a sponge). You won’t cast or throw the club from the top (because you’ll hit a sponge). You’ll get into a better top of backswing position (because it makes it easier to avoid hitting sponges).
  • It helps you learn a better free flowing golf swing – you’re not focused on a single part of the swing (like the backswing) – you’re learning a continuous full and free flowing motion.
  • You’ll learn to hit the sweet spot more of the time. This gives you better accuracy and more power. And one more thing – CONSISTENCY
  • It’s fun. Way better than doing boring mirror drills.
  • Easily adjusts for different levels. There’s super easy but also really hard (adjust the sponge starting position).
  • It allows you to improve on your natural golf swing. It works with what you’ve got, rather than trying to turn you into a robot.

 

By the way. If you look some images of your favourite player you’ll now see that they achieve the FSP. Every great player achieves the FSP.

It’s fair to say I’m a big fan of this device. It could be the simplest and best training aid for developing a better swing. This is the second reincarnation of the swing trainer. The new and improved version has taken most of 2012 to get right. You can order one by clicking the link below:

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15 Comments

  • Alfred Jones

    Reply Reply June 14, 2017

    I’m 49 and started playing golf last year. I am drowning in the vast amount of information that is out there about what I should be thinking and doing to improve my game. I can’t afford to take lots of private lessons so I’m doing my best to learn the game on my own and spending $s on books and videos etc. Your approach seems refreshingly simple and effective so I’d like to try it out, starting with the Swing Trainer. (I played club level cricket for a number of years so see-ball-hit-ball is a no-brainer for my eyes, arms, hands and body.)

    Can I use the Swing Trainer to improve my driver swing in addition to all the other clubs? (I’m thinking the driver’s relatively “fat head” may not fit between the top sponges. And, my driver swing is kinda different than my other swings. Not sure if that’s a good thing or not.)

    Because how far I stand from the ball changes with each club, the angle the shaft makes (at address) changes as well. Does the Swing Trainer allow for different swing plane angles?

    Thanks,

    ~alfred

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