As always, let us start with some information with the Sonic Golf. This review includes a couple great videos which are worth watching, they are embedded in the story below. Enjoy!

Background

“System-1 has helped me tremendously. I always had a good rhythm, but I never had a consistent rhythm. It’s making my swing a lot more consistent, not just with the driver but the whole game. It’s one rhythm for the whole game instead of having a quicker rhythm for irons or slower rhythm for the driver.” – Vijay Singh, after winning the 2008 Deutsche Bank Championship

• Sonic Golf System-1 technology is inserted inside the shaft of your club fitted with our custom Golf Pride grip.
• The swing motion is transmitted wirelessly to a belt-worn receiver that converts your swing motion to continuous musical tones you hear on the headset unit.
• Slow swings are low pitch, quiet tones.
• Swing faster and the pitch and volume gets higher.
• With each swing you hear your rhythm and tempo, backswing/downswing transition, and the timing and speed of your clubhead release.
• Tune in to each swing and immediately improve the next!

The Sonic Golf System-1

With Sonic Golf System-1, for the first time, you can literally hear the rhythm, tempo and timing of your swing in real-time, as you swing, and tune in to the most fundamental success factors of the golf swing.

System-1 is simple, straightforward, and amazingly effective. Hear “casting from the top”. Hear jerky transitions from backswing to downswing. Hear the release of the clubhead before, at or after the ball, and hear the sweet sound of a smooth, fluid, rhythmic golf swing – in real-time, every time.

No matter your playing level or understanding of the mechanics of the golf swing, System-1 will help you make immediate and lasting improvements in your golf swing.

Setup and Usage

Once you have gotten past the initial setup phase, the System-1 is extremely easy to use and work with on the practice range. That little setup phase is a little involved, in that you must re-grip a club (or clubs) of your choice with a special Sonic Golf grip made by Golf Pride. The grip is actually the common Tour Velvet model by Golf Pride, however it has a little end cap and o-ring mechanism to lock the System-1 transmitter in place in the butt of your club. I received three of the Golf Pride grips and set them up on a Driver, Hybrid and 7 iron. Should you decide you would like to fit more clubs, you can purchase these specialty grips direct from Sonic Golf for around $5. So, this just means that you cannot run out the door and start swinging to the sounds of Sonic Golf as soon as the UPS truck arrives…blasted desire for instant gratification!

Click that transmitter into the butt of the club, plug your headphones into the receiver, turn both units on, ensure they are on the same channel and you are good to go. Start swinging away. The first thing I did was try to take some smooth swings with a gradual increase in pitch, with the height being just at or slightly past the ball. Of course, the first few swings were a little herky jerky and I could tell almost immediately this would be a great learning tool. But we will get more into that in the Performance section of the review.

Really, the only usage issue I had with the System-1 was when it came down to the ‘tape’ used to wrap around the transmitter that slides into the club shaft. Depending on the diameter of the shaft of your club, you may need to add or remove some tape from the transmitter to make sure it fits in there nice and snug. This makes switching up clubs at the range a little bit of a hassle. I am not sure if one could come up with some other way of doing this, maybe some rubber gasket on the device or a foam contraption of some sort. Aside from this nitpick detail, the System-1 performed flawlessly for me over the past couple of months.

Performance

First of all, I would highly suggest watching the video embedded earlier in this article. Understanding what is going on with this device and what it is telling you about your swing is paramount to using this piece of equipment successfully. You might think you can pick up the club and instantly say, wow, I am doing this…change this…and now my swing is perfect. The golf swing is never that simple. But, have some faith in the System-1, spend a couple sessions at the range with it, and you will find it to be an invaluable tool for you.

If you have been a reader of The Deep Rough for a while, you might remember that we had done reviews of the Tour Tempo and Tempo Timer devices. Both of these devices attempt to get you to swing to a smooth, consistent rhythm. Personally, I really enjoy using the Tour Tempo and do go back to it every now and then to try and see where my swing is at and do a little tempo tweaking. One problem I had with it, however, was the transition. Basically, the Tour Tempo plays some beeps, and you try and swing to the beeps. Well, if you’re a little slow, the beep comes a little quick, and you start jerking the club back down to the ball real quick…not a good thing. Well, here I am listening to the soundscape of the System-1, thinking, ok, nice and smooth, accelerate the pitch, make the pitch highest at the ball, little pause at the top…and it struck me, what if I combined this with the Tour Tempo device? Try and combine the soundscape of my swing along with the Tour Tempo beats. Well, it was pretty interesting, if not a little bit of information overload. It really helped me find a smooth, rhythmic golf swing that included some effortless acceleration through the golf ball. That is not to say you need to own a Tour Tempo to make the System-1 useful. Far from it. It was just something I had thought would work well together, and for me it did. Maybe the two companies will collaborate on some new training aid?

If you are someone who learns by feel, and cannot grasp the idea of trying to be in specific positions in your swing, I think a tool like the Sonic Golf System-1 is perfect for you. I am not much for ‘must have toe up at this spot in back swing…then this..then that’. I just get lost in thought and try to think about way too much when I am standing over the ball. When you practice with the System-1, you are not thinking so much about mechanical thoughts as your are trying to make your swing sound smooth, accelerating and just plain nice. That is a bit of an over simplification, but that is at least how I have looked at it.

For some more info on the System-1, below is a great video from the PGA Merchandise Show, where the guys from Sandbox8 interviewed the founder of Sonic Golf, Dr. Grober. He gives a real nice overview of the equipment and you can ‘hear’ what you will hear when you get one of these in your hands.

Conclusion

Unfortunately for me, I will now be boxing up the System-1 and sending it back to Sonic Golf. I really found this piece of equipment to be extremely valuable when it came to practice on my own. When you are trying to figure something out in your swing on your own, like say your transition, it is so difficult to get instant feedback without having a pro there with you. With the System-1, you simply put in the headphones, plug the transmitter into the butt of the club, and you’ll have all the instant feedback you could desire. I really enjoy these ‘feel’ type training aids and this one was no exception.

At $399 for the Solo (one receiver) System-1, the price may be out of reach for some golfers. However, I would suggest you call your local PGA Professionals, or check out the Instructor Finder on Sonic Golf’s website and have a practice session with one of these devices, I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

Sonic Golf also sells a Pro version of the System-1 for $499 (on sale at the moment, down from $599). The Pro version includes an addition receiver so that the instructor can ‘listen in’ to the student’s swing.

Power Blade Attached

Background

Introducing Power-Blade, a new swing trainer that combines two of the most popular power-building techniques into one sleek, portable training device. Using the feel of a weighted club properly balanced with wind-resistance technology, the Power-Blade leads to two things – more power and more distance.

When folded, Power-Blade measures only 16 ” x 5 ” x 2″ and weighs just 12 ounces. Use Power-Blade anywhere, anytime.

Power-Blade was designed to be used with your own clubs. By attaching the Power-Blade to your club, your club becomes an instant power trainer. The longer the club you use, the more resistance you’ll feel.

The key to hitting long drives relies simply on increasing clubhead speed. Most great players maximize clubhead speed by creating a clubhead lag along with a powerful release. By using wind-resistance, Power-Blade allows you to develop clubhead lag on your downswing generating a sling-shot effect through the impact and release positions. All the while, strengthening the power muscles in your forearms, back, and shoulders.

Adding 10 to 30 yards has never been made easier. To achieve the best results with Power-Blade, create the sound of the “swoosh” at the bottom part of your wing. The weight of your own club produces a smooth consistent tempo while keeping your swing on plane. If you hear “swoosh” in the right place, you’ll know that you’re developing proper lag and release. The later you create the sound, the more clubhead speed you’ll generate.

Look and Feel

The Power Blade is an elegantly simplistic design offering both added weight and resistance to your training regiment. The device folds up small enough to fit into one of the larger pockets of your stand bag, and doesn’t even weigh a pound. So taking the Power Blade to the range or even the course is no problem whatsoever. It even comes with a nice little bag to offer some protection from nicks and scratches.

The device itself is made of a rigid plastic with high quality metal hinges used to attach the blade to your golf club’s shaft. It will take you all of 30 seconds to attach the Power Blade to one of your clubs. Really the most difficult part is making sure it is aligned properly with the clubface…and that’s about as difficult as tying your shoes.

One nice thing about the look is that it is a nice subdued black. Most training aids seem to be very bright colors. Some people find it embarrassing to take one of these neon yellow training aids out when they’re on the driving range. If you are that worried about someone seeing you trying to improve your game…don’t worry about the Power Blade, most people probably will not notice it.

Performance

In the past we have reviewed a few other ‘power’ game training aids (The Momentus Power Hitter and SKLZ Swing Accelerator) and while we have found them to be effective when used regularly, sometimes it’s nice to switch things up. Both the Power Hitter and Swing Accelerator are designed to hit balls and really help get your swing on plane while building strength in your swing. They both are quite large, and weigh a ton as well, so they are a little less practical than the Power Blade. As I found out with the Power Hitter, it is also very easy to injury yourself if you start trying to swing that thing too hard too fast.

The Power Blade, on the other hand, provides a great workout by just offering significant wind resistance. You still have the benefits of the training aid help put you on plane and swing more with your larger muscles, with less of a threat of injury. I found that the Power Blade really encouraged me to drop the club into the slot and create a lot of lag in my swing. After 15-20 minutes with it, and a few minutes hitting into an impact bag, my swing really felt very powerful. So there is definitely a lot of potential here to help improve your swing speed and clubhead path in general. However, like any training aid, you need to stick with it to see the results.

I did not try hitting balls with the Power Blade attached, I am not sure if it is recommended…but I think it would be very distracting. So, you loose a little of that instant gratification factor. What I did was went through 10-20 swings with a club with the Power Blade attached, then took 5 swings with the next iron down. It is pretty fun to use. The swoosh sound the blade makes as you swing provides a lot of great feedback. You can quickly identify an early release and really feel the acceleration through the ball on the nice smooth swings.

Conclusion

If you are looking to add a few yards to your drive, work on your swing path or just want a little golf related workout, the Power Blade is a great little device that is both highly portable and highly effective. I love the fact that it folds up small enough to stuff in my bag and snaps on your own club in a few seconds. I cannot say that it has added any yards to my drive at this point, but I will post a follow-up on this one in a few weeks to keep you updated. Hmm…I wonder what would happen if I attached the Power Blade to the Power Hitter? JB Holmes anyone???

My swing speed range was up in the 110-115 range toward the end of last year, though has been back hovering around 105 right now (check out the Swing Speed Radar review to accurately gauge your swing speed). We’ll see if the Power Blade can get me back up to 115. I’ve been losing my lag a little early lately, and the Power Blade has definitely helped me work on that. Again, just a matter of commitment!

The Power Blade can be had for $54.95 directly from the GP Golf website. So if you thought spending $100-$200 on a weighted driver was a bit pricey, this could be a great option. The Power Blade can be attached on anything from your 7 iron through Driver.

** Note, the winners have been selected and notified. If I do not hear back from them or if they do not meet the residency requirements, new winners will be selected. Thanks to everyone for entering the contest, it was very successful! Be sure to keep your eye open for the upcoming July contest! **

Congrats to the following winners:

• Mike of Beavercreek, OH
• Patrick of Tarrant, AL
• Robert of Thomasville, NC

Not long ago, we did a review on practice balls from Birdie Ball. The people at Birdie Ball were kind enough to send us a bunch of Deep Rough branded balls. They have a nice little Deep Rough logo on the side and are a blast to play with.

So we have decided to put together a very simple contest for the month of June. To enter the contest, all you need to do is subscribe to our Newsletter by entering your email address and clicking subscribe below. On the morning of June 30th, 2008, we will randomly select 3 new subscribers to the The Deep Rough and send you a Birdie Ball. So make sure you subscribe by June 29th! Could it get any easier? Email addresses must be valid accounts which have been verified, as winners will be notified by the subscribed email address. So make sure you verify your account! Due to shipping costs, the contest is only open to residents of the USA and Canada. Feel free to send this along to your family and friends, have them enter as well!

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

While you are in the ‘entering contest mood’, head on over to oobgolf.com and help them name a cool new feature of their site. They are giving out Mizuno Golf Gloves, a hat and a shirt for your help!

Background

So, let’s get onto some details about these pieces of equipment we will be looking at today:

Refiner

Dual-Adjustable Hinged Training Club. Breaks in the Refiner show breakdowns in your swing. The patented, two-way adjustable hinged clubs give instant feedback on tempo and swing plane to smooth out your swing. Even hit balls with it.

• Patented, two-way adjustable-hinged driver
• Swing flaws are immediately exposed by a break in the hinge
• Engineered to hit golf balls and teach a smooth, even-tempo swing
• Can be used at the range, home, or office, any time of the year
• Promotes better ball contact for straighter, longer shots
• 460cc head
• Patented see-through grip graphics for ideal hand placement
• Includes adjustment key/divot tool

Swing Accelerator

Hittable Weighted Club. Finally, a weighted club that gives you good feel instead of seeming like a heavy block in your hands… and you can hit balls with it. The patented internal weighting system provides true club balance and weighting.

• Increases distance – longer straighter shots
• Increases strength & flexibility of golf-specific muscles
• Ideal for warmup or staying in shape during the off-season
• Can hit balls – improve actual swings rather than just practice swings
• Ingrains the feel of the correct swing path and improved ball contact
• 460cc weighted driver head
• Patented shaft weighting technology (internal material in shaft) harnesses the power of centrifugal force and gives a real club feel
• Gives audible cues on out-of-rhythm swings
• Patented see-through grip graphics for ideal hand placement

Look and Feel

Both of these clubs have an overall look and feel that will resemble a traditional shaped modern 460cc driver. The club head on both clubs is very similar looking, with only the name on the bottom available to visually distinguish between the two. They also both feature the same see-through finger placement grip. That’s about where the similarities end.

The Refiner features a shaft with an adjustable hinge perhaps 10 inches away from the 460cc driver head. The shaft is a light steel, so it will feel heavier than your modern 50-60g graphite driver shaft, however, should feel pretty similar in weight to your longer iron shafts. The most important thing, I feel, about this particular piece of equipment is the adjustable nature of the hinge. I have played with a Medicus hinged driver in the past, and it always seemed to break so easily. With this particular club, you can tighten up the hinge so only terrible mistakes cause the hinge to ‘break’. So you start on that tighter setting, and work your way down to a looser setting as you get your swing back on plane. Even at a tighter setting you can feel the hinge about to give way if your swing starts getting sloppy.

The Swing Accelerator is a weighted club, so obviously this is the first thing you will notice. Unlike other weighted clubs where a very heavy shaft and club head is used, the Swing Accelerator has done something very interesting. They put ball bearings (or some sort of metal balls – see below) in the shaft of the club. This increases the weight, while at the same time helps you work a little on loading and unloading the shaft. It also helps keep the club itself feeling a little more realistic…that is to say, feel the club head, feel the flex of the shaft itself. With the very heavy clubs (see my Momentus Power Hitter review) you lose a lot of that feeling. I didn’t have quite the same ‘pulled through the hitting zone’ feel I had with the Momentus, however, swinging the Swing Accelerator feels a little more realistic.

Performance

Both of these clubs can be hit on the practice range, or heck on the course if you are just playing a practice round. The SKLZ website offers some online video lessons you can use along with the clubs themselves. They offer up some nice drills and tips on using the equipment. While I would have liked to have seen a few more usage drills, what they give you should be good enough to get you going. And honestly, once you figure it out, there really isn’t much else to ‘drill’ other than swinging without breaking the hinge (for the refiner) or just plain swinging with the accelerator.

As mentioned earlier, both clubs feature this see through finger placement grip (show above). Unfortunately for me, my hands are pretty large (wear an XL glove) so the finger placement and grip size were a little small for my hands. But for people who use standard size grips, this should be a wonderful tool to help work on your grip. Just make sure you align your fingers to the underlying pattern every time, and you should be gripping the club fundamentally correct naturally every time.

Here are a few images of the refiner’s hinge breaking down under common swing faults:

Casting

Too Far Inside

Over the Line

In the images below you can see the Swing Accelerator in action. With the ball bearings in the shaft, you start at address with the ball bearings all down by the driver head. As you take the club back to the top of your back swing (left picture below), you will actually feel and hear the ball bearings ‘load’ up to the grip end of the shaft. At this point you make your move back to the ball, and assuming you are not releasing prematurely, the ball bearings will snap back to the end of the club as you release, through the ball. This is a great little feedback tool for people who are losing their lag/wrist cock too early. If you start hearing those ball bearings slide down the shaft early, you know you’re doing something wrong. It’s actually a pretty neat feeling, that weight transfers from the grip end down to the driver head with a lot of added force at your release, so you really feel as if you are destroying the ball with a huge added weight which then pulls you through to your finish.

Again though, Swing Accelerator vs Momentus Power Hitter, I would go Swing Accelerator at this point. The Momentus is very heavy, and will definitely give you a work out. But if I have one problem with it, it is that it is very different than swinging a normal driver. The Swing Accelerator, on the other hand, is somewhat more realistic. You do not have quite the same ‘pull you through’ feeling, but as I mentioned earlier, I like the fact that you can feel the shaft load and have a better feel for the club head itself. The Momentus completely takes the small muscles in your arms/hands out of the equation (which, for some is something you should definitely experience at least once). But, then adjusting back to swinging your normal driver, the change is just enormous.

Conclusion

I have found that the Refiner has helped my rusty driver swing get and stay on plane. The Swing Accelerator, while fun, I cannot say if it has or has not added any yards to my drives just yet as I have not used it long enough. However, there is no reason to believe it wouldn’t. You can certainly feel the added weight working. I found the Momentus Power Hitter helped increase my swing speed quite a bit over the course of a few months, so I could definitely see the same happening with this club.

For the price, I think both of these products are an excellent alternative to the products sold by Medicus and Momentus. I really do feel the adjustable nature of the hinge in the Refiner is a great feature and the ball bearing feel of the Swing Accelerator is pretty neat. So if you are looking to help get your swing on plane or increase your swing speed, both of these training aids should be worth a look.

So be sure to check out both the Refiner and Swing Accelerator, at just under $100 each, they are relatively inexpensive golf training aids. You can purchase both directly through their website or have a look through our golf store if you are fine with used equipment.

Would you like your product or service reviewed? The Deep Rough is always willing to provide a fair and honest assessment of your golf related product or service. This Refiner and Swing Accelerator review was paid for via reviewme.com.

One issue with the original design was durability.   You can see an image of the used item below. As you can see below, the original design had a logo design which eventually peeled off.  You can also see a strand of the fabric starting to unravel as well.  It was not a huge problem, but eventually some of the little stuffing would come out as well.

 

This has not been a problem with the new practice ball.  The fabric seems to be slightly different, woven a little tighter and has held up well against my lob wedge in the living room!  You can see below the new logo is also a little nicer and professional looking.  This logo appears to be ready to be peeled off, rather than the old logo design which kind of peeled itself off eventually!

You can see below The Floppy is ready for prime time in the golf shop as well now.  The fancy new packaging looks very sharp and is sure to catch the attention of shoppers.

Performance wise the new Floppy seems to react the same as the original model.  If you have not read the original review, check it out now.  This is a wonderful thing.  I absolutely love The Floppy and how it reacts to your swing. 

At $17.99 for a pack of 4, it is a great bargain.  Given that the original, less durable balls have lasted me nearly a year at this point, I imagine these new ones will last you pretty much forever.  You can order The Floppy directly from their website.

I am sure everyone has seen the Medicus Driver, the Dual Hinge deal, infomercials on The Golf Channel.  I have never seen or hit one of the Medicus Drivers, but have used the 5 iron in the past, unfortunately I never really felt comfortable with it.

• Medicus has sold over 1 million units
• For Amateurs and Professionals alike use Medicus 2000 to improve their scores
• Voted the number one swing trainer 7 years in a row
• The New and Improved Medicus Dual 2000 is better than ever
• Used and endorsed by Jack Lumpkin, One of golf’s top 100 instructors
• Patented Dual Hinge Lets you know when you swing incorrectly
• Teaches you to swing in tempo & on plane
• Instantly identifies the flaw in your swing
• Helps Eliminate Slices and Hooks
• Let’s you groove the perfect golf swing
• Hit longer, more accurate shots time after time
• Can be used indoors or out – at home, on the range, or on the course
• Improves all aspects of your swing – from the takeaway to the downswing to the follow through
• Develops muscle memory so that you develop a perfect and repeating swing
• Improves consistency and control
• 60 day money back guarantee

Do any of you have experience with the Medicus Driver?  I noticed they were on sale on their website for $159.80 at the moment and includes one of those hands on either side of the putter training devices.  Is it worth it?  I know the Maximus is more like the Power Hitter.  I am just interested in people’s experiences with the Dual Hinge driver.

Larry Kelly, the inventor of Gyro Swing, has worked with SKLZ to develop a final production version of this training aid.  He has also enlisted Rick Smith to show how useful this device can be as a training aid.  There is a nice little video explaining the Gyro Swing on the SLKZ website.

The device is slated to ship on March 1st, 2008.  The initial price is set at $219.99.  According to Larry, a bunch of Top 100 teaching professionals have already pre-ordered the device.  So if you are dying to get one of these in your hands, click on over to the SLKZ website and pre order the Gyro Swing now!  The initial batch on March 1st will be available in limited quantities.

The GolfGym Powerswing is set of latex bands that allow you to perform various exercises, including golf swing-like exercises.

Concept

These bands are designed so you can perform golf-specific exercises in your home. There is no need to go to the gym. You can perform the strengthening and stretching exercises at home, at your convenience. You can also use this as a pre-round warm-up.

Performance

This product is easy to use. The “Masters” edition that I had the chance to review had 3 different bands included. It takes less than 30 seconds to switch from one band to the other. That’s a huge plus, as I needed different resistance for some exercises.

Resistance is achieved by either holding the band under your foot as you perform the exercises, or trapping it in the door jam. It depends on the exercise. The product came with a detailed guide on how to set up each exercise. If the door was necessary, it showed where to trap the band. Each band comes with a “stopper” on the end to make it catch easy in the door. Basically, you open the door, and it will slide between the door and the wall on the “hinge” side of the door. Now simply close the door, and the band will not slip out.

I found the stretches to be outstanding. They really helped loosen me up. I have been using the product for about a month now and I feel much more loose. I used it prior to my last couple practice sessions, and it made those more productive as well.

The strengthening exercises were good as well. While you certainly were not going to get a huge “pump” or build huge muscles using the bands, you are definitely strengthening your golf muscles as you perform the exercises.

Conclusion

I find the golf gym easy to use, and a very good product for someone who doesn’t have time for the gym, but is looking to increase his/her flexibility and/or strength. I’d definitely recommend this product. Even if you do not intend on doing the exercises on a consistent basis, this is a very useful tool as a pre-round warm up. For those using this as a pre-round warm-up, the basic package is probably all you need. I’d recommend the Masters package for those looking to use it as a work-out.

• Katherine Roberts GolfGym Balance Ball DVD – $19.95
• Katherine Roberts Complete GolfGym DVD – $19.95
• GOLFGYM Powerswing Trainer – $39.99
• GolfGym Power Swing Trainer Masters Edition – $69.95
• Search eBay for GolfGym Products

Background

The Swing Speed Radar™ with Tempo Timer is a small, inexpensive microwave Doppler radar velocity sensor that provides the swing speed and tempo rhythm for golfers of all ages and skill levels. It assists players in developing /optimizing their swing, and maintaining consistency, by measuring ACTUAL TEMPO TIME from club takeaway to ball impact at the climax of their forward swing, as well as the SWING SPEED of the clubhead as it approaches the ball. The Swing Speed Radar™ with Tempo Timer, featuring simple one-button operation, provides unmatched utility in a single, affordable device.

Measure Swing Tempo

The Swing Speed Radar™ with Tempo Timer can be set to measure and display clubhead swing speed alone (SS Mode); tempo time, from club takeaway to ball impact, alone (TT Mode); or both swing speed and tempo time in the Dual Mode, in which the display toggles (alternates) between swing speed and tempo time.

Look and Feel

The Swing Speed Radar with Tempo Timer (SSRTT), as you can see below, is not too large. It fits comfortably in just about any pocket in my golf bag. It is also light enough that I never really worried about having to carry it with me anywhere. That in mind, I always had the device on hand when I went to the range or even just hit some birdie balls in the back yard.

The SSRTT is very clean looking. The LCD is large and very easy to read. The multi-function (power/selection) button just below the display is well placed and very responsive. The instruction manual suggests placing the SSRTT just outside the ball when you are swinging. In this location, you may be worried about being distracted…however, given the size, and the subdued look, it is not at all intrusive. However, with that bright, easy to read display came a problem…your swing speed number is up there prominently displayed after each and every swing. When I first started using this at the range, I found myself trying to swing for the number. Though, as I mentioned in my Tour Tempo review the other day, you quickly learn that trying to swing out of your shoes is a bad idea.

Performance

I have used the SSRTT device at the driving range on a bunch of occasions now over the past month. I have generally found the device very responsive, by the time you have had a chance to look down after your swing, the swing speed number is brightly displayed on the LCD. I do not have a TrackMan handy to verify the numbers reported, however, they did seem to give with what I expect from my swing. I was able to compare the numbers to a Dancin Dogg simulator I have and found that on just about every swing the numbers reported were near identical.

Now, a couple dislikes. On occasion I would get some numbers that would spike to 160..170mph. Now, last I checked, I am not Jason Zuback. I just assume that perhaps I had the SSRTT a little ahead of the ball, and it was capturing the ball speed rather than the club head speed. Not a huge deal, it may have happened 3 or 4 times total out of hundreds of swings.

While I really love the swing speed radar aspect, the tempo timer was difficult to work with. A few times I found myself triggering the start of the timer with my waggle. When I did not trigger it, it did seem to work well. It is definitely nice to be able to see your tempo time, especially when working with a tempo training device. So, I am a little disappointed with the waggle bit, but I still have hopes that I could get it to work more consistently for me.

As you can see in the chart below, Swing Speed is critical when it comes to improving your driving distance. So many training aids out there claim they can help you gain 10…20…30 yards…and really the only way they can do that is by increasing your swing speed. With a device like the Swing Speed Radar at your side, you can get instant feedback on the changes you (or that training aid) are making to your swing.

The SSRTT takes 3 AA batteries. I have not yet had to replace them, and I have been using this thing for at least a month. That is some serious battery life. Unless you smack your driver into this thing at 125 mph…I am guessing this little device will serve you well for quite some time.

Conclusion

While I found the Tempo Timer a little tough to work with, the Swing Speed Radar itself was near flawless. The device responds quickly, is easy to see, and so simple to setup and use. If you are curious about your swing speed, or are looking to work on improving your swing speed, I would definitely look at picking up at least the original Swing Speed Radar device. If you are working on your tempo with a device like the Tour Tempo or SwingTempo you may find the Tempo Timer useful as well.

• Swing Speed Radar with Tempo Timer – $149.95
• Swing Speed Radar – $99.95
• Swing Speed Radar Ball Shield – $19.95
• Find a Swing Speed Radar on eBay

So what is Tour Tempo? This video below does a better job of explaining it than I ever could…

Background

As always, let’s start with some information about the product straight from the manufacturer.

Tour Tempo Player Package Includes:

• Tour Tempo Player
• Tour Tempo Book
• Player Instructional DVD
• Tour Tempo Tracks CD
• Custom Earbud
• Carry Bag

Tour Tempo Book

In this breakthrough book, John Novosel and Sports Illustrated writer John Garrity explain exactly how to achieve TOUR TEMPO. Through clear, step-by-step instruction, golfers are taught how to master two basic drills to synchronize their swings. Included with the book is a revolutionary instructional CD-ROM, featuring videos that illustrate exactly how to learn the tempo secrets of the tour pros, and a calibrated soundtrack that you can use while practicing at a driving range or in your living room. TOUR TEMPO is a remarkable breakthrough – truly GOLF’S LAST SECRET FINALLY REVEALED!

Tour Tempo Player

Contains the famous Tour Tempo Swing Tones of 21/7®, 24/8®, 27/9®, and the new Tone of 18/6™. Also contains the new, never before revealed Tour Tempo Short Game Tones. You’ll learn how to improve every facet of your game. The Player is the most convenient way to use the Tour Tempo Tones. No computer necessary. Entirely self contained and ready to use!

Player Instructional DVD

Explains exactly how to use the player to take your game to the next level. This DVD is the first of its kind – it allows the golfer to view the DVD and its instruction either Righthanded or Lefthanded!

Tour Tempo Tracks CD

A special edition of the highly popular Tour Tempo Music Tracks. Contains six songs for each Tempo. Now you can work on your golf game anywhere you can play a music CD – in your car, at home or in the office.

Look and Feel

As we saw earlier, the Tour Tempo Player device is quite small. It can fit in the palm of your hand, not too much bigger than a golf ball. The buttons on the front of the player are a nice size, and have some tactile feedback on them so it is quite easy to find the right button to push when you are not looking at the device. Generally I would wear the player on my belt toward my back. So I would just reach back there and feel for the play/pause button when I wanted to ‘stop the music’. The only negative here, the buttons were a little loose/giggly. So the device seemed to rattle a lot. The buttons always worked, so not really a concern there, it just made you wonder about the longevity of the device.

The headphone included with the player (seen below) is quite comfortable to wear. It is similar in style to a lot of bluetooth/hands free headphones for cell phones. Part of the headphone wraps above your ear, then the ear bud part sits just outside your ear canal. My only gripe with this was that the headphone jack (which is a standard headphone jack) seemed a little loose. So, sometimes the connection would jiggle or come loose and the tour tempo tones would have a lot of static or cut out, especially while swinging.

Performance

The concept behind Tour Tempo is brilliant. All the book asks you to do is try to synchronize your swing to the tones. No other thoughts should be creeping into your head. No worries about your wrist position at the top, how much your knee flexes, are you turning enough. As the book points out, it is near impossible for your conscious mind to try and control all of those variables in your swing. Tour Tempo takes that out of the equation and just asks you to just try and swing in time with the beat. The Tour Tempo Player plays three beats: one to start your swing, one to mark the top of your back swing, one to mark impact. With a little practice, I think just about anyone can do that. The video below speaks to this. They have put together some before/after swing videos of various level players. Check it out, it’s pretty neat.

So, how did I test this myself? Well I started by reading the Tour Tempo Book. I then spent a little time working on some of the simple drills explained on the DVD that came along with the Tour Tempo Player package. Then went onto swinging with the Tour Tempo Player, trying to first simply match my back swing to the first two tones, then trying to match my entire swing to the three tones. I had been playing pretty poorly down the stretch last year. My first round out with the Tour Tempo information fresh in my head, I ended up carding a 79. Not a revolutionary score, but I was striking the ball so much better than I had been, and really felt like my swing was very smooth.

I chose the 24/8 tempo for my swing, as my swing (pre Tour Tempo) was very quick, herky jerky if you will. At first, 24/8 felt very slow to me. Gradually, as is the case with most changes, 24/8 began to feel very natural to me. I measured my swing speed prior to using the Tour Tempo Player, with the Swing Speed Radar with Tempo Timer device (pictured above) and found my swing speed to be a little inconsistent. I would have swings in the 95-105 mph range generally. The ones that felt smooth were around 105, for the most part. Since switching to the 24/8 tempo, and this is no joke, I have seen my swing speed increase to the 110-115 range. I have been able to get a few swings up to the 125 mph range, if I really go after it with everything I have got…but still within tempo, unfortunately, those swings result in a ball that goes god knows where. The amusing thing is, if I try to ‘kill it’…you know, I am going to murder this ball, and not thing about the tempo…just try to swing as hard as possible….my swing speed is generally more like 95mph! We all know that though, we’ve seen it on the course. Long par 5, wind behind you, you think you are going to hit that 325 yard drive, so you put everything you have into it…only to be disappointed with a shorter than usual drive. The important thing to learn here is…smooth and in tempo = more distance.

The Tour Tempo Player package came with an audio cd with some music that is set to the Tour Tempo tones. I popped the 24/8 tracks into my cd player in my car, and have been listening to them on my commute quite often. I also try and practice with the player at least 15-20 minutes a few times a week. I hope to keep doing this throughout the off-season so that this coming season the tour tempo is just second nature to me. It definitely is work, but I do find my tempo, when not listening to the device, has improved tremendously. Beep…….beep beep…it’s catchy!

Off the Tour Tempo website, John Novosel Jr posted up his Tour Tempo Speed Workout which he has used to get his swing speed up to 150mph. 150mph…that’s insane. We did see a few 165mph readings on the Swing Speed Radar device…however, I think those were situations where the device caught the ball speed rather than club head speed!

Conclusion

The Tour Tempo Player package puts together a lot of great tools for you to use to help improve your swing tempo. If price isn’t a concern, I would say go ahead and pickup the entire package. While I was a little concerned about the quality of the buttons and the headphone jack, for under $100, you get a convenient package put together to help you improve your tempo. If the price is too rich for your blood, and you are comfortable with technology, I would make another suggestion. The Tour Tempo book itself comes with a CD that contains audio files of the tour tempo sounds at all the different ratios. The cd also includes some video files of the training sessions that you can play on your computer.

If you already have an mp3 player (ipod, ipod shuffle, your cell phone) you could simply copy those files over to the device, and play them off there. The book will cost you $17 on Amazon (link below), so you would be saving yourself $80. If you do not have an mp3 player, you could always put that extra $80 toward something like an iPod shuffle ($79 from apple — or on sale now for $67 from buy.com), which you could use to play other music. Of course, you would, lose out on the additional music cd, the instructional dvd and the player itself.

Either way, I would definitely suggest picking up at least the book, if not the entire package. It really is a revolutionary way to look at and work on your golf swing. If you have struggled with swing thoughts, getting too quick to the ball, or are just plain inconsistent with your swing…you need to at least read the Tour Tempo book.

• Tour Tempo Book – $17 from Amazon.com
• Tour Tempo Player – $99.95 from Amazon.com
• Apple iPod shuffle 1GB$67 – On Sale!
• Search eBay for Tour Tempo
• Search eBay for iPod Shuffle