The Golfchick

That chick blabbing about anything golf related.

Category: Product Reviews

Train Your Aim – Putting Gadget Review

Review of the Train Your Aim putting aid by @protipsgolf 

train your aim 

I’ve never been a big gadget guy – I use tour stix and chalk lines. Train your Aim works on the same principle as chalk lines but is much easier to set up. I recommend drawing a line on the ball even if you don’t normally.

I started as the easy to follow directions instructed – by hitting putts of 18 inches then moved to 3 feet then to 5. I stopped when I got to 8 feet. Obviously you can’t use this during play; the idea is to train or eyes to know what a perfect setup looks like.

Practice with this, start and end your pregame warmup with Train your Aim and you’ll be surprised at how many putts you make. Commit to an hour a week even if it’s at home on a rug. You will become a better putter. The plastic seems durable but I would like to see a pro version maybe made of aluminum and more adjustable so you can customize it for your putter.

Bottom line: for a price less than a sleeve of ProV1’s you can easily take 3 or 4 shots off your score. The Train your Aim will still be in your bag long after those 3 ProV1’s have moved on to their new home in the desert.
Log onto www.trainyouraim.com and order yours today!

 

train your aim batmantrain your aim blade

Nike Covert Distance Challenge(d) at Golf Galaxy

Earlier this month, I was invited to take part in a Nike Covert Distance Challenge at Golf Galaxy, which was being held every weekend (Friday – Sunday) in March. I’m a golf junkie, as anyone who knows me understands, so obviously I was pretty excited to take part in this exercise. I’m always in the market for new golf equipment, and after Nike’s recent media barrage, I was very interested to see how the new Covert driver stacked up against my current gamer.

Below are some excerpts from the invitation I received:

“Golf Galaxy has teamed up with Nike to bring golfers across the country the Nike Covert Distance Challenge. Every weekend (Friday through Sunday) in March, Nike gurus will be in-store to deliver club fittings. Golfers of all levels are invited to bring in their existing driver to test against the new Nike VR_S Covert Tour. Just by participating in a fitting, the golfer will be given a free sleeve of Nike 20XI golf balls.

If you haven’t already tried the VR_S Covert, now is the best chance to try a driver that offers FlexLoft adjustability and unique high-speed cavity back technology—all backed by the one-on-one support of a Nike fitting guru.”

I’ll say it again. I’m a golf junkie, and the invitation is worded exactly how I would expect a driver fitting/comparison to go. I’m all for new equipment, but not until I know how it stacks up against what I’ve already grown to love and use on a daily basis. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to see how Nike’s new Covert performed. And then I went to my local Golf Galaxy to participate…..

I walked into the store, a store I frequent at least twice a week during the golf season, to an expected swarm of people who are also excited about the impending spring. The weather has finally turned, the sun was shining, golf courses are starting to open, and people are in their local Golf Galaxy to check out the latest apparel and equipment. The store’s putting green was full of a local college golf team’s players, competing for what we will assume are bragging rights. The clothing department is a collection of all walks of life, trying to decide which latest fashion will make them play better, or at least look like their beloved Rickie Fowler. Resisting the urge to stop the elderly gentleman from buying a flat billed orange hat, I walked past and approached my nearest Sales Associate.

Me- “Hi, are you doing the Nike Covert Distance Challenge today?”

Sales Associate- “Which one?”

Me- “The Covert driver fitting and comparison.”

SA- “Which club you wanna hit?”

Me- “Uh, the driver?”

SA- “I mean which head. Tour or regular?”

Me- “Tour head, that’s what’s on my current driver.”

With this nugget of new information, the Sales Associate scurries off, with no indication if I was to follow or wait for him. I followed him, because it just felt right. I caught up to him digging through a pile of Nike equipment conveniently located by the same launch monitor on which I was fit for my last driver.

“Perfect” I say to myself, “This should be fun. Let’s get on this launch monitor and get things started.” Instead, the Sales Associate asks what loft I want to hit. I think to myself “That’s strange, shouldn’t we determine what loft is best during the fitting?” But, rather than get in the way of what I assumed was his process, I said, “I play a 10.5 now, let’s go with that.” The Sales Associate hands me a club, points to a simulator and says “That simulator’s open” and wanders away, never to be seen again. At no point during our encounter did I get the feeling that this simulator time was going to be for me to warm up, get a feel for the club, nothing. So, I hit a few shots into the simulator with this new club, waited around for the Sales Associate’s unlikely return, and then left the store. Not only did I leave without the sleeve of golf balls I was promised, I left with no more knowledge of the Covert driver than I had when I went into the store compounded by the sour taste of poor customer service in my mouth. Thankfully, I was headed to lunch shortly after.

I won’t let myself believe this was the actual process that Nike or Golf Galaxy had in mind when they sent this invitation. If this was in fact the process, I don’t have the words to describe my disappointment. Maybe this Sales Associate was supposed to perform the fitting, and just wasn’t having a good day. I doubt this as well, as the invitation said Nike Guru’s would be on site to perform the fitting. In my opinion, one of two things happened, neither of which are acceptable but would provide some explanation.

1- This Sales Associate had no idea what I was talking about, but rather than ask someone, he thought it would be easier to send the oblivious customer, who he assumed had no intention of actually buying a golf club, to the nearest simulator to wail away on some balls.

2- The actual Nike Guru was not at the store as advertised, but rather than tell me that, thought it would be easier to send the oblivious customer, who he assumed had no intention of actually buying a golf club, to the nearest simulator to wail away on some balls.

As an aside, the day prior to this, I was randomly paired for 9 holes with a manager of that very store, and I had mentioned my intentions to do this fitting, and he seemed to know what I was talking about. All of these factors leave me at a loss for a valid explanation of my experience. I went into this Covert Challenge fully prepared to write a review of the process, and ultimately of my opinion of the Nike Covert driver itself. So, what is my opinion of the process and ultimately of the driver itself? I’ll offer some words of advice I was recently given.

“That simulator’s open.”

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Photo Ball Marker Discount Promo Code

It’s that time of year again! Need a special gift idea for a golfer in your life? Create something truly unique with their favorite photos on some Photo Ball Markers. Create a custom magnetic hat clip, necklace, brooch, divot tool or keychain. Check out this post from last year for more info.

Discount Code: At checkout, use the promo code “GOLFCHICK” for an easy $5 off your order. Happy shopping!

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Tin Cup Stencils. Snap. “Give Me Another Ball.”

What do you draw on your golf ball to identify it as yours? I’ve been known to draw dots on mine, initials, or use Golf Dotz. These days, I’m using my Tin Cup martini stencil to make my ball my own. These handy little stencils will make great stocking stuffers or even a nice Christmas gift in these tough times. Of course, Tin Cup has a great sale going on with a discount running from Black Friday through Cyber Monday, and the selection just keeps growing!

What’s your favorite symbol, logo, school team or cause? Tin Cup probably has you covered. If not, they also do custom stencils! (hmm… I wonder if they can do a Golf Chick logo!)

I like my martini dry, not at the bottom of a lake. 

If you have read much on this blog or follow my twitter feed, you probably guessed I’d have the martini stencil. I’m kind of predictable in that way, I suppose. Clearly I don’t have the patience to draw them with multiple pens and make it look like an actual glass with liquid and olives and everything. Also, I figure as soon as I spend that much time drawing on a single golf ball, it’s doomed to wind up at the bottom of a lake at its very next opportunity. This thought leads me to presume the naming of the product included consideration of that famous scene at the end of the movie Tin Cup in which Roy McAvoy hits ball after ball into the lake on the last hole at the U.S. Open. Yes, I realize the product is literally a sort of tin cup, but I won’t believe there’s not more to it than that. :)

I thought the whole stencil idea was a fun one but until I tried one for myself, I had no idea how much detail they could achieve! With the fine point Sharpie pen, it’s amazing how precise the images turn out to be. I never imagined that little olive pick would turn out so sharp. You can see some more of that incredible detail in this pic of  a group of some of the other standard designs they offer.

There are several other designs I want but I think my next  one is going to be that jolly roger. Or maybe the wine glass. Or maybe the dog. Ahh, I’ll probably end up with all of them. Heehee. They also come in themed packages, and with a handy little pouch to keep it clipped on or in your golf bag.

Want a 20% discount? Get one when you purchase anything on www.tin-cup.com from black Friday through Cyber Monday. Plus, you’ll get free domestic USPS shipping on purchases of $39 or more. Have fun shopping and getting that perfect little gift for your favorite golfer. Might as well throw one in for yourself while you’re at it. Which one’s it going to be?

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HomeStriker Training Golf Ball Review

I received my HomeStriker Training Golf Ball in the mail, and was immediately confused by the contents of the package. I was under the impression that I would receive a state of the art, space age interpretation of a golf ball that mimicked the feel and flight characteristics of a real golf ball. Then, I open the package and find a brand new Nike golf ball, with what appears to be a handkerchief superglued to it. Two things immediately occurred to me when seeing this… #1 – why in the world would someone attempt to super glue a handkerchief to a golf ball, and #2 – the miniscule amount of physics that I do understand says that this handkerchief will slow the golf ball at an incredible rate after being struck with a golf club.

The day I received this package, it was about 35 degrees, cloudy, and windy. But, I was determined to smack this concoction around, and immediately grabbed a 6 iron and went to my back yard. I tossed the HomeStriker on the ground, and scared to death about my neighbors windows, took a half swing at the device. A pure strike, with about half effort, resulted in a well struck golf ball with realistic feel that traveled roughly 15 yards. I chased the ball down (not a lot of work) and gave it another half whack…. another 15 yards, but those 15 yards were the result of a normally 90 yard swing. Still scared, but with a renewed curiosity, I decided to take a full swing at this contraption. Still not fully trusting it, I went to my front yard, where I paced off 30 yards from the street to myself, having been told that 30 yards is the flight limit of this practice aid. Thankfully I waited until an unsuspecting car passed, as a full lash at the HomeStriker resulted in a 40 yard launch of the handkerchief adorned golf ball. After retrieving the ball from the street, greeting my across the street neighbor, and thanking my well written home owners insurance policy that I didn’t hit any passing cars, I realized that the test shot was considerably downwind. The 40 yard shot was the absolute limit of my power, and the feedback from striking a real golf ball was refreshing.

After taking a few more swings, I began to evaluate this practice device. My initial reaction, and the reaction that I was going to stick with, wasn’t a great one for the HomeStriker. I have unlimited access to a practice facility, and the ability to hit practice balls at most hours of the day. Sure, it was great that the practice ball had the feel characteristics of a real golf ball, but it has nothing close to the performance characteristics. I can’t practice a draw, fade, hook, cut, low, high, etc etc shot with it. It seemed like a novelty at the time, with no real benefit to someone like me, who’s lucky enough to have unlimited access to practice facilities. So, after a few strikes, I gave up on the device and tossed it in my golf bag and forgot about it.

Some background on me, I love the game of golf, I love everything about it, except for the individuals that like to play golf in the mornings. I love the game, I love my friends, but I also love to sleep. However, in the interest of being able to play with my friends, I sacrifice some sleep on the weekends and play golf with my buddies on early morning weekends. If the tee time is 8:00am, there’s a good chance that the other 3 guys in my group will have teed off already as I show up on the first tee at 8:02, tired, hungover, and in no condition to be making a full driver swing on the 470 yard par 4 first hole of my club.

As much as I hate waking up early, I hate the “breakfast ball” even more. If you’re so concerned about hitting a good one off the first tee that you want a mulligan of the 1st tee, show up early enough to warm up on the range. I’m neither concerned enough about hitting a good ball off the first tee, nor do I really want to show up in time to warm up. I assume bogey on the 1st hole that early in the morning, and figure that extra few minutes of sleep will probably help me make birdie on the 2nd hole to get back to even par as much as it will allow me to make a par 4 on the 1st hole. I love sleep.

The weekend after testing the HomeStriker and tossing it into the black hole that is my non-tournament bag, I happened to show up to the course a few minutes prior to tee time. As my faithful bartender was making me a Baileys and coffee (it was october after all) I had a few minutes to kill, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to head to the range to hit 2 warm up balls, and practice putting at that hour of the morning seemed ridiculous. I dug into my bag to find a tee, and came out with a handful of HomeStriker. The proverbial lightbulb went off in my head (granted it was early and cold, so the lightbulb wasn’t as bright as it should be, but in any event it was a lightbulb). I’m too lazy to head to the range to hit 2 warmup shots, but I hate watching my fellow competitors hit 2 off the first tee. Well, I’ve got a “golf ball” that no matter how hard I hit it, will only go 40 yards, which I can tee up and launch off our practice green, retrieve and hit back towards the original spot. Anyone that’s ever attempted this knows, that no matter how much you take “warm up” swings, if you’re not hitting a real golf ball it just isn’t the same. So, I tossed down the HomeStriker, and gave it a few whacks. This device immediately solved my issues. I don’t have to take the time to hit 2 or 3 range balls prior to my early morning round, and I don’t have to wake up 5 minutes earlier to facilitate that warm up. I can do some basic “1st tee stretches,” tee it up, and hit a few warmup shots prior to my 1st tee shot.

If this was prior to an actual tournament, I’d head to the range to warm up, hit different shot shapes, heights, clubs, distances, you name it. But this is my weekend fun play, I’m not going to take the time to do my proper warm up. The HomeStriker allows me a few swings, hitting a real golf ball, prior to my round. The golf ball is retrievable, reusable, and I don’t have to worry about breaking neighboring windows or bombarding fellow golfers with an errant warmup shot.

So, what is my opinion of the HomeStriker Training Golf Ball? In all honesty, I don’t see it as a “training golf ball”. A training aid, to me, allows someone to see shot shapes, heights and distances and allows the golfer to learn what each particular swing does to the golf ball. The HomeStriker, no matter how much I tried, won’t hook, draw, cut, or slice. I believe a true training aid needs to let the player see and experience those shots and the swing variations that create them. But, do I think the HomeStriker has value in the golfing world? Absolutely. It has proven to be an invaluable warmup tool in my previously contracted and neglected weekend off-season warmup routine. To this point, nothing can replace the experience of striking a real golf ball prior to a round, whether it be a full warmup session on the range, or a few quick hits on a HomeStriker Training Golf Ball. With the proper expectations going into a HomeStriker Training Golf Ball purchase, I believe it has a place in the game.

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Ball Marks, Beers and Boobs

This afternoon I played a quick emergency 9 at beer:30 with a beginning golfer friend of mine. It seems to be becoming a weekly thing for us. Yes, he’s right obsessed, like the rest of us. I am proud to take credit for luring him into our world.

We played at the local pitch n putt where he actually has a decent shot of besting me on any given day. (Sorry about today, Ron, golf is hard. And cruel. Welcome to it.)

turfkey

During the round, I tweeted this “action pic” and expressed my delight over the multifunctional brilliance of the fabulous tool.

Turns out I’m not the only one who thought the little gadget was actually a fantastic idea and a necessity for any drinker with a golfing habit. Some folks expressed interest on the twitters so I figured it might be nice to provide some more info, and here it is.

Save the Greens, Save the Tatas

That’s right, finally that same simple tool you keep in your pocket while you play golf does more than just repair your ball marks. It also opens your bottles. I was never that clever MacGyver type who could deftly pop a bottle top with my lighter, and now that I don’t carry one that’s not even an option to struggle with when needed.

I get a lot of funky golf gadgets but this one actually spends rounds in my pocket. I love it. It’s called a Turf Key.

Repair your ball mark, open your beer, and contribute to a good cause when you opt for the pretty Pink Turf Key For a Cure.

Still not handy enough? Don’t forget you can always use a tool like this to rest your club on so your grip doesn’t get wet. Or even stick your cigar in there while you putt. Oh, how about cleaning your cleats? So much usefulness in such a simple design! To make it even handier, there’s a hole at the end so you can attach it to your key chain if you want to show off your golf nerdiness everywhere you go.

The cute little tool also comes in other colors like blue, yellow and standard silver, with or without the bottle opener (although I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t want that option for the same low price).

Turf Keys and Tri-Tee

The same company also makes the patent pending “Tri-Tee.” I keep forgetting to try this little bugger but I maybe now that I’m writing this I will think of it my next time out! It certainly seems like an interesting “zero friction” idea. If you’ve tried it, please let me know what you think.

You can get all these items for yourself on the Turf Key website, and they also have low wholesale pricing, racks and it looks like a nice POP display if you want to sell them in your shop.

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Looking for a Unique Holiday Golf Gift? Photo Ball Markers!

Stumped as to what to get for the golfer in your life? Whether it’s a stocking stuffer or major gift budget for you, $25 can get you an awesome and unique gift for that golfer who has everything (even if that golfer is you).

If you can capture it in a photo, you can put it on a ball marker. Well, Photo Ball Marker can for you! Simply upload your photos and you can have an amazing set of ball markers and you can customize the gift to include a magnetic hat clip, necklace, brooch, divot tool or keychain! So they go well beyond the golf course, you see!

Holidays are coming up so get creative! Kids, pets, other family members, places, logos, keepsakes and memories… you’re not limited by much if you can use your imagination!

Photo ball markers

Photo ball marker backAbove are some of the fabulous ball markers I’ve gotten from PBM. The necklace pictured is my own magnetic necklace, not sold by PBM but they do sell some beautiful styles of their own. One thing I really like is that the back of the ball markers have that handy arrow for when you have to move your marker out of someone else’s putting line. You simply flip over your marker and point the arrow in the direction you need to move it back to your spot so you don’t forget. Always a nice feature of a ball marker, in my opinion!

If you haven’t already clicked off this page to go shopping at PBM, happy holidays and happy shopping!

More Kikkor Golf Kicks in My Shoe Collection

Back in February, I wrote this post about my first pair of Kikkor Golf shoes. Since then, I got another box of awesomeness – this time, the “Tenny Clayburn.” They were my first choice but I went with the white ones first thinking they would go with more outfits. I’m finding I actually wear the gray Clayburns more. When you like a shoe this much, you can work your outfits around it!

Kikkor Tenny Clayburn

These shoes feel even cooler than they look. They are amazingly comfortable! If I could stop looking at them I might forget I was wearing shoes at all. However, they’re also quite stabilizing. They make me feel secure when addressing the ball and give me confidence in my golf shots. I wasn’t sure that would be the case when I first saw the spikes, but they do their job well!

Here is another close-up of the rockin style I love.

Kikkor Tenny Clayburn

And here they are in action on the course:

kikkor golf tenny clayburn

If you like their styles, I highly recommend picking up some awesome Kikkor golf kicks for yourself!

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