Tag: Tour Striker

  • Tour Striker – Review

    Tour StrikerHere at intothegrain.com, we get plenty of training aids and swing gadgets to try out. Some of them work great, and others… not so much. When I first saw the ads for the Tour Striker I thought it would be just like many golf training aids that claim to fix your swing, so I paid it no real attention. Then, at the PGA Merchandise Show and Demo Day at Orange County National in Orlando I got to actually try it, and my impressions changed. A friend of mine happened to be a rep for Tour Striker and I was able to bring home a few units to test out for this review.

    There are several models of the Tour Striker available. The regular Tour Striker is targeted for mid-to-high handicap golfers and slower swing speeds (under 90 mph with driver), while the Tour Striker Pro is generally geared for players with higher swing speeds and a handicap of 10 or less. There is a Tour Striker for women and younger players also, with a graphite shaft that is slightly shorter (35 inches vs. 36 inches) which is more appropriate for women and juniors. The last model, and the one I was most interested in is the Tour Striker Pro X. This model is basically the same as the Tour Striker Pro, but the sweet spot is only the size of a quarter. This one is designed for low handicap golfers who want a real challenge. More specifically, there are 6 models available: The Tour Striker 8 iron, the Pro 7 iron, Pro X 7 iron, Pro 5 iron, 56 degree wedge and Tour Striker Ladies/Junior. The Tour Striker sells for $119.99 for graphite and $99.99 for a steel shaft.

    Tour StrikerSo what’s the big deal with the Tour Striker? If you’ve seen their commercials on the Golf Channel, you know that the concept behind this training club is to promote forward shaft lean at impact, which produces a descending hit, a boring trajectory and the solid strike that is desired by touring pros and top amateurs. If you watch good players and pros, they all swing with the hands leading the club. To help train the golfer in producing this impact position, the Tour Striker was designed with the leading edge of the club raised up a half inch or more from the bottom of the club. From this design came a club in which the only way to get the ball airborne is to use a descending hit with the hands ahead of the club, so that the leading edge is lowered to get under the ball. If the required swing is not made properly, you’ll hit the ball with the bottom of the leading edge, producing a rolling dribbler that resembles a topped shot.

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    Now that you know what the concept is behind the tour Striker, does the thing work? Yes! I went to the range to give it a try in the hopes of not making a fool out of myself in front of the other golfers. I brought the Pro 5 iron and the Pro X 7 iron to try out. After a warm up with my own clubs I started with the Pro 5 iron. Setting the Tour Striker down behind the ball is strange, because it’s not like any other club I’ve hit before. It’s also intimidating with the raised leading edge. Initially hitting shots with the Pro 5 iron wasn’t too hard, but I had to make sure I made a good swing to make solid contact. I’m a plus handicap player, so leading with the hands is a natural move that I make already. This made hitting the Pro 5 iron relatively easy. However, you still have to be on your toes when hitting the Tour Striker. Making a swing that would produce a thin shot with a normal club instead results in a low worm burning roller that is sure to turn heads. You must hit down on the ball to get a good result.

    Tour Striker Pro X 7 ironAfter having success with the Pro 5 iron, I moved on to the Pro X 7 iron (shown at left) with a good deal of confidence. Setting the 7X down behind the ball, I noticed that the quarter-sized sweet spot seems much smaller when you set it down behind the ball. Clearly this model was designed for players who make consistent contact. Confident but apprehensive, I made a few swings. Of the first four balls I hit, 1 of them got airborne. The Tour Striker Pro X 7 iron is no joke. You have to make a good swing with a descending blow and manage to hit a tiny sweet spot to get the ball in the air. I found shots hit just a bit on the heel curved way left. Solid shots flew high and straight, like a normal 7 iron would. I found the best way to use this club was by hitting a few balls with the Tour Striker, then switching to my normal 7 iron for a few, then back and forth. Once you get in a groove with the Tour Striker, it’s a pretty good feeling.

    The Tour Striker is cast from 431 steel and should last a long time. They are available in steel and graphite shafts. The stock steel shaft was more than adequate for my use, but if you are serious about using the club extensively in your practice, I would suggest having the club re-shafted with the same shaft and stiffness as your irons and bent to your specs for lie angle also. In summary, of all the swing aids and training devices I’ve ever tested, this may be the best. The Tour Striker is simple to use, easy to carry with you, doesn’t need batteries or a computer to work and provides instant feedback on good and bad swings alike. Perhaps the best selling point for this training aid is the fact that everywhere I play people are always reaching into my bag to try it out. I play golf with players ranging from high-handicap amateurs to touring pros, and they all enjoy testing themselves with the Tour Striker.

    I recommend the Tour Striker to all levels of golfers, but those who will benefit the most from it are mid to high handicap players. This level of golfer have not yet learned to hit the ball with a descending blow and lead with the hands, and the Tour Striker is ideal at showing you how to produce this impact position in real time. There is a model available for all abilities too. Beginning golfers can start with the Tour Striker 8 iron, and work up to the Pro X 7 iron for the maximum challenge. Through their affiliate program, readers interested in purchasing a Tour Striker can use the following link to the Tour Striker Store, or simply click on the banner below.

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  • How to Hit Tiger’s Stinger Shot

    Photo By J.D. Cuban
    Photo By J.D. Cuban/Golf Digest

    Tiger Woods didn’t invent the knockdown shot, or stinger as it is often referred to, but he seems to have made it popular again. The stinger is a shot with a long iron or fairway wood that stays very low with little spin and runs after hitting the ground. Tiger has made great use of this shot over the years. It’s a great shot to hit under pressure and in the wind. Paul Azinger made a pretty good name for himself while hitting the knockdown almost exclusively with his irons. Either way, it’s a crown pleaser and also very effective, especially on fast, dry courses and links.

    How do you hit this shot? I’m going to show you. It’s not as hard as you might think, but it does require some grasp of the fundamentals and I wouldn’t recommend this shot (or any specialty shot) to high handicappers. If you can’t make consistent contact yet you should probably work on that first before you try hitting anything but a basic full swing shot.

    As with most shots, the secret to hitting the knockdown shot is in your setup. To hit the ball lower, you have to make a few changes that will help you de-loft the club and basically turn a 5 iron into a 3 iron.

    Step 1: Take an extra club or two and grip down on the club so that a few inches at the top of grip stick out past your left hand. Choking down on the grip gives you a bit more control and makes the club shorter, which reduces clubhead speed and spin.

    Step2: Move the ball back a few inches in your stance. Ideally you want to play the ball just behind the center of your stance. The reason we do this is mostly to force the hands ahead of the ball and deloft the club. Be carefull not to play the ball too far back, as this forces you to make compensating moves to hit the ball solid and produces too much of a decending blow, creating backspin. The goal is to reduce backspin so the shot flies lower.

    Step 3: Make a full backswing and shoulder turn. Don’t confuse the knockdown with a punch. This isn’t a punch shot. A punch shot requires a shorter backswing, but a knockdown is a full swing that flies lower, so make a normal, full shoulder turn.

    Step 4: Lead with the hands. The key to this shot is delofting the club, and the setup is designed to help that. At impact your hands should be ahead of the ball and the club should be striking the ball with a slightly descending blow. You have to resist the urge to help the ball in the air by flipping it, the goal here is a low flying shot. The Tour Striker training aid is perfect for teaching you to lead with the hands, and I highly recommend it!

    Step 5: Follow through low with your hands going towards the target. Tiger likes to play this shot with “soft hands”, which basically means that he’s not releasing the club aggressively. Instead he doesn’t let the right hand overtake the left on the follow through and the result is a low flying stinger, as shown below.

    Drills: The best drill to learn the knockdown shot is one I was shown by my college coach when he taught me this shot back in 1993. On the range, take a long iron, such as a 2 or 3 iron, and set up to the ball to hit a knockdown as described above. Start by hitting chip shots, then work your way up to 20 and 30 yard shots, while keeping your hands ahead of the ball at impact. Keep gradually increasing your backswing and hit 60 and 70 yard shots, then 100 yards, 150, etc. The idea is to show you the feel of leading with the hands and shortening your follow through to produce the low shot. To hit the ball further, you simply increase your backswing. Give it a try, it really works! If you don't master the stinger shot right away, don't give up. It's easy to learn but difficult to master. At the very least you'll have a great option when pitching out of the woods! A Note about Hybrids: Hybrids have become very popular with amateurs and professionals alike because they are more forgiving than the long irons they replace, and hit the ball higher and straighter. As far as hitting the stinger shot, they aren't as friendly. This is the main reason why Tiger said he hasn't made the switch yet. The low center of gravity of hybrids is there to help the ball get airborne. I've struggled hitting low shots with hybrids, and I know many others do too. If you want to hit the stinger frequently, stay with the old 2 iron. Videos: This video is a bit crude, but a great demonstration of Tiger's stinger. Take a look: I found a great video by Gary Koch on USA Network's website that demonstrates the shot I just talked about. Check it out! http://www.usanetwork.com/videos/index.html?xml=pgatourgolf.xml&video=1|8 I always welcome comments, questions, hate mail - whatever. I want to hear from you out there! Let me know if the 5 minutes you wasted at work to read my blog was worthwhile, and how you are hitting your stinger! Cheers!