Best Full Swing Training Aids

This post explores the best full-swing training aids to improve a golfer’s driver, woods, hybrid, and iron play.

In other summary posts, we discuss our favorite Short Game and Putting Training Aids. 

The full swing can be beautiful in execution, or it can be a hot mess. By using the right full-swing training aids, golfers can develop a powerful and effective, athletic full swing.

In this post, we identify ten training aids to help golfers work on the various aspects of the full swing: speed, flexibility, connectivity, impact, grip, etc. We also showcase other essential training accessories to help golfers maximize their training sessions, such as alignment sticks and impact labels.

As is true for the entire site, we only post about training equipment that we believe is best in class, including ease of use, effectiveness, and cost.

A couple of quick notes:

• All featured full-swing training aids have entire posts dedicated to them. To read those reviews, click on the section title or product item name (printed in blue font)
• Some of the items in this category (nets, impact labels, alignment sticks, etc.) can be used for other parts of your golf game

Best Full Swing Training Aids: Golf Swing Speed Training System

When golfers think about improving their full swing, one of the primary goals is to increase distance. Whether golfers strive to outdrive their friends for bragging rights or just want to make their approach shots shorter, increasing distance is a big deal for many golfers.

A golfer’s ability to increase distance comes down to improving two factors: club speed and “smash factor,” or impact efficiency. Our first recommended full-swing training aid aims to increase the first factor: clubhead speed.

The SuperSpeed Golf Swing Speed Training System has been used by over 600 pro golfers on tour and is considered the best swing speed training system on the market.  The SuperSpeed Training System combines the science of “overspeed” training with optimally weighted “clubs” to increase swing speed by 5% on average.

SuperSpeed provides a training blueprint with progressive 10 – 12-minute training sessions to be performed three times per week.  The training sessions are easy to understand and easy to complete. However, they require golfers to exert themselves, swinging with as much club speed as they can.

SuperSpeed has optimized club sets for men, women, seniors, and juniors so that virtually all golfers can work on their clubhead speed.

Check Out SuperSpeed on Amazon

Best Full Swing Training Aids: Flexible, Weighted Golf Swing Trainer

The SKLZ Gold Flex Strength Tempo Trainer is a weighted, flexible golf swing training aid that builds strength and flexibility into a golfer’s full swing while teaching proper golf swing tempo.

Golfers find that the more they train with this weighted, flexible golf swing trainer from SKLZ, the stronger and more flexible their swing muscles become. The exaggerated flex in the shaft helps lengthen their swings by extending their hands and arms, increasing their power.

The extra flex encourages a slight lag at the top of their backswing, establishing the ideal swing tempo. The weighted head’s momentum encourages proper weight transfer and a complete follow-through for form, balance, and power.

While SKLZ was not the first golf manufacturer to come to market with the concept behind a weighted flex trainer, they were the first to bring it to market at a reasonable price point.

Check Out the SKLZ Gold Flex Strength Tempo Trainer on Amazon

Best Full Swing Training Aids: Golf Swing Trainer for Speed and Release Point

Some full-swing training aids strive to work on more than one aspect of a golfer’s swing at a time. The Momentus Whoosh Swing Trainer is a very popular, full-swing trainer that improves:

• Speed
• The release of lag in a golf swing, and
• A golfer’s grip on the club.

The Whoosh Swing Trainer is simple in concept and easy to use. As pictured, the aid is a golf shaft with a rubber training grip on one end with finger and hand positioning guides. It has a weighted magnetic ball attached to the shaft of the aid that can slide along the shaft during a practice swing.

While the use of the training grip is relatively apparent, a golfer places his hands into the prescribed positions. The speed and release training is less obvious.

For speed training, a golfer would slide the ball to the end of the shaft, adding weight to the furthest point on the shaft. The golfer then completes practice swings at maximum effort, engaging fast-twitch muscles. Momentus attests that golfers can gain a 7 – 10 mph increase in swing speed immediately after using the trainer.

For release training, the ball is slid up the shaft towards the grip. Golfers then train lag and release into their swings by timing their swings to hear the ball hit the far end of the shaft when the training aid enters the “impact zone.”

If a golfer hears the “click” too early, a lot of energy would have been released before a club could hit the ball. If a golfer hears the “click” after the impact zone, then energy has been held onto for too long and has been wasted.

The Whoosh Swing Trainer is easy to understand and use and effectively delivers results.

Check Out the Momentus Whoosh Swing Trainer on Amazon

Best Full Swing Training Aids: Golf Connectivity Training Aid

We have all heard of the dreaded “chicken wing,” where a golfer’s lead arm bends too much at the elbow at impact. The chicken wing can lead to poor impact and even worse ball flight.

Most folks have also probably heard that a golfer’s arms, shoulders, and torso should stay “connected” or move as one in the golf swing.

Connectivity training is the cure for the chicken wing and encourages an inside-out swing path and a full body turn.

While there are now a bunch of different connectivity training aids on the market, our favorite is the original Tour Striker Smart Ball Connectivity Training Aid. The Smart Ball is a 6-inch inflated ball suspended from a lanyard hung around a golfer’s neck. The ball is placed between a golfer’s upper forearms.

The Smart Ball training aims for golfers to work up to full swings without “dropping” the ball. At first, this training can feel awkward, but over time, it becomes natural, and so does a connected swing.

The Smart Ball training aid is much more convenient than other connectivity training aids that either make you put on a constraining sweater or secure a golfer’s forearms together. A golfer slips the Smart Ball lanyard over his neck, places the ball between his arms, and is good to go. When the golfer is done, the lanyard slips off. Easy on. Easy off. Big, positive impact on a golf swing.

Check Out the Tour Striker Smart Ball on Amazon

Best Full Swing Training Aids: Golf Impact Bag

In a perfect world, when a golfer wants to hit a straight shot, the clubface should be perpendicular to the path, and the club’s path should be straight down the intended line. While it is easy to understand, it is hard to practice path and face angle without using a $20,000 Trackman.

An SKLZ Smash Bag Impact Trainer can help a golfer physically feel whether he is hitting the impact area square or whether the swing is hitting the Smash Bag with the heel or the toe of the golf club first.

The SKLZ Smash Bag Impact Trainer gives immediate feedback and teaches golfers the correct position and feel for that moment of impact. With repetition, a golfer can take this proper swing and impact position to the range to hit live balls and then onto the golf course.

Check Out the SKLZ Smash Bag Impact Trainer on Amazon

Best Full Swing Training Aids: Golf Grip Training Aid

The grip of a golf club is the only connection point between a golfer and the club. How effectively and consistently a golfer can grip a club is one of the factors that can determine how well a golfer can hit a golf ball.

David Leadbetter and Golf Pride have developed their second-generation Golf Grip Training Aid to teach golfers the proper positioning of their hands on the club. We recommend placing the grip on a spare club and keeping it handy. Use the training grip regularly until your hands feel natural in the positions it enforces.

With a proper grip, golfers can develop a consistent and powerful golf stroke.

Check Out the Golf Grip Training Aid on Amazon

Best Full Swing Training Aids: Golf Club Impact Labels

Early on in this post, we mentioned the term “smash factor,” which represents how efficiently the speed and force of the clubhead are transferred to the golf ball. One of the primary factors determining the smash factor is how close a golfer can hit the sweet spot of the clubface.

Golf clubs have a hot spot that transmits the most momentum from club to ball. If a golfer wants to increase his smash factor, an excellent place to start is by practicing hitting a club’s sweet spot. Longshot Impact Labels help golfers see whether they consistently hit the sweet spot.

Longshot makes multiple sizes of clubhead impact labels to fit drivers, woods, hybrids, and irons. The labels are easy to apply to the face of the club. Easy to remove. And they leave no residue. They can be used for multiple strikes. And they give immediate feedback to the golfer on the precision of his hits.

They are one of those fundamental performance aids that everyone should have in their golf bags.

Check Out Longshot Impact Labels on Amazon

Best Full Swing Training Aids: Golf Alignment Sticks

We cannot think of any full-swing training aid that is simpler and more impactful than golf alignment sticks. At their simplest, alignment sticks allow a golfer to ensure that their feet, hips, and shoulders are aligned.

Beyond simple alignment, there are a bunch of other more advanced practice setups that the sticks can be used for, such as swing plane drills, putting drills, shot shaping exercises, and more.

Check out this Zach Johnson article for a few ideas.

We like the Elixir Golf Alignment Sticks because they come with a connector that allows you to connect the two sticks at a perfect 90 degrees. This feature is essential for many drills, enabling golfers to gauge ball placement in one’s stance.

Check Out Elixir Golf Alignment Sticks on Amazon

Best Full Swing Training Aids: Premium Golf Practice Net

It is possible to find reasonably well-rated golf practice nets all over the internet. The challenge is finding a net that can handle the high velocity of a well-driven golf ball, be easy to put up and take down, and withstand strong wind.

The most demanding test for a home golf practice net is the first one – the ability to withstand a high-speed golf ball missile.

We recommend the Net Return Pro Series V2 Golf Practice Net. This net is of good size, measuring 7’ 6” tall, 8’ wide, and 3.6” deep. A single individual can set it up or take it down in around 5 minutes.  And most importantly, it can withstand golf balls flying at 225 miles an hour. Also, it comes with a 250,000-shot guarantee. We have not seen a guarantee like that from any other vendor.

The only trade-off with this premium net is that it comes at a premium price. As the saying goes, “You get what you pay for.”

Check Out the Net Return Pro Series V2 Golf Practice Net on Amazon

Best Full Swing Training Aids: Weighted Golf Swing Ring

Earlier in the post, we discussed the SKLZ Gold Flex Strength Tempo Trainer—a great, weighted, full-swing training aid for daily flexibility and tempo training.  But let’s say you are rushing to the golf course and will not have a chance to hit the range or adequately stretch out. The Jef World of Golf Swing Ring is a great performance tool to help you do a quick, deep stretch before teeing off. Or it can be used before a practice session on the range.

The Swing Ring is a weighted, rubberized ring that slips down the shaft of any club to enable a deeper stretch and warm-up. While not heavy, the added weight is sufficient to stretch a golfer’s back, shoulder, and arms, giving sufficient “swing pull” to increase the range of motion and loosen tight muscles.

The rubberized surface will not leave marks on club heads. And, with a 1.25-inch internal diameter, the Swing Ring will slip over almost all driver, woods, hybrid, or iron grips.

All golfers should carry one of these in their golf bags.

Check Out the Weighted Golf Swing Ring on Amazon

The Swing Ring completes the listing of our highest recommended full swing training aids. If used regularly, with focus, these swing training aids can help any golfer improve their full swing.