Teaching Aids You Can Make at Home
Teaching Aids You Can Make at Home
By Dr. T. J. Tomasi, Keiser University College of Golf Senior Faculty and Director of Research
Every expensive teaching aid started with a dirt-cheap prototype that, in many cases, was just as effective as the “Madison Avenue” version that consumers buy. If you’re a golfer who can’t or doesn’t want to pay retail for your swing aids, here are some of the most important ones that you can make at home, along with the swing principles they teach.
1. A Board Over a Shaft: This teaching aid is designed to teach you weight transfer. All you need is an old golf shaft and a board.
The Swing Principle it teaches: Weight shift
How to: Place the board over the shaft to make a teeter-totter, and then stand on the board with one foot on each side of the shaft. There is a hip-switch in every good swing where the weight transfers to your trail hip on the backswing (the board teeters backward) and then the target hip on the downswing (the board totters forward).
2. Wire Coat Hanger
The Swing Principle it teaches: Eye alignment over the ball
How to: Use a coat hanger with the hook extended like a finger then bent at a right angle so that it points at the target. Since the wire is malleable, it can be configured so that it fits around your head at address with the “finger” of the coat hanger pointing down the eye line. You then position your head, so the “finger” is over the target line for a perfect eye-line match when you putt. You’ll look ridiculous, but you’ll putt better.
3. Clubs End-to-End Swing Principle:
Body action during pitching
How to: Place two clubs end to end or plug a 3-foot dowel into the end of your club. With the extension against your rib cage, if you overuse your hands/arms, the shaft raps you in the ribs. This aid teaches you to keep your chest moving during both pitches and chips.
Here I’ve used two clubs, grip to grip, but a 3-foot dowel plugged into
the butt end of your club works quite nicely.
4. A Comb or Ruler
Swing Principle:
How the wrist is positioned throughout the swing
How to: Slip a comb or ruler into your golf glove, so the aid keeps your wrist in line with your forearm while you swing. Anchor, if necessary, with an ace bandage. This prevents your target wrist from breaking down during the swing.
The commercial version of the comb
5. Paper Towel Tube
Swing Principle:
Proper head cock based on the identification of your dominant eye
How to: Hold the tube with both hands and arms fully extended. Using both eyes, look through the tube at a ball on the ground. Now close your left eye. If you can still see the ball through the tube, you’re right-eye dominant. Otherwise, your left eye is your dominant eye. This will help you to set up correctly with your head cocked, so your dominant eye looks directly at the ball.
6. The Teeter-Totter Board Again
Swing Principle:
Bounce in sand trap
How to: Place the board on the ground and cover it with a layer of sand equal to the amount of sand you should take on a bunker shot. Place a golf ball on the sand and hit sand shots off the board. The bottom of the club skids rather than digs, just as it should in a real sand shot.
Takeaway:
Making your own teaching aids is fun and can save you some money. My advice is to make your own teaching aids, then invest the money you save in a series of lessons from a PGA teaching professional.
If you’d like to study with Dr. Tomasi and other PGA Master Professionals, contact The College of Golf today.
