Best Golf Training Aid for Swing Plane (That Work!)

All golfers get frustrated from time to time. You play once a week, spend a couple of hours practicing, but still don’t seem to get any better. Why don’t you see your scores improving? Today our article focuses on the best golf training aid for swing plane and our top 5 picks all offer something different.

You might be practicing the wrong thing or grooving a swing that needs to be altered. The last thing you want to do is create muscle memory of a bad move.

Lessons from a golf professional can be expensive and perhaps you don’t want to start from scratch or make major changes to your swing. The right swing trainer might be the way to finally see your handicap decrease a few strokes.

Regardless if you are an elite amateur player or a high handicapper just starting with the game, you want to create a repeatable action that will make consistent, high-quality contact with the ball. Quite often, the most affordable way to achieve this result is with a golf training aid.

Finding the right golf trainer for you can be a challenge. There are literally hundreds on the market, and they all claim to do different things for your game. How do you make the right selection to help you develop a consistent golf swing?

While searching for the best golf training aid for the best swing plane can be confusing, it is worth the time to pick the correct one. We have researched several and provided details below that should help you on your quest.

Now let’s take a look at some of the best golf training aids for swing plane and help you determine which one is right for you.

1. Swing Align Training Aid

The Swing Align golf training aid helps you improve every facet of your game. It attaches to your arms to keep your swing connected and includes aiming rods to ensure you hit the ball where you are looking.

The Swing Align will help you make improvements in four different ways. First, it attaches to both your arms, forcing your backswing and downswing to stay connected. You can make a full speed swing, but it won’t allow your arms to flail or your elbows to fly out of position.

Second, it gives you immediate feedback on your alignment. When you set up to the ball, the aiming rod shows you if are off-target.

Third, it shows you how to properly rotate during the golf swing. Once you have completed your backswing turn, the rod should be perpendicular to the ground – this means you are ready to start your downswing.

Finally, if you put the previous three items together, you get an improved swing plane. Your swing plane will get out of sorts due to bad setup, getting disconnected, or not making a full turn – the Swing Align trainer addresses all these potential issues.

An added bonus, the Swing Align can also help you with your short game. A critical component to any good pitching, chipping, or putting motion is connection.

Practicing your short game with the Swing Align on will help you reduce strokes around the green.

Pros:

• Versatility – few swing trainers can help you in so many ways – most focus on one or two critical areas, but the Swing Align puts it all together.
• You can hit balls – many trainers help you work on the motion, but you can’t hit balls – you can wear the Swing Align and make full swings.
• Swing Creator. Due to the number of things this helps with, it can create a quality swing from scratch – great for beginners or journeymen ready to make a significant improvement.

Cons:

• Slightly more expensive then other aids on our list – but worth the investment.

2. SKLZ Gold Flex Golf Swing Trainer

The Gold Flex swing trainer looks like a golf club, but it has a round weighted head – you don’t hit balls with it. This is designed to help with your strength, flexibility, and swing tempo.

Great for the golfer that doesn’t have much time to practice but is looking to improve. It can help you in several different ways. SKLZ recommends you swing it 10-25 times every day – this can be done on the range before you play or in the comfort of your home.

You swing it back and forth, without pausing. The weighted head and flexible shaft will help you get the feeling of creating lag – lag is a great way to generate more power and improve your swing tempo.

On your downswing, the extra weight in the head will encourage you to properly shift your weight through the ball, improving your balance. Working with the Gold Flex every day will also flatten your swing plane and help you reduce or eliminate your slice.

This swing trainer also provides a great way to stretch and warm up prior to a round, especially, if you don’t have time to go to the driving range. It fits nicely in your bag and is legal to carry on the course.

Pros:

• Flexibility to train anywhere – you can use this anywhere and you can get your 10-25 daily swings done in less than 5 minutes.
• Distance – consistently using the SKLZ Gold Flex will help your strength and flexibility – strength + flexibility = distance.
• Warm-up. A great addition to your pre-round routine – excellent way to get loose quickly.
• Economically priced – this is a cheap trainer and would make a great gift.

Cons:

• Helps you with your swing, but you can’t hit balls with this trainer – teaches you through muscle memory.

3. PRO-HEAD Golf Trainer

If you have ever watched someone get a lesson, you have probably seen the instructor hold their head still while they swing. This is a great drill to help you maintain the correct posture and turn without moving your head. But, how do you work on this drill without a teacher present? The answer is the PRO-HEAD Golf Trainer.

The PRO-HEAD is a simple design. You place your head against the foam and make a full swing. You will immediately know if your head moved off the foam during the shot. You can use this to hit balls on the range or simply swing without a ball, to work on the motion.

This will help you in several key ways. First, it will help you maintain the correct posture and spine angle throughout your swing.

Second, it will keep your head behind the ball through impact – this increases distance and accuracy. If you look at professional golfers at impact, you will notice they all have very similar positions.

Finally, the PRO-HEAD offers you the chance to build a high-quality swing through repetition. Since you know immediately if you have moved off the foam, you don’t groove the wrong motion.

The PRO-HEAD swing trainer comes in two different models. One that mounts to a wall for indoor use or if you are at a range bay. The other model is a “stand alone” and can be taken to your outdoor range.

The outdoor model is easy to put together and easy to take down and move as needed.

Pros:

• Immediate feedback on every swing – you can feel if you head stayed steady on the foam.
• Improve your impact position – improve your game – there are a lot of different swings that work, but only one good impact position.
• Simple to learn – simple design – you don’t have to learn how to use this swing trainer.
• Versatility – you can use it to hit balls to see the results or simply swing to work on muscle memory.

Cons:

• A large piece of equipment – although it is easy to move and store (the wall mounted version folds up nicely).

4. Greatlizard Golf Training Aid Swing Trainer

The Greatlizard Golf Training Aid has a very similar design to the SKLZ Gold Flex. It is a flexible shaft, with a weighted round head. The Greatlizard Golf Training Aid is a great way to work on your strength and flexibility, while also improving your swing tempo.

On days you plan to play 18 holes, use this trainer to warmup and get loose. On days you can’t make it to the course or driving range, simply swing it 10-20 times.

The obvious advantage to using this swing aid is adding more distance. Consistently swinging this trainer will give additional yardage off the tee and you will fly your irons further.

Distance isn’t the only value offered by this product. Improved tempo means more consistent ball striking. The weight will help you flatten your swing plane and will reduce or eliminate your slice.

The Greatlizard Golf Training Aid is available at 40″ or 48″ – if you are 5″6″ or taller, we recommend the 48″ version.

Pros:

• Nice and Simple design – no learning curve – simply pick it up and start swinging it.
• 10 minutes a day, keeps the slice away – if you don’t have a lot of time to practice your golf swing, this is a quick way to improve.
• Very economically priced – get better without significant investment.

Cons:

• You can’t hit balls with hit – if that is important to you, try a different swing aid.

5. Total Golf Trainer 3.0 Kit

The Total Golf Trainer 3.0 Kit is a collection of devices that can help every aspect of your game. In this kit you receive the Total Golf Trainer version 2, the TGT Arm device, and the TGT Hip device.

The Total Golf Trainer version 2 teaches you the correct positions throughout the golf swing and provides immediate feedback if you are doing something incorrectly. It will help you learn how to control the clubface and improve your impact position.

You can use this to hit balls on the range or practice your swing at home. It is also great for improving your chipping and putting.

The TGT Arm is solely focused on helping you improve your wrist action at the top of your swing and at impact. It will assist you in eliminating flipping and scooping at impact.

The TGT Hip device will improve your downswing sequence and hip rotation, improving the consistency of your ball striking.

This kit can fix all common mistakes made by the amateur golfer from casting or early release to loss of posture. If you do it wrong, the Total Golf Trainer 3.0 kit can help.

Pros:

• Versatility. So many options in this kit – truly can be applied to fix any problem in your game.
• Live feedback – all of these devices can used to hit golf shots.
• Savings – you can buy these devices separately, but you save some money by purchasing the kit.
• Short game – can be used to improve your chipping and putting.

Cons:

• A little complex to use at first – videos are available to help you get started.

What is a Swing Plane in Golf?

The swing plane is talked about a lot in the golf world but can be a confusing topic. How much do you know about your swing plane – is it on the plane, flat, or upright?

Ultimately, your swing plane will affect the direction of the ball and the trajectory. You have two planes in your swing – the backswing plane and the downswing plane.

At address, if you draw a line from the ball to your shoulders, this will create the backswing plane. On your downswing, the club should return to that same angle – if it doesn’t, you are either flat or upright.

Being below or above the plan on your downswing will potentially lead to a push/slice or a pull/hook.
All golfers have different planes, depending on body type, the club being hit, hand position, etc. and different planes can work.

Ben Hogan and Gary Player were very flat when they competed on tour, while Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson had an upright plane. The key is consistency and timing.

In general, it is easier to stay connected with a flatter plane and you will tend to hit a draw, with a lower ball flight. An upright swing will have a better chance of hitting straight shots if timed correctly.

Wrapping Up: Golf Training Plane Choices for You

What is the best golf training aid for swing plane for you? That depends on what part of the swing gives you the most trouble and what makes sense to you.

If you feel your head move during your swing, try the PRO-HEAD trainer.

If you are looking for a simple way to improve your strength and flexibility, try the SKLZ Gold Flex or the Greatlizard. If you are interested in a more technical and complete game approach, we recommend the Swing Align or the Total Golf Trainer Kit 3.0.

The right golf training aid can be an economical way to improve quickly. As Einstein famously said, “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result”.

Might be time to try something different!