Impact Snap Review: Does it Really Work?

What’s the biggest difference in the swing of the struggling amateur golfer and the PGA tour professional? It isn’t the speed. It isn’t the backswing or the nice full turn. It is the release of the club and our Impact Snap Review will uncover just how helpful this training aid can be.

Elite golfers know that to get consistent accuracy and power you need to be fundamentally sound at impact.

Even on tour, you will see a lot of different swings. Compare Tiger Woods to Matthew Wolff or Bubba Watson to Rory McIlroy. What you won’t find on tour are different impact positions.

They all look the same – hands are ahead of the ball, the club hits the ground after contacting the ball, and hand, arms, and club combine to create a “lowercase y” shape.

What is the most important body part for releasing the club in the impact zone? The answer is your wrist. Many amateurs make the mistake of “flipping” their wrist at impact.

This can cause hooks, duffs, blades, etc. – basically, inconsistent ball striking. Learn how to release the club the right way, improve your impact position, and become a much better player.

The IMPACT SNAP (IS) can train you and your wrist a better way to hit the golf ball.

Overview

If you have ever watched late-night or early-morning Golf Channel infomercials, you know there are a lot of training aids on the market. So, what separates the IS from the crowd? Many swing trainers are endorsed by a player or a teacher but, this gadget has won Golf Digest’s “Best Full Swing Training Aid” 4 years in a row.

It is also used by 20+ of the top 100 instructors in the world. Mike Bender (recently ranked 3rd by Golf Digest in their “50 best teachers in America” edition) shared the following thoughts on the IMPACT SNAP – “So many people flip… which is what this is made for. Using this helps you bow the wrist down & keep the hands ahead”.

There is little doubt this swing trainer will help you play better golf.

How Does the Impact Snap Work?

This aid focuses on improving your hand and wrist positions during your swing, with extra attention paid to your club release and impact position. It achieves this result through a design that provides you with immediate feedback three times during your swing.

First, there is a snap or click sound in your backswing. You should hear this sound when your lead arm (left arm if you are right-handed) is parallel with the ground. This click lets you know that you have properly hinged your wrists on the way back.

Second, you will hear another snap/click on your downswing, but it shouldn’t be until you reach impact position.

Finally, at impact, the yellow ball should touch or rest against the underside of your trail arm (right arm, if you are right-handed). If you don’t feel the yellow ball touch your arm, you did not properly release the club during the swing.

When you put all three together (snap, snap, ball on arm), you have successfully made a powerful and accurate swing. It will be difficult at first, but as you practice with the IS it will become second nature.

For most amateur golfers, getting the yellow ball to touch your arm will be the most challenging, but is also the most important piece of this golf trainer.

Design & Performance

When you first unpack your IMPACT SNAP you will see what looks like a modified golf grip. On the bottom, you will notice about an inch of a shaft and then a black covering (there is no full shaft or club head).

Coming out of the top is where you will find the yellow ball. The ball is connected to a curved piece of metal that comes out of the top of the grip.

While this training aid is fairly intuitive, learning to use it will take some time and we cannot stress this enough in our Impact Snap Review. The IMPACT SNAP website offers some training videos to help you learn how to leverage the tool.

We definitely recommend watching these short clips to understand the correct way to incorporate the IMPACT SNAP into your practice regimen.

Based on feedback from customers, the designers have added an optional club head attachment for an additional fee. This provides a better visual understanding of how the club face is affected by using your wrist in the correct way. Many students have found this new feature valuable.

The IMPACT SNAP is designed to be used anywhere. You don’t need a driving range or a golf course. You can work on your wrist action and impact position in your living room or office. Do you have a few minutes during your lunch break? Grab the IMPACT SNAP and take some swings.

Build the correct muscle memory from anywhere. Break your bad habits without spending hours at the range.

Pros:

• Teaches you to release the club like a professional golfer – focuses on the critical impact zone.
• Provides immediate feedback during each swing – if you don’t hear two snaps and feel the ball against your arm – try again.
• Can be used anywhere – you don’t need to be on the range or course to get value from this training aid – can work on your game when stuck indoors.
• Reasonably priced for a training aid.
• While focused on full swing, can also help you with your pitching and chipping – same wrist motion is important.
• Recommended and used by many top golf instructors.
• Any golfer can benefit – high handicappers will get the most value, but the IMPACT SNAP can help scratch golfers as well.

Cons:

• Can be a little tricky to use at first – online videos are a great help.
• Not designed to be used while hitting balls.

FAQs

Question: Can I use the IMPACT SNAP if I am left-handed?
Answer: Yes. The swing trainer is offered in both a right-handed and left-handed model. You can select when you purchase the device.

Question: How hard is the IMPACT SNAP to use?
Answer: There can be a learning curve when you first start using the device, but the engineers/inventors of the swing trainer have recorded videos on YouTube that will give you all of the training you will need to be successful.

Question: Do I need to be on the driving range to leverage the IMPACT SNAP?
Answer: No. One of the great things about this swing trainer is that you can use it anywhere. You can improve your swing on a rainy day or when you only have a few minutes to practice.

Question: Is it worthwhile for low handicappers and do any professionals use it?
Answer: The IMPACT SNAP has been designed to help all golfers. If you are a low handicapper, you most likely already use your wrist well and have a good impact position.

In this case, the IS will help you groove that movement and allow you to be more consistent. There are pros that leverage the device to keep and strengthen their hand & wrist positions during their swings.

Question: Does it come with an instructional DVD?
Answer: No. There is no instructional DVD. Instead, the founder has recorded training videos on YouTube for you to leverage.

Question: Can I hit balls with this training aid? What if I purchase the club head attachment?
Answer: No. This swing training aid is not designed for hitting golf balls. It is only a little longer than a normal golf grip.

The club head attachment simply gives you a visual of what club face looks like when you properly leverage your wrist at impact but is not something that can hit golf balls.

Question: Should the ball really rest on my trail arm at impact?
Answer: Yes. This is the critical training you will receive from the IMPACT SNAP. If you can’t get the ball to rest on your trail arm at impact, keep working with this golf aid until you do. It may feel weird at first, but once it becomes second nature, you will find that you hit more solid shots.

Question: I am just starting to try golf and I want a way to get better? Is this ok for a beginner?
Answer: Yes. The fundamentals taught by the IMPACT SNAP are great for all players, especially beginners. It is far easier to learn the right way instead of having to break old, bad habits.

Question: Can this help my short game?
Answer: Yes. The IMPACT SNAP is designed to help with your full swing, but the wrist position you want to achieve at impact is the same as hitting pitch and chip shots.

The only difference – in your setup push your hands forward and get the ball to press against your trail arm at the beginning of a chip shot.

Now practice a chipping motion with that hands and wrist staying in that position.

Question: How can I tell if the IMPACT SNAP is working for me?
Answer: After using this swing trainer for a couple of weeks, you should start hitting better golf shots, but there is another way to check on your progress. Create a “before” video of your swing at the driving range.

Pay close attention to your position at impact and when you release your wrists to hit the ball. After using the IMPACT SNAP for several weeks, take another video of your swing. You will see a difference in your impact position and your wrist action.

Question: What is a good impact position?
Answer: Quick explanation – hands are ahead of the ball, the club hits the ground after contacting the ball, and hand, arms, and club combine to create a “lowercase y” shape. That being said, the best way to see it, is to find photos of PGA tour pros at impact. You will quickly notice these three attributes in their swing.

Alternative Training Aids

The golf Training Aid market is flooded with different options. There are training aids for putting, chipping, full swing, and just to increase your speed.

The IMPACT SNAP is a full swing training aid, so what others exist?

How much time do you have? You could consider the PureShot Sync Ball, Eyeline Golf Speed Trap, PlaneSWING PowerSLIDER, Perfect Connextion Golf Swing Trainer, Sklz Refiner Driver, Swing Jacket Tour Edition, or The Dream Swing Golf Swing Improvement System, just to name a few.

So how do you decide on the right one for your game? Focus on two factors:

1) Does the concept make sense to you? It is important you can see the value in the product.
2) Is there evidence it helps golfers? Who recommends the device?

Most golf training aids will have an endorser who are paid to sell the product, but does the device have more universal support? Does it consistently show up rankings?

Do golf instructors not financially tied to the product recommend it or use it with their students?

Conclusion

The IS full swing training aid is focused on your hands & wrist position, releasing the club correctly, and your impact position. Is this a critical component of the golf swing? Golf instructors would tell you that they don’t really care if you have a crazy backswing and wild follow through – if your impact position is solid, you will hit solid golf shots.

Next question – will the IMPACT SNAP improve your impact position and how you release the club? The design is simple yet powerful…

The 3 pieces of immediate feedback you receive every time you swing this device allow you to quickly train your hands and wrist to do the right thing at impact. Snap, Snap, ball touches trail arm – you have made a powerful move that produces high-quality shots.

What separates the IMPACT SNAP from the crowd is the multi-year industry awards (Golf Digest’s best full swing trainer 4 years in a row) and the number of top golf instructors that have decided to use the device with their students.

If you are ready to play better golf, hit more solid shots, and get more enjoyment out of the game, give the IMPACT SNAP a try. Use it anywhere to train your hands and wrist the correct positions. Watch your scores and handicap drop.