GForce Swing Trainer Review

Grins

AMDG
Joined
Jun 12, 2011
Messages
9,734
Reaction score
2,340
Location
Stow, OH
Handicap
20ish
GForce Swing Trainer Review

Someone on THP mentioned these, and they looked interesting, but I didn’t find a lot of info or detailed reviews on them. Several pros & teachers whose opinions I trust & respect did have good things to say about them. I also found old reviews touting the benefits of the Whippy TempoMaster, and
someone else mentioned how much they liked the Orange Whip Wedge, but I couldn’t find much on THP about either one.

The GForce seems to be more popular now in Europe (it was developed in the UK by PGA pro Stuart Small), so that might be why I haven’t seen as much info about it yet.

Basically, the GForce swing trainer is a regular club head (7 iron or 54-degree wedge) attached to a white, flexible shaft with a standard grip. The basic premise is to allow golfers to make swings & actually hit balls while feeling the weight of the clubhead and working on tempo & rhythm. The advantage is that they get immediate feedback while not getting bogged down with technical, positional/static/mechanical thoughts. This should allow golfers to get a correct “feel” for the correct swing that works best for them.

One of my ongoing struggles in golf is inconsistent contact with iron swings. And I tend to be overwhelmed at times trying to incorporate different thoughts about grip, stance, posture, impact position, etc. So I decided to take the plunge and try out the GForce swing trainer. I bought both the 7 iron and the wedge, since it was a bigger discount for purchasing both together (and since I help coach the golf team at my high school, I figured if there is a big benefit to using these, having two available would be better).

From the website; in Stuart Small’s words:
“There are certain elements of the swing that cannot be taught because it is down to the player to feel it. Coordination of the arms and body, Rhythm, Tempo and Transition are the key traits we see with the world’s best players, yet it is very difficult to learn and teach.”

Stuart felt that this kind of training device would have the following benefits:

  • “Allow users to gain instant feedback from the performance of their swing and educate the user to develop better coordination, swing tempo & rhythm but more importantly nurture sound swing mechanics.”
  • Help improve students’ coordination, rhythm and tempo
  • Another big advantage of using this training device is that “by being able to hit balls and see the ball flight, this would show the user if their swing mechanics were sound. The more efficient the swing, the straighter the ball flight… An inefficient or poor swing [caused] the ball [to] fly to the right.”
  • By actually hitting balls with the trainer, students could see the results of both good and bad mechanics and get immediate feedback without focusing on swing positions or other mechanical thoughts.


The clubs arrived last week, in the middle of a snowstorm, and temperatures around here are in the teens, so it’s going to be a while before I can actually hit these outside. Here are some in-hand photos of the 7 iron:
GForce 1.jpg

GForce 2.jpg

GForce 3.jpg

Both clubs look well-made, and feel pretty much like normal clubs – until you try to swing them quickly. It appears to me (based on some youtube videos) that the GForce swing trainer is not as floppy as the Whippy TempoMaster. The shafts feel pretty solid; the outer surface feels a little rubber-like (no surprise there) but pressing on it with my fingernail didn’t leave any marks or permanent indentations. It has a slightly tacky texture that I imagine would be a dust magnet, but so far (10 days) I haven’t noticed anything sticking to the shafts after laying them down on various carpet materials and putting them in my golf bag. I’ll continue to keep an eye on that aspect and see if it ever becomes an issue.


These clubs are not super-floppy. Holding the grip level horizontally (in a vice), the 7 iron deflects 4.0 cm (1.6”) downwards. The wedge sags slightly less than that.

The weight of the 7 iron is 543 grams compared to 385 g for my Callaway Apex 7i (but that has a Recoil 660 shaft, so it’s pretty light). The GForce wedge is 540 g, which is 69 g lighter than my Callaway MD3 with a steel shaft. In hand, the GForce clubs don’t feel too heavy. When swinging, it still feels to me like I’m swinging a regular golf club, and not a weighted club.

I really like the look of the dark heads and how the white line on the bottom groove really stands out and makes it easy to align the club at address.


Not willing to wait for the weather to cooperate, I took both clubs to my high school’s field house to try them out by hitting some Almost Golf balls.
The lower level is mainly a basketball court, but there is a decent-sized chunk of turf to hit off of. I hit the 7 iron down there on a day when no teams were practicing.


What I noticed during my first attempts at a full swing is pretty much what I expected. I tend to swing too hard and too fast too early from the top, and when this happened the GForce club let me know it. The ball would squirt sideways to the right or slice badly. Even swings that initially felt pretty good to me saw the ball fading to the right.

Swinging easier without a ball, I started to get a better feel of the weight of the club head throughout the swing. After a minute or so, I put some balls down and tried actual golf shots. Voila! Arrow straight, high and penetrating (well, as penetrating as an Almost Golf ball can get). Occasionally a slight draw. By the end of the first session (maybe 25 minutes) I was hitting the ball more consistently (at least based on the ball flight I was).


The next time I was able to try them, the field house lower level was in use, so I headed upstairs with the wedge. The upper level of the field house has a turf floor and ceilings that are about 20 feet tall at their highest point and slope down to maybe 12 feet high at the outer walls. There are also 3 long 2-foot diameter heating ducts running across the ceiling and hanging about 12 feet off the floor. I found these to be decent reference points to check my ball flight on the wedge shots. If I tried to flight the ball down, I could keep the balls below the ducts; full swings (or partial swings with the face open) caused the balls to clear the ducts – and usually hit the ceiling shortly afterwards.

Similar to the first session, I noticed that I had to warm up a bit by just swinging the club lowly at first, and with partial swings, until I got the feeling of the club head moving and could feel the weight of the head throughout the swing. This resulted in fewer topped/shanked/sliced shots. Unfortunately full shots with the wedge upstairs couldn’t be followed for long, since they hit the ceiling pretty quickly, but I could definitely tell if they were going straight, slicing right, or drawing to the left.

I think that the wedge GForce swing trainer might actually be the better option for more people. I tried using it for lots of different shots, and it responded like a normal wedge – as long as I maintained my correct rhythm and tempo. Trying to hit lower punch shots or “one hop and stop” shots resulted in a decidedly lower flight. Opening up the face and cutting across while keeping my hands close to my belt line gave me a nice high, soft shot over the heating ducts which landed much closer with little rollout.

I’m already thinking about how I could build a PVC and string “gate” or ladder to practice hitting different shots and to check launch angle on my pitches (I think James Ridyard wrote about how most tour pros and great wedge players all have a launch angle of – I think – around 30*)


My initial thoughts after trying the GForce swing trainers? I think this has the potential to be a game changer for me. I love the immediate feedback, and I feel surprisingly ‘thought-free” after swinging these for a while. I suspect that if I practice with these regularly, and switch back and forth between my normal club swings and the GForce trainer swings (which is recommended on their site), I will be able to improve my ball striking significantly. Final judgment will have to wait until I can use these outdoors with regular golf balls, but I really like what I’m seeing and feeling so far, and I plan on continuing to practice with both the 7 iron and the wedge indoors as much as I can over the winter.
 
Last edited:
I just noticed on their website, they have a new product: you can buy a flexible driver shaft that has a tip compatible with Callaway, Cobra, Titleist, Taylormade, or Nike diriver heads. That's pretty cool! Just take out your gamer shaft & attach the GForce shaft to practice. It would take up virtually no extra space in your bag, and you can hit balls with your actual driver head!
 
I just noticed on their website, they have a new product: you can buy a flexible driver shaft that has a tip compatible with Callaway, Cobra, Titleist, Taylormade, or Nike diriver heads. That's pretty cool! Just take out your gamer shaft & attach the GForce shaft to practice. It would take up virtually no extra space in your bag, and you can hit balls with your actual driver head!

That's actually pretty cool.
 
GForce Swing Trainer Review


What I noticed during my first attempts at a full swing is pretty much what I expected. I tend to swing too hard and too fast too early from the top, and when this happened the GForce club let me know it. The ball would squirt sideways to the right or slice badly. Even swings that initially felt pretty good to me saw the ball fading to the right.

I saw on the favorite training aid thread that you had this and from other threads know you and have the same issues with consistent iron play so I ordered the 7 iron. I probably should have ordered both but I figured I could always order the wedge later if I felt I needed it. I should have it in a week or so.When things start going bad for me, I get way to fast with backswing/transition and then try to muscle the ball. My goals with it are to be more consistent in my tempo, transition and fluidity of my swing.
 
Cool! Post your thoughts when you try it. I'm interested to hear what others think of this. And hopefully you'll be able to hit it outdoors before I do lol!

The thing I struggle with the most is just making a repeatable iron swing, and hitting the ground in the same place every time, so there are wayyy too many fat & thin shots that plague me on approach shots. I just figured that using the GForce swing trainers would help to "tighten up" my swing.

I have an Orange Whip & love using it to warm up before each round. When I first got it, I hit a fade with my driver & overswinging cause a massive slice. After using the Orange Whip for a few weeks, I started to hit draws with my driver and now (a few years later) that seems to be my typical shot shape. I still don't know exactly how/why the Orange Whip brought this change about (and maybe it was coincidental with me learning more about the golf swing & working more to get better - but I don't think so), but I always thought "too bad I can't hit shots with this thing" as I was swinging it.

So that was my first thought when I saw the GForce products - an "Orange Whip" that I can hit balls with! That's gotta be a good thing, right?

So far, so good!
 
Thanks for the review Grins! I came across it today.... Glad you like them and can see how they will benefit your game. As a PGA coach working in the industry for 25 years now i have a good eye for nice looking club heads and wanted to create a training aid with that in mind. I was frustrated with the lack of quality training aids on the market that you could actually hit balls with the only one was the Whippy Tempomaster back in the 1990s which you mentioned, i never got to try one until last year and its definitely too flexible after giving it a go. David Leadbetter had a swing with my prototype wedge at Wentworth back in 2016 and liked the fact that is was stiffer so you can still swing normally with it, and Pete Cowen uses them frequently with his players on tour.

Just some info club head weights are standard weight. People think its a heavy swing trainer but it is not, it feels heavier because the shaft is flexible which gives you more awareness of the weight of the club head. The only thing heavier is the grip. Below are approximate weights. So overall i wanted it as close to a standard weight golf club which it is so there is very little difference when you change to your standard clubs.

7 iron head 240 grams
Wedge head 250 grams
Shaft 100 grams
Grip 100 grams


Most like yourself will hit to the right to begin with because you overload the shaft in transition so on impact the shaft is still bent back and the face is open. I did a blog recently on this showing the difference between Danny Willett Vs Amateur golfer transition using the GForce Swing Trainer. There is a distinct difference in the load on the shaft in transition. I teach a lot of mid to high handicappers every day and when i use it with them they always overload the shaft in the beginning and swing over the top, but after a few swings they smooth the transition out which is key to getting the club more down from the inside. All the scratch players i teach don't overload it, and they all hit from the inside, so the secret is keeping the shaft quiet in transition.

Here is the blog it well worth a read to understand it in more detail https://www.gforcegolf.com/blogs/news

Happy to help anybody with any questions.

Stuart
 
Thanks for the info Stuart! I will definitely check out the blog. I am also going to bring it to my head coach’s practice sessions to let him (and more importantly the junior golfers on the high school team) try them out. And I’ll continue to post my thoughts on these going forward. My first impressions are that you have created a very cool tool for learning the golf swing! You should be very proud about that!

And welcome to THP! Feel free to drop some knowledge on us whenever you can!
 
I got mine on Saturday and have just been doing practice swings in the house. I plan on getting to the range tomorrow to hit some balls with it. I like the feel and I can tell it is going to help with transition and tempo.

Stuart, I am the one that has the driver shaft. Let me know what you need me to with it. And Welcome to THP!
 
I think its great for the kids to learn with because they can develop tempo and rhythm quicker before they get too strong because the problem with learning to play as an adult is you just want to smash the ball! That's why its good to start young when you dont have a lot muscle and strength you learn to swing the club because you cannot physically force it through! Also works well for seniors and women who struggle with distance as they tend to just shove the club through with the arms so the shaft doesn't unload and the face is open whereas if you feel the smooth transition the shaft unloads on impact and accelerates the club head without effort..
 
Having played the Whippy Tempomaster - 7i, SW, and driver - and owned them since the early 00's, I can see a less flexible variation of it working well. The Whippy is great, but the G Force sounds like a good rhythm/tempo trainer. I did take the Whippy to the course and played. A swing trainer such as this is fun while gaining rhythm/tempo.

Caveat - I remember showing it to Matt Kuchar's coach about 8 yrs ago, and he told me the Whippy would not work with his swing - he wants you starting as fast as possible from the top, and laughed. Some coaches are better at teachng pros then amateurs.
 
Hi Des, i tried various shafts before bringing it to market and found there is a point where it becomes too difficult to hit and then making the transfer to your normal club was too extreme. Feedback from the tour players was they wanted something closer to their normal club but still with enough flexibility to make a difference and make practice sessions more productive. Also too flexible for an amateur golfer made it difficult to hit so now its spot on for everyone. I made a few stiffer ones for Pete Cowen but my focus is on the everyday golfer to improve their swing.
 
Hi Des, i tried various shafts before bringing it to market and found there is a point where it becomes too difficult to hit and then making the transfer to your normal club was too extreme. Feedback from the tour players was they wanted something closer to their normal club but still with enough flexibility to make a difference and make practice sessions more productive. Also too flexible for an amateur golfer made it difficult to hit so now its spot on for everyone. I made a few stiffer ones for Pete Cowen but my focus is on the everyday golfer to improve their swing.

I was very happy with the flexibility of the shaft, it's just enough to give feedback but still feel like a regular club. We will see if I still feel that way after trying to hit balls with it though!
 
Hey Grins, do you still use the GForce? I am thinking this may be something I would be interested in. If you quit using it may I ask why and if you do in fact still use it are you satisfied with your results? Would you buy it again? Thanks in advance for your answers my old friend. DD
 
Hey Grins, do you still use the GForce? I am thinking this may be something I would be interested in. If you quit using it may I ask why and if you do in fact still use it are you satisfied with your results? Would you buy it again? Thanks in advance for your answers my old friend. DD


Welcome back DD! To be honest I didn't use it much - but that's more a matter of me being undisciplined (i.e., lazy). I do plan on working with it more this year.

Satisfied with results? Hard to say. I think a training tool like this will always be more effective with some input from a good coach. I worry that what I was trying to feel might not have been a good swing. I have an Orabge whip that I use all the time to warmup, and I think it helps with tempo as well before a round. I wonder if the G frorce trainer wouldn't also work that way too. Except you'd really need to hit balls with it. With my normal golf league rush - pull in, rush to first tee, swing the Orange whip a few minutes, & tee off - that's another reason why I haven't used this as much.

I will get back & give some more feedback once the season starts again for me.
 
Hey Grins, do you still use the GForce? I am thinking this may be something I would be interested in. If you quit using it may I ask why and if you do in fact still use it are you satisfied with your results? Would you buy it again? Thanks in advance for your answers my old friend. DD

Send me a pm - I might have something for you.
 
Back
Top