Balance and pressure. Two common words used in the game of golf, yet in different ways for different people. To some it means staying within one’s self and handling the mental side of the game. To others, it brings in the physical side and how it can make you a better golfer. Enter Salted Smart Insoles for Golf bringing to market a simple (not really) tool that will help you better understand what is happening and even how to fix it.
The Salted Smart Insoles for Golf are exactly what they sound like. Insole replacements for your shoes that in our experience offered more comfort than what was in there to begin with. Sliding them in was a breeze and putting them on you get a level of excitement about what you are about to find out about your own game. Before we get to that part, let’s start at the beginning.
What are the Salted Smart Insoles for Golf? Soft insoles that feature plenty of cushion for comfort, yet uses bluetooth technology to connect to an app on your smart phone where it is measuring a ton of data while you practice or play. As a golfer that has struggled with balance and posture this almost seemed too good to be true, and when the package arrived I could not wait to rip it open.
In hand, the insoles feel similar to most others you would find out in the wild. The instructions tell you to download the Salted app for Golf on your iOs or Android device which took all of 10 seconds and follow the instructions. Pairing the devices with the phone is a breeze. The mobile app asks you to turn the Salted Smart Insoles for Golf over and it will recognize and connect. It handled both in a matter of seconds one after the other and we were off and running.
Before throwing them in my shoes, I should add that you will want to charge them. Yes you read that right, you are going to charge your insoles. Salted includes a nifty charger cable that is USB and charges both insoles at at the same time. It uses a rather strong magnet and locks into place across the ring on the product, and the mobile app monitors the battery life. The same section offers an on and off switch to toggle before entering “wash mode” or for flying.
Once you are all charged up, you need to set up an account with the mobile app. This involves logging in with a social media account or email. Adding a birth date as well as answering some simple questions about your goals with the Salted Smart Insoles for Golf.
Calibration is up next and involves you having the insoles in your shoes and you wearing them. You lift one foot up off the ground for a couple of seconds, then the second one and you are good to go. The Salted mobile app recommends doing this periodically. The entire process above took 2 minutes or less and was simple to understand and follow.
Now the fun begins. The above image shoes one of the tests being done as the insoles measure the pressure map while putting. As you can see from the app screen shot, I have a lot of pressure on my right foot and where my body is centered is shifted towards the right as well. There are a myriad of different tests you can do such as the one shown, balance and many more. I’m not sure why it surprised us so much, but they all work flawlessly.
The mobile app offers so much in the way of personal assistance that it is overwhelming at first, but the simple layout is very helpful and easy to understand.
It would be one thing to receive the data, but without help in how to fix it, the Salted Smart Insoles for Golf would not be of much assistance. The image below is showing off just a couple of the screen options to not only better understand where you should be ideally for your own game, but how to improve. From drills to work on balance and pressure, to swing video comparisons with some of the best players in the world, it is all available right in your mobile device.
In using the insoles for a bit now we can confidently discuss a few things.
First, they are quite comfortable. With that said, choose your size accordingly and do not get frustrated as they can be trimmed to fit your shoes rather easily. After all, without the comfort side of things, you won’t want to use them. Once installed we have not had a single connection failure or mobile app issue. In fact, it is rather shocking how well they are working and the feedback is not only fast, it is helpful.
Second, be prepared to want to fix everything you learn about. The app offers a lot of insight and help, and with some practice you will find yourself making improvements.
Third, this is not just a balance or putting app. Pressure, tempo, and a whole lot more can be keys to unlock distance and consistency and the Salted Insoles for Golf library offers a lot to work on those items. You will choose the task and it will tailor the drills to assist.
We have just barely scratched the surface on what Salted has available, and plan on a number of things coming up to help you better understand this very in depth product. For more information check out their website at www.salted.shop.
Details
Cost: $229 but at the time of this review only $139 on Amazon.
Purchase: Amazon.com Here.
Sizing: Women 6 to 13 and Men 5 to 12
Serious ponder.
This is me to a T.
Wait till you start rolling putts with them in. It is pretty wild seeing how much balance moves around and shifts, etc.
yeah I am pretty excited to do that next. Honestly, for a guy like me who struggles with balance and shifting properly, this product could be a huge difference maker.
It really is. I wore them during a visit with my instructor. He wanted me closer to 50/50 to eliminate tension and I find myself falling back at impact as if I am trying to see where the putt goes.
I did it for about 30 min and was kind of sore afterwards from trying to get into a position that felt slightly uncomfortable. But the next time it was easier and I think it will get progressively better if consistent. But it was a trip the first time. I thought and felt 50/50 but was more around 35/65 favoring my right foot.
Which all makes sense. When I did a SAMs fitting it suggested that I deloft the putter to 1 degree because I was stroking up on it so much. If leaning back and not knowing it that could be a part of the root cause.
This is literally me to a T and I think I have some images somewhere. At what I thought was 50/50, I am about 70/30 on the back. Sam Putt Lab wants me to decrease loft as well because I am literally adding nearly 2 degrees of loft on the putter at impact.
I spent an hour working on this tonight and when you hit the balance right, it’s like perfect harmony.
Ugh.. I need to charge mine and can’t find the cord.. when you have kids everything grows legs and disappears.
May 2022
pub.lucidpress.com
This has me super intrigued. That is something I struggle with. I have a bad tendency to hang back and not get through properly .Hearing you say this really makes me want to try these out and see how it could help me.
OK, a bit of a video noob… but here is my unboxing video. Working on getting signed in and the soles trimmed. Length is actually pretty good, but the width in the heel area is a little off.
Like @tequila4kapp I got the white screen of death using the qr code but found the app easily through the app store.
Signup was a little easier for me, but only because I knew @tequila4kapp had an issue getting signed up. You have to hide the keyboard when you are all done filling in the blanks. I would have thought the "done" button would work, but when I hid the keyboard I found the "create account" button.
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The app seems like it was put together pretty well, but you can tell it was put together by someone who is not an English speaker as their first language. When I clicked the confirmation link in the email they sent it took my to their website – which defaulted to Korean language. Not a big deal as I noticed a box at the top that said "Korean" and clicked to find the English button, but there are a few punctuation issues and some things worded differently than I would expect. So far it doesn’t affect the usage of the app in any way.
Lots of training plans built in. The swings they have listed in the pros section all appear to be KPGA or KLPGA players. I watched a few, in each mode. I don’t care what tour they are on, the swings look very good to me so the feedback when comparing to them should be just fine. The interaction between the video and the swing is something I look forward to reviewing.
I haven’t gotten down to the putting mat yet, and might not tonight. Getting tired, and want to enjoy the process instead of being frustrated!
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I charged the insoles this week hoping to get down to the putting mat finally. Life is kind of hectic all the time, but seems to get worse when I want to do something out of the norm. Put them in my golf shoes, grabbed my putter and off I went. Put on some tunes, and dug into the training mode in the app. The putting video gives you a quick rundown of why balance and posture matter to your putting stroke, and how to use the insoles to help your putting game. It’s just enough to get you moving in the right direction.
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Started out just kind of messing around. Got a feel for what the drill mode was and how it worked. I exited the drill mode, and the app made me recalibrate the insoles. It took a few tries for some reason. Once it was done, off I went!
So drill mode has two initial options. 1) A metronome to help you develop your swing cadence. 2) COP coaching – Center of Posture I believe. It helps you stay balanced by giving an annoying beep every time you become unbalanced. The beep is the right amount of annoying, as it’s supposed to be teaching you but I had to turn it off after awhile. I was hearing it less and less, but still more than I needed.
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I didn’t care much for the metronome, but I there was a countdown feature where the app would sense you were in position and then start a countdown for you to use to make your shot. I used both options, and determined that 3 seconds was enough and my balance stayed closer to center. The repeat mode is where you can settle in and put in your work.
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You get a video saved of each shot you take which shows your balance and your posture through the shot. This is the start of one of the videos. Wish I was always that close to "centered" but learned tonight that I am not!
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It saves each shot in succession into a bundle, and then saves that bundle into your swing library so you can review.
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The insoles are not as forgiving as my stock boost insoles, but my feet don’t hurt after 30 minutes on the mat. I’ll wear them to the range, but wouldn’t wear them for a whole day. Hopefully I’ll get out to the range this weekend and get some shots recorded with the app. It records your swing, and the same pressure map from above at the same time (along with some other options).
The toes were cake – especially since my shoes had the Japanese size right on the tongue… just matched them up. The heel ended up being nearly as easy. There is a small band around the top edge. I think it’s intended to be trimmed, just not documented. I trimmed that off each and they fit just fine now
Thanks guys.
Summary: I feel like the insoles have promise but I have pretty consistently struggled with how to use the tools, and generally am wanting more instruction. I’ve been getting a little frustrated with lack of ease of use.
Question for you. Have you done any of the putting tests or drills?
That was a real eye opener for me.
SAME!!!
I did the Power drills yesterday. I couldn’t figure out what to do with the video to get feedback for improvement. Maybe I’ll take my questions offline – ask some of you privately so I can quit being so dense
You aren’t dense – I’ll give some of my thoughts (this is why we are doing this ) I haven’t done any of the "power" training, just putting so far.
I initially wanted "Real time" feedback beyond the annoying beeps. Not sure why, but that’s what I was expecting. I had to get off of that mindset.
The playback was where I found the better information. So for the putting drills, I set it to let me make 10 putts and then stop. I could then review the feedback. I had to review it pretty quickly so that I could remember what I did differently (if anything intentional). By my last round, I was starting to see much smaller maps of my pressure, though I can’t say that I was seeing much better results with my putts. My results were pretty consistent the entire session. More balanced putts might have had a hair better speed control.
I will say, I’m a little sore this morning from fighting my natural "balance" and trying to maintain the balance shown by the insoles. Not too bad, but I lean left quite a bit apparently
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Tour players are closer to 50:50 according to Quintec and the weight distribution of amateurs is approximately 60:40
So your weight is a little forward (left), but pretty much stays there. Looks like during your swing your weight transfers forward (toe) and a little back (right). I think in a perfect world, your Start and Finish dots are right on top of eachother, and the trace line doesn’t deviate anywhere. That’s going to be really hard to accomplish for most of us.
That said… I think you are doing better than me at being balanced and steady through your putting stroke!
I knew I would have weight towards my toes – it’s a wrestling thing. I never have much my weight on my heels when I’m in any sort of "athletic stance". But I didn’t realize how much weight was there to start my session last night. Then I realized I was also leaning left – which actually explains some pain I get in my left foot when practicing putting for awhile LOL If the weather cooperates, there is a range session in store for the morning – I’ll take the soles and try out the other drills if I can get out there
In the meantime, does anyone have questions the testers can answer?
Go for it!
Done. Amazon had them for $209. Thanks for enabling my addiction
Your welcome!
As long as you can make time to use the practice modes, they will help you for sure!
I found the most benefit from the putting exercises as I can really only use the full swing exercises at the range right now.