How many times have you seen an infomercial on TV or an ad in a magazine that promises to help you focus, improve your game, increase your stamina, etc etc? They all look so good and they all promise such amazing things, but do any of them really work? This was the first thing I asked when we were asked by one of our readers to try out a dietary supplement by Sports Specific Performance. I was extremely interested in testing these supplements because they are gear specifically for golfers. I have always been a one-a-day vitamin kind of person so I was up for the challenge. After contacting the company we received two bottles each used for a different purpose. A blue bottle for golf focus and a red one for golf strength.
The Golf Focus pills consist of Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin B12, Ginkgo Biloba, Omega 3 Fish Oil, Phosophatidylserine, Golu Kola, and Chamomile. The first thing I noticed was that I recognized every name on the label. That was a huge relief because as excited as I was to give these a try I was a little nervous I wasn’t going to know what I was about to put into my body. Before I even took my first pill I was feeling confident these were going to do what they claim to, because they had the right elements to help with focus. The Ginkgo will help with your concentration and attention span while the while other components like the Golu Kola help with stress and anxiety. The directions say to take 2 capsules before the start of a round so that is exactly what I did.
In conjunction with the blue bottle for focus I also took the pills in the red bottle for strength. The ingredients in this bottle are Calcium, Vitamin D3, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Zinc, Chloride, Potassium, Whey, Eucommia Bark, Leucine, Sulfate, and Boron. I wasn’t as familiar with all the components here as I was the blue bottle but I had heard of most of them. After further research I found that all these items are great for muscle strength such as the Whey which is key for muscle development and Vitamin D which helps with muscle weakness. The directions for these are the same as the blue bottle, take 2 capsules before the start of a round.
Round after round after round for a month I took two pills from the blue bottle and two pills from the red bottle and I have to say I was quite surprised by the results. After just two weeks I was honestly playing better, tiring less, sinking more putts, and by the end of my trial run I had shaved 2 strokes from my game. Even if I wasn’t playing that day I still took the pills because they can also be used as a daily dietary supplement. Maybe it was all in my head but I really did feel like I was more focused at work, I felt more productive, more efficient, and I swear I was less forgetful.
My biggest problem with the pills was that there really is no real way for me to know if it was because of them that I played better and was more productive at work. Maybe I got more sleep during that time? Maybe my stress level in general was down? I am not sure there is anyway to really prove for sure that they work, however, I know that I was very satisfied with the way I felt and because of that I plan on continuing with these performance capsules. If you are not great at taking pills you might not want to try these. They are the normal size for a dietary supplement but If you have ever taken one in the past you know they don’t always go down too smoothly.
Overall I think this is a great product. If nothing else they have a lot of great components for a healthy life style and a healthy body. They may not be a miracle worker but at $25 a bottle I find them right in line with similar products on the market. If you are looking for a new way to improve your game and you don’t want to take lessons to work on your swing, then I would recommend giving these a try. You can read all about Sport Specific Performance here.
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Golfer Gal
I dont see where the reviews says it will take off strokes other than it says her game improved while taking it. In fact the review clearly states that she is not sure. But I found it intriguing because I have been looking for something for focus and memory. This could be that very thing.
Hey, I was just commenting as invited. I think there’s a strong implication in this, “If you are looking for a new way to improve your game and you don’t want to take lessons to work on your swing, then I would recommend giving these a try.” I’ll probably pick up a bottle but looking for nothing more than a health supplement. Peace brother.
i have to agree with freddie. i’ve never heard of improvement to a golf game that doesn’t result in dropping strokes…isn’t that the point??? someone should tell tiger his lessons are a waste of time and get on this good stuff!
I think my point is not being understood. I don’t think that if you take this magic pill you will instantly play like Tiger. Lessons and practice are always the best way to improve your game. However, if this pill can help you focus more on the course, or help you with muscle memory than I believe it is a great contribution to your golf game.
Golfer Gal
I didn’t take it as though this was a miracle pill to make me play better, I tok it as this would help my focus and possibly with that, confidence. And being confident you’ll play better doesn’t hurt, it beats going out thinking you’re going to play poorly. Nothing can beat practice and lessons though, and I didn’t take the writer to mean that. I mean, read the last paragraph sure, but read the one right before it as well. That said, these wouldn’t be for me, I take my one-a-days and supplement now anyway.
This is great. I used to take a bunch of supplements when I was working out but I have been looking for something for golf. I’m glad the reviews on these were good so I know what to get now.
And for you that don’t take anything, you are not performing at 100% and I dont think your daily diet has all of the things your body needs to operate well. And to the contrary, you wouldn’t take supplements and then NOT workout to get the maximum effect so if you practice your game AND take amino acid and all the other stuff in these, it can only improve your game right? The review doesn’t say “do these pills and NOT DO ANYTHING ELSE” but rather, take these in conjunction with your game for added benefit. The article says that if you didnt take lessons, then the Sport Specific Performance pills will at least help you. But of course you take this with your regular range time or whatever to be even better than you are without it.
But actually, if you dont want to help your body and game, fine… just another advantage for us smart golfers who do want to take golf supplements to improve our game and health.
FORE!!!
Here’s how it works.I have a company that sells supplements, and I target specific groups. Its called “marketing”, people. There’s no friggin science here.
Thanks for the review, GG. I find these comments humorous. Supplementing isn’t exactly new or particularly wacky. And the idea here is that the company has gone to the effort to select those particular supplements that are believed to assist with certain mental and physical characteristics that are associated with golfing. Although I am a skeptic of the overrall effectiveness of supplements generally, I don’t see any reason to doubt that they may have some marginal, subjective rate of return. So if you’re hungry for any possible edge and the cost is not prohibitive to you, I can see why some would be willing to use them. I don’t, and I won’t, but I don’t see anything wrong with giving them a go. And for some people, whether by placebo or in fact, they do seem to offer some marginal enhancement.
lanny is spot on. labeling a supplement “golf specific” is nothing more than marketing speak. a proper trial of something like this should be “double-blinded” and involve the random use of placebos. Giving someone a complimentary course of supplements to trial and then someone reporting how they feel has no legitimacy. if it did, pharmaceutical companies would be allowed to run their trials that way. if you don’t believe me, give the FDA a call.
Wow, I am pretty surprised at everyone’s reactions here. This was just supposed to be a review on a dietary supplement that could possibly be helpful for the mental and physical skills you need to play golf. Again, I will say this is not a magical pill that will make you play like Tiger and no where does it state that in the article that it will. I am not saying I am a scientist, I never claimed to be, and I even said I am not sure if the pills are the reason I felt more focused and was more productive and played better. It could have been a number of things or it could have been the supplements. If someone is curious and wants to give them a try I say go for it, I liked them and I will continue to use them, but I am not, nor have I ever, said that I was a scientist or that this was some official scientific experiment.
Stevo,
I take a little bit of offense to your comments. According to your theory, every review we do on anything needs to be blinded. When we get a driver to demo, that review means nothing because we know the brand and are not comparing it to other brands.
We were asked to take a product and try it out and report what our thoughts were. Nothing more and nothing less. The reviewer reported on exactly how it worked for her. If you have an issue with the way our reviews are done, we have an entire forum that you can discuss it at anytime with our members and other readers.
I can say with all due certainty, this is not a marketing ploy. It’s a fact that there are certain elements that have been proven to improve a person’s focus. There’s not many games out there that require as much focus as golf. How many times have you been in the middle of your backswing and suddenly thought “Did I leave the iron on?” Roy Mackavoy (Tin Cup) would call this your “inner demons”.
Tiger Woods even put his name on a similar product with an emphasis on Focus. You may even have heard of it. It’s called Gatorade (Gatorade Focus to be exact).
My point is, there is something to be said for a product that is geared specifically toward golfers to specifically improve their focus.
This is a great supplement and a great idea.
Now go out there and let the big dog eat!
Nice review. Supplements seem to help for everything else, so why not golf. I never got the idea that this was going to take the place of practicing but rather help my practice.
A friend of mine introduced me to this product about six weeks ago. Their Focus formula has an ingredient called Phosphatidylserine which a study actually done on golfers showed it improved their game. Google golf and Phosphatidylserine and you can read the study for yourself. If that’s not science, then what is? A product like this seems long overdue for us golfers and I for one am glad to see it out there. Nice review Golfer Gal!
I wonder if they work similar to beta blockers? I take diatilazem to control heart rythyms & for some reason it also helps with concentration & focus. I believe beta blockers are banned by most pro sports just for those reasons. it’s possible there could be something to this product, I won’t rule it out since I have never tried it.
Thanks for the review GG.
Herbal way is always better no side effects.