As a high school golf coach, I’m always looking for new techniques and tools to help the kids create more consistency, specifically on the greens. Recently, we at THP received a putting training aid from Swing Align called the Goal Post which claims to help with just that.
Does it deliver? Read on to find out.
Quick Take
A unique take on improving putter alignment through visual and tactile feedback. The “Goal Posts” may seem a bit odd, but they provide an interesting level of difficulty while discovering the correlation of face angle, impact location, and stroke.
Swing Align Goal Post
Sometimes the simplest products are among the more interesting ones. While I’m sure most of use have seen the different putting aids out there which go on the face of the putter to allow the user to work on center impact through the stroke, the Goal Post does it in a unique way.
The two “goal post” prongs attach via a screw which can be tightened to the cavity in the flange making for a vice like fit. This means a variety of putters can be used, as long as they have a cavity, unfortunately the larger single level mallet designs like a Spider or Ten won’t be compatible. Another point of interest, the plastic of the goal posts and screw directly contact the putter, so if you have a higher end flatstick with a delicate finish, you might want to come up with something to buffer the contact point.
In use, the basic form of the Goal Post (without the additional alignment rod attached) works as intended. The length of the posts is such that strokes with varying degrees of arc to them won’t have any issues…besides the initial frustrations which may occur in discovering that your putting stroke isn’t as pure as you might have hoped.
When the alignment rod is attached, an additional visual cue is put into play to better understand just where your putter face is aimed. Not to mention, the alignment rod actually pivots so that the user can set it up based on where they align their eyes over the putter. Personally, I’m an inside the ball putter, so I set it back a touch in order to properly align it to the putter.
Is it effective? For me, yes it was. The feedback given was clear, but it wasn’t overly simple, I had to truly work on it to improve and stop cutting across my putts. Will it work for everyone? That is up to the individual and what they are looking to get out of it, but one thing is certain, if it makes practice more focused then that in itself is beneficial.
The Swing Align Goal Post is priced at $39.95 and can be purchased on their website at www.SwingTrainer.com
Is this a product you are interested in? Let us know what you think in the comments or directly on the THP community!
