A look at some of the superb training aids on the market that could help you improve your game on the range and at home
Best Golf Training Aids
Golf is one of the most technically challenging sports out there and playing just once a week will not be enough to see you make big improvements.
Therefore one of the best golf accessories you should consider getting if you want to see a drop in your handicap is a training aid for the parts of your game that need work.
You might not have time to make it to the course more often than that but there are plenty of tools available to allow you to work on your game at home or at the driving range.
Whether the aids are designed to help you hone your swing or to improve your putting, a little bit of work goes a long way and could see you knocking shots off your handicap, so below we look at some of the best golf training aids on the market.
Also be sure to have a read of our guides on the best golf launch monitors, best golf simulator and our pick for the best golf net.
Best Golf Training Aids
PuttOUT Putting Mat
Complete with printed alignment guides, target points and distance markings, the mat replicates a medium-to-fast green. Improve your putting stroke and work on drills in the comfort of your own home – and not just over this solitary period!
Additionally, for more putting mats, have a read of our best golf mat guide.
PuttOut Home Putting Studio Review
PuttOUT Pressure Putt Trainer
The PuttOUT Pressure Trainer is the perfect tool to pair with the PuttOUT mat along with a mirror and gate. The trainer works on its own well, too, as it will help you hit your putts at the perfect speed to get it resting in the indentation.
It’s frustratingly difficult but, once you’ve mastered it, you’ll be a demon on the greens.
PuttOut Home Putting Studio Review
SuperSpeed Golf Training Set
The SuperSpeed Golf training set is said to help you add a whopping 30 yards to your overall driver distance – quite a claim!
To do this, the manufacturer says it takes at least six weeks of patient and persistent to help get that club head speed up.
Out of the box you get three golf shafts of varying colour and weight that each have a grip on the butt end. Essentially, once you’ve done some stretching to prepare your body, the idea is to start with the lightest stick and swing as hard as possible a few times on your dominant side, before switching to do the same on the opposite side.
In our testing, we couldn’t devote that kind of time to try this to the fullest. But what we can tell you is that after two weeks of testing, we felt better about our swing speed and, more importantly, our flexibility to make a bigger shoulder turn.
The SuperSpeed Golf men’s training set essentially works off your muscle memory, so the more time you put into it, the better and more permanent your results will be.
SuperSpeed Golf Training Set Review
Perfect Practice Perfect Putting Mat
Endorsed by none other than Dustin Johnson, the Perfect Practice Putting Mat is another great putting mat that can help you get better pace control of the greens and become more consistent at address.
The putting mat essentially comes in three main parts. There is the mat itself which is attached to the raised, wooden end part with two holes, of different sizes in it, a wooden backstop and four wooden slats that fit together to create a channel for the ball to roll back to back the player (which worked really well). Assembly was straight forward, only taking a couple of minutes in total and the end result looked good.
There are various different lines on the mat to help with both the path of your stroke and the start line of your putts. These are the elements that really matter when it comes to consistency on the greens and finding the best putter for your stroke. Clear visual aids like these (which also help with alignment) are a great way to practice golf indoors and making any putting stroke improvements improvements you need.
Perfect Practice Perfect Putting Mat Review
Sklz Smash Bag Training Aid
Great for use at home or on the practice range, the smash bag looks to seeks to help you learn the feeling of the correct impact position with your hands ahead of the ball for a powerful, descending blow.
This smash bag can really help you stop flipping your hands at the point of impact, keep the club head as square as possible and learn to keep the handle ahead of the club head at impact.
Orange Whip Compact Swing Trainer
Regularly seen near the first tee on golf courses, the orange whip compact swing trainer is a popular tool to use just before warming up or teeing off.
It helps train a perfect tempo and rhythm and helps get the feeling of your arms and body working together correctly. It also helps stretch out your golf muscles.
The compact version is 35 inches whilst there is also a longer version at over 47 inches.
SKLZ Grip Trainer
Easily attach and detach this device to your clubs to help keep your hands in the correct position before, during and after your swing. A perfectly-neutral grip is arguably the most important part of the golf swing – for a very reasonable price this can help you achieve that.
Also if your grips need an upgrade, we also created a best golf grips guide so why not have a read of that as well if your clubs need a refresh.
Brand Fusion Tour Alignment Sticks
A set of alignment sticks can help your practice in so many more ways than just one and should be a staple in the bag of any serious golfer.
They’re superb for alignment on the range, ball position checks, swing drills, putting alignment and much more. They’re also very cheap and don’t take up much room in your bag so can always be kept in there.
PrideSports Golf Alignment Sticks
The Pride Sports alignment sticks work in the exact same way as the ones above and also come in a two-pack. T
These are slightly different as they are collapsable so can be easy stored in the pocket of your golf ball or in a drawer at home.
Prak-tis Alignment Training Aid
Most golfers know how important it is to get the fundamentals right at address, but they can often prove quite hard to self-diagnose and adjust when things go wrong. This is where the Prak-tis range of training aids comes in unbelievably handy, covering not just the long game but also the short game and putting.
It’s made from recyclable polypropylene, has sliding features that guide you to the ideal stance with each club, advising you on the correct distance to stand from the ball and whether or not you are aligned to the target, with pointers to optimum ball position and width of stance.
We found all elements an excellent and inexpensive way to get the basics right, with the Consistent Set-up kit easily adjusted according to the type of shot we were practising, providing instant information about our optimum ball and feet position.
Anywhere Golf Hole Training Aid
This silicone aid’s slight incline promotes perfect speed and lets you practice your putting anywhere. It is the same size as a hole so really does replicate putting into a real one – we’re big fans of this for chucking down on the carpet at home to roll a few balls.
Also take a look at our best putters post too if you want to upgrade your wand.
Pure 2 Improve Putting Mirror 21″
Some of the best golf training aids are really as simple as this excellent putting mirror.
Pure 2 Improve has created this training aid so it’s small enough to fit in your bag, therefore you can take it to the putting green to work on your stroke and improve your alignment. It’s also perfect for home use, too.
Good alignment will lead to better, more consistent putts and this can help with just that.
Dave Pelz Golf Dual Target Short Game Net
Made under the name of legendary short game guru Dave Pelz, this short game net has three targets to help you hone in your chipping and also has a much larger open target if you turn it around.
Test your chipping skills with the three different sized targets on one side and turn it into a game by assigning a points value for each successful chip.
It can be easily used at home or in the backyard to keep your short game sharp and is one of the best golf training aids to help with you chipping.
PGA Tour Pop Up Chipping Target Net
A cheaper and more simple alternative to the Pelz net is the PGA Tour pop up chipping net, which has one large target that is still very useful to help keep your short game in shape at home.
It pops up to easily be set up and is very small to store.
Dave Pelz’s Bunker Board
Another product from short game guru Dave Pelz is the bunker board – which recreates the feel of bunker shots from anywhere! It is designed with a concave hitting surface that helps golfers learn to swing through sand shots without the “digging” or “deceleration” that cause poor results.
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