SKLZ Gold Flex Golf Swing Trainer and Warm-Up Stick - Essential Golf Accessories for Golfers, 48"/40” Golf Equipment for Distance, Balance Building, Power & Grip Training, Portable & Course-Legal

I saw the video of this that showed golfers using this to warm up before teeing off. Well, I decided to try it. This is what I thought of it:Pros:1. Great for warming up - Instead of just doing stretching, I take this out of my bag and swing this about 20 times to warm up. It does loosen me up specially for the first hole.2. Great for Lag Training - It naturally gives you that feel of lag, and is starting to show up in my golf swing. It is starting to be more automatic now.3. Improved my accuracy - My grouping is much tighter now. My swing used to be very erratic, I could cast the club sometimes and really ruin my day, but this has reduced that now.4. Gives you the feeling of what a proper swing should feel like - Once I got accostomed to the sensation of a proper swing, I am beginning to change my swing to match that. It is a work in progress as I still have a wicked slice that shows up at the worst times, but I have seen my hitting improve.5. Great tempo trainer - That is the biggest difference with my swing now. I now know what proper tempo is supposed to be. It has improved my swing.6. Great workout - I use this as a workout. I really try to set aside time to just just swing with this. I do feel that I am stronger and can hit the ball with less effort now.Cons:1. Length - This is longer than the standard clubs so give yourself some space and make sure you dont hit anyone.SummaryIt really does what it says it is supposed to do. My swing has improved in tempo, lag and power. I swing it many times a day and is a really good swing coach. I have other swing trainers but this is the one I use the most since lag and tempo are my real weakness.*****UPDATE June 27, 2013*****I still use the 48 inch trainer all the time to practice my drives and fairway woods. But, I needed to get a shorter one to simulate my irons and Hybrid. So I bought the 40 inch trainer as well. I tell you that this is really an excellent workout. Not only do you get to improve the tempo and lag of your swing, but you also break a sweat. I only take the 48 inch to the course because my driver is the one that scares me the most and this gives me some confidence before taking the Big Dog out of the bag. I still warm up with this before playing and while we are waiting for the slower flight ahead of us.My slice is gone from my irons and hybrid thanks to this. My driver is another matter. I still slice about half my drives, down from when I used to slice ALL my drives. It usually happens on holes where I did not have any time to practice with this before driving. My driving distance has improved between 10 to 20 yards as well.I have other Swing trainers but this is the only one I take with me to the golf course.

This is not a complicated device. Like most amateur golfers who don't practice enough, I tend to go over the top and bleed off the speed before I contact the ball. At least I do this too often. When I do hit the ball well, it feels great!The idea with this trainer is that it is so flexible, long and heavy at the end that you must swing hard, in a way that accelerates through the ball, and on plane or all kinds of bad things happen. I certainly can feel more clearly when I am in good balance as I swing, too.Another benefit is that the regular club feels small, light, and powerful after I get this thing under control.One thing I noticed, as well, is that if I start with just the normal back swing the Gold Flex tends to flex on the take away, but if I press forward first and then swing back, the take away feels more complete and smooth and natural. But that may just be me. But swinging through as hard as I can manage five or six times takes some strength so I imagine it is not only training my muscle sense but actually building some strength in the all the turning muscles from my feel up. After a half dozen or so swings, I switch to a regular club, say, a six iron, and it feels GREAT. Then I go back to the Gold Flex for several more swings and then back to the regular club.I also believe that the key here is to do this a bit every day rather than over doing it once a week. The idea is to train and build through repetition and feel and memory rather than exhaustion. Right?

This is an excellent warm-up, stretch, and tempo trainer. It definitely has help my rhythm and turn as well as helping me create a bit more lag at the top of my swing. It's hard to beat at half the price of its main competitor! The only reason I haven't given it 5 stars is the fact that it can't be re-gripped with is bothersome for two reasons: 1) I have large hands and would prefer to put an oversize grip on it to match what I play and 2) While it certainly won't wear at the same rate as my swing grips, it will eventually wear to the point that it requires replacement. However, as I said earlier, it's still a great buy at half the cost of the other big-name weighted-whip style trainer on the market.

I do have one regret. I bought the 48". I'm 6'0, and this felt too long when it first came. At this length, its only for driver. But the greatest upside to this product to ME and MY body is my forearms and biceps became RIPPED after using this a work-out tool. My forearms just grew new muscles and my arms look awesome!As a beginner, it has really helped me developed in 3 key areas:- Strength (down-swing swing speed mph)- Creating lag- Build/Fortify all muscles, mostly arms and lower back.This will not CURE any of these problems. But it will help. Creating lag on a driver doesn't make sense, so I am tempted to buy the shorter version so I can create lag on my irons, which I struggle with.If nothing else, I would buy this to get massive forearms and biceps. More power = more club head speed = more distance. The one bad thing is I feel like now I HAVE to buy the shorter version to match the swing of my irons, because it is excellent at creating lag.Also helps develop hand muscles as you increase your strength when you use this tool if you're using this to increase your swing speed. Also, great lower back muscle creater.

Has greatly improved my game.