Tour Striker Concept:
The Tour Striker will make you a better golfer. That is what the marketers and shops want you to believe. We are here to provide a bit of insight into the Tour Striker training club and reveal both the benefits and the downsides of this training aid.
We believe that the Tour Striker can help you to become a better golfer, but so can many other products, golf instructors, etc. So why choose this item over another? In this article I will outline who the Tour Striker 8 Iron is best suited for and arm you with information as to whether it is the right product to take your golf game to the next level.
The Tour Striker 8 Iron:
The goal of the Tour Striker is to get you to strike down on the ball with forward shaft lean. This means your divot with be in front of the ball, not behind or directly under it. Many amateur golfers sweep the ball, meaning they come into contact with it at the very bottom of their swing – this is not ideal. The one thing all low handicap golfers have in common is great impact position. That is what this training aid is here to help you with.
The Tour Striker does this by taking a normal 8 Iron and rounding off the leading edge of the club. This means that any time you strike the ball at the very bottom of you swing, referred to as sweeping, you will not strike the new, small sweet spot on the club face. The ball will not take flight when struck like this. It is common to hit grounders or low line drives when first using your Tour Striker. It took me quite a while to get the ball airborne and figure out why my old impact position was not working.
I’m still using this, still enjoying it, and it’s still helping me improve my ball striking.” – GolfSpyMatt – mygolfspy.com
What’s in it for you?
The biggest advantage of using the Tour Striker training aid is that you will intuitively strike down on the ball with forward shaft lean when you switch back to your normal irons. Proper impact position will be engrained into your muscle memory. The best thing about this training aid is that it is a normal golf club. It feels just like your normal 8 iron and your swing should not change between the two. I often switch between my 8-iron and Tour Striker while at the range – it is a seamless transition.
Which Tour Striker Model?
There are various tour striker models on the market. I have written another article outlining the various versions and who they are best suited for – click here to view it. In this article we are discussing the Tour Striker 8 Iron. It is the easiest to use out of any of the Tour Striker models but still delivers big results when used regularly on the range. The 8 Iron is toward average and higher handicap golfers. It is a great club to use if you know you sweep the ball and take divot behind or under the ball – or do not take a divot at all. The 8 Iron is less frustrating to use and get the hang of than any of the other models. A quick visual comparison between the 8 Iron and the Pro X 7 Iron makes this quite clear.
Will it help your golf game?
The answer to this is yes, the Tour Striker will help your game. It will definitely take work, time and effort, but it will make sure you are concentrating your practice on the most important part of your swing, the moment of impact. I originally hesitated before purchasing my Tour Striker. I actually knew about it a year before making the purchase. I thought I had good swing impact position. I was comfortable with my ball flight and distance which make me think I was doing thing correctly, even though I rarely took a divot. All I can say is that when I finally got the Tour Striker I could not get the ball to go in the air my first couple of range sessions. After a bit of work and switching between the training aid and my normal irons I began hitting down on the ball. The feel was amazing – not to mention the added distance and ball flight. With all of this my consistency began to increase.
I try not to think back about how different things would be if I had purchased the Tour Striker 8 Iron when I first heard about it. If you are in a position like I was, purchase the Tour Striker now. You will thank yourself when you start to hit down on the ball and have a smile come across your face because of the great feel you get at impact.
Cons and Downsides:
The biggest downside of the Tour Striker is that hitting dribblers and line drives can be quite embarrassing. It took me some time to get over the fact that I should not care what the other people at the range thing of my ball flight. Everyone is there to get better and improve. I am my own worst enemy in these situations because I kept thinking to myself, “I know I am better than this” then would switch back to my regular irons to prove I could hit a decent shot. I eventually came around would only take the Tour Striker and one other iron to the range – and it has paid off. Hopefully you can learn from my mistake and stick it out with the Tour Striker from the get go. It will definitely pay off with the more time and range balls you hit with it. You will soon be hitting down on the ball, hitting the ball pure and far.
“Very few golfers actually hit the ball with a forward leaning shaft. This tool will force you to do that.”
GolfProgress – thehackersparadise.com
Where to Purchase:
The Tour Striker occasionally pops up on craiglist or ebay. These are great places to find a used version if you want to give it a try. When it comes to buying a new Tour Striker 8 Iron I recommend buying straight from the source – Martin Chuck, the inventor of the Tour Striker and a PGA teaching professional. Martin stands behind his product 100% and customer satisfaction is very important to him. You can often find comments directly from him on golf forums and blogs addressing concerns potential buying and owners have. He is also able to deal with your purchase on a personal level (for concerns, issues, returns, etc.) if you buy through his site which he is unable to do if you purchase through other online or brick and mortar stores.
Now is the time to take you golf game to the next level by knowing you are properly striking down on the ball. The results of the Tour Striker are quite amazing if you are dedicated to your game and put the effort in.
