SpeedStik..........

[Sam-Tee-Time]

review

www.thespeedstik.com

PREFACE: I've been watching the informercials on Golf Channel, as well as reading golf forum posts about the validity of the SpeedStik. While it seemed like a gimmick at first, I was awe-struck by watching Vijay Singh smoothly and powerfully swinging this stik on the informercial. It appeared that this device could help smooth out my tempo, help warmup before a round, and enhance certain drills and swing tips. Once I found a good deal for a used one (it was virtually brand new once I received it), I found the results very satisfying:

FIRST THOUGHTS: My first reaction to the Stik was that it wasn't as heavy as I thought. Even though I had the red Stik (25 oz, for people over 175 lbs, while the blue stik is 20 oz.), I had the impression in my mind that the Stik would be MUCH heavier than it is. The stik seems to be pretty neutrally balanced, rather than being D2/D3/etc. weighted, as a golf club would be. I wonder if that would be a concern later. A Warning - be careful when using the Stik indoors - it left a 5" long red paint mark on my carpet, that was VERY difficult to remove! The paintjob on the Stik is obviously not the highest quality in the world.

SPEED GAUGE: Many people have posted about the inaccuracy of the gauge. Some people think it read too generously, others report it's too slow. My experience was that the gauge is MUCH slower than my actual swingspeed, by 5 mph or more. But.......it does seem to give you a relavant comparison to how hard/fast you swing. As others have mentioned - the gauge is not a good indicator of true swingspeed, but rather a barometer/measuring device to measure your progress. Interestingly, the gauge contains a small metal weight that pushes down the little piece of foam. It also is removable for replacement in the event of wear or damage. The little 'window' causes a "whistling" noise as you swing the Stik, which causes everyone near you on the range to look at your and wonder what you're doing! I placed some clear tape over this window, which quieted down the Stik quite a bit (no whistling noise).

USAGE & DRILLS: The included DVD shows several drills, stretches, and other uses for the Stik. The SpeedStik website has a downloadable .pdf file for additional instructions and drills. One of the most interesting thoughts was to make BOTH LEFT and RIGHT-handed swings, to balance out the forces in your body. Other drills include swinging horizontally (like a baseball bat), half-swings, and slow-motion swings to stretch and warmup, as well as various interesting stretches that utilize the Stik. An instructor taught me to always swing the Stik about 6"-10" above the ground, which helps keep your swing on plane (and avoids the red paint marks on your carpet!).

My primary desire for using the Stik was to help warmup, develop a smoother tempo, and also keep my shaft on the proper plane during my DOWNswing. While I've only used the Stik for a short time, I've found that the length of the Stik, and the heavier weight help to smooth out your swing tremendously. When doing the Left-sided swing, it feels very unusual at first, but you can immediately feel your body's weight shift, swingplane, and the proper release of the clubhead through the impact zone. When you switch back to a Right-sided swing, you can feel your body's weight transfer immediately.

One interesting thing I've noticed is that when you switch back to your normal golf club, the club feels VERY light, and you can really feel the clubhead coming down on-plane, and releasing through the impact zone. This is the major benefit of the Stik (to me).

RESULTS & SUMMARY: The Stik will not cure all your swing ills, and I feel it is very overpriced at full retail. However - I like having this addition to my golf equipment, and I feel that it has helped smooth my tempo, gain a little swingspeed, and enable me to feel a proper swingplane during Drives off the Teebox, Fairway woods, and Long irons. Lately - my Driving has become much better, possibly due to some work with the Stik, but also practice, lessons, and frequent playing. Just in the short time I've been using the Stik, I've had some VERY powerful drives, very pure iron shots, and I can feel a very strong weight transfer towards the target. In short - it's one of the best golf aids that I've discovered, especially if you're attempting to smooth your swing tempo. However - I feel that a 25 oz. weighted (perhaps with lead tape) PVC pipe, broomstick, or some other pole of that nature would accomplish the same goal. It would make an interesting experiment!

[dtgolder]

How is this different than adding a weighted "donut" or weight bag to a club for warmups? Seems overpriced to me for what it is (but maybe I'm missing something)

[profsanjo]

I bought the blue version and this doesn't work for me. It's thoroughly overpriced and really a broom stick with lead tape and tennis grip will do the same without spending a lot of money. Besides the gauge isn't not precise, I tested the stick with my swing speed radar and the stik shows nearly 5 mph less. I wouldn't buy this stuff again.

[wedgetoafoot]

I was duped too. Save your money folks. Get some lessons if you want to improve your swing speed. I love the DVD it comes with most of all, but because it is so stupid. It has all these so called drills on it and they all come down to basically doing the same exact thing. The highlight is when Peter Kostis recommends that you lay it down as an alignment aid. WOW! I was so impressed with that and never would have thought of it on my own. I guess I will get rid of that diamond encrusted flagpole I used to carry for this purpose. I'll even pass along Peter's other tip of putting it across your shoulders and using it to stretch/warm up by doing swing rotations. Oh yes, do that and you will surely be swinging 130mph. Clearly some analysis has been done by the guys at Speed Stik that conventional clubs cannot be used for these simple tasks.

 

As far as the accuracy, how could anyone possibly compare this to their actual swing. The club is heavier than a normal club (twice your driver weight), it's 48 inches, and most importantly, you don't hit the ball with it. It's pretty obvious that if you are swinging without the intention of hitting a ball, anything can happen with your swing speed. My swing speed is around 105-107 and I got this up to about 135 on an all out meat head swing and 115 on regular ones. This is device in no way gives you a proxy for how fast you actually swing.

 

It makes this horrible whistling noise when you swing it too, so unless you are not easily embarassed and you have your own private driving range, don't pull it out and start swinging it if any human being is within 250 yards. They will probably either be annoyed with you, or just laugh as they bomb it past the 300 yd flag and thank their lucky stars that they spent their money on lessons.

[golftrainer]

You are all right! The golf training aid market is a billion dollar market, preying on desperate golfers. They figure, "give them hope, and they'll give us their money".

 

Here's a FREE tip for you that I do everytime I go to the course.

 

I swing my driver with the clubhead cover on it. Fortunately mine is zipped on (Mizuno Driver), so it doesn't go flying off. This adds enough resistent (with your own club) to stretch and strengthen your golf specific muscles.

 

You heard it here first

[scottyallanb]

The funny thing is you all hate it but all bought it!! Stop whinning and just use it for what ever its worth. I would rather stretch with the speed stick than watch morons use there driver and flex the shaft til its crying for mercy. I guess I am just happy I bought one for $35 bucks from a friend who didnt like it either. Its a good weight for some practice swings. Strong enough to put some weight on it for doing some light stretching. Guys send them all my way for $35 bucks. have a high school golf team that will use them all year round. Better than taking those two blades out of the bag and banging them around for a few practice swings. LoL

 

 

But if you want a great training aid try the No 3 putt rings by Docs golf. Its 2 rings that fit over a golf hole to make the cup 68% smaller. I had my team practice putt with this from 3-5 feet and man what a difference. Get on the course and the hole looks huge!! They sell them at Golfsmith for about $14. I love it!!!

[ick golfer]

well since i took it from a friend, it was worth evetry penny. haha i love it. its increased my swing speed and hasnt cost a dime. i dont even know what i cost, im sure its overpirved but it was very cost effective for me

[cjdrcc]

I like it, my swing speed is what it is and provided you use the same stik, you're going to be able to determine if your ss is increasing. The other thing is I can throw it down for allignment (which means that I only have to carry one shaft instead of two and a trainer) and streach with it. It also is lighter than my heavy hitter, which is heavier and more cumbersome. Over all, very functional, but not swing radar.

[The Boom Bapp]

Mine has worked well for me so far and the only complaint I have is that the grip is a little rough on the hands. Great for warm-up, stretching, swing plane, center of balance, tempo, and allignment.

 

I purchased mine brand new from Juan himself at a cost of $50 which is much much cheaper than 90% of all other aids out there.

 

The Speed Stik I purchased was the Black "MACHO" version, this is the newest offering from the line and weighs in at 32oz 48" and still measures up to 140. This same model was provided to Tiger and the 2008 WGC a few weeks ago.

 

Here is my review.

[LONGBALL02]

I find that the grip is to fat and if not carefull it will hurt your release point in the hands!

[ronshaf]

I use it and I think it's an excellent training tool. Real good to warm up with and excellent to work with on creating better balance. I read some of the comments on here and I wonder wheher the people that buy it and try it for a few days think that some how they will magically go from a 16 cap that has no distance off the tee to a 5 cap that can bust it 290.

 

Golfers are very funny people and the botton line is if you are obsessed(I AM) with getting better you will do almost anything to get better.

 

Certainly you can complain about the price....BUT....if you think it will work for you .....YOU WILL GET ONE!!

 

Play well

[The Boom Bapp]

I just reposted my review, it was not working before.

 

See Above post.

[QuigleyDU]

i have had a speed stik for about three years now and i like it for many reasons i swing it in my back yard when i cant get to a range ti hit balls i swing it both righty and lefty to work both sides yes those are things you can do with a weighted club, but this works as well. i use it to stretch, i use it as an alignment tool. i have added lots of lead tape to make it heavier. i figured when i bought it the little gauge was not that accurate but it give you speed starting point and shows progress as you swing speed increases so who cares if it is off a little.

i think it is a little over priced a paid full price for mine but i use it all the time and still really like it.

[jinst3r]

Bought one for twenty bucks on clearance.

 

The gauge was broken within two months.

After service Replacement is $60.

 

Other than the inaccuracy and fragility of the gauge, pretty solid product.

Very over priced at retail.

[darnoldil]

I just bought one for $40 from TGW. The most important reason, and something that a weighted club will NOT do for you is measure your swing speed. It doesn't matter if it is not super accurate as long as it is consistent. That consistency gives us a VERY valuable measuring tool to see how different swing paths, swing plains and release points affect our swing speed which in turn allows us to customize our swings for maximum capability. A weight club will NOT do this!!!

 

Now we all understand that Mr. Nelson's maxim must be in force; "It's alright to tinker with your swing just don't stray too far from home". As long as we are making adjustments and not wholesale changes than we can improve. One way that I made sure that my later release point that I started working on was valid was to hit my 3 iron during my session tonight and I saw increased distance and better feel from it without any degradation in swing plain or impact position. I even hit my foam practice ball off of the carpet a couple of times with the speedstik to check swing plain consistency (and got the blue mark on the carpet, lol)!

 

In short the Speedstik can help us "tweak" our swings so that we increase that 5-15mph in speed for more distance and then help us to ingrain and sustain those tweaks so that they are a permanent part of our swing. Weighted clubs miss this important connection. Regarding the "inaccurate" speed gauge I found it surprising that some complained about it being 5mph slower than their true swing speed. Why? First we must consider our true swing speed standard deviation, second we must consider the SD for typical radar (which is usually +- 2mph) in itself and finally we must consider how different shaft and driver head properties can affect our swing speed parameters (more or less weight, aerodynamics, flex and grip size characteristics). So should we REALLY be so up in arms about 5mph? In my opinion the answer is NO.

 

Now lest us use these things for what they can really do which is to allow us to tweak our swings for increased distance and consistency and get on with enjoying our golf more shall we. :)