GEM Training Aid

[biglefthander]

made mine using the receipt on the first couple of pages (thank you!) but lowes only had 6” carriage bolts
 

 

I am trying to get away from being so steep and making space by jumping up so full swings with this are definitely wobbly! 
 

I have space in the basement for half swings and definitely feel the good feel from 9 to 3/the NTC cast-a drill position, just got to figure transition and I’ll be striping it 🤞

 

[Sons_of_Pitches]

On 11/8/2022 at 9:34 AM, Duffer Mark said:

@ilikegolf here’s my Home Depot receipt. I used a 6” carriage bolt but I think I’m going to try an 8” to see if that works better. 

@Duffer Markthanks for the shopping list.  Was able to put one together using 6” lag bolt and 20 fender washers.  Bought a few additional clamps and put them on my spare set so I can easily switch between 5, 7, 9, and PW. Seems to help but also seems to promote more of an inside takeaway though. Time will tell but not much lossed with the DIY version.

Edited January 22, 2023 by Sons_of_Pitches

[zacgolf]

 

[JOHNWAT]

been using the GEM device on a 6i  everyday.

what I notice that if I do a full swing slowly,i feel/get no wobble.

however speeding up the swing to near normal speed I feel the wobble near end of takeaway.

however if I swing pretty far out ,for me 20-45 degrees from target line, the wobble is noticeably decreased to absent.

so I wonder if this devices is encouraging a wider swing after impact, which would be a wider radius for me, and perhaps decrease or eliminate chicken wing of lead arm, which of course should be good.

anyone with similar or different results please let us  know.

John

[Erock]

Just did a DIY one this morning - handed them $20 at the store and got change and I can’t imagine the real one is that much different - I have enough weight that the club stays toe up when balanced. Air swings feel good and I notice to keep it from wobbling I feel like I kind of tumble the club over itself from the top - something I’ve never felt before and I’m sure it’s a unique feel to me. My issue has always been getting under plane stalling rotation and flipping so the club feeling like it’s tumbling over is likely just me getting it on plane instead of stuck. Still need to work on the release because I’m sooo engrained in either flipping or hanging on for dear life that it’s going to take a ton of reps to get out of my system. Thanks to all that provided the DIY and I think this aide is legit. 

[KD1]

Anyone who's purchased the GEM, would you mind sharing the measurements of the rods or ball? Length and/or diameters?

[KD1]

Just leaving these notes here for putting together the DIY version.

 

Okay, so based off my highly calibrated measurements from m$ paint I'm figuring:

Rod diam: 0.4"

Long rod: 5.9" (from shoulder-to-shoulder)

Medium rod: 2.75"

Ball diam: 1.1"

 

Doing a little back of the napkin math I'm guessing:

Long rod + ball: 7", 6.7oz (190g), and center of mass 4.59" from shaft end of rod

Short rod + ball: 3.9", 4.8oz (137g), and center of mass 0.94" from shaft end of rod

 

All of this is subject to change if someone can give me an actual dimension off theirs that I can reference off of.

[getitdaily]

Anyone gotten better? What stats show the improvement? More fairways? More greens? Closer approach proximity? 

[Erock]

On 11/21/2022 at 12:40 PM, Rambo500 said:

If I'm a chronic hooker, will the Gem make that worse? If the Gem's purpose is to help close the face I feel like good golfers won't benefit from this.

 

Do you agree?

 I disagree. The GEM will show you WHY you hit a hook. If it’s a rapid rate of closure causing it the gem will wobble and you’ll learn a proper on plane release. If it’s because your path is too far in to out gem will help you feel a more neutral path. Definitely not just for slicers. 

[Erock]

1 hour ago, getitdaily said:

Anyone gotten better? What stats show the improvement? More fairways? More greens? Closer approach proximity? 

Your engagement in this thread leads me to believe you’re intrigued by this aide. Spend $20 and make your own or $140 and get the real deal. If it shows quantifiable results that it helps you wonderful. If not, send it to eBay. 

[getitdaily]

7 minutes ago, Erock said:

Your engagement in this thread leads me to believe you’re intrigued by this aide. Spend $20 and make your own or $140 and get the real deal. If it shows quantifiable results that it helps you wonderful. If not, send it to eBay. 

Nah. I'll wait for someone to go through the purchase and effort and provide feedback on whether it's a useful aid or just gimmicky.

[Chonchgolf]

11 hours ago, getitdaily said:

Nah. I'll wait for someone to go through the purchase and effort and provide feedback on whether it's a useful aid or just gimmicky.

I’ve had mine for about a week. First few swings I didn’t feel the wobble going from rib to rib. I took it a little further and started doing a full back swing, still no wobble. Where I noticed a lot of wobble was my down swing, going really slow, it help notice I was shutting the club face hard and coming over the top. (I battle a pull hook). After doing a lot of bebettergolf drills the ‘loop’ feel, I was hitting draws and pushes today. The pushes I think are bc I am not rotating through fast enough.

[RobertBaron]

I did one of the diy ones a couple of weeks ago using a 6” carriage bolt and 20 washers. It was balanced toe up but I didn’t really feel anything doing half swings. Even purposely trying to flip or whatever. 
 

today I bought a 12” threaded rod and put the 20 washers on that. I could definitely really feel a difference now. 
 

I only swung it around in the house a little bit and haven’t really tried the proper protocol at the range so don’t really know if it’s doing anything at all but it definitely feels like you have to make a pretty solid takeaway for it not to wobble

[DaveGoodrich]

I'm not typically attracted to training aids, but this thing is intriguing, and the testimonials seem positive and pretty legit.  So I did the DIY thing and built one of these with about a 6" rod and 30 washers.  I've only had a chance to go through the "10 swings with the GEM, hit balls, rinse and repeat" routine a couple times into my net in the yard.  Haven't had it at the range for a full session yet.  But I have been just taking a bunch of air swings a few times a day for the past few days around the house.  

 

I think it most obviously helps with the takeaway, preventing rolling the wrists and sucking the club behind.  In transition, I think this thing forces you to make the "Malaska move," which I see as essentially what Monte is teaching with NTC and "Broom Force."    

 

I must say, I really think there is something to this thing.  I think I am the guy this thing is aimed at.  I tend to be flippy at impact, and struggle a lot with poor low point control, etc.  This thing really "tells" me when I am releasing too early, as I get the wobble around impact if I flip.   But its not promoting what I have thought of as "holding off" the release.  It just shows me that the release must be little later in the sequence.  In fact, it seems to help me fully release the club and finish with my weight on my left heel.  I typically struggle with getting out over my toes too much, then having to early extend to get back to the ball.  

 

I've been a real slump lately.  But I shot my best round in a while yesterday after playing around with this thing for only a few days at the house, shooting 75 in 45 degrees and light rain.  I hit some really pure iron shots, and heard a few "nice swings" from the guys for the first time in quite a few rounds.   Could be coincidence, we'll see...

[Mawsdz]

I really like this device. I ordered it from GEM. Well worth it I believe. Far better feedback from the device than I’ve gotten from some teachers.  If you watch that Steve Johnson Video that was posted on understanding the GEM (I’d say watch it 2-3x), you’ll find it really helpful and very much understand what he’s saying after the GEM aha moment your body has. At first this thing gave me a Golf stroke. By body got really lost and i got totally confused in swinging the club. I gave up on it. Then I came back to it and took it slower. Allowed the waist high to waist high to set in. Then kept is slow and moved up to chest high to chest high. Then started making slow full swings and changing my grip to get my hands in the correct positions to keep the club on plane.  Then all of the sudden my body locked it. You do have to really deactivate the club in your hands and swing with more connected arms and body. It feels like harmony when your body finally gets it. Stay with it and make the adjustments to get to a smooth swing. I started doing the drills with it too now, 5 swings then hit a ball.  Using the long rod. Then the medium rod. Also started pitching with the small rod on to see the visual of tow up to square to toe up.  Definately worth the commitment to using it. 

[GungHoGolf]

Sure are a lot of brand-new forum members buying and loving this device.

 

Wonder why it hasn’t helped the inventor cure his massive flip. 

[Ex Blade User]

On 1/23/2023 at 4:03 PM, KD1 said:

Just leaving these notes here for putting together the DIY version.

 

Okay, so based off my highly calibrated measurements from m$ paint I'm figuring:

Rod diam: 0.4"

Long rod: 5.9" (from shoulder-to-shoulder)

Medium rod: 2.75"

Ball diam: 1.1"

 

Doing a little back of the napkin math I'm guessing:

Long rod + ball: 7", 6.7oz (190g), and center of mass 4.59" from shaft end of rod

Short rod + ball: 3.9", 4.8oz (137g), and center of mass 0.94" from shaft end of rod

 

All of this is subject to change if someone can give me an actual dimension off theirs that I can reference off of.

Nah. Buy the real thing 

[Ex Blade User]

2 minutes ago, GungHoGolf said:

Sure are a lot of brand-new forum members buying and loving this device.

 

Wonder why it hasn’t helped the inventor cure his massive flip. 

You should ask him

[KD1]

1 hour ago, Ex Blade User said:

Nah. Buy the real thing 

No thanks. Not at that price point.

[srsbeans]

I think it's a good product, although I don't think I really use it as directed.

 

To me, the aid helps with

 

1. not whipping the club inside/under the plane in the early takeaway. the additional weight and position of the weight seem to slow things down and promote some helpful early lead wrist hinge

 

2. club face awareness while working on swing changes. When i'm working on changing a pattern I can experience a lot of confusion with as to what's going on with the clubface and that can derail or delay progress. With the training aid on I get a much better sense of where the toe is pointed and therefore what's going on with the clubface.

 

With all that said, I tend to love products like these or even the orange whip that mess with player perceptions during the swing, really anything that confounds or confuses the brain and forces the player to figure out what's changed and how impacts how their pivot relates to what's going on with their hands. 

[DaveGoodrich]

 

3 hours ago, GungHoGolf said:

Sure are a lot of brand-new forum members buying and loving this device.

 

Wonder why it hasn’t helped the inventor cure his massive flip. 

 

There are also a few single digit guys saying it is helping them, or at least they feel it has promise, including myself.  I am truly skeptical of any claims of miracle cures.  I don't think this is that, but it is a sensible idea, so I thought it was worth a try. 

 

A big struggle with golf instruction is trying to communicate how a proper swing "feels."   The limitations of language, and the fact that "feel isn't real" make communicating "feels" the primary impediment to golf instruction, IMO.   This thing has the advantage of putting the "feel" of an on-plane swing with a proper release pattern directly in the hands of the user.   

 

Perhaps, like most professional instructors, the inventor is spending more of his time working on his student's swings rather than his own.  

 

3 hours ago, Ex Blade User said:

Nah. Buy the real thing 

 

1 hour ago, KD1 said:

No thanks. Not at that price point.

 

Yes, for what it is, physically, the price point is high.   I built a DIY setup, but if I continue to believe it is helping me, I will buy the real thing because I think the inventor deserves to be compensated for the idea.  Based on my initial experience, I feel the device could continue serve as a "reminder" when the swing gets a little out of sequence in the future.  So if I'm going to keep it around for a while, I wouldn't mind paying the price to have the nice machined "piece of kit."   

 

EDIT: after thinking about it, I decided to go ahead and order the real thing.  I really think this concept is sound.  Since the thing is so simple to copy, it likely can't be patented, but (I feel) the inventor deserves compensation nevertheless.   

Edited January 31, 2023 by DaveGoodrich

[Ex Blade User]

50 minutes ago, KD1 said:

No thanks. Not at that price point.

How much do you pay for a round of golf generally? Or a new driver that doesn’t improve your swing?

[johnrobison]

I'll chime in after watching the discussion for a while now.

 

My playing partner has been working pretty hard the last couple of years to pivot better and not rely so much on throwing his hands and arms at the ball. He's a good athlete so has been able to play to a single digit, despite throwing his hands/arms, extending early, and not rotating much at all. He really felt like he was getting the idea and learning what a pivot feels like - then I handed him a 7i with the GEM on it and told him to make some waist-to-waist high swings without feeling the wobble. The first 7 or 8 swings were all wobble and he could clearly feel it so I did a quick demo for how to move it around the body without wobble and he tried again. After he settled in with a few swings he started rotating better eliminated the wobble. The look on his face was priceless! It completely opened his eyes to what a good pivot feels like and how much he had been throwing his hands and arms. He said that he knew he was getting better with his rotation lately but had no idea just how much more rotation he actually had to feel.

[KD1]

35 minutes ago, Ex Blade User said:

How much do you pay for a round of golf generally? Or a new driver that doesn’t improve your swing?

About $40 a round. And my driver is an off the shelf calloway that was gifted to me about 12+ years ago. I am thinking about getting fitted for a new one this season though!

 

[DaveGoodrich]

 

3 hours ago, johnrobison said:

The first 7 or 8 swings were all wobble and he could clearly feel it so I did a quick demo for how to move it around the body without wobble and he tried again. After he settled in with a few swings he started rotating better eliminated the wobble. The look on his face was priceless! It completely opened his eyes to what a good pivot feels like and how much he had been throwing his hands and arms.

 

This is awesome, and exactly what I meant by:

 

4 hours ago, DaveGoodrich said:

This thing has the advantage of putting the "feel" of an on-plane swing with a proper release pattern directly in the hands of the user.   

 

If this thing really is a "game changer," this is the reason why, imo.  

[Ex Blade User]

4 hours ago, KD1 said:

About $40 a round. And my driver is an off the shelf calloway that was gifted to me about 12+ years ago. I am thinking about getting fitted for a new one this season though!

 

You should just build your own driver 

[KD1]

27 minutes ago, Ex Blade User said:

You should just build your own driver 

 

I see what your doing. False equivalency... But believe me I totally would if I could 🤣

[yasu123]

Here are a few pics of Milo Lines showing his rotational release. He promotes a non-flip release. If you look at his backswing the toe is up, on the downswing he looks slightly closed but when the shaft is parallel the head is blocked so I think the toe is up when the shaft is parallel, through impact and just past impact you can see the gradual closing of the club face demonstrating a no flip release and at the shaft parallel to the ground in the finish you can see the toe up. I think that the gem can be swung many ways slowly but the overall pattern is a body turn with a non floppy release of the club. The toe up to toe up in the finish seems to be a stable pattern for a rotational non-flippy release. Of course I am sure I will be corrected but this is what I feel when swinging the GEM.

[biglefthander]

Been practicing with this a lot for the past few weeks - I really like how a “good” swing feels and looks on video, but I cannot figure it out for anything for more than a 9 to 3 swing

 

i don’t know if it’s going to do much to get me releasing correctly on a full swing from the top, but the immediate feedback is helpful

[Ex Blade User]

1 hour ago, yasu123 said:

Here are a few pics of Milo Lines showing his rotational release. He promotes a non-flip release. If you look at his backswing the toe is up, on the downswing he looks slightly closed but when the shaft is parallel the head is blocked so I think the toe is up when the shaft is parallel, through impact and just past impact you can see the gradual closing of the club face demonstrating a no flip release and at the shaft parallel to the ground in the finish you can see the toe up. I think that the gem can be swung many ways slowly but the overall pattern is a body turn with a non floppy release of the club. The toe up to toe up in the finish seems to be a stable pattern for a rotational non-flippy release. Of course I am sure I will be corrected but this is what I feel when swinging the GEM.

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I think the GEM is exactly the thing to ingrain this kind of move. At least it’s working for me when I do it correctly.