***If you’re looking for the most recent reviews for 2023 gear, we will be updating this page in the summer after we’ve had a chance to review them!
If you’re in a hurry and just want to know our top choice, here it is:
The swing plane is one of the most difficult things in golf to describe and to fix, but it is also one of the most important aspects of your swing. Your swing plane is vital for proper ball flight, direction, power, etc. Basically, if your swing plane is correct it can cover over a multitude of other errors.
With the importance of the swing plane identified, the difficulty of a correcting one that is in error is easy to understand. Similar to a jump shot in basketball, baseball swing, or a swimming stroke, your golf swing is first and foremost an athletic move but with certain guidelines and rules that have to be followed for it to perform effectively.
I think of it like a big man in basketball who has learned all of the proper techniques but does not have a feel for the game, or a great athlete who has not been taught how to really play.
Your swing has to be an extension of who you are but with specific things that have to be done effectively. Just take a quick look of some of the best swings on the tour:
A training aid for your swing plane will help you to keep the parts of your swing that are uniquely you while adding the guidelines and form that make it effective.
A good swing plane training aid will let you practice your swing with slow corrections and consistent feedback until a correct swing plane becomes a natural part of your game.
As you continue reading you will see a description and review of the best golf training aids for your swing plane on the market today.
Best Golf Training Aid For Swing Plane in 2022 Reviewed
Eyeline Golf Speed Trap 2.0
A training aid has to be able to provide feedback that you can learn from easily. We chose the Eyeline Golf Speed Trap 2.0 as our top choice because it gives you immediate feedback in a way that allows you to change your swing. With the Eyeline Speed Trap, you have 4 guide rods sticking out of a hitting area that guides your club on the correct swing path. Basically you use the alignment aids that come on the baseplate to set your ball in the right position for either full shots, chipping, or half shots, and then you swing.
If your ball goes in between the pylons then the ball path is solid, if you hit a pylon you swing again until you no longer hit the pylon. Of course you can make the pylons closer together or farther as you get used to the device, but the whole point is that you can see where your club should go and then you modify your swing accordingly. The pylons and hitting area are very resilient and they also aid in alignment along with your swing plane. The bottom line is that this tool trains your mind and your body to put your club on the correct swing path every time.
Pros
- Trains you visually and physically at the same time so that you can both feel and see what your swing should do.
- The more you swing the more consistent your swing plane becomes.
- If you start our slow, you get a good feel right away for what this training tool can accomplish.
- Adjustable for irons, wedges, driver, woods, chipping, and half shots.
- Immediate results that you do not have to study later, you know right away whether or not you hit one of the pylons.
- Great for golfers of all skill levels from beginners to scratch golfers.
- Aids in more than just swing plane as it helps with alignment and getting into a power position at impact.
- Comes with a cinch bag that makes a good carrying case.
- Helps you learn ball flight laws as well as you tweak your swing and see the ball do different things.
- Very easy assembly.
Cons
- Bulky and not as portable as many of the other aids.
- Focuses on the end result at the expense of the middle of your swing.
- On the expensive side.
Izzo Golf Smooth Swing
At less than $15, you are not going to find a less expensive training tool than the Izzo Golf Smooth Swing. The Izzo Smooth Swing is basically just a large rubber band that wraps around both of your arms and forces you to swing in a certain way. It fosters a proper “one-piece” takeaway meaning that your arms are forced to work together to start and complete your backswing.
It then keeps your arms and body together and in sync throughout the swing. Where many training aids allow you to work on your swing and make small tweaks until you get it right, the Izzo just does the work for you. The idea is that all you have to do is wrap it around your arms and then swing until your muscle memory is so strong that you no longer need the aid.
Pros
- Very easy to use and intuitive.
- Extremely portable.
- It is perfect to take to the range or into your backyard with or without a ball.
- Helps to improve accuracy and distance by forcing your arms and body to work together throughout the swing.
- Extremely inexpensive so that you can try it out easily without spending a lot of money.
- You can even keep it in your golf bag so that it is everywhere that your golf clubs are.
- Great for right or left handed golfers.
- One size fits almost everyone.
- Promotes the connectivity of different body parts as they work together to complete one swing.
Cons
- Not as good for mid and low handicappers.
- Only helps on connectivity which, though a key component to staying on the correct plane, is not the only factor.
Swingyde
A training aid that you actually connect to the grip of your golf club so that it grips your left forearm when you get to the top of your swing. The main purpose of the Swingyde is to teach golfers to feel the correct hinge of your wrists and square clubface alignment during your backswing. It also helps you to develop the clubhead lag that allows you to produce maximum power.
This training aid is all about feeling when the plastic cup grabs your wrist so that you know where your wrists should be and how you should be positioned at the top of your backswing so that you stay on the correct plane. It is essential to set the Swingyde up right to begin with and so that your wrists and arms are in the correct position at the top of your swing. It is also important to try to put distance between your wrists and the Swingyde ASAP when you begin your down swing. You do not even need a ball to learn from this training aid, just your club and an area large enough to swing it fully. Let the Swingyde do the work and get your wrists and hands in the right position for optimal accuracy and distance.
Pros
- You get the immediate feedback of knowing that your wrists and hands are in the right position at the top of your swing.
- Easy to setup and easy to feel the results.
- Adds accuracy and distance when used correctly.
- Another aid that forces you into a correct swing plane. Repeating the motion over and over again will allow your muscle memory to be built for that plane.
- The training aid does the work for you.
- Lightweight.
- Works for all golfers regardless of skill level.
- Helps to ensure that the clubface is aligned at impact.
- Helps with your follow through.
Cons
- May not fit over some golf clubs with thicker grips.
- Not a great accompanying DVD.
- We have heard reports of damaged and ripped grips as a result of the Swingyde.
SKLZ Power Position
The SKLZ Power Position has an interesting design and shape so that at first sight you have no idea it is a training tool. The idea was to create a dual colored barrel so that if you see only black, then your shaft is on the right plane. Once you start seeing yellow, you know something is wrong and the aid has come off of the plane. The bright yellow color makes it easy to see, and as soon as that bright color peaks around, you know that a tweak has to be made.
The SKLZ Power Position also comes weighted for better muscle memory and with a molded grip so that you get used to putting your hands in the correct place on the club every time. The design is of a shorter golf club for indoor use with a grossly oversized head so that you get the feel of a golf club even if it does not look like one. Staying on the optimal swing plane will increase both your distance and accuracy and this weighted training aid will build the muscle memory needed to maintain that plane even when the aid is taken off.
Pros
- Extra weight helps to train your muscles more quickly and build up the needed muscle memory.
- Oversized clubhead and shaft give you the feel of a club.
- The shorter design allows for more indoor use.
- You can take it anywhere and you can use it almost anywhere as well.
- You do not need a golf ball to make this tool successful.
- Provides immediate and easy to understand feedback with every swing.
- Comes at a good price.
- Molded training grip.
- Dual color barrel helps you either to stay on the swing plane or know how to turn the club to get it back.
- Builds “golfer strength” and muscle memory.
Cons
- Designed more to build strength than to put you on the correct swing plane.
- Not a real life feel.
Tour Striker Plane Station
The Tour Striker Plane Station can get your swing on the correct plane quickly. You start out by laying the base of the Plane Station on the ground and then choosing between 40 degrees and 65 degrees based on your club and natural swing. Once you choose the angle you place one of the alignment rods into whatever angle you desire for your swing path and you use that rod as a guide to setting up for your next shot.
The rod should stick out to about your waist so that when you setup over the club you have to remain on top of whatever angle you chose for the alignment rods. You then perform your swing and make sure that you do not hit the rod either on the backswing or the follow through. There are many other training techniques that you could perform with the Plane Station, but this is the one that really works on staying on your optimal swing plane.
Pros
- Can get your swing on the right plane specifically at address and contact.
- Very flexible in terms of both what it can be used for and how it should be used.
- If you want to be consistent on the golf course, you have to be just as consistent on the driving range and this helps you maintain that consistency.
- Provides immediate feedback with the opportunity to tweak your swing as needed.
- Works well for all of your clubs from driver to lob wedge.
- A good price for the features offered.
- Allows you to change the plane angle because not everyone’s swing is the same.
Cons
- Was not built initially as a swing plane aid.
- Can be difficult to use with a full swing.
- Not as portable as some of the other products.
What Is A Swing Plane In Golf?
The swing plane is the line your club shaft takes as you make your swing. Think of it as an imaginary line that traces around your body that the shaft of your club follows during your backswing, downswing, and follow through.
There is one line that could be drawn that would be the ideal path for your club to follow and anything above or below that line would need to be corrected. A swing plane training aid is made to correct your swing when it consistently leaves that line.
How To Choose The Best Golf Training Aid For Swing Plane
When you are choosing a training aid, unless you are planning to hire an instructor to go along with that training aid, it needs to be simple and easy to understand.
The best training aids provide immediate feedback with a way for you to make changes and know right away whether those changes helped or not. If the training aid simply gives you data that you can neither read nor react to, then it cannot effectively help your swing.
In the case of most of the training aids on this list, you can immediately see and feel the results and change your swing accordingly.
Features To Look For In a Swing Plane Training Aid
The following features were described in detail in the reviews and descriptions above. These features have been placed in order from our most to our least important, so make sure that no matter what else the training aid has, it has these things.
- Immediate Feedback
- Easy to Understand Results
- Price
- Features
- Portability
Our Choice
Best Overall Swing Plane Training Aid: Eyeline Golf Speed Trap 2.0
Our choice for the best golf training aid for swing plane is the Eyeline Golf Speed Trap 2.0. The focus of this training aid is on the beginning of the backswing and then again at impact because you pull the club back through the pylons and then swing through them. If you hit the pylons either way, your swing plane is either too deep or too shallow and you know immediately. Not only do you know immediately, but you get the visual aid of seeing where your club should go. The combination of immediate feedback, ease of adjustment, and the simultaneous physical/mental aspect of the training make it our top choice.