The ORANGE WHIP Tempo Trainer
One of the keys to playing more consistent golf is finding the right tempo for your swing, and then repeating that tempo – especially under pressure. I posted a newsletter article on consistency and the importance of tempo and got a lot of comments as well as questions. One of the most frequent questions was “How do I work on my tempo?”
The Orange Whip may be one of the best answers to that question.
I love just about any tool or device that provides feedback to help with the swing. The feedback that comes from the flexible shaft and the weighted end is immediate and very clear. You can tell when you are swinging right and when you are swinging out of rhythm. Check out the video with founder and inventor Jimmy Hackenberg as I caught up with him at the Northern California Golf show. And then, my students and I take it to the range to see how well it addresses a few common swing mistakes.
(Note: Jimmy was kind enough to allow me to pass along a discount to my students. Normally priced at $109.00, if you use this link to Order Your Orange Whip you’ll get it for $10.00 off)
We use the Orange Whip on the range every day. I use it as a normal part of my warm-up routine. I loosen up with a stretching pole first, then I use my swing fan, and end up with the Orange Whip before I start hitting balls. That way I start off right away with a nice tempo to my swings.
For my students that have a challenge with their tempo, or who tend to rush the downswing (and that’s a lot of students), we do drills where we alternate a few swings with the Orange Whip, then hit a ball (particularly using the driver). By going back and forth the differences in tempo are immediate and apparent.
Here are a few more things I like about the Orange Whip:
1. Shaft Load. The flexible shaft allows you to feel the “shaft load” at the top of the swing. This help you to really get a feel for where the club head is during the swing, which in turn leads to better feel for all your shots.
2. Release. When you swing the Orange Whip in the correct rhythm you can feel the weight at the end of the shaft release through the impact zone.You can actually feel the orange ball release toward the target, which tells you the club is on the correct path to the target.
3. Lag. Because you can feel the shaft flex during the swing you can also feel when the shaft unflexes, or releases. With the Orange Whip you can maintain the feel of the shaft load all the way through impact. This is one of the keys to maintaining lag, which translates to more club head speed.
4. Sequencing (Timing). If you swing in rhythm the Orange Whip seems to swing itself. But when you get out of sequence the feedback is immediate and obvious. The downswing starts from the ground up, with weight shift and core rotation. If you try to start from the top with your hands or arms (a common swing fault) you’ll feel it right away.
5. Away from the Range: You can use the Orange Whip anywhere. The more you swing the more natural the rhythm will become, and the more automatically it will become a part of your game.
In short, there are a lot of upsides to the Orange Whip and nothing really on the downside. There’s nothing “gimmicky” about it at all. Just good old-fashioned basic training – but the kind of training you can never get enough of.
PGA Tour player Boo Weekley likes it too!
I recommend you get one. Use this link to order the Orange Whip. (and get your discount).
You must be logged in to post a comment.