One of the most common problems those new to the game of golf have is the shortage of distance off the tee with the driver. I mean, the ball barely makes two hundred yards off the tee, which means it leaves a lot of golf to play to make the green for a par. Often the most frequent question handicap golfers ask their buddies after a round of golf is why can’t I hit the golf ball longer with my driver?

Golf is such a struggle when you can not hit the ball far enough off the tee to give yourself a chance of a decent score for each hole.

Frustration creeps in and it is easy to lose motivation at this point. You often find that beginners can hit the short irons a good distance but the long irons and the woods not very far. Why is this? It does not seem to make sense.

Well, it is to do with confidence in the club you are playing. Short irons are easy to play well. They have a generous amount of loft, and a shorter shaft length. Practice hitting these well and confidently, then work on the longer irons and three wood, rather than the driver. Leave that in the bag for now. Concentrate on hitting down on the short iron shots, and this will help you hit the ball before the ground. All golfers know the frustration of hitting the ground before the ball.

The driver and long irons need a different approach and skill set to play them well. With these clubs you need a longer and slower swing, relying on the loft of the club to make the ball rise in the air and carry for longer distances. It is difficult to adjust to playing these clubs well when you are new to the game.

If your objective is to hit the ball longer with your driver, all you need is a sound golf swing and a good swing rhythm, to be successful.

A lot of golfers write me and ask about various golf training aids that they have seen or that their golfing buddies have recommended.  First let me start out by saying that I am not against swing trainers.  There are some that I use and recommend, but I also have seen a lot of junk on the market that many golfers buy and see zero results from using them.  But I don’t position myself as an expert on swing trainers, so if there are some out there that I am not familiar with, please feel free to email me about them and I will check them out and get back to you.

First I want to talk for a minute about who, in my opinion, should use swing trainers and for what purposes.  Then I will mention a couple that I like personally.  What I am attempting to do in this article is give you an objective opinion that will help you to determine what is best for your golf swing.

I believe that players of all abilities can benefit from golf swing trainers.  But what they use them for and which ones, I believe, is a golf cart of a different color.  First let’s talk about beginner to intermediate golfers.

For beginner golfers especially, I think that a swing trainer that focuses on the basics or fixes major flaws can help.  I don’t think that these golfers should go for something that increases power or distance or that works on perfect swing plan.  They are not quite ready for that yet.  Usually beginner golfers should focus on things like grip, stance, tempo, fixing a major slice or hook, and making consistent solid contact.  I’ll talk a little later about some training aids that can help with these types of things.

Now for the more advanced golfers, there are an abundance of devices that can help everything from power and distance, tempo, manufacturing a fade or draw, and several other things.  Many of these golfers are already very good and may only be fine tuning their golf swing. But I would still recommend a little advice from your teaching pro if these golfers are considering tweaks to their golf swing using a training aid.

Now to some specific recommendations for golfers on swing training aids.  For beginning golfers, two problems that I see quite consistently are swinging too fast and major slice problems.  And there are a couple of simple swing training aids that help very nicely with both of these problems.

The first of these is the Kallassy Swing Magic.  It is a simple trainer that can really help with a slice problem.  It is a club the size of a normal golf club although it’s not made to hit actual golf balls.  But it has a sliding part for one of your hands (depending on whether you are right or left handed) that helps pull your swing into good position to hit a straighter shot or even a slight draw.  It can really help eliminate a slice.  It is simple and easy to use as well.

Another helpful and simple swing training aid for  beginners is the Swing Tempo from GP Golf.  It is a simple electronic device that can really help you develop a slower, smoother tempo for your golf swing.  And as many of you golfers already know, slower and smoother usually equals a better golf shot.

In another article I will talk more about specific golf swing training aids for the more advanced golfers.