Golf is a game which spoils a good walk as a famous American author once said, it could also be said to spoil a good bank balance because once it gets under your skin it can prove very expensive. Most players dream of being Tiger Woods or Rory McIlroy but the Woods they tend to encounter is after shanking one from the Eighth tee. So golf more than any other game has an array of aids to help you push your handicap down below double figures.

One of them is the golf swing trainer, in truth every problem with playing golf comes from the swing and the striking of the ball. As with all ball sports the connection of equipment with ball is the only moment that the player can impact on the ball, in other sports this can be almost constant but with golf even the best round a player will only hit the ball 65-70 times. Indeed, if you exclude putting a player may only use his full swing about 25-35 times in a round. So any aid which propels the ball straight is one which will improve your game.

The swing adjuster is at it heart a very simple piece of equipment; it has a weighted end and a grip which only allows a grip in the correct position. The grip is graduated, with a bobble in the middle stopping the common error of holding the club too far down the shaft. The end of the swing adjuster is one which is weighted incorrectly for a player to hit his normal shot, indeed it forces the player to bring the club backwards and forwards in a straight line rather than at an angle. The player if he comes down at an incorrect angle will feel him being pulled over and can lose his balance if he's too far away from the straight and true.

The purpose of the swing adjuster is for the player to swing backwards and forwards without feeling tension in his neck and lower back and without losing balance. If you watch the top players with their coaches they often have a little piece of wood behind a ball and the wood is pushed back on the upswing and isn't there in the down swing this makes the player come back and forward in a fluent arc. As most club players don't have a coach just behind them to put the piece of wood behind his club head before playing the shot we have to make do with golfing aids and this is one of them.

The piece of equipment as with all golfing aids is in truth a bit of a luxury item, you can play golf very easily without it and you don't really need one but if you want to shave those precious points of your handicap then using one for an hour every now and again can make a big difference. I always say that golf is the one game where practice truly makes permanent, unfortunately most of us don't have time to play every day but a bit of a practice every now and again never hurts.

If you want to buy the swing aid then they cost about £20 but are usually available for discount on online swap shops.