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January 19, 2005
Rated
#1 Training Aid in 2004
For
more than a year now, the Inside Approach swing trainer, has been taking
the golf world by storm. And with little wonder.
The portable (store it in your golf bag) Inside Approach–invented by Jim
Sowerwine, Director of Instruction at the Rick Smith Golf Academy at
Tiburon in Naples, Florida provides instant feedback, allowing the user to
benefit immediately from the most effective way to correct his or her
swing path available today. In fact, there’s a six-swing guarantee that
your swing path will be corrected. The Inside Approach is the first
training aid that guarantees to cure your slice, increase your distance
and lower your scores in just six swings or less.
The Inside Approach, used by the majority of the nation’s top ranked
instructors and academies, has won a number of awards, including the
coveted Golf Digest’s Editor’s Choice award as golf’s “No. 1 training aid
for 2004,” and Golf World magazine said “the Inside Approach is “Lightning
in a bottle.”
“It’s nice that we have received all these awards,” Sowerwine says, “but
what’s really gratifying to me is that golfers are actually getting
better. It’s fun to see all the notes and emails come in, from around the
world, [saying] that [the Inside Approach] is changing my game. That’s fun
to see.”
The simple yet mechanically clever designed Inside Approach features a
cylindrical-shaped cushion that is attached to a stand with a break away
feature. The cushion can be rotated and positioned to encourage or
discourage any desired swing path for both right- and left-handed golfers.
The Inside Approach helps golfers of all skill levels, from the high
handicapper to the Tour player, improve their swings; it’s primary design
is to help swings that are too steep or ‘over-the-top’ (which produce
slices, pulls and pop-ups) and swing paths that are too far from the
inside or underneath the plane (which produce pushes, blocks, and hooks).
And the best news of all is there’s more to the Inside Approach than meets
the eye. In fact, the Inside Approach’s unique versatility is why it has
made its way into the hands of players on every major professional tour.
Its detachable cushion and other parts can be rotated or adjusted in an
infinite number of positions, giving the user a variety of ways to improve
just about every facet of his or her game.
“The Inside Approach has been successful for one simple reason–it works,”
says Jack Nicklaus, the greatest golfer of all time and an Inside Approach
endorser. “We’re finding out that not only does it work but there are many
other approaches for it. It has many other applications. That’s what’s
important..”
With the
awards and reception from the golf industry to back it up, the Inside
Approach is by far the most effective aid to cure the “slice”. What
Sowerwine wants everyone to understand is how and why the Inside Approach
is so effective for any desired swing path. The ability to control ball
flight (draws and fades) as the best players in the world can do, one must
be able to adjust how and where the club approaches the ball. “It’s really
pretty simple to understand”, Sowerwine says, “to hit it strait, the club
must be approaching the ball from the inside on the same plane in which it
started, to hit a draw, the club must be approaching the ball slightly
more from the inside, and to hit a fade, the club should approach the ball
a little steeper. If you deviate from these swing paths you are asking for
trouble”. The versatility of the Inside Approach allows it to be used as a
simple visual of where to swing the club or it can be used as a barrier to
prevent you from making an undesirable swing path. “Most golfers are
visual learners”, Sowerwine says “that it why it is so effective and easy
to make the adjustment. Position or angle the cushion for the path you are
trying to accomplish and just miss it. You don’t have to think of
positions or the ‘how to’; you have that visual barrier that will show you
the ‘where to’. If you happen to hit the cushion, it will safely break
away; if you miss the cushion you will hit better shots. It’s that
simple”.
ADVANCED
USES
‘Draws
and maximum distance’
To learn
how to properly hit a draw, the swing path needs to approach the ball from
slightly underneath the swing plane. To learn this, angle the cushion
slightly from in to out. This will help you visualize and encourage your
swing to approach the ball slightly more to the inside than may be
necessary for a strait ball flight, but optimal if you are trying hit a
‘draw’ and/or are trying to maximize your distance. This shallower
approach almost guarantees a draw.
‘Fades or
keeping the club more in front of you’
For
players whose swing paths approach the ball too far from the inside, (a
path which results ‘hooks’ and ‘pushes’) place the Inside Approach to the
inside of the target line, where the cushion will prevent or discourage
the club from swinging away and coming in too shallow. Placement of the
cushion this way promotes one to keep the club more in front of you on the
way down instead of allowing the club to be left behind or underneath.
This
usage is why the Inside Approach has been so popular with many Tour
players. Jerry Kelly, PGA Tour and 2004 Top 30 money list, veterans and
past champions Mark Lye, Keith Fergus, and Dave Barr, just to name a few
on the Champions Tour, LPGA veteran Ashli Bunch, and 3 time Nationwide
champion Ryan Howison, all travel with the Inside Approach for this very
reason. Leaving the club behind is a common fault amongst tour players. As
Jerry Kelly states “I have to use this! Because it gives me a visual,
along with immediate feedback on whether I have the club where I need it
to be”. This application is also extremely effective for any players
who hit hooks, pushes, thin and heavy shots because it promotes the angle
of approach necessary for solid contact and for a ball flight to start on
line.
SHORT
GAME
Chipping
and pitching
There are
a few necessary principles involved for fundamental chipping and pitching.
You must strike the ball with a slight descending action and the arc of
the swing must be the same on both sides of the ball.
The Inside Approach is extremely effective for monitoring these
fundamentals. For the backswing, set the Inside Approach about
two-and-a-half feet directly behind you with the cushion behind the ball
facing 90 degrees to the target line. This forces the club to be swung
more vertical on the way back and helps you understand when to begin
cocking your wrists. This is critical to proficient chipping because it
will allow the club to naturally descend down onto the ball without
forcing it or chopping down on the ball.
On the forward side of your swing arc, place the Inside Approach in front
of the ball (about one-and-a half feet) and outside the target line with
the cushion angled to mirror your shaft angle at address. This will
encourage your through-swing to travel forward on the correct arc, another
‘must’ for good chipping. As a result this will also encourage you to have
a slight pivot, also a necessary fundamental for good chipping or
pitching.
PUTTING
Mark Lye, Champions Tour, uses the Inside Approach regularly for putting.
For short putts, set up the Inside Approach’s bottom leg just outside the
ball parallel to the putting line with the cushion positioned backward
along the line and inside the ball. This creates a pathway of parallel
lines which instills a fantastic visual you will imprint in your memory.
On longer putts, remove the top arm and cushion from the Inside Approach
so it doesn’t interfere with the longer stroke you have to make. Then set
the Inside Approach’s bottom leg perpendicular to the line again.
BODY
MOTION FEEDBACK
You can also use the Inside Approach to monitor some undesirable body
motions as Mike Malaska, Golf Magazine Top 100 teachers, likes to use for
swaying. To eliminate excessive swaying or leg motion, rotate the cushion
strait up and position it so that it touches your knee. If you sway during
your backswing, position the cushion so it touches your back leg. If you
have too much leg drive or excessive shifting on you follow-through place
it to touch your forward leg. As you make your swing, you will either feel
the cushion rubbing up against your knee or you will knock it off if you
sway too much. Again it’s instant feedback awareness that is so highly
effective for making changes.
To learn specifically how some of the greatest teachers and players in the
world take advantage of the Inside Approach’s versatility, the “Advanced
Drills” video shows their demonstrations and explanations. They also share
their swing thoughts for all aspects of the game, unrelated to the Inside
Approach in the “Secret Lessons from the Tour” video.
The Inside Approach’s 30-day money back guarantee states that if the
golfer isn’t hitting the ball straighter and longer with more confidence,
he or she can return the product for a complete refund of the purchase
price.
The Inside Approach costs $59.98, plus shipping and handling (or two
payments of $29.99, plus shipping and handling), and comes with a
convenient mesh tote bag, and an instructional video featuring Jack
Nicklaus, Mike Malaska, Golf Magazine Top 100, and top ranked instructor
and inventor Jim Sowerwine.
Call 888-610-3889 or go to
www.insideapproach.com
for more information or to order.
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