Training aids range enormously in price and usefulness, and the correlation between the two is weaker than you'd expect — some of the cheapest tools in golf are also the most genuinely useful.
Start with alignment sticks
At roughly the cost of a sleeve of premium golf balls, a pair of alignment sticks can check body alignment, ball position and swing path — problems that are otherwise very difficult to self-diagnose without a mirror or a second set of eyes. See our training aids equipment guide for specific drills.
Impact bags for contact-quality feedback
An impact bag gives instant physical feedback on hand and clubface position at the moment of impact — genuinely useful for diagnosing fat, thin or inconsistent contact, especially for short-game and iron work.
Be skeptical of "automatic fix" claims
Any aid marketed as fixing your swing automatically, without addressing the underlying mechanics, deserves scrutiny. The most effective training aids give you feedback or constrain a specific fault — they don't do the work for you.
Match the aid to a diagnosed problem
The most common mistake is buying an aid based on marketing rather than a clear diagnosis of your actual issue. Identify your specific fault first using our drill library organized by silo, then choose an aid that targets that exact problem.