Reviews of Golf Training Aids that help you work on your game at home.

In this new section of Residential Putting Green Magazine, we review golf training aids that can help you improve your game. If you are serious about backyard and indoor putting greens, we think it is a safe bet you are very serious about improving your golf game.

These golf training aid reviews will let you know what training aids are out there and whether they will meet the expectations of the serious golfer.

I am stepping up to the plate in this first review and taking a close look at a product called birdieball.

I was pretty excited when I saw the birdieball package arrive. The packaging is top notch and a peek inside the box made we want to grab a wedge and go hit the backyard and try these birdieballs out.

So I left early and did just that…anything to keep our readers informed!

My review in this article will be limited in scope. Because RPGM is focused on products that will help golfers at home, I wanted to review this golf training aid in my own backyard…not the driving range or in a field somewhere. What I’m getting at is that my review was done completely with a pitching wedge at distances 30 yards and in.

I had previously interviewed John Breaker, the inventor of birdieball, for an article in RPGM, so I already was aware of the product and how it worked…but I had never used the birdieball myself.

Admittedly, I looked at the birdieball in my hand and questioned whether it could live up to the hype. Could this thing that looks and feels like a napkin ring possibly “feel” like a traditional golf ball and “react” like a traditional golf ball? Would this really do what John said it would?

So I grabbed a couple of birdieballs and my pitching wedge and headed to my backyard. I tossed them on the ground about 15 yards from my backyard putting green and made sure the “hole” side of the birdieball was facing up (it had to be for the ball to react true).

I know what you’re thinking. “Anthony, you had a pitching wedge to hit a 15 yard shot? Well, yes. Not because I would use that club if I was hitting a Titleist ProV1 from the same distance, but I really didn’t know what to expect with the birdieball.

I shortened the backswing and followed through…and I really couldn’t believe it…at impact, the birdieball closely resembled the feel of a traditional golf ball. It had the same flight pattern and the same feel coming off the clubface. This birdieball took me by surprise.

I went back inside and grabbed the rest of the birdieballs in the package they sent me and did what I normally do when practicing in my backyard…I stood on the patio and started throwing birdieballs in every direction at varying lengths. Great practice.

If you hit a shot that isn’t solid, the birdieball will let you know by the sound of silence. A well struck golf shot will yield a sort of turbine sound (very cool, actually) and let you know immediately that you grooved it.

Look, I wasn’t expecting a lot of this product, but it delivered what was promised and lived up to the hype. I give it an “A” and it has now become a staple in my backyard practice sessions. A sleeve of birdieballs is only a few bucks.

Try it out for yourself and drop me an e-mail and let me know what you think. These birdieballs are fun and good for your game.