After designing the Golf Pucks system, I started a handbook that laid out the configurations I thought were most useful. I thought the booklet covered everything the Golf Pucks could be used for, but the potential was far greater. After some initial sales, I experienced something I couldn’t have predicted: golfers were online showing examples of the system being used in ways I never imagined.
First, I saw a post on Instagram of a golfer using a single Golf Puck. Well, at the time, we didn’t even sell a One Puck System, nor did it occur to me that someone would want only one puck. But wow, what a simple application of the concept for accurate-repeatable setups, including where to place the ball in your stance; distance to stand from the ball; and where to place the ball for different club lengths. They used it for short practice sessions on the range and for warmups before a round of golf, then simply collapsed the two Guide Rods to parallel and stored it in their bag for quick deployment. After viewing this online video, I started offering a One Puck System for those who want to keep things as simple and quick as possible. You can even store the assembled system in your bag for pre-round warmups. Basically, they used the common way most golfers lay a couple of alignment rods down, but Golf Pucks set up faster. And having them locked together meant that adjusting to different targets or positions after taking a divot would save a lot of time. Local PGA Instructor Stuart Birch fell in love with the product and offered to make a video with us showing how he uses it:
Then, another PGA teaching pro found that he wanted to place the ball forward in his stance when he used the driver. He positioned the Ball Alignment Guide Rod in line with his toes on his front foot for a more upward angle of attack with the driver. He used one of the shorter Guide Rods to accomplish this.
Later, Mari Chun, a brilliant, aspiring LPGA player showed an Instagram video using a setup that was different from any that I conceived. She set a second Guide Rod parallel to the Ball Placement Guide Rod, using a second Golf Puck farther to the right of her trailing right foot. She attached a third Golf Puck to this Guide Rod, then placed a Guide Rod directly behind the ball directly in line with the target. She demonstrated that she used this Guide Rod to start her backswing along this path, and as a more accurate Target Alignment Guide Rod and follow-through path. I have found that this setup also allows the placement of another Guide Rod, using a fourth Golf Puck, along the path of the downswing directly in line with the ball. This helps a lot of players better visualize exactly the line their downswing path should take.
The new setup ideas from our customers have also led us to come up with more new setups of our own, such as the concept of setting up Golf Pucks to the right of the Ball Alignment Guide Rod. We discovered that this setup enabled us to more effectively demonstrate how to set up with an open stance and an open clubface for bunker play and pitching. It has been universally difficult to teach where to place the ball in a golfer’s stance, and how to hit the shot with an open clubface. Do you position the ball off your front foot? Off your back foot? What direction do you swing an open-face club? How open should the clubface be? Golf Pucks can be set at any angle to each other, so the answer is which ever setup works best for you. Once you discover that, you lock the setup in place and repeat practice with it to build muscle memory for the highly precise types of shots required around the green.
An open clubface angle can be set with one of the Guide Rods positioned at an angle, and the ball is placed in the stance as it would be with a wedge, about midway between the feet. The swing path is along the Foot Alignment Guide Rod, in a path parallel to the toe line. A golfer can now easily visualize where the ball should be located in their stance, what angle to open the clubface, and what direction to swing the club. With a consistent practice setup position, they will have a more precise practice session. They can effectively learn how to use an open clubface, with an open stance, so they become more effective with the delicate shots around the green.
As a result of the creative input of others, a new handbook is in the works. And this new one will probably be out of date by the time I finish it. I knew the great value of the product was repeatability, but I didn't think I'd repeatedly be making new user's manuals. Perhaps instead of constantly updating them, I should just make a one sheet that simply says, "It's infinitely adaptable!"