MyGolfSpy.com Official Review: Zoom Boom Training Aid
(Written By: GolfSpy Dave) Training aid reviews are some of the most difficult type of reviews to do. Ultimately, the goal of using any training tool is to improve your swing after using it…right? And that can be very tough to quantify. But that is the goal with “MyGolfSpy’s Golf Gadget Reviews”. We try it…before you buy it. And then we let you know whether or not it is worth spending your money on.
Some of the questions we will try to answer for you are: Will your game improve by using this product? Can the training tool take the place of your instructor between lessons? What I mean by that is does the tool allow you to continue to work on the problem areas of your swing without your teacher being present? And many more.
To me, most of these questions we will try and answer are very subjective and can be difficult to use as a system for ranking a training aid. So, we will base our training aid reviews on the guidelines that the PGA has published for teaching professionals.
Specifically, these 5 criteria:
- Validity: Is the device designed for something really important to success in the swing or the game?
- Reliability: Does the device provide consistent results when used in the same manner?
- Simplicity: Is the device easy to use and understand by the instructor and the learner?
- Durability: If the teaching aid is used regularly, is it made well enough so that it won’t require early replacement?
- Cost Effectiveness: Are the product’s benefits worth the price?
On to the Zoom Boom…
Yeah, the Zoom Boom video you see below might resemble some wacky infomercial on the Golf Channel at 2 am, but in the golf gadget world it is pretty much par for the course. Well this one might be a double-bogey…but nevertheless…all that matters is if the product really works or not….right?
One thing I can definitely say is that they have great customer service. Lance from Zoom Boom gets a huge thumbs up in that department. Throughout the past couple weeks, he has checked in with me often via email to see if I had any questions about the Zoom Boom and its use, which was a big help. Well enough of that, lets get on to the scoring and telling you guys whether or not this thing really does what it says.
VALIDITY
I interpret the Zoom Boom as addressing three basic aspects of the (golf swing, maintaining lag, stop swinging over the top, and squaring the club head through impact). Obviously these are all important aspects of the swing and I think that the tool along with the drills in the videos does an average job of addressing these areas.
The shifting of the weight in the Zoom Boom does allow you to feel the loading of the wrists in what they call “lock” position, but I think that the same shift in the center of gravity makes it feel very different during a full swing motion. While the weight in the hands definitely promotes dropping the hands from the top rather than swinging over the top, the light weight at the “club head” end made it difficult for me to keep track of it during the swing. I didn’t feel any real feedback from the head end regardless of swing path. Another issue for me is I felt that while the Zoom Boom addresses aspects of the arms during the swing, it did not help me with body rotation. Granted, this is not the goal of the Zoom Boom, but making a full turn is one of my personal swing goals and I need a tool that promotes the turn.
I do really like the dual white balls at the head end as a way to visualize the status of the face through impact. Again, I wish there was a bit more feedback as you turn the balls through impact. Aligning the balls square through impact does give a nice visual goal though. So I give it a 15 out of 20 in regards to product validity.
Validity Score: 15/20
RELIABILITY
I do see the Zoom Boom as providing constant results when used in the same manner. However, I did not feel very confident that I was getting the constant correct results. My confidence improved as I moved in front of a mirror to practice the drills. Overall though, based upon its construction, I do not see any way that the results would change between sessions providing the user holds and uses it the same way.
Reliability Score: 18/20
SIMPLICITY
I think that the Zoom Boom is very simple to use. The drills provided with the device and at the Zoom Boom site are easy to comprehend. Again though, I have a bit of an issue with the feedback of the device. Use of the Zoom Boom is simple in concept, but I was not always sure I was using it correctly based upon feel. Using a mirror helped, but I don’t usually have one of those on the course.
Another area where the product could be improved is with the instruction materials provided. A single sided page with a swinging, putting, and chipping drill really is not enough for someone who is unfamiliar with the tool to get started. The online videos are definitely a helpful supplement, but having to seek out drills and resources does make operation less simple.
Simplicity Score: 15/20
DURABILITY
The Zoom Boom is built so soundly that your great grand kids can probably still use it long after you are gone. No moving parts, quality materials. This thing will last and last.
Durability Score: 20/20
COST EFFECTIVENESS
The Zoom Boom retails for $99.95 + $19.95 shipping. I honestly think that this is a bit too high for the device. Golf equipment is expensive, but weighted training clubs can be found from $24.95 for the MG Golf Groovie to the $69.95 Medicus weighted/hittable 7 iron. I will definitely say that the Zoom Boom’s shift in weighting makes it different from the other clubs, but I still don’t feel that it warrants the price.
Ultimately, I believe that I would have a tough time arguing that the money spent on the Zoom Boom would produce better results than spending the same money working with a golf instructor. In all fairness, I am not sure that any training tool would pass this tool vs. lesson challenge.
Cost Effectiveness Score: 10/20
Total Score: 78/100
On the plus side, the Zoom Boom does come with a 30-day refund guarantee for the full purchase price, including shipping. So if you are thinking of trying one, then this is a good offer and I believe that it speaks to the confidence that the company has in its product. This way, you can try it out risk-free and see if it works for you.
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Sliq
13 years ago
I find it hard to take something called the “Zoom Boom” seriously, especially when it comes to a GOLF TRAINING APPARATUS. I’m bamboozled as to why people think another contraption to help you improve is a good idea, when so many in the past have been heavily scrutinized and failed.
It’s like there’s a status quo for awful, and people see an awful infomercial for an awful product and think that’s the norm, so that’s their actual target.
Just pay for lessons from a professional. Or get fitted for clubs.
Jerry Foley
13 years ago
My company,EvolSwing, is currently working on a golf swing device that addresses your reasoning quite well. I cannot disclose how it will work but suffice it to say it takes an opposite approach entirely. Golf devices fall into two primary categories; inexpensive gimmicky one-trick pony gizmo’s like ZoomBoom. And more sophisticated training aids that tend to be “post-shot” analysis gear. Both can be useful to some degree and do have value. The problem with the “gizmo” like devices is their short term benefit and lack of usefulness “where you need them”, i.e. on practice range or at play. Have you ever seen a Medicus pulled out and swung by a playing partner after he hit an awful shot? And who would swing a ZoomBoom on the first tee before teeing off? As for “post-shot” analytical stuff, if you just hit a wicked slice into the woods on hole #2 do you really need a device to tell you your clubface was open or your swingpath was outside-in? That explains why these devices don’t sell well. Frankly, even getting professional assistance doesn’t work for many. I watched my athletic son walk away from a paid lesson with the “PGA Teacher of the Year” because he couldn’t implement the instruction he was being given. So I set out to solve the problem (“need is the mother of invention”) and with the help of cognitive psychologists and PhD’s in Kinesiology and computer assisted education tried to see what really works. And “more of the same” technology found today was not the answer. Anyone reading this comment is welcome to communicate with me offline. We need feedback from interested people. Signed non-disclosures are required and nothing else. I can be reached at [email protected] or 515-988-0474. Our technology is intended to be taken to the golf course and used in play (without any embarrassment). You can’t use it during a USGA event but you can in practice.