TRAINING AID REVIEW – PIPOE

Introduction

By: Matt Saternus

If you’ve ever watched Alton Brown’s Good Eats, you know that the man despises “uni-taskers,” devices that only serve one purpose.  I think that if Mr. Brown walked down the Training Aid aisle of his local pro shop, he’d lose his mind: the vast majority of training aids fit that hated description to a T.

But in a world of $100 devices that you won’t use for more than a week, Pipoe dares to be different: a seemingly-simple training aid that serves no less than eight different functions…and at price less than half of the average training aid.  Read on to learn more about the only training aid Alton Brown would allow in his kitchen…I mean golf bag.

Ease of Use/Set Up

Pipoe is extremely easy to use.  The cards that come with Pipoe explain how to do all the drills and their purpose.  The cards are stored on the same carabiner as Pipoe, so they’re always conveniently located.

The maximum set up time that any drill requires is about 10 seconds; most are even faster.

Score: 10/10

Effectiveness

The first thing to understand about Pipoe is that it is not a revolutionary training aid; rather it seeks to make some classic drills better and to lighten your bag.  Since these are drills that most people are familiar with, I’m not going to comment on their effectiveness.  Instead I will focus on whether or not Pipoe makes the drills better.

Pipoe Under Arm:

This classic drill is designed to fight the “chicken wing” and to help the player get their club on a “flatter” plane.  When you see this drill in golf magazines, it’s recommended to use a glove, headcover, or towel under the arm.  While the drill is good with those items, it’s better with Pipoe.  First, Pipoe, being thicker than a towel, gives you a little more margin for error (a good thing, in my opinion, since you don’t really want the right arm completely pinned to your side).  Second, Pipoe gives you a little resistance, so you get the feel of actively keeping the elbow tight to the body.  Most importantly, Pipoe gives you better feedback than a towel because you will hear the “pop” of Pipoe unfolding as soon as you separate your right arm from your body (most people have no idea when the towel falls out).

{Verdict} – Pipoe makes this classic drill more effective.

Pipoe Between Hands:

This drill is actually two-in-one: with an empty Pipoe, you can focus on keeping your arms in front of your body.  Loaded with golf balls, Pipoe becomes a medicine ball that not only works on your technique, but also builds your strength.

{Verdict} – A great rainy day drill, and a cheap stand-in for a medicine ball.

Pipoe Between Arms:

This was a favorite drill of one of my old teaching partners, and he always used a balloon. However, the problems with the balloons were numerous: they had to be inflated to just the right size, they leaked air, and, of course, they popped.  Pipoe has none of these problems.

{Verdict} – +1 for Pipoe

Pipoe On the Grip:

This is a drill that is unique to Pipoe.  The idea is that Pipoe acts as a reference for where your club face is pointed during your takeaway.  Personally, I’d rather just look at the club face.

{Verdict} – A bit of a reach.

Pipoe Off the Grip:

There are lots of trainers that teach you to “hold your lag” or properly time your release.  When you put Pipoe on the end of the grip nearest the clubhead and try to delay “throwing” it down the shaft, it imitates these trainers.  While I have my concerns about these devices (I think the feedback is often muddy), Pipoe works as well as the one trick ponies that cost $100.

{Verdict} – Pipoe just saved your $100

Pipoe Between Thighs:

Another reason that my partner and I were always out of balloons is that our students were routinely popping them while trying to perform this drill.  As with the Between the Arms Drill, Pipoe eliminates all the problems of the balloon while retaining all of the benefits.

{Verdict} – Pipoe 2, Balloons 0.

Pipoe Under Foot:

Golf instructors have been putting towels and golf balls under their students feet forever to get them to feel various things: shifting weight backward or forward, or locking it in for a specialty shot.  The problem is that standing on a golf ball, especially for those with bad balance, is damned dangerous.  Standing on Pipoe, however, is not.  Pipoe is also thicker than a towel or a ball, so it enhances whatever feel you’re aiming for.

{Verdict} – Pipoe will keep you from falling on you’re a**.  That’s a good thing.

Pipoe Weighted Club:

Not so much a drill as something that every golfer has probably used at some point as either a warm up or a way of building strength.  Either way, the problem is that heavy clubs are…heavy.  Putting Pipoe on the end of your club gives you the feel of a heavy club without breaking your back.

{Verdict} – Another win for Pipoe.

That may have been the single longest “Effectiveness” section ever, which speaks to the versatility of Pipoe.  If we add up the score, Pipoe clearly improved 7 out of 8 classic drills, which is good enough for an A in Effectiveness.

Score: 28/30

Longevity

With 9 “stock” uses, and the possibility of creating more on your own, it seems to me that Pipoe should keep its spot on your bag for a long time.  As far as the longevity of Pipoe itself, I gave it a healthy stomping during the test and it is no worse for the wear.  A bit of soap and water and it could probably pass for new.  I have no reason to believe that Pipoe can’t take whatever you can dish out.

Score: 20/20

Value

Pipoe retails for $39.99 through the Pipoe website.  When you consider the Effectiveness combined with the fact that it is less than half the price of the “average” training aid, it’s hard to label Pipoe as anything other than an exceptional value.

Score: 20/20

The Peanut Gallery

Everyone in the Peanut Gallery found something to like about Pipoe.  Some liked having a “heavy club” option that didn’t weigh their bag down.  Others gravitated to the various drills that they could do with it.  Everybody liked the fact that Pipoe was always just a click away, and they liked the price even more.  For the first time in a long time, I actually had Peanut Gallery members who were interested in buying a new training aid.

Score: 19/20

Final Thoughts

Though I wasn’t sure about Pipoe at first, the more I used it, the more I liked it.  I found that this simple device has many uses and makes a wide variety of drills more effective.  Best of all, from a practical perspective, Pipoe is small and light enough to travel with you at all times.  This ensures that when you need it, Pipoe will be there for you.  If you regularly use any of the drills mentioned above (or if you think you should), I believe it is well worth $40 to add Pipoe to your bag.

Score: 97/100

Pipoe – Photo Gallery