Tour Striker Review

Tour Striker Pro Intro:

(L) Tour Striker Pro Iron – (R) Bridgestone J33 Iron

In this article I will document the differences between the Tour Striker Pro 7-Iron and my standard 7-iron, the Bridgestone J33 Combo. This post will be fairly image heavy as the visual comparison will give you the best possible understanding of the Tour Striker Pro training aid and what sets it apart from the irons already in your bag.

My ‘Standard’ Iron:

I am sitting here are my desk with both clubs in hand trying to figure out how to best compare them. I have spent many hours on the range with both which will help me to provide good insight on swing and impact feel.

I will first describe the iron I am comparing the Tour Striker to. It comes from my iron set that I use both on the range and for rounds – my Bridgestone J33 Combo irons. They are visually beautiful with a soft forged head, True Temper Dynamic Gold S300 shafts and Lamkin Crossline Tour grips.

Tour Striker Pro at Bottom of Image

First Impressions:

I have heard and read many people comment about the weight of the Tour Striker. The head of the club has a substantial feel to it, especially in comparison to many game improvement irons. The weight is surprisingly similar to my Bridgestone J33 irons. After you purchase the Tour Striker and want to find iron heads with a similar weight distribution definitely look into what Bridgestone has to offer.

The Club Head:

The head of the Tour Striker looks like a standard iron from a few feet away. I love this because I don’t need my training aid to scream ‘TRAINING AID’ in bright colors and strange contraptions when I am using it. The looks of the iron are very subtle and will blend seamlessly into your other irons. When you get up close the differences begin to appear. For this I recommend looking at the photographs in detail. You will first notice how high the face of the club is on the head. The Tour Striker has a rounded leading edge which keeps the ball from going into the air if you do not strike down on it. This is done by removing the lower third of the club faces – the area where many amateur players like to ‘sweep’ the ball.

Back View

The Shaft:

Visually the shaft looks very similar to the Dynamic Gold S300 on my Bridgestone iron. According to what Martin Check, the inventor of the Tour Striker, has said online, the Tour Striker should have a bit of a soft feel than the Dynamic Gold shafts.

“The shaft is from Femco or FST. They make the KBS shaft, which I love…” –Martin Chuck on golfwrx

The Grip:

I love the Lamkin Crossline Tour grips on my Bridgestone’s. They have a great grip to them while remaining comfortable with an almost luxurious silk feel. The Tour Striker grip is slightly harsher, but by no means a cheap or poor feeling grip. Imagine it is one step down from the Crossline. The grips are similar enough where the difference would not be noticeable when switching between the two on the range. It has a nice feel to it, even when my hands get sweaty in the summer heat. It comes in flat black with the Tour Striker logo embossed on the side.

Back View

Swing Feel:

The best part about the Tour Striker Pro is that it feels like a normal 7-iron. I approach my shots on the range the exact same way I do with my standard 7-iron. I do not always hit it as well (user error), but the feel and approach is the same. The swing weight is fantastic. At impact you instantly know if you hit down on the ball or not. When you hit a thin shot off of the rounded portion of the face you can feel it. The best way to describe it is like missing the sweet spot on an old aluminum baseball bat – you can feel it in your hands. When you do strike down on the ball the impact and sound is great. It is not quite as soft as with my forged Bridgestone’s, but that is to be expected. The impact and swing feel of the Tour Striker Pro is wonderful and will not be a reason to keep you from purchasing the training aid.

Quality Control:

I believe the Tour Striker is made in China. Do not let that fool you as the specs are dialed in the quality control is tight. Looking closely at the grooves, seams and connections, everything is as it should be. My personal Tour Striker Pro in the photographs has seen some range time, so please do not think the nicks and scratches will be there on the new model – they will not. You will have to spend time hitting balls… and the ground at the range on your own to give your Tour Striker some ‘character.’

Front View

Overall:

The Tour Striker is a quality golf swing training aid – both in concept and production. The club feels great in your hands, looks fine (unlike most training aids) and has a nice feel at impact when you hit down on the ball. Get your hands on one, put it through the paces and see your game improve. If you decide it is not for you then you can sell in ebay or craigslist – they hold a surprisingly good resale value.

Suffice to say, I am a big fan of the Tour Striker. In the few months that I have been using it I have seen big change in my game – namely my ball flight. It feels great to strike down on the ball and see a high and penetrating ball flight as a result.

Tour Striker Concept:

The Tour Striker will make you a better golfer. That is what the marketers and shops want you to believe. We are here to provide a bit of insight into the Tour Striker training club and reveal both the benefits and the downsides of this training aid.

We believe that the Tour Striker can help you to become a better golfer, but so can many other products, golf instructors, etc. So why choose this item over another? In this article I will outline who the Tour Striker 8 Iron is best suited for and arm you with information as to whether it is the right product to take your golf game to the next level.

The Tour Striker 8 Iron:

The goal of the Tour Striker is to get you to strike down on the ball with forward shaft lean. This means your divot with be in front of the ball, not behind or directly under it. Many amateur golfers sweep the ball, meaning they come into contact with it at the very bottom of their swing – this is not ideal. The one thing all low handicap golfers have in common is great impact position. That is what this training aid is here to help you with.

The Tour Striker does this by taking a normal 8 Iron and rounding off the leading edge of the club. This means that any time you strike the ball at the very bottom of you swing, referred to as sweeping, you will not strike the new, small sweet spot on the club face. The ball will not take flight when struck like this. It is common to hit grounders or low line drives when first using your Tour Striker. It took me quite a while to get the ball airborne and figure out why my old impact position was not working.

I’m still using this, still enjoying it, and it’s still helping me improve my ball striking.” – GolfSpyMatt – mygolfspy.com

What’s in it for you?

The biggest advantage of using the Tour Striker training aid is that you will intuitively strike down on the ball with forward shaft lean when you switch back to your normal irons. Proper impact position will be engrained into your muscle memory. The best thing about this training aid is that it is a normal golf club. It feels just like your normal 8 iron and your swing should not change between the two. I often switch between my 8-iron and Tour Striker while at the range – it is a seamless transition.

Which Tour Striker Model?

There are various tour striker models on the market. I have written another article outlining the various versions and who they are best suited for – click here to view it. In this article we are discussing the Tour Striker 8 Iron. It is the easiest to use out of any of the Tour Striker models but still delivers big results when used regularly on the range. The 8 Iron is toward average and higher handicap golfers. It is a great club to use if you know you sweep the ball and take divot behind or under the ball – or do not take a divot at all. The 8 Iron is less frustrating to use and get the hang of than any of the other models. A quick visual comparison between the 8 Iron and the Pro X 7 Iron makes this quite clear.

Will it help your golf game?

The answer to this is yes, the Tour Striker will help your game. It will definitely take work, time and effort, but it will make sure you are concentrating your practice on the most important part of your swing, the moment of impact. I originally hesitated before purchasing my Tour Striker. I actually knew about it a year before making the purchase. I thought I had good swing impact position. I was comfortable with my ball flight and distance which make me think I was doing thing correctly, even though I rarely took a divot. All I can say is that when I finally got the Tour Striker I could not get the ball to go in the air my first couple of range sessions. After a bit of work and switching between the training aid and my normal irons I began hitting down on the ball. The feel was amazing – not to mention the added distance and ball flight. With all of this my consistency began to increase.

I try not to think back about how different things would be if I had purchased the Tour Striker 8 Iron when I first heard about it. If you are in a position like I was, purchase the Tour Striker now. You will thank yourself when you start to hit down on the ball and have a smile come across your face because of the great feel you get at impact.

Cons and Downsides:

The biggest downside of the Tour Striker is that hitting dribblers and line drives can be quite embarrassing. It took me some time to get over the fact that I should not care what the other people at the range thing of my ball flight. Everyone is there to get better and improve. I am my own worst enemy in these situations because I kept thinking to myself, “I know I am better than this” then would switch back to my regular irons to prove I could hit a decent shot. I eventually came around would only take the Tour Striker and one other iron to the range – and it has paid off. Hopefully you can learn from my mistake and stick it out with the Tour Striker from the get go. It will definitely pay off with the more time and range balls you hit with it. You will soon be hitting down on the ball, hitting the ball pure and far.

“Very few golfers actually hit the ball with a forward leaning shaft. This tool will force you to do that.”

GolfProgress – thehackersparadise.com

Where to Purchase:

The Tour Striker occasionally pops up on craiglist or ebay. These are great places to find a used version if you want to give it a try. When it comes to buying a new Tour Striker 8 Iron I recommend buying straight from the source – Martin Chuck, the inventor of the Tour Striker and a PGA teaching professional. Martin stands behind his product 100% and customer satisfaction is very important to him. You can often find comments directly from him on golf forums and blogs addressing concerns potential buying and owners have. He is also able to deal with your purchase on a personal level (for concerns, issues, returns, etc.) if you buy through his site which he is unable to do if you purchase through other online or brick and mortar stores.

Now is the time to take you golf game to the next level by knowing you are properly striking down on the ball. The results of the Tour Striker are quite amazing if you are dedicated to your game and put the effort in.

Tour Striker Pro vs Standard 7 Iron