Golf Swing Practice Aid goes down a Storm in Japan

Jan. 5, 2009 - PRLog -- A group of straight-faced Japanese businessmen seated in tense anticipation around a looming boardroom table offered up an interesting audience for English PGA Professional Paul Thornley and his golf swing practice aid Targetline when he took it over to Japan to see how the golf-fanatical Japanese would feel about his innovative idea.

In a country where every lunch break and leisure hour is spent playing or practising golf, hopes ran high that the impending reaction to Targetline (http://www.targetline.co.uk), the indoor golf swing practice aid that utilises the raised tee, shortened club and instant swing feedback-shot measurability concept, would be a positive one.

However, Paul Thornley, developer of Targetline, was unsure of what to expect from his Far East demonstration. He knew that Jumbo Izaki, the Japanese godfather of golf, practised as a child for hours with a short club off a raised tee using a tennis ball that he hit against a wall, and felt this fact would stand his practice aid in good stead with the Japanese. However, explaining the measurability part of the Targetline net was an arduous task he hadn’t bargained for.

Paul says, “One of our Japanese guests stepped up to try Targetline. A perfect shot would result in the ball landing in the central channel; this man hit the ball into the right hand channel. Then he did the very same thing again on his second shot and appeared quite flummoxed that he was not hitting a straight shot. There was lots of murmuring and head scratching from his counterparts and then it was time for lunch so we left Targetline set up in the board room and made off for some Saki and pleasant conversation.”

But what they saw on their return was the most memorable point of the whole episode. Paul laughs, “The entire staff was in the boardroom taking their turn on Targetline! They were almost fighting over who would have the club next!”

Amidst the mêlée, Paul noticed one underlying factor: none of the competitors in this lunchtime round were able to hit the ball straight, and the reason was clear. Paul explains: “The reason none of the Japanese could grasp the concept of a practice net that gives instant feedback on a shot is that in Japan, all driving ranges are no more than 50 yards long. This means that every shot hits the back of the net and that the golfer never actually gets to see the flight of the golf ball. Because they never see the ball go the final 150 yards, they all think they are hitting it straight when in fact they are doing the opposite.”

Paul concludes: “When you use a golf practice net, it must be one that measures your shot. You must aim at something, otherwise you are practising nothing. Luckily by the time we left Japan, our eastern friends had grasped this concept and now Targetline is a highly popular piece of indoor practice kit over there.”

Targetline is an indoor golf swing practice aid that offers instant measurability so that swing errors can be identified and corrected. For more information visit http://www.targetline.co.uk.

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Targetline is a unique system that brings golf indoors. It can be used for golf practice and training and as an indoor competition. Targetline is safe to use in a confined space, easy to set up, fully transportable and compact for storage. For more information visit http://www.targetline.co.uk