As a rule, training aids do not have much of a shelf life. They come and they go, and rarely stay around long enough to make much of a difference for those who turned to them for help.
There are exceptions, of course, and one of those is the Swing Jacket.
Brought to market some two decades ago by Canadian entrepreneur Bill Walsh, the Swing Jacket is designed to add power to a swing. The device is comprised of two Velcro adjustable sleeves that are connected to a chest pad by gliding rails. All a golfer has to do is slide the Swing Jacket over his or her head and start making swings.
“All of a sudden, they feel that essential link of the arms to the body turn,” Walsh explained. “Their arms are fixed to the shoulder plane, and they have the ability to generate power like never before.”
Being able to hit balls while wearing the Swing Jacket – and being able to groove the feeling of the lead arm coming across the chest while maintaining “sympathy” with the body turn – makes the device stand out among training aids almost as much as its longevity. Golfers also like how the two sizes in which it is available (small and regular) are able to fit youngsters and well as big-and-tall fellows with chest sizes up to 53 inches.
Walsh, a lawyer by training, was involved in the venture capital business when he put on a prototype of the Swing Jacket for the first time. “I tried it, and I liked it,” he said.
“Then I asked Stephen Ames to check it out. This was back in 1998, and the device was still under development and kind of nasty looking, with latigo leather, screws and buckles. Stephen gave me a funny look when he saw it. But then he hit five shots with it on and immediately asked me to make him one.”
Another early advocate was Peter Jacobsen, who starred in a Swing Jacket infomercial once the device was released – after 2½ years of development and 52 prototypes – and who continues to train with a Swing Jacket to this day.