The ONE Club Swing Trainer Review

on May 7, 2024

50 Words or Less

The ONE Club Swing Trainer offers a combination of swing speed and release training in one device. Simple to understand and get started. Advancing to more challenging setups gets a bit complicated.

Introduction

Every golfer seeks more distance, and manufacturers feed our brains by endlessly marketing their clubs as the golden ticket. But fundamentally, the true key to more distance is faster swing speed. The ONE Club Swing Trainer (ONE) was developed to not only increase swing speed but also to optimize release. As someone who needs help with both of those aspects, I put the ONE to the test.

Set Up & Ease of Use

ONE comes in a sleek box, pre-assembled with all the components, plus a printed guide book. I also received an email stating that the booklet was incorrect regarding the included elastics. Oddly enough I discovered the downloadable version is also wrong. Another email reminder encouraged me to watch “quick start” videos. I appreciated that the three videos (Feel, Release, and Customize) were each less than a minute and aligned to the printed material.

Before getting into my actual use of The ONE Club, I have to comment on the opening sentence of the instruction guide: “Before embarking on self-instruction of your golf swing, it is highly advisable to seek the guidance of a skilled teaching professional to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of your technique.” I totally get that they don’t want us to ingrain bad habits, but that seems like a full on CYA knowing most golfers aren’t going to do it.

The ONE system includes the club itself (with shaft, grip, sliding carriage, and dampening end stopper), weights (4 @ 60 gram, 1 @ 125 gram), and elastics (1 weak, 2 medium, 1 strong). Installing both weights and elastics is both simple and intuitive.

With a few swings of the ONE in a base level 1 setup, I had a good understanding of both Feel and Release. As you swing, the carriage slides and creates a “click” as it hits the end stopper. The key to training is to find a level – a combination of weights and elastics – that allows you to achieve a repeatable, good, release point three times in a row. I found that level 3 with three weights was a good starting point and began three sets of 3 swings, 3x a week – both directions. Swinging left handed was awkward and not always pretty, but based on the training videos it seemed wise to train both my dominant and non-dominant sides equally.

Effectiveness

Based on Trackman data with my driver, I picked up 2 mph in club speed after two weeks. After another two weeks I had gained another 1 mph. It’s worth mentioning that it typically took me a few warm up swings to get to my “3’s” routine. And I often ended up with a few extra swings because I was in a good groove.

I also enjoyed using the ONE for pre-round warmup before leaving the house. I didn’t strive for speed, but rather an impactful release. For me, timing and tempo are critical to get in sync before playing and using the ONE got me there before hitting a ball on the range.

Finding the proper resistance can be challenging with two variables: weights and elastics. The key is understanding your release point and trying to follow the ONE chart and examples. It’s not exactly straightforward and took me a few readings to grasp when I wanted to go up a level. I’m far from reaching the upper resistance settings, but I found it odd that ONE never states the value of the strong elastic. I can only conclude it’s a 6 to make the numbers work, though that still doesn’t get to a 12 setup – the highest resistance level in the chart.

The ONE website also includes a 10 video technical series hosted by Martin Chuck. I watched several videos but did not attempt any of the instructional methods. Martin is a great guy, and I appreciate his knowledge, but I felt like The ONE Club was a bit awkward as his training aid of choice.

Longevity

All the components seem well made, and I didn’t observe any wear after a month. As with anything rubbery, the resistance bands are certain to deteriorate, but I suspect that could be a few years down the road. I do wish The ONE Club came with a component bag to hold the booklet and unused elastics and weights.

Like any fitness regime, using the ONE takes commitment to achieve full benefits. After a month I could tell my focus was starting to slip. Part of that was the weather being more conducive to play and practice. A positive of the ONE is it can be revisited any time.

Value

The ONE retails for $199, which is a right in line with other speed training systems. Super Speed [full review HERE] and Rypstick [full review HERE] are the same price, whereas Stack retails for $349. All three lack the release feedback aspect of the ONE.

What ONE doesn’t have is a method for direct swing speed measurement, which the other brands can achieve with their longer shaft lengths when paired with a radar type of device. Instant feedback versus swinging with your driver is an aspect you’ll want to consider.

Conclusion

The ONE has a lot going for it: compact size, adjustability, and release feedback. What it doesn’t offer is instantaneous speed feedback – even if you already own a personal launch monitor. That said, the ONE does deliver in terms of developing swing speed and release timing. I also found the ONE to be a great warmup aid. Finally, I appreciate that the ONE website discusses the science behind the system (plyometrics and dynamic training) without getting too technical or making wild claims.

Visit The ONE Club Swing Trainer HERE

Author
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Matt Meeker

Senior Writer at Plugged In Golf

Matt - aka 'Meeks' - lives in the beautiful Lowcountry of South Carolina with his wife who allows his golf obsession to stretch the limits of normalcy.