80. By the time you have felt the contact of the ball on the clubface, the ball is between 12 and 15 yards into its flight; when you feel impact, you are in fact experiencing history

Struggling golfers will buy anything that claims it will help improve their game. Golf is the "Marketing" mans dream come true. Looking through a catalogue the other day of more than a 100 training aids, I found one which caught my eye nestling between a variety of velcro straps and webbings for the wrists, upper arms, back and legs and a selection of elbow braces, leg supports and what looked like a shin pad you put down the back of your gloved hand. Some, I am certain, are endorsed by the Marquis de Sade.

However, the saying that nothing is new in the game struck me when I came across the "Impact Bag.” The "Impact Bag" highlights the moment of truth in the swing which as the name implies, is the moment club and ball meet.

Over the years myself and many other Pros have resorted to using a car tyre for this drill which I believe first came to prominence through the late, Great, Henry Cotton. At the end of his very distinguished career, Henry took himself off to Portugal to retire but ended up developing the golf complex at Pennina where he carried on his involvement in the game by teaching. Back in the sixties and seventies, young promising players would fly out to seek Henry's wisdom and find themselves on the practice ground hitting old car tyres. It is a fact that many cynics observing this thought the old maestro had lost his marbles. The reality is that good players can appreciate both the idea and the benefits more than the lesser able players who sadly regard it as a very strange exercise outside the boundaries of "accepted golf instruction."

Impact represents an incredibly short space of time. By the time you have felt the contact of the ball on the clubface, the ball is between 12 and 15 yards into its flight. When you feel impact, you are in fact experiencing history. The harsh reality is that you have no control over impact as it occurs. A successful impact is determined further back in the swing, somewhere around the halfway down position. You can only get control at impact by ensuring you are in the correct position at this point. This is the starting point for the "tyre drill" with your hand action in the set position and at about hip height. However, I would strongly recommend that you do not attempt the routine until you have had it demonstrated by a qualified Pga Professional or you may need one of the aforementioned neoprene supports to protect the multiple fracture whilst your waiting for the ambulance to take you to A & E.

It is a routine that you must experience but it must be done properly to get the right experience which is another reason why you need it demonstrating. It gives great correct feelings for the impact with a sense of holding the power on, and through, the shot. Many poor players tend to slap at the ball resulting in powerless, erratic shots. This drill can help you to deliver the clubhead right on the button resulting in powerful flighted shots.

So before you rush out and take a wheel off the car, be warned. The exercise is designed for a fairly sedate half swing, but I will say it again, do not perform it until you have had it demonstrated by someone who is qualified and knows the routine.