The ifrothgolf review
An inflatable ball on an adjustable lanyard that you trap between your forearms (or under an armpit) to drill arm-body connection. Aimed at the mid-to-high handicapper who chicken-wings it, loses connection in the backswing, or just can't compress an iron.
What's great
It does one job and does it well. The whole point of those "ball between the forearms" drills is feedback, and this gives you two layers of it: the ball drops out if your arms split, and you feel a tug on the lanyard the second you disconnect. No bending down to fetch a dropped glove every swing, which means you actually keep practising. It is properly sized and not too heavy, lives in the bag, and reviewers report real carry-over, not just a crutch feel, with most folks getting the lightbulb moment around the third to fifth session. It quietly works for putting tempo too.
Worth knowing
It is a one-trick pony. It services maybe three connection drills and nothing else, so if you are not the type to actually do the reps it gathers dust fast. Use it wrong (no instruction, just guessing) and you can groove the wrong move, which is the real risk with the cheap knockoffs. It is an inflatable, so a sharp tee or spike will pop it, and folks with an aggressive release or dodgy shoulder mobility find it uncomfortable. It will not fix your path, your grip or your strike on its own.
The verdict
If arm-body connection is genuinely your fault, I rate it as a cheap, effective bit of kit that beats a tucked-in glove. If you just want a magic gadget to buy and never use, give it a miss, it only works if you put the reps in.
What reviewers say
Designed by GOLF Top 100 teacher Martin Chuck, reviewers at GOLF.com and Plugged In Golf rate it as a cheap, effective way to sync the arms and torso and improve connection. The main gripes owners mention are that it can be fiddly to inflate/deflate and the occasional air leak.
