Product Review: The Golf Stretcher

By Brian Weis

My dad always says, "getting old sucks!"

After hitting the milestone this past year of turning 35 years old, I soon realized I need to do a little stretching before my workouts and in some cases even before I walk 18 holes. Gone are the days of running 3 miles or playing hours of basketball with little to no know care about that once ridiculous gym class routine, the old warm up.

This past weekend, I attended the Milwaukee Golf Show. I initially headed over to the golf club tents to see the latest drivers and clubs. After hit a few balls, I came to the conclusion that the new clubs are not bad but my swing is a little rusty. (Then again, I haven't picked up a club in 5 months due to the 80 plus inches of snow that fell in Milwaukee, Wisconsin this winter.)

After the shaky attempts at the hitting nets, I cruised the sea of tradeshow booths at the golf show. As I stopped to shake hands with one of the local pros in his booth, I saw an enthusiastic guy touting his golf apparatus. I chuckled as I saw this guy bending, twisting and breathing. However, I was intrigued because his crowd of onlookers seemed to be engaged. I meandered over to see what the buzz was all about.

I was greeted by Jack Wilson, the inventor of the stretching bar called the Golf Stretcher. The adjustable bar had rotating handles that I later found out allowed for more fluid and better stretches. He dove deep into the product, the benefits and the mini stretching routine.

More details at www.golfstretcher.com.

After giving me a quick demo of the stretches he handed me one to see (or feel) for myself. After about 3-4 minutes of following his advice on stretching and breathing I felt relaxed, stretched out and my tightness in my back had disappeared. All in all, I felt refreshed and pretty limber.

Feeling loose I headed back to the hitting area and proceeded to hit a dozen more balls. My swing was little more fluid and I had a much better turn. (Hmm, maybe I was not so rusty after all. Ding! The light bulb went off, I just needed a really good warm up before hitting some balls.)

At the end of my visit I stopped back at Mr. Wilson's booth and purchased the device. I think the $75 was well spent.

Driving home, I realized the old man in me now sees the benefits of a good stretch and some controlled breathing. The ironic part of the whole experience, I saw my old golf coach at the golf show. Who happened to be my high school gym teacher. I wonder if he stretches before he golfs??!! I guess it is neither here nor there.

This year I only added one new thing to my bag - the golf stretcher. Gosh, getting old sucks!

Revised: 03/08/2008 - Article Viewed 3725 Times

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Brian Weis Biography:

Brian Weis is the Editor of GolfTrips.com, a network of golf travel and directory sites including GolfWisconsin.com, TexasGolf.com, ArizonaGolfer.com, GolfAlabama.com, etc. In addition to writing and administering the content of the sites, he hosts the Golf Wisconsin online radio podcast.

All of his life Brian has been around the game of golf. As a youngster, Brian competed at all levels in junior and high school golf. Brian had zero chance for a college golf scholarship so he worked at West Bend Country Club on grounds crew to pay for his education at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. In his adult years, his passion for the game collided with his entrepreneurial spirit and in 2004 launched GolfWisconsin.com. In 2007, the idea of a network formed and GolfTrips.com was born.

Today, he is known as a fierce weekend warrior that carries a 14 handicap when he is betting and a 7 handicap when he is bragging. With a soft fade known as "The Weis Slice" and booming 300+ drives, he can hit it out of bounds with the best of them.