The MISIG is a golf training aid that claims to improve your swing, fitness and reduce the risk of injury. But what exactly does it do? In this article, we’ll discuss the key features of this device and look at some of the benefits it provides for different golfers. We’ll also take a closer look at if you should buy this product, or you’re better off spending your golfing funds elsewhere.
Table of Contents
Claims
The MISIG from Feel The Stretch has a list of claims longer than most supplements. Here are the claims from their website, promos and training material:
- Add 20 – 25 yards distance in 2 weeks.
- Increase your clubhead speed.
- Dramatically increases degrees of the backswing, feel the stretch of shoulders, back and hips.
- Make your golf swing wider and stronger.
- Reduce your over the top movement.
- Develop a better, more consistent swing plane.
- Strengthen shoulders and upper body.
- Helps you experience proper takeaway.
- The results? Fewer injuries, stronger muscles, more consistency, better swing and better distance.
In this article, we’ll dig into these claims and provide our own humble opinion of what the MISIG does and does not do.
What is the MISIG
Is a 41″ golf club with a foam handle, weighted ball, sliding grip, resistance cord and elbow strap. The creators claim that by swinging the MISIG, you’ll get a better golf swing, become strong and gain mobility.
The MISIG comes with three resistance bands offering various levels of resistance and room for progression.
MISIG Review
After a few weeks of testing and tinkering here are my thoughts on the MISIG. I think it’s most helpful to break them down into two parts: swing trainer and conditioning.
MISIG – Swing trainer
The MISIG gives a nice feeling of how the arms should properly rotate and fold during your backswing and encourages some dynamic arm action in the downswing. These are both positives and may loosely link to their claims around swing plane, although I would argue there are better training aids to improve your swing plane.
The second benefit is that by activating muscles around your shoulders the MISIG does encourage you to keep your arm width make more of a turn with your upper body.
These are both positive feels, but in my humble opinion, the fact your hands are apart and there is no ability to hit golf shots with this device means that it will have a limited impact on your swing mechanics in the short term. These benefits may develop longer-term as the conditioning benefits below kick in.
MISIG – Stretching & strengthening
The second set of claims relates to the MISIG’s ability to help you increase your strength, mobility and decrease injuries. Here I feel the MISIG oversells its claims but does serve a couple of important functions.
Swinging the MISIG with the resistance bands provides excellent training for the muscles around your shoulder and upper back. There are 17 muscles that innervate your shoulder and the posterior muscles play an important role in stabilising your shoulder joint and creating arm speed during your swing.
From testing, this is the key benefit of the MISIG – very specific strengthening around your shoulder, upper back and arms. Key muscles worked include:
- Rotator cuff (bilateral)
- Posterior deltoid (bilateral)
- Rhomboid (right)
- Lats (right)
- Obliques (right)
- Tricpes (left)
Does it also increase mobility? Potentially, some golfers may struggle to create the correct arm and body motions due to a lack of strength and stability rather than flexibility. The training suggested with the MISIG will improve strength and stability and may in turn improve your range of motion.
MISIG – Golf Insider verdict
The MISIG is a golf training aid that strengthens the muscles in your back, arms and shoulders. It also provides a nice tool for how the arms move and fold during your backswing.
Most golfers will likely see a small increase in distance, as with any conditioning training, however, I feel the 20 – 25 yard claim is unlikely for most. If you like to carry out golf-specific conditioning at home then the MISIG is worth considering as a useful tool.
For those who already use the gym, the strength gains from the MISIG could be mostly replicated with some good shoulder workouts on a cable machine.
Does the MISIG work?
The MISIG will likely increase clubhead speed and distance to some extent. It will also strengthen the muscles surrounding your shoulders and upper back. The MISIG certainly encourages the feeling of a wider swing with more rotation, but it may take time for this to transfer into your golf swing.
Alternative training aids to improve your golf swing
If you are looking for training aids to improve your strike check out the Tour Striker impact strap, Tour Striker Smart Ball and the B1 Blue Strike golf trainer. For swing aids that focus on distance and conditioning check out these articles on the Orange Whip and SuperSpeed Sticks.
Happy golfing – Will @ Golf Insider UK
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