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Best Short Game Training Aids for Women Golfers
I have tested more training aids than I care to admit. Most of them are overpriced junk.
The golf industry sold $2.4 billion in equipment last year. Training aids made up $800 million of that. Most of it sits in garages.
I watched a woman at the range last week hitting her 7-iron 115 yards. She was athletic, coordinated, and clearly strong. But her tempo was jerky and her arms were ahead of her body. I handed her a $40 training aid. Twenty swings later she was hitting it 128. The golf industry assumes women need different gear. They do not. They need the same fundamentals, trained with tools that work at 70 mph instead of 95 mph.
Women golfers lose more strokes around the green than anywhere else - not because they lack touch, but because the short game advice they get is built around men’s biomechanics. Women typically have slower clubhead speed through the hitting zone (which affects spin and roll-out), a narrower stance, and less upper-body strength for those “hinge and hold” chipping techniques that male teaching pros love. This guide picks short game training aids that actually work for women’s short game - tools th
1. Tour Striker Smart Ball: $40
The Smart Ball is an inflatable ball on a lanyard you pinch between your forearms. It sounds like a gimmick. It is not. If you swing with just your arms, the ball drops. If you rotate your core through the shot, it stays pinched. The feedback is immediate. At $40, it is the cheapest fix for the most common swing fault in golf.
What does not: It only trains connection, not distance control on chips and pitches. You can pinch it perfectly on every swing and still leave chips short if your low point is inconsistent. Pair it with a chipping net for the full picture.
Buy this: Tour Striker Smart Ball, $40. Designed by PGA coach Martin Chuck specifically to fix the arm-ahead-of-body pattern that causes chunked and thin contact around the green. A common miss when women are taught “hinge and hold” techniques built around a man’s upper-body strength.
Skip: If you will not use it every day, do not buy any training aid. The gear does not fix your swing. Practice does.
2. WhyGolf Chipping Plate: $40
Chipping nets are the most underrated training aid in golf. Everyone buys a putting mat. Nobody buys a chipping net. That is backwards. Most amateurs lose more strokes around the green than on it. At $40, a chipping net gives you a target, distance feedback, and gamified practice that makes chipping drills actually fun.
What does not: It only diagnoses low-point and contact quality, not distance or trajectory. If your strike is clean but your chips still come up short, the plate cannot tell you why. That is a pace problem, not a contact problem.
Buy this: WhyGolf Chipping Plate, $40. You hear and feel the club catch the plate on a fat chip before the ball even moves. Instant, unambiguous feedback instead of guessing why contact felt off.
Skip: If you will not use it every day, do not buy any training aid. The gear does not fix your swing. Practice does.
3. Me & My Golf Chipping Net: $40
Chipping nets are the most underrated training aid in golf. Everyone buys a putting mat. Nobody buys a chipping net. That is backwards. Most amateurs lose more strokes around the green than on it. At $40, a chipping net gives you a target, distance feedback, and gamified practice that makes chipping drills actually fun.
What does not: The mesh is lighter-duty than heavier builds like FORB. Daily outdoor use through a full season of sun and rain will wear it out faster. Best treated as an indoor-primary net.
Buy this: Me & My Golf Chipping Net, $40 (real street price closer to $23). Comes from Piers Ward and Andy Proudman, coaches behind a YouTube channel with over a million subscribers. The three target rings give you a specific goal instead of chipping vaguely at a blank net.
Skip: If you will not use it every day, do not buy any training aid. The gear does not fix your swing. Practice does.
4. Wedge Game / Tic-Tac-Toe Net: $40
Chipping nets are the most underrated training aid in golf. Everyone buys a putting mat. Nobody buys a chipping net. That is backwards. Most amateurs lose more strokes around the green than on it. At $40, a chipping net gives you a target, distance feedback, and gamified practice that makes chipping drills actually fun.
What does not: Setup takes a couple minutes with the steel frame. Not something you fold behind the couch between quick sessions. It rewards a dedicated practice corner, not grab-and-go use.
Buy this: Wedge Game / Tic-Tac-Toe Net, $40. The interchangeable target panels turn chipping practice into an actual game, which matters if blank-target repetition is what makes you quit after 15 minutes.
Skip: If you will not use it every day, do not buy any training aid. The gear does not fix your swing. Practice does.
5. FORB Chipping Net: $30
Chipping nets are the most underrated training aid in golf. Everyone buys a putting mat. Nobody buys a chipping net. That is backwards. Most amateurs lose more strokes around the green than on it. At $30, a chipping net gives you a target, distance feedback, and gamified practice that makes chipping drills actually fun.
What does not: The Velcro target attachments can shift under a full wedge swing. Fine for chipping, annoying if you also use it for pitch shots.
Buy this: FORB Chipping Net, $30. FORB is the golf division of Net World Sports, and the build shows: thicker mesh, sturdier poles, and a 31x28-inch catching area larger than most nets in this price range.
Skip: If you will not use it every day, do not buy any training aid. The gear does not fix your swing. Practice does.
6. Alignment sticks: $10
Alignment sticks are $15. They are the most underrated training aid in golf. Every tour player carries two. You can use them for alignment, ball position, swing path drills, putting gates, and a dozen other things. If you buy one thing on this list, buy alignment sticks.
What does not: No active correction. A stick on the ground is just a marker, and you have to self-diagnose whether your setup and path match it. It will not force anything the way a physical trainer does.
Buy this: Alignment sticks, $10. Cheapest, most versatile item on this list. The same two sticks handle alignment, ball position, and short-game path drills for years, unlike single-purpose gear that gets outgrown.
Skip: If you will not use it every day, do not buy any training aid. The gear does not fix your swing. Practice does.
Quick Comparison
| Product | Price | What It Fixes | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tour Striker Smart Ball | $40 | ($40-$45) - the inflatable connection trainer | Women golfers |
| WhyGolf Chipping Plate | $40 | and Tour Striker Smart Ball | Women golfers |
| Me & My Golf Chipping Net | $40 | ($40-$60) - coaching-backed target net | Women golfers |
| Wedge Game / Tic-Tac-Toe Net | $40 | ($40-$60) - gamified chipping target | Women golfers |
| FORB Chipping Net | $30 | ($30-$50) - budget option | Women golfers |
| Alignment sticks | $10 | ($10-$15) - for the classic “alignment stick through the bel | Women golfers |
What I Would Actually Buy
If you are just starting out, buy Tour Striker Smart Ball ($40) and alignment sticks ($15). Total: under $60. That covers the fundamentals. You do not need more gear in your first year. You need to practice with what you have.
The golf industry wants you to buy 15 training aids. You need one or two. Buy them. Use them every day for a month. That is how you get better.
Where to Buy
- Tour Striker Smart Ball at Amazon
- WhyGolf Chipping Plate at Amazon
- Me & My Golf Chipping Net at Amazon
- Wedge Game / Tic-Tac-Toe Net at Amazon
- FORB Chipping Net at Amazon
- Alignment sticks at Amazon
Prices verified July 2026. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.