Tour Striker Smart Ball: A $40 Inflatable Ball That Actually Fixed My Chicken Wing

I bought the Tour Striker Smart Ball because my right elbow has been flying out on my downswing for two years. My instructor told me my arms were “disconnected from my body.” I nodded. I had no idea what that meant.

I tried the glove-under-the-armpit drill. I tried a rolled-up towel. I tried squeezing a pool noodle between my forearms in my backyard. All of them worked for about five swings, then the glove fell out, the towel slipped, and I spent more time picking things up off the ground than actually practicing.

The Smart Ball fixed that. It is a small inflatable ball on an adjustable lanyard that clips around your neck. You position it between your forearms or under an armpit, and it stays there. When your arms fly apart during the swing, you feel the ball drop and a small tug on the lanyard. That feedback is the entire point.

What It Is

The Tour Striker Smart Ball is a patented training aid designed by Martin Chuck, the PGA coach behind Tour Striker. It costs $39 on the Tour Striker website (marked down from $47) and $47 on Amazon. It has 4.0 out of 5 stars across 817 ratings on Amazon.

The construction is simple. A small inflatable ball, roughly the size of a softball, covered in soft felt. A nylon lanyard clips to the ball and loops around your neck. You can adjust the lanyard length depending on whether you are using it between your forearms or under an arm. The ball can be used fully inflated, partially inflated, or deflated depending on the drill.

It comes with a carry pouch and access to Martin Chuck’s video protocols. Those videos matter more than the ball itself. I will get to that.

The First Session

I inflated the ball, clipped the lanyard around my neck, shoved it between my forearms, and tried to hit a full 7-iron. Terrible idea. The ball shot out on the backswing and smacked me in the chin. I am not a smart man.

Here is what I learned: you do not start with full swings. The included video protocols walk you through a progression. You begin with the ball deflated under your lead arm, hitting half-swing pitches. Then you move to the ball inflated between your forearms on half shots. Then longer clubs. Then full swings. The progression takes days, not minutes.

Once I followed the actual protocol, things clicked. Within two weeks of 10-minute sessions, four times a week, my pitch shots from 40 to 60 yards tightened up dramatically. I was hitting my landing spot instead of spraying balls 15 yards left and right. The feeling of keeping my arms connected to my torso finally made sense.

What Real Users Say

I am not alone. The feedback across golf forums is consistent once you filter out the noise.

A MyGolfSpy forum reviewer who bought the Smart Ball in April 2023 said the same thing I experienced: “If you’re buying this expecting to throw it on and start hitting straighter shots, it’s not going to work that great.” He committed to the protocols for a month and saw real improvement, especially on wedge shots. His one complaint was that the ball started slowly deflating after a few months of use.

Over on The Hackers Paradise, one user said he only needed a few sessions before his trailing-arm chicken wing was “permanently” cured. Another user called it “probably the most over-priced swing aide out there” and pointed out that knockoffs exist for $15 on eBay.

That price complaint shows up everywhere. A Reddit thread on training aids summed it up: “You can get one of these unbranded on Amazon for under $10.” That is true. The question is whether the video protocols and the build quality justify paying four times as much.

What I Did Not Like

The build quality is average. The felt covering is soft but thin. The lanyard clip is plastic. After three weeks of use, mine has not torn or deflated, but multiple Amazon reviewers report the lanyard detaching from the ball over time. For a $40 to $47 product, the hardware should be sturdier.

The price is hard to swallow when you hold it in your hand. It is a small inflatable ball on a string. Martin Chuck himself has acknowledged that you can make a DIY version with a 6-inch beach ball and a lanyard. The knockoffs on Amazon run $10 to $15 and do the same basic thing. What you are paying for with the Tour Striker version is the video protocol access and the specific sizing, which does matter. Too big and it ruins your arm structure. Too small and you do not get the right feedback.

The Verdict

If you are a 12 to 25 handicap with a chicken wing, flying elbow, or arms that disconnect from your body on the downswing, the Tour Striker Smart Ball is worth the money. The feedback it provides is better than any glove-under-the-armpit drill I have tried, and the video protocols give you a structured plan instead of just guessing.

If you are a single-digit handicap with solid connection already, skip it. You already own the feel this ball teaches. Spend your $40 on a dozen Pro V1s instead.

Here is what I would do. Buy the real one from Tour Striker for $39 if you want the video protocols and the correct sizing. If you are cheap and already know the drills, grab a $12 knockoff on Amazon and skip the instruction. The ball itself is not magic. The protocols and the practice routine are what actually fix your swing.

My right elbow still flies out occasionally. But my pitch shots from 50 yards are landing within 10 feet of the pin instead of 30 feet short and right. For $39 and three weeks of 10-minute sessions, I will take that trade.