There is a lot of cool gear in the golf equipment world that doesn’t always fit neatly into Most Wanted Tests or Buyer’s Guides. You still want to know how it performs. In our We Tried It series, we put gear to the test and let you know if it works as advertised.
What’s a Force Pedal?
The Force Pedal is a spongy disk that claims to help you generate more clubhead speed by effectively using the ground during your swing.
Depending on your skill level, you’ll use either the soft or firm disk. The soft (orange) Force Pedal is an introduction to the process. It’s designed to teach you the basics of how to use the ground. It’s more stable than the firm Force Pedal, making it easier to maintain posture and balance.
After you’ve moved beyond an introduction to ground use with the soft Force Pedal, the firm disk is designed as a challenge. The yellow disk is intended to make your muscles work harder to maintain balance and stability.
Product Expert
Hi, I’m Harry and I am a professional golf product tester. (Yes, they exist.) I actually test a lot of things at MyGolfSpy and play professionally when I’m not checking and comparing specs on gloves, rangefinders, bags, ball retrievers, etc. You can call me the Senior Director of Product Testing here at MGS. You can also just call me Harry. That’s fine, too.
The Force Pedal
The Force Pedal is a training aid designed to help you learn to use the ground correctly by providing instant feedback. The spongy pedal provides the sensation of pushing down into the ground and exploding out of the shot while finishing with a straight leg.
Both colors can be used in different ways: helping with your lateral weight shift (horizontal movement), pushing into your front side, full shots, chipping and much more.
I know you’re thinking it’s just another training aid. But can it really help you gain distance? Here’s what I discovered.
Using the Pedals
The idea is to position the pedals in different places under your front foot to encourage you to press it into the ground and then release it during your downswing. Is this easy to do? If you’ve never experienced using the ground before, the answer is NO.
First things first. You must read the instructions and visit The Force Pedal website to learn how to use the pedals correctly. The feeling of a spongy pedal under your foot is uncomfortable at first but you get used to it.
Does it Work?
Yes. And no.
I have a fast swing. My clubhead speed averages 121 miles per hour. I have a good grasp on how to use the ground already so my results didn’t show the full scope of what Force Pedal can do.
As you can see by the chart, I lost clubhead and ball speed. I felt like the unnatural feeling of having the pedal under my foot threw off my swing. However, my speed baseline was high to begin with so it was hard to see much improvement in a short amount of time. Give me months of training with them and I might see an improvement. Golfers with slower swing speeds who mainly swing with their arms can benefit greatly from using the ground effectively. The Force Pedal can certainly put you on the path to faster ball/clubhead speed.
Final Thoughts
After testing the Force Pedal, I can see a huge potential for it to help golfers learn to use the ground correctly. But there’s a catch. You may not see immediate improvement. If you have never used the ground properly, you may struggle to grasp the concept of pushing and exploding right away. Stick with it and you should see positive results.
For $49.99, this training aid might actually help your game.
If you need a driver to help you hit those fairway dingers, the PING G400 is on sale for $249. Get it while you can!
Jerry
2 years ago
Seriously?
I would have done a before and after test – i.e. use the force pedal for 5-10 minutes and then see if it improved your speed by swinging without it immediately afterward.
Swinging with it does not make sense to me in this test because the pedal will cause your ball striking to be a little “off.”