My Personal Golf Trainer

In 2009, David Leadbetter partnered with video game design firm Data Design Interactive to produce an interactive home trainer, called "My Personal Golf Trainer," that combines Leadbetter's swing instruction with the technology of the Nintendo Wii. Leadbetter uses his Seven Steps to a Better Golf Swing (grip, posture, alignment, ball position, coil, swing shape and tempo) in his instructional videos on the trainer. To date, a few golf training devices have been available for the home, but their feedback has only involved the impact part of a swing. “My Personal Golf Trainer” analyzes the entire swing process, including clubhead speed, angle and force, as well as weight transfer, swing plane and tempo, through the Wii MotionPlus Controller and Wii Balance Board. In commenting about “My Personal Golf Trainer” at the 2010 PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Leadbetter said, “It is a way where somebody could really touch something, feel something, and have an understanding, ‘Oh, that’s what I have to do.’” “My Personal Golf Trainer” was first released in the UK in 2010 and is now also available in the United States.

Leadbetter has been an innovator since the 1990s when he started coaching Nick Faldo and Nick Price, which led to his title as “the man who invented the job of the modern golf coach to the stars.” The Golf Channel calls Leadbetter one of the Big Three golf instructors, along with Hank Haney and Butch Harmon. Lessons with a professional golf coach can cost more than $200 per hour; with Leadbetter, three hours costs $3500, and a whole day is worth $10,000, according to The Golf Channel. However, Leadbetter has continued to be an innovator in the world of golf, making his golf instruction available to anyone for $99 through “My Personal Golf Trainer.”