Review: "My Personal Golf Trainer" for Wii with David Leadbetter

The Bottom Line
My Personal Golf Trainer is innovative golf instruction software featuring a top teacher, David Leadbetter, for the Wii game platform. It offers in-depth swing instruction with progress tracking capability.

Pros

• Clear presentation of swing concept followed by user practice
• Excellent graphics
• Ability to track progress

Cons

• Somewhat technical for self-teaching
• Wii controller doesn't have the mass of a real club

If you've ever assembled a bicycle that came in a box, then you have some idea of what to expect from the My Personal Golf Trainer software. But just like that bicycle, once you get everything put together you'll probably be thrilled with the results.

Let me give you the topline: You have to be a little more than casually interested in your golf swing and fixing it to make the best use of this software. But if you are, then My Personal Golf Trainer with David Leadbetter is designed to get real results. It's not a game, but the approach to fixing swing faults on the Wii game platform is definitely more fun than a trip to the range. And once you master the basics, there is an on-screen 18-hole course on which you can practice application of what you learned.

If you haven't seen David Leadbetter by now, then you really are new to the game. He is a top teacher to pros on every tour and a fixture on countless swing programs. Each aspect of the swing and each lesson is preceded by Leadbetter giving an on-course video demonstration of the concept behind the lesson.

After the video, the user then takes the Wii remote device and is able to practice what they have just seen from the master teacher.

The graphics are really stunning. Using the Wii Balance Board and MotionPlus controller, the user is given immediate feedback in 3-D color graphics, similar to what you might expect from a high-end, immersive swing analysis facility. I think that is really the outstanding feature of this product. The software shows in real-time, 3-D graphics exactly what position you are holding the controller in and how well it matches the ideal position for the lesson just completed. The user is then able to practice the drill that they have just seen and get instant feedback from the software.

The Leadbetter software covers the key areas of grip, posture, alignment, ball position, coil, swing shape and tempo. Offering instructional videos and drills within each of these seven basics, players can improve their swing step-by-step and then graduate from training mode to playing on the course – and the player even has the option to get feedback from Leadbetter and suggested drills for improvement. The Skill Tracker allows progress to be charted on a daily to monthly basis. Very handy.

The one thing that nagged me was that the Wii controller doesn't have the weight or length of a real club. It just doesn't feel the same in your hands or in your swing as a real golf club, which could throw off some users.

But for the tech-savvy golfer interested in improving, this is a must-have. It immediately provides options and answers on swing faults and cures, whether the weather is suitable outside, it's nighttime or your pro is not available. It's probably a good option for some competitive family bragging rights.

My Personal Golf Trainer for Wii is the ultimate at-home "lean-forward" media for golfers who want to learn basics or improve their game. But just like the bike in a box, it helps to have instructions handy – or certainly a young person who knows their way around the Wii.

Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.