I placed my order for Doug's Stroketrainer on July 12th of 2005, and within 7 business days I received a notice in my mail box that a package was waiting for me at the post office.

So I immediately rushed over there and picked up this slim-line package which at first glance didn't look like anything spectacular. By that I mean the box the stroketrainer comes in is flat and long. "Whoopie" I thought to myself as I carried it to my car under my arm. I was really surprised by the heft of the package which at first sight didn't look that heavy at all.

Yeah, That's All Nice And Pretty... But Does It Work?

At first glance, I was hesitant that this unique device would improve my stroke. I thought my stroke was good enough to get me by. I invested money into this thing and I wanted to give you an honest review about it. So I've worked with it extensively over the last two weeks to see if I'd recommend this product to you.

Here are my findings:

The Positive

It's weight allows it to stay in an almost-fixed position no matter what type of surface you put it on. So this means that you don't necessarily need a pool table at home. You can use it on your bar, your table, dresser or kitchen counter. Oh, you'll also need a cue to use it ;-)

The long "fin" also allows you to keep your stroke perfectly straight from the end of your backstroke to the finish of your follow through. Again, instant feedback. If your grip hand leaves the fin at any moment, you'll feel it and realize that your arm is going away from your body, which in turn throws your stroke off your intended line of aim.

Another built-in unadvertised feature of the stroketrainer is that it automatically tells you if your bridge hand is unsteady or off-center with your line of aim. I quickly learned that my method of lining up my shots always put my bridge hand off to right a tad.

So for the first few minutes during my learning phase, I noticed that my cue-tip kept hitting the right hand pin, and couldn't figure out why it was doing it till I accident moved my bridge hand to the left a bit and the "dinging" stopped. I probably would have never got that fixed without the stroketrainer.

Doug's claim that it programs muscle memory in my opinion is true. I've found that with consistent use every day I found myself getting into my stance and once I started stroking, the familiar feeling of the "straight" stroke quickly came back.

I was also speaking with Tom Simpson today, a BCA Master Instructor who mentioned that he uses the stroketrainer to work on his opposing hand stroke. After I got off the phone with him and I immediately went downstairs and instead of using the stroketrainer with my natural left hand stroke, I moved to the other side of the device and grabbed my cue with my right hand.

It felt really weird at first but after the first 10 minutes I was stroking pretty smoothly. I'd say that another 2-3 hours of total time on the stroketrainer for my right arm and I'll be able to start practicing under real conditions with it. I'll keep you posted on this development as I progress into it further.

The Negative

However I didn't have any elastics and Doug didn't include any in the packaging. I've contacted him about that and he tells me that he will start making it part of each new shipment.

Also, he mentions the use of a piece of paper or a piece of felt or cloth to put between the fin and your hand. The purpose of this is that if it falls at any time, your arm or wrist has moved away from the fin, and as a result your stroke line is ruined. Again, Doug should have included a custom felt or cloth piece as an added bonus.

The assembly instructions and associated diagrams are not well made and may confuse some people. I originally had put the screws on the wrong side of the base and the screws heads were protruding. I figured I did something wrong and tried the opposite side and all was well. For this reason, I believe Doug should put a sticker label on the top of the base along the lines of "This Side Up".

Portability is another issue. The current design is held together by a series of screws that makes it almost impractical to keep unscrewing and screwing again and again if you're going to be travelling with your stroketrainer for tournaments or other events. I recommend that Doug finds a more portable solution.

The price is another factor. Being in Canada, I had to pay more than an American would have to because of customs/border import fees and additional shipping charges. The regular price is a whopping $199 but currently is on special for $150 ($25 shipping and handling fee already included).

Doug desperately needs to find a way to lower the price of this device by 2 methods... The first is the distribution cost to other countries is ridiculously high. He may not have any other options, but this alone may be a factor of reduced sales. The second is the actual cost to produce the stroketrainer. He would be best to shop around for a better price, even if he has to look outside of the USA for bulk pricing.

Verdict: I Highly Recommend The Stroketrainer

When all is said and done, I'm still using the stroketrainer 5-10 minutes every day before my practice sessions. I strongly believe it's helped me groove my stroke to a level I've never experienced before.

The way I'm justifying the price is this... If you're currently paying $10 - $11 / hour at your local pool hall to work and improve your stroke and game, you'd probably have the stroketrainer paid off in about 15 - 20 hours of practice time. Using the stroketrainer for only 10 minutes a day, it would take you about 90 days to recoup your investment.

But it won't take you 90 days to improve your stroke. You'll see results within the first couple of days guaranteed. And if you use it 3 - 4 times every day, each for only 10 minutes, you'll have paid it off in under 3 weeks. Use it for a total of 60 minutes throughout the day in 10 minute intervals and you've got it paid off in just 2 weeks.

If you're serious about developping a straight, smooth, consistent stroke, then I highly recommend you get a stroketrainer and make it part of your daily practice routine. I give it my two-thumbs up.