Torres Goes All In On Slot Shot Training Aid
- Details
- Category: Inside Golf
- Published: 2020-01-23
By GORD MONTGOMERY, Inside Golf
MAUI, Hawaii — If you’re going to come up with a new training aid in golf, you best be ready to go all in on developing, and selling, the idea. That’s exactly what Maui native Fred Torres did with Slot Shot, a device he feels can take the pain out of a lot of golfers’ games.
Fred Torres knows all too well the pain you’re suffering. After all, he’s been there and done that. You know, played one of those rounds of golf you wished you’d never started. OB left. Shank right into the weeds. Topped left into the water. Sliced sideways into someone’s back yard. And on and and on.
Having lived that sort of nightmare round in the middle of the day, maybe even more than once, Torres, from Maui, Hawaii, set out to dissolve those hindering swing issues. And, after due process and refinement he came up with what he figures is the ideal solution to swing path problems — the Slot Shot.
“I was golfing at the Plantation Kapalua course and it was a horrible day of golfing for me. I lost several — a dozen balls. I thought either quit golf or improve my golf,” Torres began in relating his tale of the path to an idea that has created quite a bit of interest in the golf world. The Slot Shot is a hybrid of the towel-under-the-arm teaching technique but it’s more refined and as such is a much better, and more practical, idea.
“I started watching some videos, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Bobby Jones, and I thought their swings are similar to each other and they have a move that keeps your core consistent, that helps your ball go far, and straight,” a hoped-for idea that eluded Torres on more than one occasion.
“I researched any training aids that would help you turn your core in one piece, and finishing with power and accuracy. It was all about connection. The Slot Shot eliminates the chicken wing, coming over the top, it eliminates casting. It creates a flatter swing.”
Fred Torres Shows Off His Slot Shot Training Aid, A Device He Suggests Will Help Golfers Stay Away From Dreaded Swing Problems Like Casting And Chicken Winging.
The one problem Torres found in using a towel or a head cover to refine a swing was that once the swing motion was completed the aid tumbled to the ground, forcing the user to bend over repeatedly to retrieve it. And, he added, “The feel with a towel isn’t consistent, so I decided to create Slot Shot.”
That constant bending over, Torres noted, is hard on one’s back after repeated practice swings in order to align one’s body to their swing path. Thus, he focused his attention on having his device staying connected to the user’s body.
His original design, using velcro, didn’t work so it was back to the drawing board. He eventually came up with a foam design that was smaller than a towel or head cover and didn’t force the user to chase after the aid after every swing. At that point he decided to chase a patent for his product. Surprisingly, he found this idea had been registered in the past.
“After research, the patent attorney told me this particular design (made from wood) was patented in 1926! So, now I have to go back to the drawing board to figure out a design to make it different.”
“So, I made it smaller and attached it to a cord, a coil in the first couple of designs,” and from there he worked on the ergonomic design to make it fit better to the body. As it turned out, that was the turning point for Slot Shot, as this re-design received patent approval and Torres was off and running, er, swinging.
As you may have heard on reality entrepreneur shows like Dragon’s Den and Shark Tank, Torres went “all in,” on his invention. Before even receiving final approval on his patent, which he did get, he sold his house in Maui, found a manufacturer in China, and made his first order.
“I figured go big or go home,” he said and he did just that by ordering 4,000 units. “It was strategic planning on my part. If I had waited on the patent (before placing that order) it may have taken another year,” to have the product landed and given the changing political leanings in the U.S. toward tariffs and taxes in 2017, “I had to do it, so I did it.”
Then, things got even more harrowing, cost-wise, for Torres. The U.S. president was debating even higher tariffs on sporting goods imported from China, so Torres went all in again, ordering another 10,000 Slot Shot units “To beat the tariff tax, which I did.”
With golf training aids abounding on TV and in magazines, selling such an idea can be a challenge. This entrepreneur though has taken the bull by the horns, marketing and selling his product wherever, and whenever, he can. He’s attended the massive PGA Buying Show in Orlando, Florida among others and has found success.
“When I first came out with Slot Shot, I made and sold my own prototypes. A lot of people told me ‘I just use a towel or a head cover.’ I’d say, ‘Well, the difference between a towel and this is you don’t pick this up off the ground and create pain in your back.’
“A funny story. I was in Myrtle Beach next to Hank Haney’s booth. He had a pain reliever cream he was selling and promoting. A lot people came to my booth and said, ‘I’ll just use a head cover or towel.’ I said, ‘Well great! Then go to Hank’s booth and pick up some pain reliever for your painful back from picking up the towel.’ They chuckled and went, ‘Yeah. Okay.’ And they ended up buying the Slot Shot!”
The biggest selling point to the Slot Shot, emphasized Torres, is the instantaneous feedback one gets when using the device. When the club is swung correctly, the body stays connected and the unit stays put through contact until the arms release it in the follow through. Simple to understand and simple to use, could be the key words for this product.
“The public are accepting it,” Torres said in winding down, noting he’s donated some of his profits toward junior golf in Maui through a Ryder Cup style program. “It’s a program that helps grow the game and it helps me promote my product,” he said of that win-win situation.
So, if you’re looking to start winning more often on the course in club play or just amongst your weekend foursome friends, perhaps Slot Shot is the key to future success. After all, it simply takes what you already have and refines it for the better.
“This is not intended to change your swing, just to create connection in your golf swing,” Torres ended, because in hindsight that’s what all the great golfers from yesteryear, guys like Jones, Snead, and Hogan had and they did alright in the world of golf.
For more on this invention, go to www.slotshot.golf where you’ll find more information on this training aid and you can place an order. At present, each unit retails for US $40.
About the Writer
Gord Montgomery is a member in good standing of the Golf Journalists Association of Canada. He is now in his 12th year of writing for Inside Golf.
He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. He’s also on Twitter at @gordinsidegolf and on Instagram at @gordinsidegolf2.