The Rhythm of the Game
Jim Hackenberg and the invention that changed golf practice forever
By Tony Dear • CG Editor
At a charity event in Southern California in 2019, Jim Hackenberg got to meet Geoff Ogilvy at last. The inventor of the incredibly popular Orange Whip Trainer had aways enjoyed watching the former PGA Tour star from Australia, whose eight wins included a memorable victory in the 2006 U.S. Open at Winged Foot.
“Geoff told me he owned an Orange Whip,” says Hackenberg. “That was extremely gratifying as his sweet swing was partly responsible for its development.”
Hackenberg grew up in North Dakota and always wanted to play on the PGA Tour. The closest he got, however, was caddying for his buddy Patrick Moore in 2003. Moore, who had won three times on the Buy.com Tour (now Korn Ferry Tour) in 2002, suffered back and neck injuries that shortened his playing career, but he teed it up in enough events for his caddie to get a good look at some of the best golf swings in the world.
“Whenever we went out to the range, I’d try to set our bag next to a player whose swing I admired,” says Hackenberg. “Don’t get me wrong. Patrick was obviously a very good player with an excellent swing, but I wanted the opportunity to observe the very best, and Ogilvy’s action was definitely one of them. I used to watch and marvel at how uncomplicated it seemed. It was so simple and balanced and easy looking, but it generated a lot of speed and power.”
Inspired by Ogilvy’s pleasing rhythm and consistent tempo, Hackenberg rigged up a device he thought would help golfers develop some good rhythm of their own.
“I was a teaching professional, too,” says Hackenberg. “I saw how a lot of my students struggled with timing.”
Their swings might have possessed some speed, Hackenberg notes, but it usually came at the wrong time — the start of the swing or in transition from backswing to downswing.
“I wanted to create something that helped them feel speed and energy building up during the swing and then unloading at the point of impact.”
The first few iterations used fishing rods, billiard balls, and doorknobs filled with lead and might have looked odd, but students loved them and asked Hackenberg if they could buy one.
“I sensed this could become quite popular, so I worked on the design, eventually finding the right combination of shaft flex, counterbalance at the butt end, and head weight,” he says.
Hackenberg introduced the Orange Whip Trainer publicly for the first time at the 2008 PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, where it attracted a lot of attention. He got the name from a line in the “Blues Brothers” movie when parole officer Burton Mercer, played by John Candy, asks a bartender for three orange whips.
“I heard that line and instantly knew I had the name,” says Hackenberg.
Because he had access to PGA Tour ranges, word of Hackenberg’s device also percolated among Tour players, many of whom showed an interest.
“I remember Jim Furyk telling me he’d heard about it and wanted to give it a try,” says Hackenberg. “And soon quite a few more were using it.”
Retief Goosen, Sergio Garcia, Matt Kuchar, Jeff Sluman, Tom Purtzer, Ben Crenshaw, Fred Funk, Scott McCarron, Fuzzy Zoeller, Padraig Harrington, Angel Cabrera, and Daniel Berger are some of the bigger names to have used an Orange Whip. But, says Hackenberg, the total number of Tour players who have benefitted from swinging it runs into the hundreds. Perhaps most notable among them is Phil Mickelson, who warmed up and practiced with an Orange Whip prior to winning the 2021 PGA Championship at age 51. Mickelson had been using his long and limber swing for decades prior to that historic win at Kiawah Island, but even he needed to stretch his golfing muscles and dial in his timing.
Hackenberg, still competing professionally, does too.
“I use mine twice a day, every day, even when I’m not playing,” he says. “I swing it for maybe ten minutes in my office or at the start of every range session. It keeps my body tuned to the pace and tempo of the golf swing and enables me to maintain my range of motion and clubhead speed.”
Over 800,000 Orange Whip Trainers have been sold since 2008 and Hackenberg, who now lives in South Carolina, says it completely changed his life. Get into the same habit of swinging it a couple of times a day, and it will more than likely change yours. too.
Following the success of the Orange Whip Trainer, Hackenberg investigated developing other training aids designed to make the game more enjoyable. In 2016, he teamed with former Tour pro and short game maestro Stan Utley to develop the Stan Utley Wedge, a counter-balanced 56-degree wedge with a very flexible shaft that, like the original Orange Whip Trainer, promotes great rhythm and timing. The Orange Whip Putter Blade, also introduced in 2016, likewise helps you build a smoother, more balanced and repeatable putting stroke, which will help you make more putts.
Last year, Hackenberg worked with Jody Vasquez, who shagged balls for Ben Hogan in the 1960s, to introduce the Putt Master.
“It’s Jody’s creation,” says Hackenberg. “We met at the PGA Show and talked about bringing it to market. It’s available on our website and will help you create the proper putting setup and a perfect pendulum stroke. It eliminates unwanted wrist movement during the stroke and, like the Putter Blade, will help you get the ball in the hole quicker.”
Hackenberg has also launched a form of the game aimed at introducing people to golf (soft launch so far with something much bigger planned for 2026). Called ‘Chappie Golf’, it offers products designed to make learning the game fun and stress-free. The club is called the ‘Indigo-Bunter’, while the durable, compressed foam, baseball-sized ball is ‘The Yolk’.
“Consider it the ‘pickleball’ of golf,” says Hackenberg. “The ball flies a maximum of about 100 yards, and the club can be used by right or left-handers. Initially, I thought it would be for beginners, but I’ve recognized good players love it, too, because the Yolk is designed to curve so seasoned golfers can use it to work on fade and draw swings. You can play anywhere: the yard, a park, football field, the beach, even in the snow.”
Jim Hackenberg’s inventions have helped make the game easier and more enjoyable for millions of golfers, and if there was such a thing as a hall-of-fame for golf training aid inventors, he’d surely be voted in unanimously and among the first to be inducted.
LEARN MORE > at orangewhipgolf.com and chappiegolf.com and better understand these useful products.