QLink or not QLink?

It's not easy to reach "the zone" -- that elusive mindset where everything about your golf game is going just right and you feel calm and mentally alert. A new device called the QLink promises to help golfers get into the zone by working with the body's energy states to reduce stress and improve mental focus. Golf.com's Jennifer Gardner researched and tried the QLink and reports on how it lives up to marketing claims.

You've heard pros like Tiger Woods talk about being "in the zone" when playing well. Perhaps you've experienced the feeling yourself — a sense of being calm but mentally alert when playing golf, typically accompanied by lower scores than you are used to. When Tiger Woods gets that elusive zone, a product called the QLink promises to help you get there.The QLink takes one of two forms: a black plastic square on a silk cord or a sterling silver disk on a chain. Both versions work by helping your body thwart negative energy fields from outside sources like the electromagnetic fields in computers, cell phones and other electronic devices, which in turn reduces stress on your body. Less stress and more energy, then, leads to a stronger mental focus on the course and stronger physical ability to swing a club.

"The whole concept of the zone can be measured with Meridian Stress Testing. You see the QLink put on, and right away it will put the person in that zone," says Tod Sinding, Director of Golf Marketing for Clarus Products International, who makes the QLink. "The amazing thing to me is it happens immediately — your system goes into the zone."

ON TOUR

Sinding most recently tested the QLink on Senior Tour players at the SBC Senior Classic in late October. According to the independent testing, which 60 percent of the field participated in, every professional showed improvement in his overall stress level after wearing the QLink for less than 60 seconds. In addition, players reached the scientifically-determined target zone nearly five times more often with the QLink than without it.

"Not only did this testing serve to produce conclusive evidence, but it also reinforced support amongst the Tour players. We realize that QLink employs a technology that lends itself to skepticism. However, there are now quite a few more believers on the Tour after the players saw first-hand their own dramatic test results."

Eleven of the top 15 finishers in the SBC Senior Classic who took part in the testing had received QLinks prior to the tournament, including the top three finishers. Although there's no way to know who is wearing the pendants and who is not, several Senior Tour golfers have spoken out and credited the QLink for helping them under pressure: Gary McCord, winner of the Senior Tour Championship; Fred Gibson, who won the Vantage Championship; and John Jacobs, who took home the Bruno's Memorial Classic trophy.

"The QLink has made a significant contribution to my game by reducing stress. I use it both on and off the course," Jacobs says in QLink's promotional material. "It is really an advantage in competition and to our everyday stress and hectic travel schedule."

Brian Barnes and Bob Duval are just two other players who endorse the QLink (all unpaid, I should add — and that's rather unusual in the golf industry).

"This game is about enjoyment. When you play better and your bad shots don't affect you as much, you enjoy competition and golf is better on any level," Barnes says.

Developed in 1995 for the health and wellness market, the QLink was first introduced to the golf industry in April 1999 through direct distribution to PGA Tour players.

What happened with the PGA Tour pros speaks well to the effect the QLink can have on one's golf game. QLink officials measured the progress of the players that they knew were wearing a pendant in every tournament. They decided to record progress with the QLink by tracking cuts made — a concrete example of a player's overall game improving.

More than two-thirds of those golfers — 77 percent — made more cuts in the two-month period following their time with the QLink than they had the previous year. That's a good indication that there is at least something to this device.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

I've been wearing a QLink now for more than two months, as has my husband. We're younger and in good health, but we both have benefited from the QLinks and continue to wear them.

The first time I wore the QLink on the golf course, I had my best nine-hole round of the season. Although I tend to think that had something to do with some sort of placebo effect, I felt and continue to feel the increased sense of calm that the QLink's makers promise. I may not make the putt, but I feel calmer and more focused over it. The only time I tend to dislike the QLink is when I have worked myself up into a highly stressed-out state. For example, I played one round this season in a pressure situation, missed a few putts early and started to mentally lose hope. I felt that it was even harder than usual to get back on track with my mental game. Of course, that's entirely subjective and based on only one experience, but I would say the QLink helps reinforce the positive mental outlook and mood that you set, but won't help create such a mood or lessen the effects of a bad mental outlook.

My husband says he doesn't notice any overwhelming effects from the QLink while on the golf course. Just from observing him, though, I have noticed a subtle change -- he doesn't get as upset over bad shots and seems to regroup more quickly. The QLink may not have lowered our handicaps dramatically in two months, but it offers a long-term benefit and more enjoyment of the game.

That's what Tod Sinding of QLink said he felt when I talked to him about it. "You come back out of the stress more easily. You can come back out of a bad hole more quickly. The recovery time and resistance to the stress is far improved with QLink.

"One to 3 percent of the population can feel it immediately -- they are so overwhelmed by its effect. About 20 percent don't feel anything, but they can see a big improvement," Sinding said. "It's not going to happen every time you tee it up but you notice you have it on."

I would be remiss if I didn't mention a little bit about the health benefits we've both felt. The QLink isn't a medical device, and the makers don't tout it as such, but we both noticed a few things. If my husband accidentally leaves it off while sleeping, he notices that he sleeps lighter and more restlessly. I sit next to a computer all day and I can really tell if I don't have my QLink on — I'm more fatigued. The number of computer-related headaches I experience has dropped since I started wearing the QLink, too.

THE FINAL WORD

I know there will be a lot of skeptics about the QLink. Some of that skepticism is likely warranted — I'm a firm believer that not everything works for everyone. And I definitely think the QLink will work better for some than for others.

My take on the QLink — and this is just my hypothesis — is that the moves you or nudges you closer to the zone. For a top athlete, who eats properly, works out regularly and practices a strong positive mental game, that nudge can regularly put him or her in the zone.

For you or me, who may not be in as strong of physical shape, that nudge will put you closer to the zone, though maybe not in it with the same regularity.

Conversely, though, I think the QLink probably has greater health-related benefits for us average folks who don't have the same stress reduction techniques as a pro golfer and who may be in greater physical stress. I would definitely advise a trial with the QLink if you can budget for one.

So here's the bottom line on the QLink: Expect an increased sense of calm, but not euphoria; a moderate reduction in stress, but not a complete elimination of it; a slight advantage because of a calmer mental outlook when playing competitive sports like golf, but not an immediate drop in handicap or a 50-yard increase in distance off the tee.

And if it fails to work for you, take Tod Sinding up on his 90-day money-back satisfaction guarantee.

© Copyright 1994 — 2000 golf.com. All rights reserved.