Golfers of all ages and levels of experience are increasingly turning to golf training aids to help them reduce their handicaps.

While pros have the sheer talent and coaching backup to drive straight and putt consistently, mere mortals like us resort to a variety of modern and scientifically proven golf training aids to slice strokes off our scorecards.

Amateurs and beginners may feel overwhelmed by the sheer variety of golf training aids on the market.

There seems to be a different golf training aid for every aspect of your game, no matter how minute, whether it is a Tempotimer for your swing or Footjoy socks to keep your feet comfortable as you undertake 18 arduous holes.

However, it's not as difficult as it might appear. The eager amateur may be tempted to buy every golf training aid on the shelves. That's not a problem, if you can afford it and you have the time to make use of your equipment.

A more practical solution would be to search your game itself to decide on what golf training aids would benefit you.

If you are hitting your drives straight but your chipping is poor, you may want to invest in a Chip N Pitch or a Chip Mate Net to increase your accuracy.

However, if your whole swinging game, whether off the tee or fairway needs urgent attention, you could opt for broader golf training aids such as the 8 Board, which can help you optimize your swing plane to suit your stroke.

Many golf training aids are endorsed by the professionals themselves and it would do the amateur no harm to take their lead.

South African Ernie Els, a three-time Major champion, promotes the Tempotimer, which wraps around your golf club to enhance your swing.

Fijian Vijay Singh, the former US Masters champion, will rave about the Speed Stik, a device that aims to quicken your swing and help you to hit the ball farther.

Apart from the playing professionals, there are also the teaching pros, who are probably among the greatest authorities on golf training aids because they are the ones who use these devices regularly as part of their work.

The Medicus Dual Hinge Driver, which is great for mending your slice, Eyeline Putting Laser and Path Pro are a few of a vast number of golf training aids that have been endorsed by the P.G.A. Professionals, a group of teaching pros who search for the best golf training aids and use them to teach their students.

Golf trainings aids don't always take the form of equipment. Fitness programs, mental strength, motivational speeches and other off-course methods of improving your body and mind can be considered as golf training aids.

For these, there are obvious leading role models such as golfing guru David Leadbetter and world number one Tiger Woods, who has taken physical fitness and mental fortitude to a new level since he first burst on to the professional scene in 1996.

Whatever works best for you, what can't be denied is that the golf training aids industry is worth billions of dollars.

The Internet has also become a popular medium to market these products. The Web has even allowed amateur inventors to sell their own home-remedy golf training aids and compete on an equal footing with the big companies.

Online consumers are latching on to this limitless marketplace as websites selling putting devices, swing-enhancers and even gloves that improve your grip take up more and more bandwidth.

Wherever there is a need to lower handicaps, there is always going to be a need for golf training aids. So, if you want to score lower, there's plenty out there for you to choose from.