There is a lot of cool gear in the golf equipment world that doesn’t always fit neatly into Most Wanted Tests or Buyer’s Guides. You still want to know how it performs. In our We Tried It series, we put gear to the test and let you know if it works as advertised.
What we tried
AIRWAAV Performance Mouthpiece
Who tried it
Tyler. Soft Goods Testing Manager, 9.7 handicap, certified pack ripper (sports cards)
I wore mouthguards on the football field growing up. Can one provide some type of benefit on the golf course?
The claim
The AIRWAAV Performance Mouthpiece is meant to be a tool to help all athletes in specific areas in their respective sport.
AIRWAAV boasts a reduced respiratory rate of roughly 20 percent, less fatigue, better muscle stamina and approximately a 50-percent reduction in cortisol levels to increase recovery speed after activity.
At first glance, these are some pretty bold claims, especially from a company that makes what seems to be a simple mouthpiece that sits on your teeth and around your tongue.
It’s an interesting approach in an industry saturated with other forms of recovery.
Things I liked
First of all, the process from the package to the first tee was seamless.
You can set up the mouthpiece in a matter of minutes using boiling water or a microwave and then wait roughly 24 hours until the mouthpiece is in perfect shape for you. The entire microwave molding process took me about 10 minutes.
Secondly, the AIRWAAV Performance Mouthpiece forced me to focus on something other than my anxiety, swing thoughts and the outside world.
You’re instructed to gently bite down on the mouthpiece to get the full effect. Doing so creates a distraction from everything else. You constantly think about biting down softly on the mouthpiece instead of letting a swing thought wreck your day.
As someone who deals with mental health issues along with the typical swing thoughts that can hinder play on the golf course, it was refreshing to test something that distracted me.
Things I disliked
A couple of things I disliked essentially made me change the way I golf altogether.
First and foremost, eating and drinking is much more difficult (and kind of gross) with the AIRWAAV Performance Mouthpiece in your mouth.
If you’re a snacker on the golf course (I certainly am), you’ll have to get used to (a) taking out the mouthpiece every time you want to eat something and (b) getting food residue stuck in the mouthpiece.
If you drink on the course (anything other than water), you can expect a similar situation. You won’t be able to swallow the liquid as well and you’ll definitely have leftover drink residue on the mouthpiece, causing a gross aftertaste.
It’s not practical to have to take the mouthpiece out every single time you want a bite of food or a sip of your drink. Water is fine, everything else is not. If you load up your golf cart with snacks and drinks, you’ll find it inconvenient to use the AIRWAAV Performance Mouthpiece.
The second thing I didn’t like was damage to the back of the mouthpiece.
I had only tested it for nine holes and was preparing for my next nine-hole round when I noticed the back of the mouthpiece was peeling off. I tore off a couple of small pieces and couldn’t help but think about those pieces potentially ending up in my stomach if I hadn’t noticed.
Placebo effect or the real deal?
If you’re familiar with the term placebo effect, you know it essentially means you believe something works psychologically. When you’re caught up in it, it doesn’t really matter whether the science or data backs it up.
I haven’t been able to fully wrap my head around this one. Across two tested rounds, I recorded near even-par scoring. I played 18 holes of golf with the AIRWAAV Performance Mouthpiece and shot a combined 4-over-par. That’s really, really good golf for me.
The complicated part is that I also shot a 2-over (38) without the mouthpiece in the same timeframe. When you string together three rounds at 2-over, it becomes harder to credit the mouthpiece and easier to attribute the improvement to more on-course practice.
All things considered, I’m a bit of a placebo guy. I use essential oils pretty regularly and I’m convinced they help with anxiety.
But here’s the truth: success influenced by a placebo is still success. A 2-over round is a 2-over round, regardless of why it happened. So, in my honest opinion, I’d still tell someone why not try it?
At $49.99, you’re not paying an arm and a leg for something that could potentially drop a few strokes off your game. If you get distracted easily or struggle with outside thoughts on the course, the AIRWAAV Performance Mouthpiece might help you quiet things down mentally while you play.
I’m not fully convinced but the placebo effect is enough to keep the AIRWAAV Performance Mouthpiece in my bag for those days when I can’t get out of my own head.
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