Bad Chicken Wii Chicken Stick Golf Club

Just like many of the other reviews, this product is great, however, the plastic ring broke within a week of receiving it. We were able to tape it enough to where it works, but doesn't quite work the same way. I will not order another one until the manufacturer revises the way it is made to prevent the plastic ring from breaking so easily. It is too expensive to just order another one. We were wondering why they could make it out of metal or maybe even a metal cable instead of having it plastic right at the pressure point. The rest of the product seems to be of very good quality, so it is a little perplexing why the manufacturer would not try to also remedy this issue as it seems to be the only issue most people have with it. If it weren't for it breaking, I would definitely give it 5 stars all the way.

I got this about 8 months ago but haven't played with it until now just because I've been really busy. I finally had an afternoon free and decided to bust out my Tiger Woods '12 Wii game and see how the Chicken Stick did with it. I was really frustrated at first because I kept getting a message that the remote had become disconnected right after I swung, and it wasn't registering anything. I had to swing really slowly in order to get anything to happen in the game. I decided to log onto the company site and try to get some support ([...]). I honestly wasn't expecting much, but I went ahead and fired off an e-mail to the support address describing my problem, and this was on a Sunday afternoon. I don't want to set any unrealistic expectations for anyone, but I had a reply literally in 6 MINUTES!!! Not only that, it solved my problem. Turns out that with a hard swing, the batteries in the controller will be moved just enough that they cause the controller to lose power briefly, which causes you to get the error. The solution that was given to me was to insert something into the controller with the batteries to help secure them into place. What I ended up doing was taking part of a paper towel and folding it up a bit so that it covered just the top of the batteries inside the case, then putting the top back on to secure everything. The goal is to put something in there that can kind of form around the batteries (tissue, cloth, foam, etc) and be compressible so that you can put the cover back on. After you've done that, the batteries should be held snugly in place and then you can swing away without worrying too much about having your remote disconnect. It still does happen to me occasionally, so I think I need to work on engineering a slightly better pad, but it's MUCH better than it was before. What I would say about this device is that it's not perfect, but it's very close. The grip is a real golf grip on a real golf shaft - it just happens to have a plastic holder attached for the controller. You feel like you're swinging a real golf club for the most part, which is a huge improvement over using the Nerf golf club attachment or using no attachment at all. Doing it that way just doesn't feel anything like a golf club. The only drawback on this device is that you have to hold the trigger with your forefinger so that it keeps the B button depressed, and that's a little unnatural. It's not too far off what you probably normally do, mind you, but it's different enough that it might affect your swing some. Given that this is a game and not a real replacement for an actual game of golf, I would think that wouldn't bother people much. I'll tell you that playing a round with the Chicken Stick inside on a rainy day is better than not playing at all. It really does seem to be just this side of playing an actual game. Maybe it's roughly 90% realistic? That's good enough for me. I enjoy the game for real and I enjoy playing it on the Wii when I can't get out to the course. I did see some mention of the plastic loop thing breaking for some folks - so far mine has held up fine, and I swing fairly hard (100 mph on a regular swing, but I've been clocked at 120 mph when I really try - not Tiger Woods, but not bad for a middle-aged fat guy). The controller is held firmly in the device and I have no concern about it flying out. All in all, this is a great device to help you enjoy your Wii golf games more, and I would absolutely buy it again.

This is a pretty good product...it does give you a more realistic feeling of swinging a real club. However, it'll take some practice if you're used to just swinging the Wii remote. It comes with a nice Golf Pride grip on a cut down True Temper shaft. With the Wii remote inserted, it approaches the weight of a real club but because of the short length, the balance isn't quite the same. Playing the Tiger Woods '11 game, my first round with the Chicken Stick was terrible. The tendency with this device is to hit a fade or slice. I soon learned to rotate the club face a little to the left and finally was able to hit some straight shots. While the Chicken Stick makes the game more realistic, there are two downsides and the first is a major one: you can't take a practice shot because you can't hold the A and B buttons and swing at the same time. Next, the lever that pulls the B button is flimsy and will break easily. It also requires you to use your index finger which means you can't make a perfect grip. In spite of the negatives, the Chicken Stick is a lot of fun to use and, with practice, you'll get better.

First let me say that this is a fabulous product, and it brings a whole new dimension to Wii golf games. I bought Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 for my father, who is out on the links every week, and he tells me that it really does feel like you're swinging an actual golf club. I was worried he wouldn't want to use it at all because he'd feel like he was learning bad habits by practicing his swing with a club that wasn't the same as the club he'd use on the course -- but that isn't the case. I'm sure it isn't EXACTLY the same, but evidently it's close enough. The reason I give it only 4 stars instead of 5 is that I had to buy a MotionPlus attachment for my Wiimote, even though I already have the new Wii Remote Plus. I was already hesitating to buy the Chicken Stick due to its steep price, and if I'd realized I would also have to shell out another twenty bucks for an attachment I can't otherwise use, I probably wouldn't have made the purchase. Just something to keep in mind. (If you have no idea what I'm talking about regarding MotionPluses and Wiimotes and Wii RemotePluses... keep reading.) Let me explain more clearly. The original Wii systems were sold with a controller called the Wii Remote, and later on, Nintendo offered an attachment called the MotionPlus which plugs into the back of the Wii Remote and makes the pointer more sensitive and accurate. The Chicken Stick is designed to be used with a Wii Remote that has the MotionPlus attachment. So far, so good. Nintendo then realized that people were annoyed at having to buy a separate accessory, so the company listened to consumer demand and created a new controller called the Wii Remote Plus, which is basically a Wii Remote that has the MotionPlus functionality built in, instead of having to buy a MotionPlus separately. All current Wii consoles being sold are packaged with the Wii Remote Plus, and you no longer have to buy a MotionPlus accessory. Here's the problem. The Chicken Stick doesn't work with the new Wii Remote Plus controllers. Or rather, it does, but only if you also have a MotionPlus attachment plugged in (even though the Wii Remote Plus already has the functionality built-in, and you're not supposed to use the MotionPlus with a Remote Plus). The reason is that the MotionPlus attachment makes the controller physically longer, and without a MotionPlus plugged into it, the controller won't fit securely into the Chicken Stick. I guess you could duct tape it in there, but it wouldn't be very safe. The result here is that if you bought your Wii within the past six months, you probably have a Wii Remote Plus controller and thus no need to buy the extra MotionPlus attachment. You probably don't even know what a MotionPlus is; there's no need to. Until you go to use your new forty buck Chicken Stick and realize that the remote doesn't fit into it unless you also purchase and attach that totally useless MotionPlus for an additional twenty bucks. Argh! The Chicken Stick people state that a new version of the stick is being worked on that won't require the MotionPlus on the back of your Wii Remote Plus, so this won't be an issue once that new stick is made available. Unfortunately too late to help me. :(

Trigger breaks!

This is an excellent product overall, with no competition for the most realistic Wii golf experience. However, as several other reviewers have noted, the plastic shaft of the b-button pull tab is weak and broke after only a few rounds of normal use. This will probably keep happening until a redesign.

After reading the reviews on Amazon, I decided to take the plunge and purchase this relatively expensive Tiger Woods Wii golf enhancer. That is exactly what it is in my opinion, and enhance it DOES! I was a little apprehensive since some of the reviews mentioned that the circle plastic piece was a weak link of the product. However, others that had broken it, mentioned that the customer service was excellent and they were shipped a new one so I bought with confidence. Well, after about 2 months of playing, the plastic circle piece did break on mine, right where it loops back to the main piece at the juncture. I was able to use it for another few rounds before my friend broke it completely off. He didn't realize that you just have to gently pull on it to activate the 'B' button before swinging. So I emailed Bad Chicken and sent a pic of the broken plastic piece on the chicken stick asking what we could do to work the situation out. Jordan responded VERY fast within the hour and asked where I would like the replacement sent! I was blown away! Great to see there are still companies that stand by their product with great customer service. Now, there are a couple other things I'd like to mention about correctly using this product. Hopefully, with this review, every single person that reads it will find it helpful...but more importantly...use the product correctly. That way, hopefully you won't break it to begin with. As mentioned, you only need to gently pull on the plastic ring to active the 'B' button when pointing the stick downward before swinging. You should also choke down on the club a little bit so you don't have to pull the piece as far back. As some have said, yes you love some of the leverage that holding the club further towards the end generates, but this can be easily over-comeable. You can still very easily get the club head speed necessary to achieve 100% power chocked way down on the club - with the correct technique. Correct technique involved a FULL back swing with the end of the chicken stick behind your head pointing back at the TV, and then a full smooth yet quick swing forward. Lastly, as others have mentioned...a small piece of packing tape on the golf pride grip right where the plastic piece frictionizes with it helps to smoothly pull it back with minimal effort. Overall, this is a great product and you can buy with confidence. The seller offers excellent customer service. Tiger Woods Wii will never be the same without it. I wouldn't even play the game (that I'm addicted to and play every day!) while I waited for the replacement to arrive. A+ purchase

I got this for my husband as we play Tiger Woods 2011 Wii golf almost every evening. He is a real golfer and has been his whole life. He loved this until it broke last night. He only had it a few weeks. There is an attachment where you put your pointer finger to pull back on it rather than using the B button as it is at the bottom of the stick and the top of the stick is like a real golf club. It is made of plastic and broke at the circle part where the finger pulls on it. Now we have to let Amazon know what happened, and for what it cost, I sure hope we can get a refund or another one to replace it. Hopefully, they will start making that part out of a thicker plastic. S. Marshall