My neighbor sidled over for a quick chat while I was tending to my lawn the other day, suburbanite that I am. Relatively new to the game but already quite an avid golfer, he told me he was going to the local pro shop to schedule a Ball Launch Monitor Fitting Service session for his driver.
“Guy at the office said it’ll give me an extra 10-20 yards,” he said.
SOURCE: The Golf Channel
This is one of my favorite resources, a regularly updated database of the clubs a pro carried when s/he won a Tour event. Since some win more than others, you can imagine how many records there are on file for players like, say, Tiger Woods. You’ll be pleasantly surprised to see how many players and their bags are included here; it looks like the database covers tournaments from the late 90s onwards. Not bad at all. [GO]
SOURCE: TravelGolf.com – Tim McDonald
GIST: Originally believing custom club fitting just another industry sham designed to extract yet even more bucks from hopeful golfers, McDonald quickly realized he could have gained, in his case, up to 30 yards more earlier on if he weren’t so darned stubborn.
MY TAKE: I already figured out long ago that science, not prayer (I’ve already given up on innate talent), is the only fighting chance I’ve got out on the course. Are you scratch? No? Get fitted. [GO]
SOURCE: Grouchy Golf Blog
GIST: The grooves on your low-lofted clubs (20 degrees and less) have nothing to do with imparting spin on the ball. They’re more like tire treads, there to help redirect dirt and moisture away from the point of contact.
MY TAKE: Another age-old technical misconception completely shattered by smart guys. Hard to argue against the evidence presented, at least as far as your driver and longer woods are concerned. Which means that if your drives are wildly veering off left or right (or both), ballooning, or doing just about everything except what you want them to do, quit cleaning those grooves and start looking at your swing!
Your irons, on the other hand, are ball spinners by design, so you can still use your “Man, there’s dirt in the grooves” excuse with flubbed shots. [GO]
SOURCE: Equip2Golf
Just picked up a nice set of used irons on eBay and want to know the standard loft/lie/length specs of each club? Go to the manufacturer’s website. Thing is, many of them haven’t quite figured this Internet thing out just yet and don’t have this data available. If that’s the case, your next stop should be Equip2Golf’s neat database. It doesn’t have every brand and model out there, but it’s quite robust. [GO]
SOURCE: Golf Tips Magazine
An excellent collection of 40 equipment-related tips (maintaining, using, etc.), in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. Browse through it, and just keep it handy and ready on your hard drive. You probably won’t need all of it, but you never know. For me, the few quick and dirty equipment maintenance tips were gems. [GO]
SOURCE: HumanGolf.com - John Bolt
GIST: Easy to follow instructions for replacing your golf grips yourself.
MY TAKE: The need to replace your worn out grips is a no-brainer. But there is another benefit you may want to consider: getting that new club feel without spending the big bucks! New grips can give you that, especially if you go with a different model grip.
Your local pro shop should be able to do the job for a reasonable cost, but as you can see from this article, doing it yourself is a relatively easy (and cheaper) process. [GO]
SOURCE: HumanGolf.com – Eldon Sarte
GIST: This special report’s one of mine. Despite owning and playing a wide variety of brand names, and having ready access to top past and current brand name models (I sell the stuff on eBay as a sideline; that’s what I tell my wife anyway, but I think she knows that I just love playing with all these toys), the clone Pinemeadow Golf irons I picked up a few years ago when I was just starting out are still very much in play and in my bag frequently today. The clone driver I got was OK; the fairway woods didn’t feel right but performed satisfactorily. No need to read the whole report (unless you want the full first-person positive and negative details of the whole experience); the conclusion’s a simple one: Clone clubs from a reputable company with a solid reputation and a good guarantee are definitely worth checking out if you’re on a budget… and maybe even if you aren’t! [GO]
