Tom's Golf Blog

Golf GPS system VS Range Finders part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 20:03:00 +0000

So the rangefinder is not your style huh? That's cool, now you are ready for a GPS unit. GPS units are the latest rage in golf and they are not without some confusing features and choices. Let's try to weed through the confusion together.

The first thing we have to do is define what the GPS unit does. GPS units are linked to satellites in orbit over the earth that can read where the unit is and give you distance to certain, pre-programmed objects. The accuracy is incredible and it is a bit easier to use than a rangefinder since the distances are displayed for you as opposed to you having to shoot the laser at the object.

Courses are mapped by humans who walk the course with a satelite backpack that looks like something out of "Ghostbusters." They walk to certain areas of the golf course and "tell" the satelite to remember that point. From there, they walk to another point and repeat the process. The shortcoming of these units is that you can't have an infinite number of points of interest. A golf course can have thousands of trees and there is no way that a mapper is going to use every single on of them as a point of interest.

To combat this, most of the units will allow you to put your own point of interest into the system. If the bunker you can't seem to clear, no matter what you do, isn't on the unit, you can put it on there manually. Most units accommodate up to 5 extra points of interest per hole so you should be able to get yourself everything you need to score.

The only other problem is that a GPS unit does not tell you the distance to the pin. The units only provide distance to the front, middle, and back of the greens. The reason is the same as the tree problem. On a given green, there may be dozens of possible pin locations. How would you tell the satelite what location they are using today?

Most people I talk to are computer illeterate, like me, and the GPS scares them. You will, most likely, have to use your computer at some point to download a course. Since most of the units come "blank" with nothing on them, you will have to put the courses you want to have on the units. Sometimes, the units may only hold 10 or so courses so you may have to drop and add courses based on where you are playing too. While this sounds tough to do, it is actually very easy. If you have ever downloaded photots from your camera to your computer, you have done all you need to be able to use the software for a GPS unit.

The last thing you must know before deciding on a golf GPS unit is that most of them have either an activation fee or a membership fee of some kind. Some of them have levels of membership as well which you will need to know before you purchase a GPS. You can check these features on each of the GPS manufacturers websites.

So I'm still on board and now I have to decide which unit to get. Sky Caddie was the first to develop the golf GPS and so they kind of lead the way when people think of a golf GPS unit. They have a variety of units available. The SG5 is the flagship of their line. It is in color and comes with all the bells and whistles that a GPS can come with.

Garmin is the #1 name in GPS systems worldwide so it is no surprise that they have a GPS for golf too. The Golflogix is one of the easiest GPS units to use. The large display is easy to read and displays only distances to the points of interest as opposed to others that show computer photos of the green or the course.

The Golfbuddy is intriguing. This unit has all the bells and whistles as well as no activation or yearly membership fee. In fact, it comes pre-loaded with up to 20,000 courses so it is pretty much ready to go from the moment you open the box. Go to the first tee and turn it on and you should be good to go. Of course if your course is not one the 20,000 pre-loaded courses, you will have to download it from the website, but a small price to pay to not pay a price ever again, right?

There are others, trust me there are others. There are some that have maps of the hole that you are playing. Others are marketed as the most innexpensive on the market. Others have a "real life" flyover of the hole as you play it so that you can see the lay of the land you are about to conquer. Choices abound!

Either way you go, calculating the distance you are about to have is paramount to playing better golf. GPS or Rangefinder, it is up to you. But technology can help you. Take advantage where you can, this game is hard enough.

Play well and have fun!

Golf GPS system VS Range Finders part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 05:16:00 +0000

Technology has boomed in the world. Just a few years ago DVD was the king of the movie world and now Blue Ray is here. Televisions have gone from tube, to plasma, to LCD. Golf has been no exception. Does anyone remember a steel headed driver? Now Titanium and even composite materials. Yes, technology is changing this game.

The new buzz in the techno side of golf is the way we calculate distance. I remember pacing off distance with a friend in a tournament. I had a shot over water on the 18th hole of a major tournament in Spokane, Wa. We both stood at the 150 marker and paced to my ball. I had 137 and he came up with 133. He was a little taller and had longer legs than I, apparently ha ha.

Now, I am nowhere near good enough to quibble over 4 yards, but as a 0 handicap in contention to win this tournament, I was quibbling over 4 inches. I played it at 135, splitting the difference, and hit a terrible shot. I pulled it in the water to the left of the green. Indecision cost me the tournament. In all reality, it was the shank out of bounds on the first playoff hole, but that is a story for another time.

Today, we have options for defining the distance to the target we are firing at. There are GPS units and Range finders. But how would I choose? First thing we have to do is define the features of both options.

Range finders are somewhat simple at their core. They look like binoculars or looking glasses. They have a laser that fires out of the unit and reflects off a surface back to the unit to measure the distance. The laser is typically able to reflect off of any solid surface, but works best off of a reflective surface.

The beauty of a range finder is that you can gauge distance to any object you desire. Want to know how far it is to that pesky tree that you hit it behind EVERY time you play the 14th hole at your local golf course? No problem, point and shoot. Want to know the distance over the daunting water hazard in front of you on that short par 5? No problem, point and shoot. Done.

The best thing about range finders, and the real discernible difference from a GPS unit, is that you can point and shoot the flag stick and get exact distance to the pin, itself. GPS units are not able to give you exact pin distance. We will discuss that in the next post, though.

The features of each range finder are different, but there are a few things we must take into account when we choose a range finder. The first thing you must decide is if you are going to use the range finder in tournament play. I would suggest phoning your local tournament director to see if they allow range finders at all, but there is one that is non-conforming for all tournaments because of a particular feature.

This one has a feature called slope. This feature will distinguish the distance based on the elevation change as well as the standard distance. The range finder that provides this feature is the Bushnell Yardage Pro Pinseeker 1500. The Bushnell company produces the same model with out the slope feature in their Yardage Pro Pinseeker 1500 Tournament Edition.

If these units are a bit more than you need for your golf game, check out the I-On Op tix range finder or the Callaway LR 550. Both have the necessary features to give you accurate distance to the targets you desire while being tournament legal.

When you are thinking of a yardage calculation device, if you want distance to an infinite number of targets, the laser range finder is going to provide you with the opportunity to choose the targets you want. If a range finder is not for you, take a look at a GPS unit. Those are covered in the next entry of this blog.

The Gentlemen's Game

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:00:00 +0000

J.P. Hayes turned himself in for using an incorrect golf ball during Q-school. He played a non-conforming, "prototype" golf ball on one hole and disqualified HIMSELF for the infraction. He could have been mum and nobody ever would have known. The fact that he did this, to himself, again shows the nature of this game.

Policing ones self is the order of the day in this game. There have been moments where I have taken liberties, above the rules, and those moments are permanently burned to my memory as some of my weaker decisions. I wasn't playing for my livelihood, though. This guy was playing to get back on tour full-time and was man enough to do what he did.

The understanding of what he did is a little tough for most of us "weekend warriors" though. He violated what is called the "one ball rule." The PGA Tour, as well as USGA events and most collegiate events, institute a rule that holds the player to one golf ball through play. This means that if you tee off on the first hole with a Nike One Platinum golf ball, you finish the last round of the tournament with that same golf ball.

This doesn't mean that you can't lose a ball. It just means that if you take a ball out of play, or lose a ball, the replacement ball that you put in play must be the same make and model of golf ball. The number on the ball can be different, but the ball itself must be the same. This prevents players from teeing off with a distance style golf ball on longer holes and switching to a soft ball for par 3 holes.

The violation was very unintentional. It turns out that his caddy flipped him the ball and he teed it not even realizing that it was different. His knowledge of the rules and his conscience, as a man, would not let him play it off without penalty. Hopefully he is rewarded with sponsor's exemptions this year.

Witnessing GOLF History

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 19:57:00 +0000

It comes along once or twice in a lifetime. We are in such a moment, this weekend, for the last time. We get to see Annika Sorenstam finish her last professional tournament round on the LPGA tour. This is history. To have been lucky enough to see the best women's golfer ever and the, soon to be, best male golfer ever, at the same time, has been a real treat.

I will spare you the list of achievements, if you want to see them you can find them. Rest assured, she has set the bar at a very high level. Not just for women, but for golfers. From her major championships to shooting 59 in a tournament round, she has been the benchmark for her sport for as long as I can remember.

Now she holes out for the last time. She gets her last moment in the sun before she passes the torch to the Paula's, Morgan's, Michelle's, Britnay's and In-Bee's of the world. Perhaps they can carry on and challenge the legacy that she has forged. Perhaps we have just seen the only one that could carry that torch. Maybe WE were the lucky ones for this time to get to see this.

This weekend, flip the channel over and watch the greatest golfer of her era play that final round. Watch the emotion on the faces of the crowd and the competitors. If you play this game and love it like I do, you will know how important this weekend is. You have been witness to the greatest to ever play the game. You will watch as Tiger breaks every record in the book soon. But you can watch one last time as Annika finishes a career that may never be matched.

We have been lucky.

Breaking news in the golf world

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 20:56:00 +0000

If you haven't heard, Titleist has been embroiled in a controversy that pretty much shook the golf ball world. Titleist is known for shaking up the golf ball world, but this is the first time it has nothing to do with a new golf ball launch.

In years past, golfers have waited, somewhat impatiently, for the newest arrival from the golf ball giant. I can remember when the Titleist Professional was launched. It was the first time that a solid core ball was going to have a soft, balata-like cover. I was so anxious and when it came out, it was everything I hoped it would be.

How many of us can remember the Pro V1 being released? I got an "advance proto" sleeve of the ball in a white, unmarked sleeve. It felt like I was being handed the key to a fantasy city somewhere...or a sleeve full of crack. It turned out to be neither, but that ball has gone on to be the top seller for years now.

And now we hear that, arguably, the two largest golf manufacturers have been going at it...in court.

Callaway golf, makers of the Tour iX golf ball, have been battling Titleist over patent infringement as it relates to the Pro V1 golf ball. Patent infringement conjures up thoughts of legal litigation, mud-slinging, and possible injunctions, stopping products from reaching us, the end consumer.

In a statement released by Titliest, they dispel these rumors;

Fairhaven, MA (November 10, 2008) -- Acushnet Company, the golf business of Fortune Brands, Inc. (NYSE: FO), announced that it will file an appeal of today’s ruling in a U.S. District Court in Delaware granting Callaway Golf’s request for an injunction in the long-running dispute with respect to four Callaway patents and Acushnet’s Titleist Pro V1 golf balls. The company also announced that it does not expect the ruling to have a material adverse impact on its results.

“We strongly disagree with the judge’s ruling and will file an appeal and seek relief from the injunction,” said Joe Nauman, executive vice president, corporate and legal of Acushnet. “However, it’s important to recognize that this ruling will not have any impact on our ability to supply our customers with Pro V1 golf balls because of the following actions which we have undertaken. In September 2008, we converted production of the existing Pro V1 models so that they are outside of the patents in question; and we have also developed and will be introducing new and improved Titleist Pro V1 products in the first quarter of 2009 that are also outside the scope of the patents in question.

“Our Pro V1 golf balls are the product of technology developed and accumulated by the Acushnet Company over the past 20 years,” Nauman continued. “Acushnet is the industry leader in developing golf ball technology and has over 650 active golf ball patents – more than any other manufacturer. Over 65 of these patents are related to the Pro V1 family.

“We will continue to defend ourselves vigorously and we fully expect to prevail in having all claims of all four patents at issue determined to be invalid in the appeal process,” Nauman added. “Our confidence is underpinned by the fact that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued final office actions which have determined these patents to be invalid.”

I, for one, am excited to know that we will still be able to choose the golf ball that suits our game, no matter what company produces that ball. I also am excited to know that, if I choose the Pro V1, the performance is not going to differ from what I have been playing this year.

Hit em well out there and have fun!

Golf's offseason

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 23:54:00 +0000

I am a massive football fan. So much so, that if you look closely at the photo on the left, you will see a Seattle Seahawk head cover on my driver. That is my devotion to the team I follow, and a carefully crafted plan to make sure that my clubs stay in my bag.

*Side note*

Did you know that if you use the company head cover that you got with your golf club, you are not just advertising for that company, but are pretty much waving a sign over your driver or fairway wood exclaiming "STEAL ME!!!" If you are not into generic head covers yet, it is only a matter of time before you find your prized possession missing from your bag.

I digress. I hate the off season for football. It feels like forever between the Super Bowl and the first day of training camp. That length of time can drive me insane sometimes. But it is that length of time that might just make me a rabid fan. If there were 3 games a week and the off season was 2 months or shorter, would I still be as big of a fan? Would the "urgency" of every game still be palpable? I don't know.

Take this to the world of golf. I think the off season for golf is way too short. First off, it pretty much trivializes the first and last 5 or so tournaments of every year. If the PGA tour were to give these guys 4 months off, it would condense the season to the point that, I have to think, we would be so much more excited about these "low ratings" periods.

The other thing it would do is force the top tier players to play more often. With less tournaments on the schedule, we would see them play more often to achieve season-long goals like the money title or Ryder Cup points. I can't imagine how cool it would be to see Tiger, Phil, Jim, Vijay, Paddy, Sergio, and other big names tee it up against each other more and more.

An off season for golf? Is that such a bad idea?

Golf Shoes are important

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 00:59:00 +0000

My Dad never wears golf shoes. This guy will tighten up his ratty old tennis shoes and hit the links at any time. I know what you are saying, "You work in the golf business, cant you buy your dear 'ol Dad some golf shoes?" Trust me, he has been well taken care of in that department. Yet he still wears his tennis shoes. He plays fairly well too, which begs the question...do golf shoes really matter?

Truth is, I think so. I wear golf shoes. Just about every time I play I wear golf shoes. I even change my shoes to practice. I wear Adidas Tour 360 shoes most of the time because they are the most comfortable shoes I own but I also own a few other pairs. I make my decision on what to wear based on the conditions of the golf course as well as the outfit I choose to wear when I play.

Yeah, I am one of those guys, I match my shoes to my slacks or shorts. I wear white socks with black slacks though so I am not labeled as a "matcher." If I wear slacks that are black or if it is a sloppy day, I wear Nike Revive shoes. They look good with slacks and they are waterproof. Being black they do not show wear as much as a white pair of shoes. They are fairly comfortable and so they work just fine.

I also own a pair of white Nike Air Zoom Elite shoes that I like. They look great with shorts and, again, are fairly comfortable. I do not like to wear these shoes when the weather is bad because the white shows dirt so badly. I also wear these during most practice sessions. The reason I like these for practice is that I like to practice in shoes that are a bit tighter to wear them in. These are the tightest of the shoes I own so I break them in practicing.

But the question was not what I wear, it was "does it matter?"

Again, I say yes. Maybe it is the placebo effect and I just "think" it matters, but I don't fully believe that. I know that I do not slip as much in golf shoes during a swing as I do in my tennis shoes. I also know that the soft spikes provides better traction than my tennis shoes when I am walking the golf courses hills and valleys.

Golf shoe companies have told us that they have tested golf shoes and that they provide more "torsional stability" which is supposed to provide better stability through the golf swing. Golf shoes have been sold to us as a way to increase power over that which our natural ability can provide.

I'm not going to say that is accurate, and I am not going to dispute it. I am simply going to say that if it is true, I am taking advantage of that technology and my Dad is not. If he ever started, I would probably be in trouble ha ha. I prefer to say that I have not done enough research to support anything like that, but they sure look good with my slacks and shorts.

Shoes might just be a fashion statement as it relates to this sport, but every sport has their particular shoe...why shouldn't we?

Golfer's apology

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 17:48:00 +0000

This might be a tough one for me to write. I am going to be opening up a part of me that I am not real proud of and probably exposing a weakness that I am not too happy with. At the same time, I am probably going to open some wounds for a select few that have had the "pleasure" of witnessing some of the moments I am going to talk about here. Read on with a forgiving heart.

I can't remember when it first happened. I am sure someone can, but I don't even care when or how. It happened. I became competitive. Not competitive in the sense that I liked to compete, but in the sense that I demanded perfection from a game that does not offer it. At this point, hitting the fairway was no longer good enough. Hitting greens was no longer good enough. Holing putts, as silly as this will sound, was no longer good enough. They have to hit the fairway with the right shape and trajectory and they had to go in the center of the hole....anything else was just not good enough.

It was at this point that I discovered frustration and anger. I figured that if I tried harder, perfection was attainable. I figured that if I cared more than the next guy, perfection was attainable. I became a monster. All I cared about on the golf course was making the ball feel perfect off the club face and fly perfect in the air. The problem was, perfection IS unattainable. No amount of caring will overcome that. No amount of practice will nullify the fact that golf is a game that can never be mastered.

Tiger is great, that is without dispute. But Tiger hits "bad" shots. Tiger hits it out in the trees sometimes. Tiger will NEVER shoot an 18. That is perfection isn't it? We can fight and try and practice and cry all we want and 18 will always be the perfection that eludes us. I didn't have that figured out...yet.

So I melted down, often. I beat myself up for shots that I would kill for now. I destroyed my confidence for scores that were competitive and would play in many tournaments. More importantly, I discovered a temper that led to broken clubs, broken friendships, and an embarrassing side of me that has no defense.

So this apology goes to guys like Brad Faller. Brad watched me throw my Ram FX #2 iron down a roadway one day after a shot out of bounds. This goes to Steve Appleton who watched me destroy a cart path curb with a brand new Scotty Cameron TI3 putter. (that putter was resilient let me tell you) This goes out to guys like Corey Brown and Darren Black who tried to wake me up to my shortcomings only to be told "If you don't like it, BUY A HELMET." This goes out to all my teammates over the years. I am sure that a calmer demeanor would have led to lower scores and I know that I cost us some real opportunities. This goes out to the countless playing partners that have had the misfortune of watching this display of garbage.

Most of all, this goes out to my Dad.

Very few moments in my life resonate as much as the silence of my Father on a drive home from the golf course after one my tirades. I remember one more than others where I threw my putter on the 18th hole of a tournament we were playing together. I imagine him having to apologize for me and the feeling he must have felt having to "endorse" my crap behavior, by default.

I would like to say that one incident snapped me out of it and I corrected my ways immediately after...but I can't say that. What I can say is that I have learned, through experience and age, that not only does that kind of behavior hurt my golf game, it hurts the way people look at me. I am "that guy" that might not get a call when the 4-some is one short. I'm "that guy" that you are afraid to approach on hole #3 because a par on #2 somehow was not good enough.

I am what I have allowed myself to be. I am what I have created, needlessly. I am "that guy"

But I can say that I have corrected that. I am making strides to be a better ambassador of this game and a better representative of myself. So I can safely say, to all I have hurt as well as to this game...

I am sorry.

Golf clubs I'm checking out right now

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 17:29:00 +0000

The season has turned here in Seattle. I am bundling up to play, but I am soldiering on. I am eying some new stuff in the golf world for my own bag. I know what you are saying, "But you like your stuff you play right now. Don't you?" Well yeah, but I am a golfer...always on the prowl for the next great thing.

Here is what I am thinking;

I have my eye on the Cobra L5V driver. In fact, if my Mother and Father are reading this at present, Christmas is coming, AND SOON! This sucker is intense. It has a composite crown (which I have stayed away from due to the optical presentation of most composites) and a titanium face and sole. The back weight port is fitted with an adjustable weight screw for changing swing weight on demand. I will probably never actually change anything, but I'm easily distracted by bells, whistles, and shiny objects.

The coolest thing this driver offers is an adjustable face angle. You can take and screw the head off the shaft and flip the shaft. This will change the face angle from square to closed. This will afford me an option of going with a draw bias driver or a neutral setting in the same golf club. I think this is genius. Having seen it in person, the neutral setting gives the driver a square look at address that is gorgeous.

I am also digging on the new Titleist Vokey Wedges. I like that they are going to 3 different finishes for variety and are now offering the spin milling in more lofts. Last year they didn't do the 52* or lower lofts, but this year...48* through 64* (every even numbered loft) ALL spin milled. Someone at Titleist was listening.

On the subject of wedges, That new Nike Victory Red Forged wedge is so good looking. I have yet to hit one so I cant comment on how it plays, but if it plays half as well as it looks, that will be in my bag SOON! The classic lines are gorgeous and very traditional.

The new Adams Insight Tech A4 driver is right up my alley too. This is everything that a guy married to traditional looks could want from a driver. It is set up open to give it that classic look, jet black, pear shaped, a real gem. This is what I would envision my old Titliest 975 J looking like if you stuck a straw in the back of it and blew it up to 460 cc. GORGEOUS!

Looks like I have my Christmas list all set up. I'll make sure to drop hints all over to those that need them but I always reserve the right to want new stuff come next year ha ha.

Play well and have a great Christmas holiday.

Clubs That are not Yours

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 20:29:00 +0000

I went back home to visit the family recently and was lucky enough to get a couple of wonderful Fall days to hit the links with Dad. We went to the course I grew up playing and had a great time searching through the trees I used to search through when I was young. It was a real pleasure to be there again on a course that I love dearly with the man that introduced me to this silly game…Thanks Dad!

There was one problem though. I was using equipment that was not my own. Okay, so the irons do have my name on them (Ping I5 irons) but they are not the irons I play on a regular basis. They are the “Spokane set” to appease the wife and relieve a little space in the closet. This set contains no driver, no fairway wood, and no wedges of consequence.

Here is the problem with this…my Dad plays vastly different clubs than I do. So what am I saddled with? A Cobra Offset driver with a regular shaft. Not exactly the specs I play. Adaptation time is zero and the tee time is in 30 minutes. What am I going to do?

Some of us are talented enough to not have this make a difference and can just adjust the swing to keep things going. I am not that guy ha ha. So I tried a couple of different things. The first thing I did was to take his offset driver with the loose shaft and swing a bit slower and aim a little right to compensate for the offset in the driver. I also teed the ball up a touch lower because the offset feature tends to send the ball higher than I am used to.

That worked for a while. As my round progressed, I found myself swinging better and freer and my swing speed increased. Now I was in trouble. So I did something I would have never thought of if not for some practice sessions back in college.

I switched tees. I played some white tees to shorten holes a bit so that I could hit Dad’s hybrid or even a iron off the tee. I was hitting the ball into the spots I typically do with my own driver and things were somewhat back to normal.

I remembered back to a time in college. We had just been to California for a tournament and our entire team’s performance around the greens was awful. In fact, from 100 in was pretty much abysmal. Our coach had us play the next few rounds from the ladies tees at our local course.

This gave us more wedges and more than our fair share of 40 yard shots to practice. We were told to play every tee shot as if we were playing the tips, which took the strategy of laying up to our “normal” approach shot distance out of play. Coach sent us off with an adage that I have held onto forever, “It doesn’t matter what tees you play, you still have to chip and putt to score.”

I hit my wedges well that day and putted fairly well and was able to score despite having equipment that didn’t match my swing. Remember this next time you are on vacation and are borrowing a set of clubs and they do not match your everyday clubs. If you have to, play a set of tees up so that you can lay up to distances you would normally have if you had your own equipment.

Most of all, have fun.

What do I do with old golf clubs?

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 20:26:00 +0000

“How many clubs can you play with?” Picture this voice coming from my beautiful bride. The one I cherish more than any on this Earth. She pretty much controls all that I do and oversees my whole existence to keep me afloat. So you can imagine my shock when she asked me this question. She knows the answer is 14. But the tone told me the story.

She was more commenting on the collection of, formerly favorite, golf clubs in our closet. The number seems to increase to the point that I actually think they reproduce on their own. (Don’t get me started on the noises I hear from them, but that is for a different conversation.)

So there I am, going through what I call “the arsenal” when the voice of my sweet chimes in. At that point, I wondered the same. My immediate answer to her was “NEVER enough golf equipment.” My brain told a different story though. I did have an awful lot of stuff.

What do I do with the weapons of years past? Thanks to technology, I have a bunch of choices now. I can do the tried and true and put up a letter at the local club with all my stuff I am looking to move to a new home. Maybe someone can find a use for that persimmon #6 wood that Dad gave me when I was 7.

I can also go the Ebay route. This has become the choice of the moment as it comes to selling just about anything. Ebay is nothing more than an auction. You place your item on their site and you take bids. You can even set a reserve if you think that club with the fake wood looking shaft is actually worth something. Once the bidding is over, you sell the item and pay Ebay a portion.

Or, you can visit the idea of trade in. Some of the best moves I have made in the battle against the growing of the golf collection has been trade in. I have taken 3 or 4 clubs I will never play again and turned them into new drivers or wedges. It is a great program and is much easier on my mind than Ebay is.

I prefer to hang onto most of the following items, Drivers, putters, wedges. As we have talked about in the past, I believe that confidence is something very important when it comes to your equipment. I hang onto anything that was once the magic wand. I have a few I will never get rid of.

I have an Odyssey White Hot Tour putter that I have played with only once. I have a Ping G5 driver that I swear will see my bag at some stage again. I have 3 or 4 sets of wedges “just in case” the new weapons decide to misfire. I have a couple Scotty Cameron putters in case the 3 wiggles infest my golf bag with my current putter.

I am a bit of a hoarder when it comes to golf equipment. I know that they worked before and they will work again, if they have to. They have proven they are equal to the task and so I hang on to them. (Much to the chagrin of some)

She should be thankful we don’t have a garage…yet!

When do I change clubs?

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 20:11:00 +0000

Changing the neighborhood

I had just shot an 87. I was miserable. My buddy Brad had just beat me senseless, which is the case most times, but this one was different. Usually I can hang with him and this time it was over before it began.

The next day I went out by myself and ripped off an 85. Now I knew something was horribly wrong. 3 days later an 84. Over the weekend, 2 more scores over 85. It reached catastrophic levels now. I called for help.

I called Brad and relayed the story. Brad is always helpful even though we compete against each other from time to time. Brad asked a bunch of questions about my weight shift, my spine angle, my wrist at the top of my swing, all the stuff a “swing doctor” is supposed to ask. Then it hit me…my confidence was shot.

I suddenly realized that every time I set the club down, I felt a sense of impending doom. I had no idea where the ball was going when I put a tee in the ground. I was scared I would hit my long irons fat. I was certain that a shank was right around the corner with my wedges. Every 20-foot putt felt like it was across state borders. My swing was not perfect, trust me, but that was not the culprit this time. This time it was the head. I decided something rash. I would buy new clubs!

Now I am not a guy that tries every new thing out there when I miss a green. I am a realist. I know that my ability will dictate my score more than anything else will. But this time I tried to inject some “quick confidence” into my game. I remembered the last time I got a new putter…I was lights out. I made everything in sight for about a month. Then I settled into a groove. While I didn’t make everything anymore, I putted well. I still have that putter to this day.

That was when it hit me. I was changing clubs for no reason before. This time there was a reason. I wanted to change to get rid of the bad feelings in my head. I couldn’t look at those clubs anymore and remember the good shots. I just remembered the bad ones that got me to this lowly spot in my golf life.

I started with new wedges. I bought wedges that looked completely different than what I had been playing before. I had been playing a Cleveland 588 TSC gap wedge at 53* and a Ping Tour Black Nickel wedge at 56* with a T grind in the sole (trailing edge was ground as well as the heel so that I can open it up easier). I kept the wedges for the future when the new ones would leave me. They are currently on "exile" to my closet where I am hoping some time alone, in the dark, will scare them straight ha ha.

I went with the Callaway X-tour wedges in the satin finish in a 52* and a 56*. I held off on new irons and new woods to see what happened. I liked my gear before. Why didn’t? I like it now? More importantly, would the change in wedges help me fall in love all over with my gear again?

Truth is, I fired an 82 the day I got the new wedges and then back to being Tom Flynn the next day. I had 73 with a double and I felt more in control of my golf game again. Steadily, it all came back. I was back to reality again and it seemed that a change in equipment did it. I called it "changing the neighborhood." I was looking at a new place every time I put the new clubs down and that shot of confidence fed through my entire game.

Try this, next time you think it is time to change clubs. Is it that your clubs are outdated? Is it that your ability has new demands that your clubs can not deliver? Or is it that you just need a shot of confidence? Maybe it is time to change the neighborhood in your own game.

Torque is for Mechanics

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 20:09:00 +0000

Torque is for mechanics?

I will probably get some flak for this statement, but the most overused and least known term in golf equipment today is torque. Before you fill the comment section with cries for my head or my position, let me explain.

Can you tell me what torque means? Can you tell me why I should use a low or a high torque? Better yet, can you tell me what will happen if I play 3.2 torque vs. 3.3 torque? I mean if I told you I was a 1 handicap and had a swing speed of 97+ MPH on most driver swings, played a 9.5* driver at 45” with a 65g shaft and I didn’t know what torque I should be playing, you could tell me right? What if I told you that my typical ball flight was straight to a power fade. You could tell me straight away, right? Ohhhhhhh or better yet, I can go hit on your launch monitor and you can tell me then what torque I should be using. That will do it. Okay, I know that torque is important in some capacity. I kid when I say it is immaterial, but am I so far off?

Lets define torque and march through this together. Torque is defined as the shafts resistance to twisting. The lower the number, the less it twists and the higher the number the more it twists. Torque is “fitted” by testing contact and ball spin. A lower torque typically spins the ball more than a higher torque does. So spin is bad and so we should all play the lowest torque possible, right? Well there is more to it than that.

If you make consistent ball contact, you hit the middle or close to the middle of the golf club every time you make contact, lower torque might be right up your alley. But if you hit it like my buddies, you are all over the face. One is off the heel, one out on the toe, torque might not hurt you if that is the case. In fact, torque can help you. A higher torque might afford you some forgiveness on those off-center hits. Your club could attempt to correct some of those impact faults.

I know what you are saying…”Tom you sounded like you thought torque was a joke earlier and now you are making it seem like it makes sense to take into account.” Well I don’t think it is a joke and I certainly do not think it is something to take into account…for all golfers.

Let me put it this way. If you are a 20 handicap and have trouble finding the fairway. Maybe you slice the golf ball and are just trying to get it in play so you can find it and hit it again. Why would you be concerned with the torque of the golf club you are playing? Is this torque thing going to magically produce Tiger-like drives from your over the top reverse pivot golf swing? No. This is just another variable to confuse you in an already confounding game.

Now if you are a low handicapper or even a golfer that makes consistent contact with the sweet spot of the golf club, maybe torque is something you should consider when purchasing your next driver. Be very cautious though. Do not let torque override the more important aspects of the shaft such as weight or flex.

Torque is not going to make you hit the ball 10 yards further like weight can. Torque is not going to produce a higher ball flight like flex point can. Torque is not going to turn heads like even the color of the shaft will. Torque has and will continue to confuse the average golfer, but can be a variable that the consistent player might want to examine.

I choose to play a Cobra X speed Driver. I play the D version (deep face) with an Aldila VS proto shaft in stiff flex at 65 grams. They tell me it is a 3.2 torque. I have no idea what that means to me, but I hit it well and like the way it feels. It is SOOOOOOOO important to golfers everywhere that Cobra does not even print the torque of that shaft on their website when giving the specifications of the golf club.

I guess it isn’t first on their mind and they were the ones that built the club. Makes me think…maybe it should not be first on my mind.

HIT EM WELL!

Flex and Flex Point

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 20:05:00 +0000

Flex and flex point…there IS a difference?

Here is something that bothers me. Flex vs. flex point as it relates to shafts. Here is another marketing mess that can not only confuse, but scare golfers into submission to the golf companies every whim.

Flex of the shaft is usually printed on the shaft somewhere. It will say “regular” or “stiff” or “ladies” or “lite” or…well you get the idea. This is the designation that corresponds to the type of golfer that should be playing the particular shaft. Faster swingers typically play “stiff” and slower swingers play “lite.” Pretty cut and dried here. This is typically measured by swing speed and is, of late, being measured by ball speed.

Let me side step for a minute. If you are being fitted and are not being told your ball speed, ask the fitter what is it. If he/she does not tell you, go somewhere else. Ball speed is the single most important detail in the fitting process. Ball speed tells the seasoned fitter what kind of contact you are making when looked at with the swing speed in mind. Ball speed is the "new" swing speed to most of these golf club companies when they design and match shaft to head.

But I digress…shaft flex point is very different. Flex point is the zone that a shaft actually flexes at. You will see this called “low kick or flex”, “high kick or flex” and “mid kick or flex.” Here is where it gets tricky. High flex point will deliver a lower trajectory ball flight and low flex point will deliver a higher trajectory ball flight. Mid is…well…mid.

This should help you understand why the manufacturers will offer one driver with 3 different shaft options. In most cases, the “stock” shaft will have the lowest flex point while the other 2 options will be the mid and high flex options. Here is just such a monster. You will notice that when you select the “shaft” option, the dropdown menu gives you 3 shaft options. In this case, the stock is the mid flex point option where the Pro Launch Red is the high flex point and V2 is the low flex point. Remember, in flex point high means low trajectory and low means high trajectory.

So what should I get? Well that is a great question. I would urge you to take loft into account with all of this. I play a 9.5* driver with a “mid to high” flex point. That produces a 9.5* driver that tries to play like a 9*. Why not just buy a 9* you ask? Because they didn’t make one ha ha. I would also say that if you need some forgiveness, play a lower flex point shaft. It will produce a higher trajectory which is typically easier to control.

Here is the noose though. What if I want a stiff shaft with a low flex point? Well I am out of luck for the most part. The reason for this is that the kind of shaft I would be asking for caters to such a small population of golfers that it makes no sense, financially, for many of the shaft makers to produce that combination of shaft. The same can be said for a high flex point, senior shaft. Why make it when it is so counter productive to what the golfer at that speed or ability is actually going to do.

Next time your golf buddy tells you that you should get a high flex point shaft put in your driver, ask him why and see what he says. If he doesn’t say “So that you can hit the ball lower,” he is just trying to get in your head, or your pocket.

HIT EM WELL!

Round and Dimples pt. 3

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 19:33:00 +0000

Okay, I’ve decided that I should play a “distance” type ball with good feel. I know I play in a climate that reduces distance, but has softer greens that do not demand I spin the ball a ton. Now what? I mean there are 20 different brands of balls that all say the same thing. How do I decide which brand of ball to play?

First a short story…I was playing a college tournament when a guy came in with a semi-ridiculous score. On a day where NOBODY stopped balls on the concrete hard greens, this guy comes in with a 67! So as we all sat around talking about our round, one of my teammates came up and told me that “the 67 guy spun the ball BACK on 4 or 5 greens.” Now I am not the best spinner of the golf ball but I knew that this was virtually impossible given the conditions.

I walked up to “the 67 guy” and asked him what ball he was playing that spun on these runway-like greens. His answer, “anything round and dimpled.” I was floored. I demanded to know what version of Titleist balata he was playing and he walked me outside and emptied his golf bag of all his golf balls. Wilson Ultra, Top-Flite XL, Slazenger Raw Distance, every manner of distance ball fell to the ground. So I asked him to his a few and sure enough, he spun every one of them. It was there that I learned that “fitting” for a golf ball was not only important, but was imperative.

At that time, as a member of the golfing general public, there was no way to test a golf ball outside of hitting it and watching it. There were no launch monitors, simulators, or internet questionnaire to help me choose a ball. I had to go about it the way that everyone else did. Trial and error.

I would sleeves of balls and test them on the same day, on the same golf course to see what each did. So I would take my Titleist Balata and compare it against the Maxfli HT-balata and against the Top-Flite XL to see what each did on tee shots and around the greens. I would play 4 holes with one ball and then 4 with another and so forth. Most of the time I would play well with one ball and it would be “my ball” for about 4 days. Then I would play bad and switch to something else.

Over time I found that I like softer feeling balls that give me some spin around the green. But I don’t hit it very far so I need all the help I can off the tee. I went through Titliest Professional, ProV1, Callaway Rule 35, and do on. I have settled on the Bridgestone E5+ for now. It does what I like. Long off the tee and soft feeling, it is my current “my ball.”

But what if I don’t have the time or the patience, or the budget to buy a ton of different golf balls to see what I like? Well golf ball companies have heard you. Every golf ball manufacturer has description pages on their websites. Bridgestone has taken things a step further with online fitting and the current “mother of all ball fittings” something they call the Bridgestone Challenge.

This is a traveling fitting center for golf balls. Your club just did a demo day? Imagine one of those for golf balls! That is what you get with the Bridgestone Challenge. You hit a variety of balls using a launch monitor and, through mathematical data, find the ball that is best suited to your swing.

I am more the trial and error type and have yet to be mathematically fitted for a ball. I can say this though. If one of the largest ball manufacturers in the world is taking golf balls this seriously, shouldn’t I?

HIT EM WELL!

Round and Dimples pt. 2

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 21:20:00 +0000

About 2 months ago I headed back to Vegas for a little vacation and to visit some friends. I lived there for about 5 years and just a couple of years ago, moved here to Seattle. Let me tell you, the change in performance of golf ball was DRAMATIC. Maybe you have had some of the same experiences. If you have not, here are some things to think about when you go on your next vacation.

In Vegas, the desert terrain and soil typically makes for firm and fast greens. Compare that to Seattle where we have very soft greens and you can see that playing the same ball in Vegas and I do here might not make for the best opportunity to score. Elevation is a big change as well. Vegas is at a much greater elevation in comparison to Seattle. Typically, elevation will change the distance a ball flies. As the air gets lighter (higher elevation) the ball goes further.

Temperature is a big change too. As the weather gets warmer, balls can be easier to compress and will go a bit further. This is why those of us that live in more dramatic climates will suddenly find the golf ball going measurably shorter during the cooler months. We can’t forget humidity either. The heavier, wetter air usually causes the ball to fly shorter distances.

So there I was in Vegas. 30 degrees warmer, lighter air, firm greens, higher elevation, and me with my “Seattle” ball, the Bridgestone E5+. What was I going to do? I knew I couldn’t play a ball that was designed for softer greens as I would have a tough time spinning it on the firmer Vegas greens. I also knew that all signs pointed to me hitting the ball further so I made a change. I went with a softer ball that was more “performance” oriented to increase my spin around the greens. My thought was that the distance gain through the conditions would offset any loss from the ball type.

I played the Bridgestone B330-S golf ball and had no loss of distance with a ton more spin to handle those firm greens. So the cover was softer and I did go through a few additional balls through wear. Alright you caught me, I hit about 7 out into the desert and was not about to go hunting through the rocks for a ball I was not going to be able to play anyway. But the change in ball gave me the help I needed around the greens to play my best.

Maybe you have a trip scheduled for Florida , Vegas , Myrtle Beach or over to St. Andrews. If you are that fortunate, do some quick checks and see if the conditions might call for a ball change. Maybe the wind at St. Andrews will effect your Pro V1 to the point that you might want to play a lower flying ball like the Pro V1X or the NXT Tour.

The adjustment in feel of the ball will be minimal in comparison to the scores it could yield. Remember, the difference between 80 and 79 is a couple of inches sometimes. Make sure that you have the proper equipment for the situations you will be facing.

HIT EM WELL!

Round and Dimples pt. 1

noreply@blogger.com (Tom) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 20:51:00 +0000

The golf ball. Could this be the most underrated piece of equipment in your golf bag? If you had your driver, irons, wedges, and putter fitted to your swing and have not addressed the golf ball in depth, you could be costing yourself strokes.

There are about 100 different golf balls to choose from out there. Each one promises increased distance with great feel and spin. Each one promises lightning in a bottle, or sleeve, in this case. But do they actually deliver and does it really matter in the whole scheme of my golf game? In a simple answer, YES!!!

At the 1998 Masters, arguably, the greatest golfer that has ever played the game, Jack Nicklaus proposed a “scaling back” of the golf ball for professional tournaments. In essence, he proposed a tournament golf ball. Here is the greatest player in the world suggesting that the golf ball is making an impact, greater than that of driver or iron technology, on the world of golf. Can I afford to ignore this in my own game?

Golf balls tend to come in two classes. Distance balls and “performance” balls. “Performance” is a fancy name for spin balls. Now every manufacturer will tell you that their distance balls have performance and their performance balls have distance, but it is important to realize that in the world of golf balls, there is a trade off between the two.

I happen to have enough distance to play most courses. I also happen to be 5’11” and about 30 pounds overweight. For those of you that have experience in swing types vs. body types, you can guess that I have a fairly shallow angle of attack and have very little turn when I swing. Because of that, I do not spin the ball very well. Because of that, I play a ball that spins for me.

I play the Bridgestone E5+ most of the time I play. I will get into when and what I change to in part 2 of this series. I find that this ball has a fair amount of distance off the tee, but spins like a top around the greens. I have tried other balls in this “performance” class and found them all to be adequate, but I like this one the best.

If you are a golfer that tends to hit the ball shorter than you would like or more erratically than you would like, this ball might not be for you. If you are looking for distance, take a look at balls like the Pinnacle Platinum Distance. These balls will give you serious pop. The sacrifice is the spin around the greens, but if you live in an area that has softer greens, you might not need the spin that other balls provide.

I know what you are going to say. “Tom, I like the distance and all, but they feel hard and I cant stand that jarring feel of impact that distance balls have.” Well there is a solution. Most of the golf ball manufacturers have produced a soft feeling distance ball. Check out the Callaway Hx Hot if you like a ball that goes and goes but hate a harsh sound or feel at impact,

The golf ball. THE most underrated piece of equipment in your golf bag. Hopefully this helps clear up a little confusion. Next time we will talk about different conditions that might affect what ball you play and some choices based on your current ball you like.