Golfer Newbies

Archive for the ‘Equipment’ Category

I have been finding it very difficult and frustrating trying to find individual women's irons. The big stores seem to have woefully small selections. When you go in the big box golf stores, you can rarely even find a decent selection of individual wedges and putters for women, and women's irons only in sets. Well, I don't want a complete set. I don't need a complete set. I can't afford a complete set. However, after spending a significant amount of time researching on the internet, I found Morton Golf Sales (I have applied to be an affiliate and should be posting a link in the sidebar soon). They have a very large selection of women's (and men's) individual clubs and I am transferring my loyalty to them effective immediately. Do you have other sources? Let me know.

It should come as no surprise that I asked for and got golf equipment for my holiday gifts. One thing I got was a new putter (see the link below). The thing that made me choose this putter was that it had a choice of lengths – 34″, 33″, and 32″. After trying the various lengths at Golf Galaxy, I chose the 32″ length which was somewhat of a surprise to me. I’m not particularly short (5′6″) but I found I had much more control over the shorter length. And the club weighting just felt right. I really didn’t think it would make much difference, but it did – at least on the practice green. I’ll be going to California this week and have a tee time at Lake Forest for Saturday at 9:30, so we’ll see how it performs then. They say it’s the short game that makes or breaks your golf score, so any improvement on that front is welcome.

See larger image Divine Line Rossie-- (Misc.) List Price: $119.99 USD New From: $119.99 In Stock

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The following information comes from Golf Grips Direct (http://www.golfgrips-direct.com). If, after reading this article,you feel like your club grips are the wrong size you might want to check them out. They have other products and information that you may find useful as well.     “Determining the Proper Grip Size The proper grip size plays a significant role in a golfers’ ability to control the club and in turn, the ball flight. With a neutral (standard) grip size, the golfer can normally return the clubface square to the target at impact. Too large a grip can limit the players ability to release the wrists through impact causing a block of fade. Too small a grip can cause early release resulting in a pull or draw. However, the above can be used to advantage should your normal swing produce undesired shots or the fact that you have small or large hands.

A larger grip (built up, midsize or Jumbo) would benifit.. A player with large(r) hands. A player who consistently draws or hooks the ball. A player with arthritus who struggles to hold and smaller grip. A player whose fingers wrap round the grip and dig into their palm. A smaller grip (ladies, ladies built up) would benefit.. A player with small(er) hands. A player who consistently slices or fades the ball. A player who requires more clubhead ‘feel’. A player whose fingers do not fully encircle the grip.

Take the professional approach to grip sizing The professional approach to grip sizing requires the hand to be simply measured and the results matched against our chart towards the bottom of this page. The two measurements required are taken as follows. 1. Using a inch ruler/tape (because the majority of grips are produced by American companies inches are still used as a standard) measure the distance between the Dominant Wrist Crease and the tip of the longest finger. (see picture below) 2. Next measure the lenghth of the longest finger from the web to the tip. (see picture below) 3. Now refer to the chart and notes at the foot of this page

Golf Grip Sizing Chart The chart below shows the ideal grip size taken from your measurement and also how to achieve the correct size grip. Please note that this chart applies only to GolfGrips-Direct.Com’s SOLVENT BASED TAPE / GRIPS STRIPS and solvent. Sizes will differ using other manufacturers tape and/or products. 1. First of all take your first measurement (wrist crease to tip of finger) and find the block in the chart under ‘Measurement 1, your measurement falls into. 2. Then reading left to right along the chart, find the second measurement (finger web to tip). To the right of this block will read the grip size plus the total number of wraps of golfgrips-direct.com solvent based grip tape required to build up the shaft butt to acheive your recommended size grip.

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The following article comes from Business Week magazine. Follow this link and then click on the slide show arrows at the top right of the article to see all the gifts they recommend.

“Best Golf Gifts for [Golfers]: Swing, Daddy-O

By Dean Foust

For golfers, June is the month that brings both the U.S. Open and Father’s Day. So even if you aren’t a PGA tour pro, there’s a raft of hot new gear that can help you hone your game, or at least make the next round more enjoyable. Here’s a look at some of this season’s best golf gear, from a cool remote-controlled golf cart to a watch that can critique your swing and the same supersized driver Tiger Woods hits off the tee.”

Which club should I use?

When you’re new to golf, the array of golf clubs available can be bewildering. Why all these clubs? What are they used for? Do I really need that many? I’ll try to answer these in order.

There is such a wide variety of clubs because of the wide variety of situations your golf ball can get into. It may be on a tee, on a green, on the fairway, in a bunker, in the area around the green, on dirt, in brush, by a tree, etc. There are different clubs for different situations. You may already be familiar with them:

Drivers: Used for driving the ball off the tee when you need to have it go a long distance
Fairway Woods: Also used for long distance, sometimes off the tee when the hole is not long enough to require a driver, also used on the fairway when the ball still has a long distance to go.
Hybrids: Used as an option for both fairway woods and irons.
Irons: Used to hit ball a variety of distances on the fairway. The lower the number of the iron, the longer distance it is used for.
Wedges: Typically used to get yourself out of a touch situation, or to chip or lob a ball a short distance to the green.
Putters: Used on the green.

There is lots of advice out there on when to use which club. Generally, this advice goes something like, “Use XXX club when your ball is YYY-ZZZ yards from the hole.” The problem with that advice is that we all have different ranges for our clubs. The distance I can hit a 7-iron is certainly different than the distance Tiger Woods can hit one, and likely different than the distance you can hit one. So the best way to determine which club YOU should use in any given situation is to figure out what your specific distances/capabilities are for each club. To do this, go to a driving range and hit several balls with each club, Write down the distance each ball goes. Do this several times. After a couple of weeks you will have a lot of data for each club. Now, you can construct a chart like the following (the club list you use may be different than the one I have specified below):

1. Driver:           ___ to ___ yards
2. 3-Wood:        ___ to ___ yards
3. 5-Wood:        ___ to ___ yards
4. 4-Hybrid       ___ to ___ yards
5. 7-Iron            ___ to ___ yards
6. 9-Iron            ___ to ___ yards
7. P-Wedge       ___ to ___ yards
8. S-Wedge       ___ to ___ yards

Now, in order for this to be somewhat accurate, you have to take averages from your “good shots.” If you top a ball and it goes 5 yards out, don’t count it. You’ll have to do some subjective analysis about what is typical yardage for you with that club. Likewise, if you hit an unusually long shot with a sand wedge, I wouldn’t count it in my average range – it’s not likely you’ll hit it that distance often, so not likely you’ll choose it for that distance.

Once you have this information, make a little card with your personalized distance chart on one side and the list of club situations I posted above on the other side. Laminate it, punch a hole in it, and use a golf towel hook to hang it on your bag as a handy reference tool you can use to determine which club to use in which situation when you are out on the course.

As to whether or not you need all of these clubs, as a beginner, probably not. Especially if you are playing on 9-hole par 3 golf courses. Many of the clubs are best used by professionals and probably won’t make much difference in your game until you achieve more experience with them. Also, it is useful to work with a smaller set until you get well used to each one of their capabilities and how they work for you. When I first started playing, I purchased three clubs: a 4-Hybrid, a Sand Wedge, and a Putter. Since then, I have added (one at a time) a Driver, a 5-Wood, a 7-iron, and a Pitching Wedge. This set of seven clubs has proven more than adequate for my level of play – and it’s a lot easier to carry. I just carry them around in a lightweight bag that is sometimes called a “Sunday” bag or a “Carry” bag. You can see examples of these in my Golfer Newbies Store.

Note that tournament regulations specify a maximum of 14 clubs in your bag. Pros will own more clubs than this, and choose which clubs they want depending on the course they are playing on. Generally, though, both pros and amateurs develop “favorite ” clubs – ones they tend to hit better than others for one reason or another. Once that happens, you may find you carry even fewer clubs over time.

I’d enjoy getting comments on your experiences with and preferences for your clubs.

You might think a tee is a tee is a tee. And if you do, you are wrong. The number and variety of tees available is almost as mind-boggling as the number of golf balls. There are two things you should know about tees.

Types of Tees: You can categorize tees into three major groups – wooden tees, plastic tees, and specialty tees.

1. Wooden tees: Most wooden tees are the traditional ones we have all seen – and, when I was young, the only kind available. They come in a few different sizes (more about sizes below). Some have markings or additional wooden bands around the tee to help you know how far to push the tee into the ground.
2. Plastic tees: There are a variety of plastic tees available. Some are shaped and sized exactly like the traditional wooden tee. Others, such as the so-called “zero-friction tee,” are shaped like a traditional tee but instead of a little cup-shaped top have three or four points that the ball sits on so that the ball has less contact with the tee and therefore, theoretically, less friction. Plastic tees don’t break as easily as wooden tees, so they last longer, but they are more expensive.
3. There are a few other tee designs purported to help your game in different ways. There are brush tees, anti-slice tees, and stinger tees. Whether these really help I don’t know. I’ll probably try them, but I suspect that, like golf balls, I’m not good enough to notice any difference.

Lengths of Tees: There are four basic sizes of tees: 2-1/8″, 2-3/4″, 3-1/4″, and 4″. Generally, people use the shorter tees for irons, hybrid clubs, and low-profile woods. Longer tees are used for drivers. The bigger the driver, the longer the tee used. You decide which one to use based on the position of the center of the ball. The center of the ball should be at the top of the club-face when the club is resting on the ground. This should give you the maximum distance.

Tees also come in many different colors, and you can also get them personalized if you want. Just remember that tees are only used on the tee-off area of a hole. You can’t use them on the fairway or in the rough.

See larger image Unbreakable Golf Tees - 2.7/8" (Misc.) List Price: $7.99 USD

If you’ve been out shopping for golf balls, you are no doubt aware that there is a dizzying array of brands and types to choose from. The one thing you need to know if you are a Golfer Newbie is, until you get really really good, it doesn’t matter which ball you choose. You aren’t going to be able to tell a difference. So, pick one that suits you, whether it’s by price, look of the box, name, brand or whatever. If you want, try several different kinds and see if you can tell any difference. Don’t get too hung up on which golf balls to buy – just buy some and go have fun! You might want to consider a pack of recycled balls like the one below. This will save you lots of cash when you watch your golf balls go sailing into the water features. You might also want to mark your golf balls with a permanent marker in some way that will let you know it is your ball when you find it out in the rough among other players’ balls.

See larger image Callaway Assorted Mix Recycled Golf Balls (40 Pack) (Sports) List Price: $25.99 USD New From: $25.99 In Stock Release date January 20, 2009.

So, back on the topic of the “right sticks,” (see previous post). One of the truly helpful things I learned in the book I talked about in the previous entry was the information on club length and loft. The author made the point that most of us are using drivers that are way too long and with too low a degree of loft. (Loft refers to the angle of the club face and has a bearing on how far the club can hit the ball.) Today, if you go to a sporting goods store and buy a driver, unless you are a really terrific pro-level golfer, you are buying a club that you will find very difficult to control and is not the best choice for you as a driver. The book suggests you consider a 3 Wood a better choice for a driver. Actually, when I made the measurements the author suggested (wrist to floor length, hand length, finger length, age, and estimated swing speed, it became apparent from the charts in the book that I should be using a 5 Wood as my driver. In addition, I learned that I should be using a “light” flex shaft. There are technically 3 kinds of shafts – Stiff, Regular, and Light. Sometimes you’ll see a Senior flex or Women’s flex as well, but these are basically “light” flex shafts. So, I purchased a 5 Wood with a light flex. This is a shorter club than the driver I had, by about 3 -1/2 inches, and has a loft that is twice as high. And, the book was right – I am able to hit with a lot more control and accuracy, and distance hasn’t suffered that much. The club I purchased is shown below, but there are many others that would be just as good or better.

See larger image Callaway Big Bertha Women's Fairway Wood (Sports) List Price: $199.99 USD Release date March 1, 2009.

If you’ve gone and looked at golf clubs at a sporting goods store, you’ve likely been overwhelmed at the options, the terminology, the brands, the sizes and on and on. Before I read this book I made several purchasing mistakes. The main point of the book is getting the clubs that are sized and weighted right for you. And though the author emphasizes getting custom made clubs, the information he gave on clubs proved invaluable. I did not go buy custom made clubs, but I did take the information and went and bought some clubs that were much more suitable for me — and, as the author promises, my game greatly improved. Right sizing is important! Check it out — you won’t regret it.

See larger image The Right Sticks: Equipment Myths That Could Wreck Your Golf Game (Hardcover) By (author) Tom Wishon, Tom Grundner List Price: $14.95 USD New From: $8.80 In Stock Used from: $7.95 In Stock