Equipment Obsession

[rembrandt]

I get to try out all kinds of clubs also, then I put them in the Pro Shop for sale and try to regain some of the loss that I paid for them!

[cdriver]

I agree it is the archer, not the arrow...but, I have noticed that I just do not play as well with clubs along the lines of Callaway. I am more accurate with low offset, blade like irons. I am currently playing a couple of sets of "players" irons and actually am more accurate with the pure blade instead of the Titleist 990's. Most of my friends play some sort of big cavity, progressive offset irons and they all think I would play better with their style of iron. I have honestly tried, but I just never get comfortable over those big, honkin' clubheads.

[flap]

As you get older and lose some swing speed those shovels look better and better.

[ipdude]

I've also tried rakes, hoes, and hedge trimmers. Carry them in my bag to reduce the number of drops for unplayable lies. Breaking the rules but the course looks better after I'm done.

[aquacooled]

right after I started playing golf I had to work on clubs.. I have always been this way whatever it is cars computers boats everything, its just natural that it went on to golf clubs.. oh ya I love new stuff the other reason I work at a store (discounts!!!)

[ragontona]

I've read a few "archer not the arrow" comments here and in other threads. While this is fundamentally true -- no matter how advanced your equipment is, it won't work with an inherently bad swing -- there is genuinely something to technological advancements in equipment technology.

Golf manufacturers spend millions in R&D; to make the game "easier" for the average golfer. I know that there has no been significant downward trend in the average USGA handicap index of the average golfer, but game improvement technology has helped that average golfer gain distance, diminish the effects of bad swings, and make the game more enjoyable overall. I believe that one of the reasons that average handicaps are holding steady is that while the average guy is hitting it farther, the average guy still doesn't devote enough time to the scoring aspects of the game -- short game and course management. No high-MOI, low-CG, 460 cc super-maxi-titanium driver can help if you can't seal the deal around the greens. Most average golfer's simply can't.

If it's the "archer, not the arrow," then PGA tour players would never feel the need to upgrade their equipment. But they do, in order to take advantage of the technology that is available.

Ten years ago, I was fine hitting a Titleist DT Wound with my 195 cc Big Bertha Warbird 240 yards down the fairway. But thanks (in no small part) to technology, now it's a Titleist Pro V1, and an r7 460, and it's 280, with fewer mishits -- and I'm having more fun while doing it.

[cdriver]

I agree that technology can help the average golfer, but like you said, a bad swing is not going to be improved by technology. In many cases, you are right, the bigger headed drivers do help hit the ball further. However, further into the woods is no answer to the problem. If you cannot make a swing that will get the ball started close to on line, then your score is not going to improve, just the number of lost balls is going to go up.

I know a lot of this from experience. I just had to have the latest driver every time a new one came out promising awesome distance and straight down the middle because of some redistribution of weight or better shaft or a whistle bolted on top. I bought the R580 Taylormade I am playing now on just that premise, about 2 weeks before Taylormade decided to bring out the R7 and "REVOLUTIONIZE THE GAME" for the 20th time. Well, I wasn't hitting the 580 prodigious distances and it certainly wasn't straight, so I went to the range. I started truly working on grooving a driver swing that would get the ball in the fairway. I slowed down, improved my set-up, and altered my swing path to stop hitting these terrible blocks and slices. Now I hit 75% of fairways and my average drive has gone up around 30 yards.

I took out one of those old Big Bertha 12 degree drivers the other afternoon and guess what... I hit it about 10 yards short of the mega size 580. So the way I see it, technology is great, but no substitute for really applying yourself to the game.

[rembrandt]

My son layed off from golf for about 5 years and has just taken it up again. He tried some of the new stuff being offered now and decided on getting an old Great Big Bertha Driver and Tommy Armour 845s. He is a prime example that it is the Indian. He hits those a mile and right down the middle most of the time and he belts out his irons right along with most of the pros. Course Tiger is in another level all his own but it is uncanny how he can hit the ball and score after laying off for that long. He played the Country Club where I work and shot 75 his first round and the course is not easy. Creeks running all thu it and nearly every green is protected by a deep creek in front of it. They rip me a new one but he is so long with his drives, he only uses his driver twice on the course, cause he hits his 2 and 3 irons 230 to 250. Anyway, he could go to Target or Wally World and get a set of cheap clubs and shoot in the 70s with them. He was a Nike Tour Pro and a club pro in the past so he knows how to hit a ball. Wish some of it would rub off on me.

[ipdude]

There really is no substitute for good stats from a long series of rounds at least twice a week. It's hard to be brutally honest with oneself. Right now I am about to put my Ping 7 wood into the deep recesses of my garage closet if it doesn't start behaving. I keep detailed stats on each round and zero in on the pieces that are costing me strokes. So the Ping 7 wood is going to get one last two hour session on the range. I will examine my pre-shot setup for each hit, keeping track of balance, posture, and alignment. When I can find something that will consistently allow me to be within 25 yds. right or left of a tafget 200 yds away, I will be happy and bring it back to the course on the next round. If it still misbehaves, it will be time to invest in a new hybrid.

[Carminejg3]

My Favorite Equipment Junkie story:

I wish it was true.... I agree with Irons putters and everything else, except for drivers "THAT YOU CAN CONTROL"

Here are two pictures the "little" driver is one i bought 8 years ago at a garage sale, and i think its still about 15-30 years old Tour model 1 11% loft. The other is my brand new Taylor Made R580 XD 9.5% loft. Bought for $149 on sale With my older driver I would need to perfectly connect in order to come close to a 200 yard mark. With the Taylor Made I can quarter swing it to 180 yards similar to chipping... And if I swing it ... to phrase a little kid at the range...."Thats a Bomb" So for me the club did make a difference, Yet my irons are regripped Palm Springs "From that garage sale set" So my one question is whats the R7 driver like lol.

[ipdude]

I never tried an R7 driver. It takes me a long time to adjust to new drivers and I absolutely can't swing graphite shafts. I am using a Nike Ignite driver right now and it behaves most of the time but is real sensitive to how I start my downswing. If I start with my hands instead of my shoulder, I get a nasty snap hook.

[Carminejg3]

Me either. I actually don't like all the screws to adjust the way the ball flies on the R7. Takes away from the skills of the game

I'm a huge fan of the Taylor Made R580 XD right now though. my only problem is I seem to launch the ball way too high with the 9.5 loft I have, but they still carry to about 225 (which is the fence at my range) and really looks like I'm hitting with my 7 or 8 with the amount of height the ball gets. (not the distance)

so i need to work on getting the ball lower. But it goes pretty straight and like i posted before, if I lightly swing it the ball will carry straight to about 180-200. (which for a brand new player like myself I'll take it)

also we all seem to look at distance but I'm learning VERY quickly that if your not straight a 300yard drive might feel good, but when you drive it 200 yards to the right of the pin.... you might as well hit a 9 or sand wedge. As the guy in the beginning said the senior whipped his butt with old clubs.

So I'm going to slow things down... to start with. Do you guys have any favorite irons that you prefer?

I'm looking for a good set that will be around for a few years. And may actually jump into graphite since they feel great and I'm not connected to the steel shafts.

[ipdude]

My set of Calloway Big Bertha irons is about 15 years old. More important to me than the head of the iron, is the grip. I use Lambkin grips and have them replaced about once every 6 months. I have used rental clubs all over the world and if the grip feels right, I can hit just about any club within about 10 yards of what I hit the irons I own.

[Carminejg3]

thats actually pretty cool. you need to be flexible with the equiptment and you really don't want to have to drag your bag around the world.

Thats why people tell me to buy a cheaper set of clubs for 200-300, but i figure if i find a set that i like buy em. I'm not going to get brand new clubs next year because tiger changed his. So I've going to look openly from $200-$1000 and see what i like the feel of most.

[ipdude]

When you go shopping for clubs. Pick up the club, close your eyes and really feel the grip. If it sends waves of confidence through your body, that is going to mean more than whatever is attached to the end of it.

[ragontona]

Me either. I actually don't like all the screws to adjust the way the ball flies on the R7. Takes away from the skills of the game

Hey, hey, hey! Trust me, the r7 is not some magical slice/hook-proof wand that can turn the high handicapper into Tiger Woods. It's akin to the old timers that you're talking about slapping lead tape on everything in the bag, and no different than your

draw-biased r580 xd (which is heel-weighted, by the way). The only difference is those who do not need help squaring the clubface have the option of repositioning the weight toward the toe of the clubhead, while eliminating the inaccuracy of DIY lead tape jobs and dramatically altering the swingweight. Go ahead and tell every tour pro using an r7 that he's "taking away from the skills of the game."

[iacas]

Me either. I actually don't like all the screws to adjust the way the ball flies on the R7. Takes away from the skills of the game

This has already been responded to, but I'd simply like to second my disagreement with that statement.

What the r7 does is allow one clubhead to fit several golfers. Instead of worrying about whether you need to order a "fade" or a "neutral" bias (or a draw), you can just order the clubhead, content in the knowledge that you can set it up how you want later. It's a convenience thing, not a "skill-removal" thing. If you could change the weights during a round, you'd have a point, but you cannot, so...

[cdriver]

I have no problem with technology. I think it is great for the average player like me. I do wonder if I am getting the benefit of it though. I wonder if I wouldn't be better to keep the same equipment and just work on my swing with those clubs?