Pete Beau

'big breasted chicken legged natalie'? Sign me up!! I'll take one for the team (sarcastic said).

I still like Natalie best, however, Paula looked good in the white shorts last weekend.

While playing in Myrtle Beach for my first time some of the courses had suggestions for which tees to play from based on your average score for nine holes. I thought that was a good way of putting it.

Always enjoy playing with my son and his friends who are all single digit handicappers and a couple who can really bomb it (including my son)! With that said; after some lessons and making changes to my driver/ shaft combination, I out-drove my son two times this season, in the fairway!!!!! I know it's a small thing but I enjoyed the look on his face after he walked past his ball and got to mine. He was happy for me and then whipped me bad in score, but that's ok- I want him too. Life's simple pleasures!!

Allow checking!

The latest technology drivers are getting thinner and thinner especially in the crown area. I tell customers to always put the head covers on their drivers. I cringe when I hear drivers and woods clanging around on a cart with no headcovers.

A couple of things that I have discovered fitting hybrids: - The swingweight of hybrids can be on the light side. Making the swingweight around D-0 or more seems to help stronger players. If we use tape I'll place it around the toe area of the club. - A swing method that was told to me by a manufacture of hybirds was to swing it like a 7 iron, not a wood. Soft swing and hands is all that is needed. I have seen this having the most affect on striking them solid.

We are like Jeepthrills, if it's upper thirties, sunny, and calm winds were golfing. There are times that we take a free drop due to casual snow. Hitting balls in a dome, ranges with overhead heaters, and a sports bar which has a simulator is also how we keep golfing. Being involved in the golf industry, I can't believe how many people are already considering the golf season almost over. It's only Labor Day!! Geeez!

I make custom clubs so I don’t use any of the ‘big golf company’ components. I have been involved in altering some of the ‘big’ golf clubs and they all hit real nice. It’s personnel preference, like Ford, Chevy, and Chrysler. I know the Cobra stuff is real good and have face angles that are a little more closed than the rest which will help deter slices/ fades. I have tried the Callaway FTi and was very nice and super easy to hit. Too bad you don’t live closer I could fit you and make you a driver.

Go to a golf shop/ store that has an outdoor range and trial clubs. Hit the different clubs and watch the ball flight and distance. The combination that yields the best distance/ accuracy is getting close. When fitting a driver you also use impact stickers to monitor the pattern on the face of the club. The proper length and swing weight of the club is the one that you hit the sweet spot most consistent. Don’t rule out choking down on the club and hitting some balls. I rarely make drivers over 45.0 inches long and most of them are 44.5 and shorter. However, on stronger players you usually have to get the swing weight back up on the shorter drivers. This is where going to a custom fitter is beneficial even for all golfers.

Launch monitor data has to be has to be interpreted properly to each golfer. One of the specifications is called the power ratio. This value is the efficiency of the golfers swing and also explains why a slower swing speed can hit the ball further than a faster on. One thing that launch monitors did was show men that a 12 degree driver is ok (ego hurt). Regarding loft angles, I have been fitting more 10.5 degree heads to high swing speed/ low handicap golfers. They hit it the ball the same distance, sometimes longer, and with more control. Also, I rarely use x-stiff shafts even with the stronger swing speeds (105+). Using impact stickers along with different shaft / head combinations at a outdoor range works just as good as a launch monitor. You can watch the full shot and monitor the dispersion. Unfortunately, a shorter and straighter driver can be a tough sale. A lot of golfers will sacrifice accuracy with a once-in-a-while booming drive.

I had a ball land in a plant with in landscaped area. It was unplayable and my fellow group golfers stated that I get a free drop out of the landscaped area. I didn’t agree with them, dropped the ball within two club lengths from the nearest point of relief- no closer to the hole, took one penalty stroke, and played on. The score card didn’t have any notes regarding landscaped areas. Comments? Thanks.

There are many methods to achieving the size that a golfer likes or needs. You can put a .580 grip on a .600 dia. shaft and get a 1/64 oversize grip. A .600 grip on a .600 shaft with one or two extra layers of tape will get the same result. Some ladies shafts are .590 or even .600 (??). So, we will put a ladies grip on and stretch it ½ to ¾ inch longer on the shaft to thin it out. Some players like extra tape under the lower hand on wedges. This takes some of the taper out, increasing the size, for gripping the club down low.

Your ring finger on the top hand (left hand for right handed golfers) should barely touch the heel pad below your thumb at address. As written above, too large a grip can cause fades/ slices, and too small can cause draws/ hooks. Golfers with arthritis and other joint/ pain issues benefit from larger and softer grips. I see many off-the-shelf clubs with grips too large, especially ladies clubs.

The number one reason clubs come to me for shaft repair is not hitting a golf ball- it's the retaliation after hitting the ball. Shafts breaking from hitting trees, golf carts, into the ground (sludge hammer style), misc. objects within striking distance, is common. Many golfers don’t want to admit the cause for the shaft break (not saying that this applies to members of this site ). In one season I repaired 4 of 8 irons for a guy. He admitted that he had anger, golf management problem

I use two methods for distance readings; rangefinder and pocket PC program/ GPS. The pocket PC program is called INTELLIGOLF and with a GPS works much like a Skycaddie. It's fun GPS’ing our drives and see the humbling looks on golfing friends faces when you tell how far their drive REALLY went. Those 260+ yard drives are really more like 225. Also, when stepping off drives using the yardage markers don’t forget the position of the tee markers. Some tee boxes can move the tee’s 30+ yards.

Keep this in mind... The sticker gives the make, model, and flex of the shaft. If you want to make a change in the future it is valuable information to the club maker. We sometimes can find out information at the manufactures website but having the sticker is much easier. To remove easy; warm with a heat gun and slowly peel off. Napth, mineral spirits will take off any residue. Careful on graphite shafts, you can start to remove the graphics. Pete

After I touch up the grooves on a customers irons/ wedges they can cut golf balls. I usually scotch brite the face and grooves to dull the edges a little. However, they really like the action on the greens even though they are cutting balls.

Custom fitting makes a difference with all handcap level of players. Both length and lie angle are important. The proper length club is the one that you hit the sweet-spot the most consistant. 'Standard' length references are rough at best. Same goes for lie angles. The best fitting is 'dynamic' in that the golfer hits balls with different length & lie angle clubs; and using impact stickers & a lie board. Using this method causes me to cut down alot of drivers! Most men golfers fall between 43.5 & 44.0 inches. I'll get a few at 44.5 and 45.0 is rare even for tall golfers (mainly because wrist-to-ground measurement is more of a factor than over all height).

Owning a custom club business I deal with this frequently. If the club doesn't have one of the big golf company's name on it- it must be junk. I have many customers, some are single handicap caliper, and they like the component clubs that I make them. Things that make you go hmmmm. My $.02. Pete

The teacher that I'm working with describes the grip pressure that you should have as 'Canary' hands. Meaning that you should hold the club as if it was a little yellow Canary- through out the swing. It works excellent! If I start mis-hitting shots I just think about canary hands and BAM, good shot. Also, the loosest clubs in your bag are the driver and wedges. Furthermore, canary hands works with my putting too.

We play all year. If it is upper 30's, sunny, minimal snow on the ground we're golfing! I will purchase ladies balls on sale cause they don't feel like rocks. You also get relief out of snow.

Mental. If your head is messed up everything goes with it. My $.02

I leave the GPS on full time so the data is instant. Yardage books, birdie books, notes all work real good. Have fun and hit them well.

I use two methods; rangefinder and pocket PC program/ GPS. The pocket PC program is called INTELLIGOLF and with a GPS works much like a Skycaddie. You can keep stats (so I can see how bad I am) and enter GPS points of the course via walking-it-off or using satellite image website like Google Earth. It's fun GPS’ing our drives and see the humbling looks on golfing friends faces when you tell how far their drive REALLY went. Those 260+ yard drives are really more like 225. As far as cheating, pro’s have caddies that walk the course and club members have caddies with local knowledge. It speeds up the game a lot because there is no need to step-off yardages. Hit’em straight!