New Standards In Golf Clubs
The golf equipment evolution have many asking the question....where have all the
standards gone?
At a recent golf show we were introduced to the High Five Putters and the
Radius-Roll technology now being manufactured by R & B Putter. The face of
all their putters have a 0.8400" radius with a CNC milled face, the exact radius
of a golf ball and this putter creates perfect forward roll and eliminates all
hop and skid. A very interesting concept which we will feature in a future
column.
Lofts of both woods and irons have been becoming stronger over the past
quarter-century and where they go in the future will be interesting to
watch. With the advent
of the "Rescue" type of club, which is an iron/wood or wood/iron hybrid, long
irons labeled as #3's or #4's may soon be a thing of the
past.
These new designs may act as transitional clubs in place of high-lofted woods or
strong-lofted irons, making the set of clubs probably more playable for most
golfers.
Lofts of shorter irons may be more incrementally used friendly in the form of a
50-degree pitching wedge, a 55-degree sand wedge and a 60-degree lob type of
wedge.
The set will still have 14 clubs, but they may not necessarily be thought of as
"woods" or "irons", but rather just as specifically lofted clubs.......yes only
time will tell.
Club lengths have been on the increase as well. It is not uncommon in today's
world to have the same numbered iron being one and one-half inch longer than in
the past.
Twenty years ago, most #5 irons were 37 inches long, today there are #5 irons on
the market at more than thirty-eight and three-quarter inches in
length.
The reasoning behind this trend is twofold. One, players want to hit the ball
longer...the longer the club, the longer the swing arc and the potential for
more club head speed and distance.
There is also the theory that the longer clubs may be more difficult to control
than shorter clubs and here is where perimeter weighting comes into play. While
longer clubs may be more difficult to return to an on-center position, the
perimeter weighting of cavity backed and over sized clubs make the results of
less-than-perfect impacts not so poor, plus, when the player does return the
longer club to a square impact position, the ball does go longer, hence, the
player feels he hits longer clubs a greater distance. This tends to make his or
her shots go farther and the "misses" are longer and more playable as
well.
It continues today to still look like its "Hip To Be Square" on the golf course
with the introduction of the hottest drivers out on the golf
market.
Some are saying move over to the traditionally shaped driver and welcome to the
technologically enhanced driver that is suppose to give you a forgiving golf
club off the tee. And then again
many will counter this statement that is the golfer and the his swing that
determined success off the tee.
A high Moment of Inertia and a new square face are now being featured in
drivers manufactured by many companies.
The technical changes being offered by these companies is that this new
concept in drivers is designed to help the golfer go straighter with what some
are calling "Total Accuracy Control" technology.
Golf club manufacturers engineers have taken their time to make sure their
"center of gravity" is positioned to provide improved forgiveness, greater
distance and a perfect launch angle while presenting a pleasing profile at
address.
This new geometric shape moved the "center of gravity" back and lower in the
club head and offers a very high "moment of inertia" that helps keep the club
head from twisting at impact. This square profile repositions weight at the
corners of the club head, raising the "moment of inertia" across both he
horizontal and vertical axes.
Golf manufacturers are saying this produces greater stability and forgiveness
for ball striking across the entire face, which is much wider than your average
driver.
The new concept helps ensure the best ball flight possible and some
manufactures have improved the bulge and roll of the driver and they say this
produces a ball flight that is straight, while still being
workable.
Golf club manufacturers are saying that the proprietary Total Accuracy
Control technology with the square head provides maximum perimeter weighting and
more discretionary weight for precise positioning of the "center of gravity" and
"moment of inertia."
Some club makers have even built in two draw-fade adjustable weight ports
that they say put their product way out in front of the
competition. New technology
in golf clubs continue to challenge our great game of golf. Check these latest
features out with your local golf professional.
The Golf
Tip
By Robert Menges
Shaft Flex:
New
drivers are hitting the ball longer than they were 10 to 15 years
ago. Every golfer
is looking for more distance off the tee. With the new materials the drivers are
made of, you can find them to be very light and easy to swing. This can increase
your swing to allow you to hit the ball longer.
When you are looking to get a new driver, you must also look at the type of
shaft you have. This is the part of the club that is more
overlooked.
The shaft of the club is very important to how the club will react based on
your swing. It is important to have the right shaft flex and weight to help you
hit the ball properly. If a shaft is too heavy or too stiff, it will effect the
club face at impact. This is the most important part of the golf swing, and you
want the club to be in the right position when you are about to hit the
ball.
The technology of the shaft has grown as far as the materials in the make up
of the head of the club. Before you invest money into a club, see your local PGA
professional to help you select the right shaft for your swing. He will be able
to see the proper flex and weight of the shaft to give you the best opportunity
to hit the ball far and straight.
The right shaft will help you with your accuracy and, in turn, enable you to
hit more fairways.
Robert Menges is
the Golf Professional at the Swan Lake Golf & Country Club, Mt. Hope Road,
Swan Lake. He is available for private lessons and if you have a question or
subject you would like covered, he can be reached at 845-292-0323 or via e-mail at menges@hughes.net
The
Putting Doctor
Putting Tips
By
Joe Bermel
In putting
I link organization with strategy.
The
strategy component is easier than you might think and
involves:
A. Picking
a distance based on the current realistic skill from which a golfer can
reasonable attempt a one-putt, say 10 to 12 feet.
B. With
all putts longer than say, 12 feet, the thought is to get the first putt close
enough to the hold to get a 2-putt result.
Remember,
2-putting is good putting for the average golfer.
Joe Bermel
is available for private lessons, group, corporate, organization and golf
shows-tournaments. His special edition DVD "How To Putt Well" is available by
calling 631-589-1394, at his Web site
www.ThePuttingDoctor.com or by email at
joe@theputtingdoctor.com
Ed's
Outlook
A couple of tips while visiting a professional at a local club
recently were quite interesting and so I'll share them with
you.
The first tip is on chipping. When chipping green side, try using a
putting stroke.
If the shot calls for more run once it hits the green, position the
ball to the rear of center in your stance. If the shot calls for more loft and
less run, play the ball front of center in your stance.
And you know what folks......it works.
The second tip was something like "brush your
pocket."
The pro suggested that on the downswing, brush your right pocket with
your right cuff (right handed golfers). This eliminates any possibility of
coming over the top. If done right, the cuffs on all your golf shirts will
become frayed at the right cuff. And after trying this it definitely does eliminate any possibility of
coming over the top.
Golf Calendar
The Golf Calendar is available at http://bght.blogspot.com
Occasionally, tight space requirements results in items being
edited out of columns. For full coverage of this column and golf news in general
go to http://bght.blogspot.com This column is
written by Ed Townsend, a consultant to the amateur-professional sport of golf
and to several golf writers associations. If you have a topic that you feel
would make good reading or have league scores and tournament information, Ed
can be reached at 845-439-8177, by email at edwardctownsend@hotmail.com or by fax at
845-205-4474. We are also on
Facebook.
Identification of photo
In this
photo I took of the "Radius Roll Technology" High Five putter you can actually
see how the face of this putter is rounded. When hitting a putt with this putter
one can readily see the ball start rolling with a forward roll. This is just
part of the new technology being offered to golfers today.
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