aliaba
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# Posted: 7 Mar 2010 19:21
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Build your own clubs
You can get quite sophisticated when choosing a club. Club-component companies specialize in selling clubs piece by piece. You can literally build your own set of clubs to your own specifications; you just have to do some research
Chapter 2: Gearing Up 23
_ What shaft length do I need for my clubs? Golfers come in different heights and builds. Some people are tall with short arms, and some are short with long arms. People have different postures when they bend over to address the golf ball, and they need different shaft lengths to match that posture. This is where PGA golf professionals can really help; they're trained to answer questions like these and can make club fitting very easy.
_ What lie-angle do I need on my clubs? Here's the general rule: The closer you stand to the ball, the more upright your club needs to be. As you get farther away from the ball, the lie-angle of your clubs should be flatter.
_ What grip size do I need? The bigger your hands are, the bigger grip you need. If you have a tendency to slice the ball, you can try smaller grips that help your hands work faster. If you have a tendency to hook the ball, you can use bigger grips that will slow down your hands and help you beat that hook.
_ What material leather, cord, all-rubber,
half-rubber do you recommend for my grips? Many different materials can make up a golf grip. Leather is the most expensive and the hardest to maintain. It's for accomplished players; I don't recommend leather for beginners. Stick to an all-rubber grip and change your grips every year if you play at least once a week. I use a combination of rubber and cord and it has nothing to do with my name. These grips help me hold on to the club in hot weather. My hands are callused, though, so they don't hurt from the rubbing of the cord.
_ What kind of irons should I buy investment-cast, forged, oversized, or cavityback? The best advice I can give is to look for an investment-cast, cavity-backed, oversized golf club. For beginners, this is the best choice. Just take my word for it I haven't got enough paper to explain all the reasons.
_ Should I use space-age materials like boron, titanium, or graphite in my shafts? Or should I go with steel? Steel shafts are the cheapest; all the others are quite a bit more expensive, so keep your budget in mind. See if you can test some of these other shafts to see how they compare with steel, which is still very good and used by most of the players on tour.
_ What type of putter should I use: centershafted or end-shafted? Do I want a mallet putter, a belly putter, or a long putter? There's been an explosion of putter technology in the past few years. You can try out the result at the golf course where you play. Just ask the pro if you can test one of the putters on the rack. If you have a friend or playing partner who has a putter you think you may like, ask to try it. For more on putters and putting, see Chapter 8.
_ If you're going to buy new clubs, ask the pro if you can test them for a day. Most of the time, someone who's trying to make a sale will give you every opportunity to try the clubs. Golf pros are just like car dealers; they'll let you test-drive before you buy. first. A lot of people are building their own clubs, judging by the success of firms like Golfsmith. For one thing, these clubs are cheaper than the clubs you can buy off the shelf. Although building your clubs does require time and effort, the end result is the same. Component companies can sell you everything you need. You can get catalogs, call their toll-free numbers, or visit their Web sites (see Appendix B). Component companies offer grip tape, solvents, clamps, epoxy, shaftcutting tools, shaft extensions, grip knives, and every kind of shaft, head, and grip imaginable. You name it, they've got it. You just have to know what you want. If you're not sure, order a club-making video or book first. You never know you may end up an expert in the field.
When You Know Your Game
Before 1938, the Rules of Golf allowed players to carry as many clubs as they wanted. Since then, however, golfers have been restricted to a maximum of 14 clubs in their bags at any one time. But no rule tells you which 14 clubs to use, so you have leeway. You can match the composition of your set to your strengths and weaknesses. I'm assuming that you're going to carry a driver, a 3-wood, a putter, and irons 4 through 9. Nearly everyone does. So you have five clubs left to select. The first thing you need to know, of course, is how far you're likely to hit each club. (That's golfspeak for hitting the ball with the club. Don't go smashing your equipment!) After you know that, you can look into plugging the gaps. Those gaps are most important at the short end of your set. I recommend that you carry three wedges, each with a different loft. I do. I use a 48-degree pitching wedge, a 54-degree sand wedge, and a 59-degree lob wedge. I hit them 125 yards pitching wedge), 105 yards (sand wedge), and 85 yards (lob wedge). That way, the yardage gap between them is not significant. If I carried only the 125-yard wedge and the 85-yard wedge, that would leave a gap of 40 yards too much. If I leave myself with a shot of about 105 yards, right in the middle of my gap, I've got problems. Carrying the 105-yard wedge plugs that gap. If I didn't have it, I'd be forced to manufacture a shot with a less-than-full swing. And that's too hard, especially under pressure. Full swings, please! Okay, that's 12 clubs taken care of. You have two left. I recommend carrying at least one lofted wood. Make that two. Low-numbered irons are too unforgiving. So give yourself a break. Carry a 5-wood and even a 7-wood. These clubs are designed to make it easy for you to get the ball up in the air. They certainly achieve that more quickly than a 2-iron.
24 Part I: Getting Started: No, You Can't Hit the Ball Yet
Another option is the hybrid club. Sometimes called a utility club, the hybrid is sort of an iron, and sort of a fairway wood. It's a fairly recent entry a forgiving club that gets the ball airborne in a hurry. You can even use it for chipping, as Todd Hamilton did on a shot that clinched the 2004 British Open. Hybrid clubs, which come in different lofts, are getting more and more popular. You should swing a few, and consider carrying a hybrid instead of that 7-wood, 5-wood, or maybe even your 4-iron. Figure 2-1 shows the clubs that I have in my bag.
When to Use Each Club
Table 2-1 shows how far the average golfer generally hits with each club when he makes solid contact. When you start to play this game, you probably won't attain these yardages. As you practice, you'll get closer to these numbers.
Figure 2-1:
My implements of destruction from left to right: putter, lob wedge,sand wedge, pitching wedge, 9-iron, 8-iron, 7-iron, 6-iron, 5-iron, 4-iron, 21-degree Hybrid Rescue, 18-degree Hybrid Rescue, 3-wood,driver.
Chapter 2: Gearing Up 25
You should know your average. The best way to find out is to hit, oh, 50 balls with each club. Eliminate the longest five and the shortest five and then pace off to the middle of the remaining group. That's your average yardage. Use your average yardage to help you gauge which club to use on each shot.
Table 2-1 Which Club Should You Use?
Club Men's Average Women's Average
Distance Distance
Driver 230 yards 200 yards
3-wood 210 yards 180 yards
2-iron 190 yards Not recommended; 4-wood or hybrid =
170 yards
3-iron 180 yards Not recommended; 5-wood or hybrid =
160 yards
4-iron 170 yards 150 yards (Consider a hybrid instead)
5-iron 160 yards 140 yards
6-iron 150 yards 130 yards
7-iron 140 yards 120 yards
8-iron 130 yards 110 yards
9-iron 120 yards 100 yards
Pitching wedge 110 yards 90 yards
Sand wedge 90 yards 80 yards
Lob wedge 65 yards 6 yards
Tradition versus Technology:
Keep Tinkering with Success
Technology is the guiding light of fundamental change that is inherent to a capitalistic society in search of a more expensive way to hit the #$&*!?*@ ball farther.
Quote on the bathroom wall of the Wayward Soul Driving Range in Temecula, California
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