Former USGA equipment head tester debunks the marketing hype on what equipment golfers need for their game.
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Former USGA equipment head tester debunks the marketing hype on what equipment golfers need for their game.
24 Comments
the ball has change golf not the clubs.
go watch 1930s swings like joyce wethered. they simply had to have great technique to hit with the dreadful gear.
Most golfers dont realise power and accuracy is from the body. Jamie Sadlowski can hit a putter 300 yards for gods sake.
Just did a Traveling Golfer on the Para-Long drive World Championships in Mesquite, Nevada. Saw so many ways that golfers with artificial limbs, one arm, etc. could generate club head speed. Drivers are maxed out, but if your irons are over three years old and you want more distance and accuracy, while the envelope is close to being capped, here the most significant game improvements have occurred technically. Check out TaylorMade, Adams and Calloway.
Ugh Im so bad at golf
Tech doesnt matter? Check out the robot testing on the Taylormade RSi1 irons. Take one and hit it thin, on the toe, and on the heel, and youll be surprised how far the ball actually goes. Weve reached the tech limits on distance, but just starting on forgiveness.
The best driver I ever had came out of a $129 set of Walmart generic clubs my wife bought me when I first began playing golf at age 49. I could hit that driver further than any of the five $300 drivers I've purchased since then. The shaft of the cheap driver allowed me to swing hard and I could really feel the clubhead. Unfortunately, I snapped the head off that driver after 18 months and I don't even know the name of the set to buy another one.
I play with a low handicapper who just changed out his cheap Callaway for a £300 Taylormade driver. £300 spent and he still hits the ball a paltry 230 yards on a good smash despite being 6'2 and about 220lbs.
Every excuse comes out. It's the wind. The fairway hardness. It's a bad day. The ball is too hard. He didn't catch it properly.
Nothing to do with the fact that he hits it 230 and that's his technique and not the club? Rory would still hit a £50 driver 280+.
Also to the weekend warriors driving it 180 giving the 13 year old shit – good amateur 12 year olds drive the ball 260+. Karl Vilips drives it 300+ and he's 14.
ALL the equipment from the major manufacturers is good now, but limited in how much it can be improved. Buying the previous year or two's models is a great way to save money….provided its the right fit and lie for you.
Why is the fat guy the hack ?
Because his swing illustrates a point, not because of his build.
It don't mean a thing if you ain't got that swing.
i used a $10 sixty degree wedge recently and it did every thing a $150 wedge can do.also you dont have to buy pro v1s to be good at golf either.i seen great golf with titleist trusoft and callaway supersoft and they are about $25 a dozen.
Agree with what he says completely. It is not the equipment that ultimately improves your game. It is you, the player, and your technique and your playing choices, course management, shot and club selection, and so on which make the difference.
The latest greatest club is not a magic solution. Sure it might go (a bit) further, but that might then be TOO long. It is your call as the golfer to use that club for that shot.
Finally, you've got to love the fact that the USGA Director of Research is a South African…
20 years ago I could hit the ball further than I ever have in my life. Does this mean my 20 year old driver was the best driver I have ever had or was it the fact I was 20 years younger/fitter/stronger/more flexible etc?? Hmmmm?
It also had a shaft that was ideally suited to your swing I'm guessing.
Isn't this the same guy that was on that design a driver for half a million?
Golfs about consistancy. We go the range and plug away. Most leave the range none the wiser. You need to consentrate on each shot. When you hit a goodn stop and think about the shot. Try to repeat. Find the plane. Keep thinking all the time instead of just hitting for hitting sake.
In other words: Its the Indian not the arrow!
Eamonn Darcy, the Irish European Ryder Cup player was asked what he thought of the technological advances in golf club manufacture. His reply was :- "Sure, it's wonderful, but it's no damn use if you can't play". Seems to sum it up perfectly.
Agree on all of this! If we were to believe all the hype, most of us would be hitting the ball 500 yards by now, [assuming an additional 20 yards per year] . The only statistic which really matters, is average golf scores [for average players] That seems to be going UP every year!
what are you trying to tell me the most expensive clubs are not the best ones? Like the most expensive golf ball is also supposed to be the best, correct?
no, no, no, no…… I must cover my ears. The more expensive is always the best…….
I'm an old club builder and believe in not reinventing the wheel, but modifying it. Just got a set of Tommy armour 845's off eBay,60$. Will reshaft with KBS c- taper, 120g,stiff, std. length, will bend 2 degrees flat, grips white,65 gram golf pride tour wrap, with 3 wraps under right hand. Had a set in 1990, and I know these will be better than the original setup. ⛳