"YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH"!!!

[Mjr. D]

I"m curious to know just how many of us are as passionate about slashing our scores as we are about slashing our wallets.

So, i ask each and every one of you (be honest)..............if you could have your absolute total dream equipment set up, personalized and customized just the way you like it (bag, towel, wedges, two or three putters, a couple drivers, shafts, irons etc etc) sitting right in front of you in your living room, this very second or have 6 strokes shaved off your game this very second, which would you take?

And i know a lot of you are probably going to say the reason you buy this equipment is to see what works best for you in order to give you the greatest chance of lowering your score. And yes, that might be true, but I think it's also safe to say a big part of why we buy this equipment is just the satisfaction of knowing we have the finest, the most sought after and the most beautiful etc. Nothing wrong with that. I just want to know which side occupies more of you...........honestly.

For me personally, at this point........i'd definitely take the 6 strokes off my game.

[daamartin]

Less time for golf these days with 2 great young kids, a demanding job, etc. But still love the game as I did when I first took it up 28 years ago, so finding or building sticks that I really enjoy hitting fills the gap!

Nothing wrong with that I reckon, and when I do get a chance to play I enjoy it more than ever. Have been stuck on a 5 handicap for 15 years or so, but who cares!!!

More recently, work has become more interesting and have developed some new urethane polymers which may be useful for softer, more durable golf ball covers, condoms, athletic shoe soles, etc. If I can meld work with golf, even better....

[Phillip Alexander]

The truth is as we get older hopefully we have more money to spend on golf clubs. The money comes from time and dedication we spend in our occupations.

15 years ago I was playing with a mate of mine who was a plus 2. He said on a good day when the swing was in sync he could shoot even par with a stick of celery (he shot 4 under that day without raising a sweat).

The truth is I wish I was 30 years younger shooting even par with a stick of celery.

Can't have that.... so I might as well have BEAUTIFUL GOLF CLUBS.

[shoe295]

Hmmmm...fantasizing is always intriguing. I have no doubt I'd take the 6 strokes off my game, because like Jack said I'd be able to shoot par with a stick of celery, which means I'd be carrying the most unmatched ridiculous looking set of sticks I could find while taking major bucks off an entire group of unsuspecting hacks. What a marvelous way to make a living!

But unfortunately it ain't gonna happen, and so I add to my collection of beautiful clubs, play to a 3, and hope I can keep it there until I'm in my late 60's and beyond. That for me is as good as it gets.

[Faldo Fan]

Mmmmm.....at the moment i would take the 6 strokes.....but that's probably my answer because i already have all the golf equipment i want at present.

If i didn't already have my choice of gear......i'd pick some shiny new golf toys please!

[ajaykkr]

yes and no. since i got the miura blades last year (and more importantly started using the Nippon 1150 Stiff flex) and the zodia, my iron/wedge game has been on fire. Off the tee was the issue. But this year since I got hold of a G field 3 wood (again probably more importantly the PT-7 stiff), I know that if i have a 3 wood in my hand, the ball is going to land 230-240 yards away. almost guranteed. a bad shot will be atleast 200 yards.

Since I started using the EPON 460, my problems with the driver seemed to have disappeared.

why? both the G field and EPON 460 with the tungsten wieghts help me launch the ball higher. the pt-7 shaft and the Nippon 1150 stiff shaft are so responsive, that golf has a different game.

I took up golf 2 and half years back. Last year my handicap went down from 21 to 12 (primarily because of good iron/wedge game). this year I am trending to 8 (because off the tee, I am always in play).

Now i have a premium zone putter and my chances of 1 putt have improved so much.

I have never taken lessons. I dont hit the range except for 10-15 minutes before a round. I do play every weekend. some of the fall in handicap is probably because of all that I played, but a large portion is because I have the right equipment. I probably spent a lot getting to these clubs (buying, trying and selling other clubs), but I wish I had spent sooner (like last year when I held off buying the EPONs and G fields because of the expense). I wish i had.

So getting the best clubs does not make a bad swing good, but definately allows a OK swing to score 6 strokes better per round.

[Blader-X]

Here's the truth as it applies to my game.

Having played this game for going on 20 years now and having run the gammut of emotions and elations, set-backs and failures I can say without a doubt that having this equipment as helped me to realize my aspirations of becoming the golfer I have always wanted to become. I'm only now starting to really believe in it, and believe in me.

I read this post the last couple of days this morning after returning home from work went to the garage to puruse through my old clubs. Titleist 990's and 690MB's (my last set before the TourStages), old Vokeys with a special grind I had done by my local clubfitter, a couple of Scotty's, a Nak driver, a 983 with a Speeder 952 shaft, some old Sonartecs and few others. I picked up these, felt them and I can say that not one of them had even an ounce of feel my current bag has.

For me, having the clubs I now have, with the customization and the quality that they are, they are vastly superior to what I used to play. This has enabled me to become so much better. My enjoyment of the game is better. The feel of the shots. I don't hit everyshot perfect but I hit every shot with better feel and that gives me more joy. More joy translates to more confidence and just keeps going around in a circle.

I am truly happy with my golf now and am even contemplating going back and competing again. I'm a different golfer now and have a much better attitude that now I just want to go back and compete from time to time and just enjoy it. I don't care if I win or come in last. I really don't. I just want to see how I do now that I have the clubs to match my game and have the attitude to hopefully match it as well. Who knows, but I just enjoy playing now more than I ever have and for me, that's saying a lot about these clubs because for me, golf is somewhat a way of life not just something I do. If I don't golf, I'm not happy.

[corky3]

Here's the truth as it applies to my game.

Having played this game for going on 20 years now and having run the gammut of emotions and elations, set-backs and failures I can say without a doubt that having this equipment as helped me to realize my aspirations of becoming the golfer I have always wanted to become. I'm only now starting to really believe in it, and believe in me.

I read this post the last couple of days this morning after returning home from work went to the garage to puruse through my old clubs. Titleist 990's and 690MB's (my last set before the TourStages), old Vokeys with a special grind I had done by my local clubfitter, a couple of Scotty's, a Nak driver, a 983 with a Speeder 952 shaft, some old Sonartecs and few others. I picked up these, felt them and I can say that not one of them had even an ounce of feel my current bag has.

For me, having the clubs I now have, with the customization and the quality that they are, they are vastly superior to what I used to play. This has enabled me to become so much better. My enjoyment of the game is better. The feel of the shots. I don't hit everyshot perfect but I hit every shot with better feel and that gives me more joy. More joy translates to more confidence and just keeps going around in a circle.

I am truly happy with my golf now and am even contemplating going back and competing again. I'm a different golfer now and have a much better attitude that now I just want to go back and compete from time to time and just enjoy it. I don't care if I win or come in last. I really don't. I just want to see how I do now that I have the clubs to match my game and have the attitude to hopefully match it as well. Who knows, but I just enjoy playing now more than I ever have and for me, that's saying a lot about these clubs because for me, golf is somewhat a way of life not just something I do. If I don't golf, I'm not happy.

Good post!...... The last paragraph i can concur with.....

[K2_2]

If you gave me the option of

A) X dollars to work with the pro of my choice and spend some extra time fine tuning my game to knock off the strokes or

B) Getting all new clubs with engravings and my favourite kit to deck out the bag for X dollars...

I'd go with A. I like to practice, and I love to improve my game. I will try out alot of things for a little while, but I will only add a new club to the bag for an extended period (ie make it a gamer) when it improves my ability to score.

Edited May 14, 2007 by K2_2

[skgolf]

I would choose the 6 shots, because this would mean that my current setup would automatically become my dream setup - guranteed. Whereas going the other way wouldn't gurantee an improvement of 6 shots...

[Mjr. D]

I would choose the 6 shots, because this would mean that my current setup would automatically become my dream setup - guranteed. Whereas going the other way wouldn't gurantee an improvement of 6 shots...

Oooooooooooooh deep, i like it. But what if your current set up was pink with gash marks all over it?

[+TourSpecGolfer]

Great Post!

I would have to say based on my conversations with most of our customers that people dont know how to go about shaving strokes with the use of equipment.

Most of these guys TSG'ers, BSG'ers, and WRX'ers wanna buy driver after driver, but why when your shorter sticks give you the real stroke saving. Most play expensive shafts that are too stiff, if the shaft doesnt kick its not worth a penny even if you paid 1000 bucks for it.

Most of our customers dont know where their distance gaps are because club fitters accross america are not in depth enough to spend the extra 2 hours for a distance gap analysis with each and every club. They say its overkill but that is their opinion as they know not how much you love this game.

Also the shaft analysis reports need to be done with clubs using your lie/length/swing weight then testing about 4-7 different shaft profiles, flex's etc.. When we do this we have the player hit various project X, Tour Concept, NS Pro, Dynamic Gold, Graphite and all flex's possible to see what shaft gets them the optimal trajectory, tightest dispersion, and max carry and roll. Compare all the numbers and you will see what shaft is best for you. Then take the top 2-3 contenders on the course and have a shootout.

A really good fitting lasts about 4 hours with 2 people working on your clubs. A decent clubmaker/fitter will also take 6 measurements of your current set and be able to tell you where and how you hit your bad shots and with what club. Truth is in the numbers in that regard.

So in the end I really think its a blend of fitting and quality equipment. the only issue is not even the OEM fitting studio's or large places like hotstix will spend that sort of time with you or even know what to look for. Yes thats right not even the OEMs care about your game enough to do this even if you paid them top dollar. They would rather put you ona multimillion dollar machine for an hour or two feed you some fancy graphics and papers then suggest a set of clubs that the carry and get you out the door. Sick ONE!

So in the end are most of our customers spending thousands upon thousands and not learning much about why the club didnt work for them or why it did. Sad but true, and then again not many golfers are this hardcore so i really suggest following these steps at the very least.

Fittings go far beyond this but these are what i call the basics and need to be done:

5 basics: loft/lie/length/swing weight/grip size ( 1 hour )

Distance Gap Analysis ( 1 hour )

Shaft Fitting Analysis ( 1 hour )

pulling the data together and explaining it to you ( 35min )

remeber to wear your gamer shoes because that effects your lie angle big time. Also dont let shoddy club fitters and clubmakers tell you what you need. If your clubfitter does these things you should be leaving with about 6 pages of data. Take that data fax it to an expert who is critical and carries hundreds of brands of clubs and shafts and offers all sorts of aftermarket techniques so your not stuck with only the options that the fitter has available.

It gets even more silly, people are asking about grind on irons, wedges, and fairway woods now. Why? because it feels fancy to talk about that but in the end almost every grind has been done dozens of times and their are options for all types of swingers already on the market. So i see people getting way to technical on that, and not technical enough with what really counts.

99% of fitters wont even have the shafts i mentioned on hand for your shaft analysis so its really difficult for guys us who dont mind paying for the best just want all bases covered.

Then Again, this rant of mine is for those who really really want to improve their game. Many of us just want to hit better feeling, looking, and made clubs and enjoy the game more without getting too serious.

[K2_2]

Hi Chris,

So when does the fitting studio open? Seriously, .

[corky3]

Then Again, this rant of mine is for those who really really want to improve their game. Many of us just want to hit better feeling, looking, and made clubs and enjoy the game more without getting too serious.

............ Never a truer word(s) spoken...... I doubt there are many in Internetland that are going to be pros or even really good amateurs, but we all want to get the max out of our games.