Joe,
I keep reading about older clubs that had names instead of numbers. Can you tell us which of these names match up to today’s numbered clubs?
Cal
Hi Cal,
There were lots of variations in the older named clubs, so you may find different definitions depending on where you look up the information, but in general, a Brassie is a fairway wood. That name came from the brass plate on the bottom to reduce wear. A normal Brassie was a 2-wood, if it had more loft it was a Spoon (3-wood) or a Cleek (4 or 5-wood). A Mashie was like a 5-iron, a Niblick was like an 8-iron, and in between was a Mashie-Niblick (6 or 7-iron). There are others, depending on where they were made. I do not like today’s terms, I think it is stupid to call a 3-wood a 3-metal just because it is no longer made of wood because a 3-iron is also made of metal (duh). We don’t really want to use terms like 3-composite or 3-titanium, do we? I think the solution is to go back to using the old names. My clubs are usually named with 4-letter words, except for the “helicopter” because that’s what it looks like when I throw it.
Joe
Thursday, December 02, 2004
Joe,
Will it help to buy an expensive putter?
Pam
Hi Pam,
Putting is the great equalizer in golf, it allows short hitters to have a chance to beat the long hitters who can’t putt very well. When you count all the strokes used for each of your clubs for any round, the putter by far is used the most times, so it makes sense to get a putter that you like. That does not mean it has to be an expensive putter. Consider this, even if you have a perfect putting stroke, you still will not make very many putts unless you read the green perfectly, and who is perfect? The reverse is also true, if you are good at reading greens, you still will not make very many putts if you stroke it too hard or too soft. To make matters more complicated, even if you read the green correctly and make a perfect stroke, the putt may still hit an imperfection in the green and lip out. The answer to your question, in my opinion, is that there is a good chance you can putt just as well with a cheap putter as you can with an expensive putter, just find one that feels good and have a contest between that one against a borrowed goochy-fufu-expensive one and see which one wins the contest. The mind is a powerful thing, so you are more likely to make a more confident stroke with a putter that you like, expensive or not. It is the confident stroke that makes you a better putter, more so than the type of club.
Joe
Will it help to buy an expensive putter?
Pam
Hi Pam,
Putting is the great equalizer in golf, it allows short hitters to have a chance to beat the long hitters who can’t putt very well. When you count all the strokes used for each of your clubs for any round, the putter by far is used the most times, so it makes sense to get a putter that you like. That does not mean it has to be an expensive putter. Consider this, even if you have a perfect putting stroke, you still will not make very many putts unless you read the green perfectly, and who is perfect? The reverse is also true, if you are good at reading greens, you still will not make very many putts if you stroke it too hard or too soft. To make matters more complicated, even if you read the green correctly and make a perfect stroke, the putt may still hit an imperfection in the green and lip out. The answer to your question, in my opinion, is that there is a good chance you can putt just as well with a cheap putter as you can with an expensive putter, just find one that feels good and have a contest between that one against a borrowed goochy-fufu-expensive one and see which one wins the contest. The mind is a powerful thing, so you are more likely to make a more confident stroke with a putter that you like, expensive or not. It is the confident stroke that makes you a better putter, more so than the type of club.
Joe
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Joe,
Why is it that I can get my old persimmon fairway woods up in the air more easily than today’s metal headed fairway clubs? I have tried several metals but I can’t seem to get them off the ground consistently.
Monty
Hi Monty,
I have noticed the same thing, and I think it is due to the metal plate on the bottom of the persimmon woods making the center of gravity much lower than today’s metal fairway woods. The metal woods that seem to work the best are the really thin ones like Tight Lies, because they are so thin, the center of gravity has to be lower than the center of the ball. I think the idea of bi-metal or tri-metal might help if the metal sandwich has the heavier metal on the bottom to lower the center of gravity.
Joe (see my Bio at thinkandreachpar.com)
Why is it that I can get my old persimmon fairway woods up in the air more easily than today’s metal headed fairway clubs? I have tried several metals but I can’t seem to get them off the ground consistently.
Monty
Hi Monty,
I have noticed the same thing, and I think it is due to the metal plate on the bottom of the persimmon woods making the center of gravity much lower than today’s metal fairway woods. The metal woods that seem to work the best are the really thin ones like Tight Lies, because they are so thin, the center of gravity has to be lower than the center of the ball. I think the idea of bi-metal or tri-metal might help if the metal sandwich has the heavier metal on the bottom to lower the center of gravity.
Joe (see my Bio at thinkandreachpar.com)
