Joe,
Thank you for all your emails and believe me all your information and tips are a constant source of motivation on the continual path of improvement. Is there a recommended club, scale weight (ideal weight) for an experienced 76 year old male (my coach) playing at presently to a 13 handicap. He read in a Seniors Golf book that 13 oz was the recommendation. What is your opinion and recommendation? The second question involves golf etiquette. How do I ask an opponent to move from my line of sight on the putting green, without causing WW3. I either need skills to block out these interferences (which I don't have) or a prayer that stops people taking things personally. Please help me.
Big hugs and prayers
Fay
Hello Fay,
Recommendations are not guarantees. Any "ideal" weight for a club must be tested by you. Maybe that will work for you and maybe it won’t. There are so many other factors at play such as shaft flex and torque, kick point, loft, lie angle, length, etc not to mention your own physical characteristics and swing speed. Rather than getting overly technical on these matters, I think you should try different clubs and simply compare results. These types of specs are more important for those who play every day and want to become scratch golfers. Those of us who play less frequently are not likely become scratch golfers, so if you want to lower your handicap, put more emphasis on chipping and putting. Even scratch golfers do not hit the green every time, but they can get "up and down" from almost anywhere. That means even if you can hit the ball just has well as a scratch golfer, but you cannot get up and down, your handicap will still be double digit, so why waste your time worrying about club specs? As for your second question, you are always going to be playing with people who stand in the wrong place, so you might as well get used to that. There is no single phrase that you can use to ask them to move that is sure to avoid offending them. Some people will understand and others will think you are a jerk for asking. The most diplomatic phase to try would be one that puts the blame on yourself, such as "I’m sorry for asking, but I get the Yips when anybody stands there, it’s not you, it’s me."
Joe
Thursday, January 13, 2005
Monday, January 10, 2005
Joe, did you have a good year last year, and what was your favorite personal highlight from last season?
Answer: Every year is a good year, and if you don’t think so, just try missing one of them. I had two personal highlights. On the first one, I chunked a chip shot from the back of a steeply sloped green that just barely made it onto the putting surface, almost stopped, and then slowly trickled 40 feet down the steep slope, coming to rest one foot from the pin. Naturally, I just strutted up to the hole, twirling my club like a baton, whistling and tipping my cap like I knew what I was doing. My buddies were impressed, complimenting me for having such a delicate touch. If only they knew the truth, but why should I tell them? The second highlight was on a 136 yard par 3 where my dyslexic buddy and I had a bet for closest to the pin. He went first and hit the green about 30 feet way. When it was my turn my mind went blank (as it frequently does) so I asked my dyslexic buddy what the yardage was and he said 163 (the little trickster), so I took out a 6 iron which would have been way too much club but I hit it thin so it traveled shorter than it should have and ended up on the green anyway, 5 feet closer than him. Serves him right. This goes to prove it is better to be lucky than good.
Joe
Answer: Every year is a good year, and if you don’t think so, just try missing one of them. I had two personal highlights. On the first one, I chunked a chip shot from the back of a steeply sloped green that just barely made it onto the putting surface, almost stopped, and then slowly trickled 40 feet down the steep slope, coming to rest one foot from the pin. Naturally, I just strutted up to the hole, twirling my club like a baton, whistling and tipping my cap like I knew what I was doing. My buddies were impressed, complimenting me for having such a delicate touch. If only they knew the truth, but why should I tell them? The second highlight was on a 136 yard par 3 where my dyslexic buddy and I had a bet for closest to the pin. He went first and hit the green about 30 feet way. When it was my turn my mind went blank (as it frequently does) so I asked my dyslexic buddy what the yardage was and he said 163 (the little trickster), so I took out a 6 iron which would have been way too much club but I hit it thin so it traveled shorter than it should have and ended up on the green anyway, 5 feet closer than him. Serves him right. This goes to prove it is better to be lucky than good.
Joe
