Joe,
I once had a penalty called on me because I was preparing to putt and the wind slightly moved my ball. Why should that be a penalty when it was not my fault? I did not do anything. How can anyone avoid this?
Phil
Hi Phil,
Here is how to avoid this. Do not ground your club, the penalty only applies after you have addressed the ball. If the club is not grounded, you have not yet officially addressed the ball, so just keep your club hovering above ground. Don’t delay the stroke because it is no penalty if the ball moves after you have begun your stroke. Why is there such a penalty? I don’t know. This is one of many unfair rules that can penalize you for things that are not your fault, and those types you should just leave for tournaments. If you are only playing recreational golf and you call this on somebody, you risk being branded as an anal aperture for the rest of your life.
Joe
Friday, March 04, 2005
Joe,
My natural swing produces a very low shot with a driver, and I have to use a 5 or 7 wood off the fairway because my 3-wood cannot get the ball high enough off the ground. I can drive OK with a 3-wood, but with the smaller head I get the occasional popups, toe shots, or heel shots. I have tried some swing changes but none of them seem to help my shot trajectory. Any suggestions?
Dean
Hi Dean,
Lower shots can be caused by using shafts that are too stiff for you. If that is not the case, you need more lofted clubs. If you cannot find a driver with enough loft, you might want to try a deep-faced oversized 3-wood for your drives. However, the deep face is not recommended for fairway shots because the center of gravity is too high, so just use it for drives. From the fairway you are likely to do better with a thin-faced fairway club such as the “Tight Lies” design because the center of gravity is obviously lower.
Joe
My natural swing produces a very low shot with a driver, and I have to use a 5 or 7 wood off the fairway because my 3-wood cannot get the ball high enough off the ground. I can drive OK with a 3-wood, but with the smaller head I get the occasional popups, toe shots, or heel shots. I have tried some swing changes but none of them seem to help my shot trajectory. Any suggestions?
Dean
Hi Dean,
Lower shots can be caused by using shafts that are too stiff for you. If that is not the case, you need more lofted clubs. If you cannot find a driver with enough loft, you might want to try a deep-faced oversized 3-wood for your drives. However, the deep face is not recommended for fairway shots because the center of gravity is too high, so just use it for drives. From the fairway you are likely to do better with a thin-faced fairway club such as the “Tight Lies” design because the center of gravity is obviously lower.
Joe
Thursday, March 03, 2005
Joe,
I was once not allowed to play because my shirt did not have a collar. On TV I see some of the pros wearing shirts without a collar, if they can do it why can’t anyone else?
Dom
Hi Dom,
Some places have stricter dress codes than others, including restaurants, they just want to make sure people do not show up wearing sloppy T shirts or undershirts. The collarless shirts some of the pros wear are classified as “crew neck” when they have thicker neck lines, and they are usually nicer looking than the average T shirt, however one could argue that a T shirt is also a form of crew neck, and many sweaters or sweatshirts also do not have collars either. If your shirt was not a T shirt but had a thicker collar line, your golf course could have made an exception, but some purists insist that a rule is a rule, and they will defend that rule no matter how dumb it is. Seems like now is a good time for…
…The Evil Twin’s Purist Corner – Point and Counter-Point
Point - A rule is a rule. Tiger likes to wear crew neck shirts, but if he wants to play at a course where they have the collar rule, then he should not be allowed to play, just like anyone else. Furthermore, there is a risk that some astute TV viewer is going to phone all the major courses and find out which ones have that same collar rule, and then try to strip all those major titles from Tiger because he violated a Local rule, playing while illegally adorned.
Counter-Point – I guess you would also agree that there is nothing in the rules to prevent you from playing naked as long as you wear a collared shirt, and of course soft spikes.
I was once not allowed to play because my shirt did not have a collar. On TV I see some of the pros wearing shirts without a collar, if they can do it why can’t anyone else?
Dom
Hi Dom,
Some places have stricter dress codes than others, including restaurants, they just want to make sure people do not show up wearing sloppy T shirts or undershirts. The collarless shirts some of the pros wear are classified as “crew neck” when they have thicker neck lines, and they are usually nicer looking than the average T shirt, however one could argue that a T shirt is also a form of crew neck, and many sweaters or sweatshirts also do not have collars either. If your shirt was not a T shirt but had a thicker collar line, your golf course could have made an exception, but some purists insist that a rule is a rule, and they will defend that rule no matter how dumb it is. Seems like now is a good time for…
…The Evil Twin’s Purist Corner – Point and Counter-Point
Point - A rule is a rule. Tiger likes to wear crew neck shirts, but if he wants to play at a course where they have the collar rule, then he should not be allowed to play, just like anyone else. Furthermore, there is a risk that some astute TV viewer is going to phone all the major courses and find out which ones have that same collar rule, and then try to strip all those major titles from Tiger because he violated a Local rule, playing while illegally adorned.
Counter-Point – I guess you would also agree that there is nothing in the rules to prevent you from playing naked as long as you wear a collared shirt, and of course soft spikes.
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
Joe,
They say new equipment is ruining the game and making some golf courses obsolete. Is there anything that can be done?
Edie
Hello Edie,
Lee Trevino once said "It’s not the bow and arrow, it’s the Indian". New balls and new clubs, while they do produce more distance, have not actually lowered the average scores for all golfers for many many years, which proves the short game is much more important than the long game. Therefore I don’t think golf courses will become obsolete, except maybe some won’t be chosen for tournament consideration, and since most golfers are not tournament players, they will still be eager to play the shorter courses because they do not get as much benefit from technology as do the tournament players. Technology’s extra distance also translates into shots going further off line and into more trouble, and frankly this becomes more dangerous because more people will be within range of getting hit by errant shots. Realistically, I do not think there will ever be a ban on new technology, so if we ever want to offset the effects of technology, we might have to convince enough people to "think outside the box". For example, we could introduce an alternate set of modified rules which could keep any course from becoming obsolete. Let’s say for the sake of discussion, this new set of rules could be called "Shotmaker’s Rules" or "Finesse Rules", whereby you could only use 7 clubs, so the wild driver may not be a good choice. This would put less emphasis less on power and more emphasis on finesse back into the game, having to adjust how hard you swing instead of having so many clubs that you can use the same monotonous swing for almost any distance. To make up for the disadvantage of using fewer clubs, all penalties would be only 1 stroke (no loss of distance) and you get to improve your lie. The rules then become a lot simpler, and the pace of play becomes a lot quicker. However, I am sure the clubmakers would not be in favor of selling fewer clubs, so this idea may not gain much support. However, you might be very very surprised that if you were ever to try this, your scores will probably not be much different than your usual scores with a full set of clubs. If that is true, wherefore art thou, technology, where is thy sting?
Joe
They say new equipment is ruining the game and making some golf courses obsolete. Is there anything that can be done?
Edie
Hello Edie,
Lee Trevino once said "It’s not the bow and arrow, it’s the Indian". New balls and new clubs, while they do produce more distance, have not actually lowered the average scores for all golfers for many many years, which proves the short game is much more important than the long game. Therefore I don’t think golf courses will become obsolete, except maybe some won’t be chosen for tournament consideration, and since most golfers are not tournament players, they will still be eager to play the shorter courses because they do not get as much benefit from technology as do the tournament players. Technology’s extra distance also translates into shots going further off line and into more trouble, and frankly this becomes more dangerous because more people will be within range of getting hit by errant shots. Realistically, I do not think there will ever be a ban on new technology, so if we ever want to offset the effects of technology, we might have to convince enough people to "think outside the box". For example, we could introduce an alternate set of modified rules which could keep any course from becoming obsolete. Let’s say for the sake of discussion, this new set of rules could be called "Shotmaker’s Rules" or "Finesse Rules", whereby you could only use 7 clubs, so the wild driver may not be a good choice. This would put less emphasis less on power and more emphasis on finesse back into the game, having to adjust how hard you swing instead of having so many clubs that you can use the same monotonous swing for almost any distance. To make up for the disadvantage of using fewer clubs, all penalties would be only 1 stroke (no loss of distance) and you get to improve your lie. The rules then become a lot simpler, and the pace of play becomes a lot quicker. However, I am sure the clubmakers would not be in favor of selling fewer clubs, so this idea may not gain much support. However, you might be very very surprised that if you were ever to try this, your scores will probably not be much different than your usual scores with a full set of clubs. If that is true, wherefore art thou, technology, where is thy sting?
Joe
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
Joe,
I'm considering buying some new irons. I currently own ping isi with a swing weight of c-9. I would like to have a better feel of where the club head is...this is where your advise would be appreciated. I'm 60 years, work out daily and in excellent condition. My swing speed is near 90 and is slow and rhythmic. Any ideas?? I'm told the average swing weight is d-2, d-4 is this right?? Thanks in advance,
Bill
Hi Bill,
Some people like a lighter feel, some like a heavier feel. Some people hit poorly with clubs that feel good, and when they try clubs that do not feel as good, they are surprised to see better shots, and then those clubs start feeling better in a hurry. Base your decision by comparing results for different swingweights. Theories about specs are no guarantees. Many golfers want to give themselves every possible technical advantage to improve, and swingweight is one spec aimed at giving a consistent feel for all clubs in your set, by comparing the weight of the clubhead to the overall weight of the entire club. The higher the letter, the heavier the club (d is heavier than c), and the higher the number, the higher the weight ratio is from clubhead to the whole club. Some people think this ratio is important, but I think there are a lot of other technical factors at play that are more important than swingweight. The ratio is not the same from club to club anyway because the heads on shorter irons have more mass than the longer irons, yet they have shorter shafts, so it is hard to imagine every club feeling the same. So what usually happens in your c-9 set, for example, is that you might hit the shorter irons better than the longer irons, and with a d-4 set you might hit the longer irons better than the shorter irons. Since the shorter irons are the scoring clubs, most golfers will give up on the whole set if they cannot hit the shorter irons, even if they hit the long irons very well. So they embark on a never ending journey to seek the perfect set. That is partly the reason we are seeing new sets with hybrid clubs instead of long irons, the longer clubs simply need more mass. Swingweights are also changed when grip weights are added, or when lead tape is applied to the clubheads. So rather than focusing on swingweight, pay more attention to shaft flex and lie angle. If you still feel swingweight is that important to you, find a 7-iron that you really like and have the swingweight measured, and use that as a guide to get your next set.
Joe
I'm considering buying some new irons. I currently own ping isi with a swing weight of c-9. I would like to have a better feel of where the club head is...this is where your advise would be appreciated. I'm 60 years, work out daily and in excellent condition. My swing speed is near 90 and is slow and rhythmic. Any ideas?? I'm told the average swing weight is d-2, d-4 is this right?? Thanks in advance,
Bill
Hi Bill,
Some people like a lighter feel, some like a heavier feel. Some people hit poorly with clubs that feel good, and when they try clubs that do not feel as good, they are surprised to see better shots, and then those clubs start feeling better in a hurry. Base your decision by comparing results for different swingweights. Theories about specs are no guarantees. Many golfers want to give themselves every possible technical advantage to improve, and swingweight is one spec aimed at giving a consistent feel for all clubs in your set, by comparing the weight of the clubhead to the overall weight of the entire club. The higher the letter, the heavier the club (d is heavier than c), and the higher the number, the higher the weight ratio is from clubhead to the whole club. Some people think this ratio is important, but I think there are a lot of other technical factors at play that are more important than swingweight. The ratio is not the same from club to club anyway because the heads on shorter irons have more mass than the longer irons, yet they have shorter shafts, so it is hard to imagine every club feeling the same. So what usually happens in your c-9 set, for example, is that you might hit the shorter irons better than the longer irons, and with a d-4 set you might hit the longer irons better than the shorter irons. Since the shorter irons are the scoring clubs, most golfers will give up on the whole set if they cannot hit the shorter irons, even if they hit the long irons very well. So they embark on a never ending journey to seek the perfect set. That is partly the reason we are seeing new sets with hybrid clubs instead of long irons, the longer clubs simply need more mass. Swingweights are also changed when grip weights are added, or when lead tape is applied to the clubheads. So rather than focusing on swingweight, pay more attention to shaft flex and lie angle. If you still feel swingweight is that important to you, find a 7-iron that you really like and have the swingweight measured, and use that as a guide to get your next set.
Joe
Monday, February 28, 2005
Sunday, February 27, 2005
The Evil Twin’s Purist Corner - Point and Counter-Point:
Point - Prayers are not allowed on golf courses. If you call on God to improve the results of a shot while it is still in motion, you are using "an outside agency" and subject to appropriate penalties under the rules of golf.
Counter-Point - So penalize me. Let us pray. May thy ball lie in green pastures and not in still waters. Amen.
Point - Prayers are not allowed on golf courses. If you call on God to improve the results of a shot while it is still in motion, you are using "an outside agency" and subject to appropriate penalties under the rules of golf.
Counter-Point - So penalize me. Let us pray. May thy ball lie in green pastures and not in still waters. Amen.
