Joe,
Thicker grips feel better to me, but I am told that a thicker grip will reduce clubhead speed. Is there any truth to this? Also, when putting I seem to do better with a thicker grip. What is your opinion?
Theo
Hello Theo,
The same argument takes place for baseball bats or golf clubs, the thinner the grip, the more bat speed or clubhead speed can be generated. On the other hand, a thicker grip makes the bat or club easier to control, so you have to choose whether you want to be a home run hitter or hit for a higher batting average. Remember, in golf you have to play your foul balls. For putting, it makes sense to me that a thicker grip should work better because it reduces the amount of clubface error caused by hands twisting. A small amount of hand movement turns a skinny grip (and therefore the shaft and the clubface) more than a fatter grip. It would take more hand movement to turn the fatter grip the same amount, so your margin of error is more favorable.
Joe
Monday, March 07, 2005
Joe,
I find this confusing. Why are some drops allowed two club lengths and other drops only one club length? Why don’t they simplify the rules and make it consistent?
Dan
Hi Dan,
If there is a penalty involved, the drop is 2 club lengths. If it is a free drop with no penalty, the drop is one club length. Sergio Garcia once actually incurred an extra 2-stroke penalty by dropping only one club length when he should have dropped two. Because of that penalty he fell back into a playoff and lost the tournament. Personally I think that is absolutely ridiculous, you would think the spirit of the rule means no more than two club lengths, so less would logically seem OK, right? No, wrong. Why? I don’t know, let’s ask Jody.
Jody, my Evil Twin, how would you answer Dan’s questions, why not simplify the rules?
Answer: It must be money. It is the same reason why the virus protection software companies keep the business going by creating new viruses for themselves to solve, and then looking like heroes for charging you money to solve them. For golf, the more complicated you make the rules, the thicker the rule book gets, the more money is made by the printers, the officials, the training seminars, etc. If they really wanted to simplify the rules, they could easily make all drops the same distance. I would pick 2 club lengths since one club length sometimes does not help much. Also, it would also be nice if they would say you can use anything in your bag, because then the telescoping ball retriever would be a good choice.
I find this confusing. Why are some drops allowed two club lengths and other drops only one club length? Why don’t they simplify the rules and make it consistent?
Dan
Hi Dan,
If there is a penalty involved, the drop is 2 club lengths. If it is a free drop with no penalty, the drop is one club length. Sergio Garcia once actually incurred an extra 2-stroke penalty by dropping only one club length when he should have dropped two. Because of that penalty he fell back into a playoff and lost the tournament. Personally I think that is absolutely ridiculous, you would think the spirit of the rule means no more than two club lengths, so less would logically seem OK, right? No, wrong. Why? I don’t know, let’s ask Jody.
Jody, my Evil Twin, how would you answer Dan’s questions, why not simplify the rules?
Answer: It must be money. It is the same reason why the virus protection software companies keep the business going by creating new viruses for themselves to solve, and then looking like heroes for charging you money to solve them. For golf, the more complicated you make the rules, the thicker the rule book gets, the more money is made by the printers, the officials, the training seminars, etc. If they really wanted to simplify the rules, they could easily make all drops the same distance. I would pick 2 club lengths since one club length sometimes does not help much. Also, it would also be nice if they would say you can use anything in your bag, because then the telescoping ball retriever would be a good choice.
