Joe,
We have a friend who plays golf with us. He takes a long time to hit the ball. We are uncomfortable and don't know what to do or say to him without hurting our friend's feelings. What is the amount of time one has to hit the ball? How would you approach this problem?Mickey
Hi Mickey,
This is not an easy one. No matter what you say, your friend’s feelings may be hurt. Some people are not even aware that they are playing too slowly, and they act surprised and in denial when they are told to speed up. Furthermore they openly state that they refuse to play sprint golf or polo. If you have a friendly ranger at your course who is good with diplomacy, explain your plight to him or her. Maybe the ranger can explain that your group must pick up the pace OR ELSE. That way no individual is accused, and it establishes a sense of urgency for your group to stay on the clock. If you friend still does not get it, then it is time to say you do not want to get kicked off the course for slow play, so let’s agree to be a little more strict with each other. Let’s line up our shots while others are shooting, and take less than ten seconds to hit when it is our turn. If that doesn’t work, you could solve your problem by inviting Jody to play in your foursome. Read on…
Question for the Evil Twin:
Jody, what would you do about this?
Answer: Diplomacy is not my strong point. People expect wise cracks from me anyway, so I have no problem saying stuff like Please while we are still young, or I think rigor mortis may have set in, or Are you one of the Palace Guardsmen? Or Do you want me to time you with a sundial or a calendar? Or if you stand there much longer you will start to grow roots and attract pigeons.
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Joe,
I have a question on what type of shaft to use. I currently have an old set of Great Big Bertha (1997) irons (regular graphite shafts). I do not have an official handicap. My game is all over the place generally high 80's to low 90's on a course of about 6300 yards. I am considering purchasing the new Great Big Bertha irons or the fusion version (2006). Recently, while playing I tried a 7 iron of one my playing partners hitting to a par 3; the club was a GBB 2005 model with a uniflex steel shaft. Compared to my 7 iron the shot I hit exploded off the club face giving me 10-15 yards (approximately 150 yards in total) greater distance. I tried it later in the round with similar results. My swing speed with a 6 iron (Mizuno MP60) was measured at the golf shop at 72 mph. I am 60 years old and seem to be hitting shorter all the time. At what point should one move to graphite senior shafts over regular graphite. Can one expect an increase in swing speed due to the lighter more flexible shaft? Is accuracy greatly reduced?Your opinion is greatly appreciated.Marshall
Hi Marshall,
With irons, I would choose accuracy over distance. There really is no advantage to hitting irons for longer distance. Club manufacturers may brag about this but some of them are only de-lofting the irons. Just because you are holding two different 7 irons does not mean they both have the same loft. The one with the lower loft will hit the ball farther. But why do we want the ball to go farther, just so we can brag that we can sometimes reach a long par 4 with a drive and a 7 iron? Isn’t it better to be able to do the same thing more consistently with a 6 or 5 iron? That being said, I was never a believer that graphite shafts will help your iron play. In my opinion, using stiffer steel shafts will help accuracy. So you lose a little distance, who cares, the upside is that you have less of a distance gap between clubs. The only clubs that matter for distance are your woods, not your irons. Go ahead and get graphite shafts for your woods for distance, but irons are not made for maximum distance, they are made to control distance.
Joe
I have a question on what type of shaft to use. I currently have an old set of Great Big Bertha (1997) irons (regular graphite shafts). I do not have an official handicap. My game is all over the place generally high 80's to low 90's on a course of about 6300 yards. I am considering purchasing the new Great Big Bertha irons or the fusion version (2006). Recently, while playing I tried a 7 iron of one my playing partners hitting to a par 3; the club was a GBB 2005 model with a uniflex steel shaft. Compared to my 7 iron the shot I hit exploded off the club face giving me 10-15 yards (approximately 150 yards in total) greater distance. I tried it later in the round with similar results. My swing speed with a 6 iron (Mizuno MP60) was measured at the golf shop at 72 mph. I am 60 years old and seem to be hitting shorter all the time. At what point should one move to graphite senior shafts over regular graphite. Can one expect an increase in swing speed due to the lighter more flexible shaft? Is accuracy greatly reduced?Your opinion is greatly appreciated.Marshall
Hi Marshall,
With irons, I would choose accuracy over distance. There really is no advantage to hitting irons for longer distance. Club manufacturers may brag about this but some of them are only de-lofting the irons. Just because you are holding two different 7 irons does not mean they both have the same loft. The one with the lower loft will hit the ball farther. But why do we want the ball to go farther, just so we can brag that we can sometimes reach a long par 4 with a drive and a 7 iron? Isn’t it better to be able to do the same thing more consistently with a 6 or 5 iron? That being said, I was never a believer that graphite shafts will help your iron play. In my opinion, using stiffer steel shafts will help accuracy. So you lose a little distance, who cares, the upside is that you have less of a distance gap between clubs. The only clubs that matter for distance are your woods, not your irons. Go ahead and get graphite shafts for your woods for distance, but irons are not made for maximum distance, they are made to control distance.
Joe
