Joe,
Why do some same number woods have a shallow face and some have a taller face? What difference would I get if I used either? Are there any advantages for using either?
Trent
Hello Trent,
The wood with the shallow face will have a lower center of gravity, making it easier to get the ball airborne, especially from tight lies. You may have noticed the Adams company makes a complete line of shallow faced clubs called Tight Lies. The only disadvantage of this design would be the risk of popups from fluffy lies where the ball is sitting up, or from the tee because it is easy to tee the ball too high. A taller faced wood would solve both these problems but would not work as well from a normal or tight lie because the center of gravity is too high, resulting in lower shots with less carry.
Joe
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Joe,
When I take my kid to the miniature golf course, she beats me and I find that very embarrassing. I figure she is not yet old enough to be affected by nerves, while here I am getting the yips on every putt because of the pressure of losing to a little kid. She just steps up and putts it while I take my time and aim carefully, but to no avail. There must be something I can do, what is it?
Defeated Dad
Hello Defeated,
The Yips cause your left and right hands to fight each other for control. When one of them wins you push your putts, and when the other hand wins, you pull, and you never know which hand will win. You need a way to force them to work together. Try this as a drill, whether on your indoor rug or a practice green, take your Driver (yes, your Driver), which is about the same length as a belly putter. Put both hands low on the shaft, and press the shaft onto your belly, wherever it is comfortable. You will be surprised how smooth your putting stroke becomes, because when the shaft is anchored into your belly, the hands can no longer fight each other, therefore they are forced to work together. Also, you can experiment by gripping the club different ways to see which is best for you, like reverse overlap, left hand low, the claw grip, or hands split apart, etc., because almost any grip will work with a belly putter. Of course you will probably not want to do this at a miniature golf course, that would probably look a bit too weird. But now you should have a better feel for a smooth stroke, and with a shorter putter, you might also get good results by anchoring the grip against your leading forearm instead of your belly. Might be worth a try. Bernhard Langer actually did this for awhile, he actually used his right hand to hold the handle against his left forearm, and his grip was nicknamed Der Clamp. Another possibility is that your daughter happens to be a really good putter and if that is the case, you may never beat her. Instead of feeling defeated, tell her how proud you are of her and watch her eyes light up.
Joe
When I take my kid to the miniature golf course, she beats me and I find that very embarrassing. I figure she is not yet old enough to be affected by nerves, while here I am getting the yips on every putt because of the pressure of losing to a little kid. She just steps up and putts it while I take my time and aim carefully, but to no avail. There must be something I can do, what is it?
Defeated Dad
Hello Defeated,
The Yips cause your left and right hands to fight each other for control. When one of them wins you push your putts, and when the other hand wins, you pull, and you never know which hand will win. You need a way to force them to work together. Try this as a drill, whether on your indoor rug or a practice green, take your Driver (yes, your Driver), which is about the same length as a belly putter. Put both hands low on the shaft, and press the shaft onto your belly, wherever it is comfortable. You will be surprised how smooth your putting stroke becomes, because when the shaft is anchored into your belly, the hands can no longer fight each other, therefore they are forced to work together. Also, you can experiment by gripping the club different ways to see which is best for you, like reverse overlap, left hand low, the claw grip, or hands split apart, etc., because almost any grip will work with a belly putter. Of course you will probably not want to do this at a miniature golf course, that would probably look a bit too weird. But now you should have a better feel for a smooth stroke, and with a shorter putter, you might also get good results by anchoring the grip against your leading forearm instead of your belly. Might be worth a try. Bernhard Langer actually did this for awhile, he actually used his right hand to hold the handle against his left forearm, and his grip was nicknamed Der Clamp. Another possibility is that your daughter happens to be a really good putter and if that is the case, you may never beat her. Instead of feeling defeated, tell her how proud you are of her and watch her eyes light up.
Joe
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Joe,
Any thoughts on why the US keeps losing in the Ryder Cup?
Joss
Hello Joss,
Once upon a time it was the US against Britain, and the US had a stronger team since it had more golfers to choose from. Now it is the US against all of Europe, and the US is now the weaker team. Since golf is growing all over the world, it seems to me that the competition should open up for all countries, each country should have its own team. I do not say this just so the US would be the strongest team, I think they would still only be third best behind Australia and South Africa, who are both getting stronger and stronger. Of course the format would have to change. You could not have that many countries involved in match play or else the event would take several months to complete, and the best golfers would not want to miss their tour commitments. In order to hold the event over one weekend, it would have to be stroke play, but you still could have alternate shot, singles, and best ball formats going toward a team score. Hey readers, what do you think about this? How would you do it?
Joe
Any thoughts on why the US keeps losing in the Ryder Cup?
Joss
Hello Joss,
Once upon a time it was the US against Britain, and the US had a stronger team since it had more golfers to choose from. Now it is the US against all of Europe, and the US is now the weaker team. Since golf is growing all over the world, it seems to me that the competition should open up for all countries, each country should have its own team. I do not say this just so the US would be the strongest team, I think they would still only be third best behind Australia and South Africa, who are both getting stronger and stronger. Of course the format would have to change. You could not have that many countries involved in match play or else the event would take several months to complete, and the best golfers would not want to miss their tour commitments. In order to hold the event over one weekend, it would have to be stroke play, but you still could have alternate shot, singles, and best ball formats going toward a team score. Hey readers, what do you think about this? How would you do it?
Joe
