Analyzing Another Chamblee Argument Against Tiger

On Friday, after the 2nd round of the Memorial, The Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee remarked that a problem he saw with Tiger Woods’ game is that he didn’t give the ball a free rip on par-5’s anymore and that didn’t allow him to go after par-5’s in 2 shots.

This has been one of the criticisms of the ever ongoing criticism of Tiger’s game as of late, a lack of aggressiveness off the tee. However, as I’ve shown in previous posts using ShotLink data, his frequency of keeping his driver in the bag has NOT been abnormal by Tour standards. In fact, I think it more or less looks less aggressive because:

1. Tiger typically plays more difficult course setups
2. The TV almost always shows every Tiger tee shot and not the tee shots of everybody else.
3. He’s still generating 121 mph of clubhead speed

While I’ve disagreed with Chamblee on many things in the past, I do like that he tries to investigate the ShotLink data when analyzing tournaments and players. He has made some faulty conclusions like saying that shots from 50-125 yards are the ‘money zone’, which is very inaccurate depiction of the Tour. I think Chamblee made the common mistake that people not involved with statistics make, small sample size and never bothering to see the statistical correlation between that area and Adjusted Scoring Average.

However, Chamblee does notice something very important here. There’s a strong correlation between Par-5 scoring average and the percentage of ‘Go For Its’ a player has on par-5’s. The Tour labels a par-5 ‘Go For It’ as anytime the 2nd shot is within 30 yards of the edge of the green. As I mentioned in 2011 Pro Golf Synopsis, this is one of the reasons why I feel power has its advantages along with why I feel the 3-wood is the most underrated club in the bag. If I can get within that 30 yards from the edge of the green on a consistent basis, over time my par-5 scoring average will likely go down.

Many golfers, even Tour pros, don’t quite understand this. But, if you have 300 yards to the pin, but 280 yards to the edge of the green, if you can hit your 3-wood 250 yards…even if you’re not truly ‘going for it’, that’s often the better play for the golfer if they want to lower their expected score. Often times, golfers think they would be better off having 100 yards and a full swing into a pin than say 50 yards. That’s actually very false. If you want to lay-up on a par-5, it should really be done to avoid trouble like deep rough, a tough bunker shot, water, O.B., trees.

I didn’t watch the entire 2nd round of Tiger, but he did lay up on the back nine on one par-5. The wind was blowing heavily in his face. He had 261 yards to the pin. They didn’t give the yardage to the creek that ran across the fairway up by the green, but I’m assuming it was probably 220 yards to carry. Perhaps Tiger was a bit too conservative on this shot, but I think if he misses the green badly, but clears the creek, he could be left with a very difficult shot because the rough was very thick at Muirfield Village. In the world of Tiger, everything gets criticized.



Anyway, here’s a look at Tiger’s par-5 Go For It percentage and his rank in that category over the years:

2012: 69.1% (11th)
2009: 71.6% (2nd)
2007: 68.2% (2nd)
2006: 69.1% (3rd)
2005: 72.7% (1st)
2004: 64.9% (13th)

Two things stand out here. One is that Tiger’s percentage of ‘Go For Its’ is pretty much at his career average. However, his ranking is pretty low compared to previous years (outside of 2004).

We can’t just leave it at ‘Brandel is wrong’ because the ranking is of some importance.

Unfortunately, there is no data that I can use to figure out the percentage of Go For Its on each Tour course. This would be nice because we could make some sort of year-end Go For It percentage projection for Tiger. Perhaps he would typically be at 75%+ at this time of the year. Thus, his 69.1% may project to something lower like 62% by the end of the year as the courses may get longer and be more difficult to ‘go for.’

We can’t answer that, but I would like to take a look at his Driving Distance, fairway % and distance to edge of fairway ranks over the years, combined with his Go For It percentage ranks.


Year……Drive Distance…...Fwy %.......Dist. 2 Edge of Fwy…Go For %

2012……30th………………24th………….54th……….............11th
2009……21st……………….83rd…………134th………………2nd
2007……12th………………152nd ………..N/A……………….2nd
2006……6th………………..139th ………...N/A………………..3rd
2005……2nd………………..191st ………...N/A………………..1st
2004……9th………………..182nd ………..N/A……………….13th

Can we decipher anything from these rankings?

Obviously, Tiger does not hit it quite as long as he used to. We also don’t have Distance to Edge of Fairway data prior to 2008. However, Tiger’s fairway % has gone wayyyy up. And I think it’s safe to assume that his Distance to the Edge of the Fairway (extremely important for effective driving) has improved greatly this year as well. There’s a very strong correlation between fairway % and Distance to the Edge of the fairway, so if Tiger was finishing no better than 139th in fairway percentage from 2004 to 2007, you can bet that his Distance to the Edge of the Fairway rankings were lousy as well.

Now, let’s look at the rankings on approach shots from the fairway, on 225-250 yard and 250-275 yard approach shots.


Year……………225-250…………..250-275

2012…………….70th………………..7th
2009…………….54th………………..29th
2007…………….10th………………...2nd
2006……………..1st ………………..22nd
2005…………….32nd………………..7th
2004…………….54th…………………8th
2003…………….3rd………………….24th
2002…………….90th………………..143rd

The 225-250 yard range is a good range to Go For a par-5 in two shots. For Tiger, this will likely be anything from a 3-wood to a 4 or 5-iron. I would say that typically he would probably hit his 2-iron (or 5-wood) thru 4-iron here. He’s currently ranked 70th, which is still above average. It’s also the worst he’s ranked since 2002.

From 250-275, we are now talking about the 3-wood range. He’s been spectacular there outside of 2002, his last year working with Butch. That was also the same year than his highest ranking from 225-250 yards occurred. This may be one of the big reasons why Tiger decided to leave Butch as his long game was not where he wanted it to be.




FINAL SYNOPSIS

If we were to use the American court system of ‘being innocent until proven guilty’ and Chamblee was the District Attorney, I don’t see him having much evidence to stand on. He would probably have to wait on the case before going to trial and see if he could get some better evidence. He does have the lower ranking in driving distance and Go For It percentage in his corner. But, the actual metrics point to a different story.

My feeling is that at the very worst, Tiger is ever so slightly less aggressive on par-5’s than he once was. However, my metrics show that he’s coming up a more effective way of driving the ball to lower his score. A little less power versus the rest of the Tour, but much more accuracy and precision, which has plagued him in the past.

I think what has happened is that the Tour have taken in more reckless bombers over time. Let’s look at the guys that currently have a higher percentage of Go For Its than Tiger:

1. Bubba Watson (80.6%)
2. Kyle Stanley (76.9%)
3. Rory McIlroy (76.8%)
4. Robert Garrigus (76.4%)
5. Lee Westwood (75.0%)
6. Keegan Bradley (74.3%)
7. Martin Laird (72.2%)
8. Henrik Stenson (71.1%)
9. Gary Woodland (70.6%)
10. Peter Hanson (69.4%)

All of these players are very long off the tee. And almost all of them are likely to see their par-5 ‘Go For It’ percentage go down a bit. Usually the leader is about 71-74%. While Bubba’s 80.6% is outrageous, he’s taken a lot of time off after winning the Masters and should regress a bit.

Also, Tiger currently ranks 8th in par-5 scoring average.

I think what has happened is that the Tour simply does not grow much rough on par-5’s anymore. Either they stopped growing rough on par-5’s or the bombers started to take advantage of it. The 2 tournaments Tiger has won this year, Bay Hill and the Memorial, both featured probably the longest rough on Tour so far this season. That’s why the bombers who eat up par-5’s didn’t contend last week, they couldn’t deal with the rough. And perhaps that is what the Tour can do to give the shorter hitters a chance.

I think what all of this may mean is that Tiger’s chances at Augusta may be worse. No rough on the course, so bombers can just out-bomb him. But, he may have increased his chances at winning at the US Open and the PGA Championship. I think that may actually hurt his major victory odds in the end since the Masters is a limited invitational. So if you can be invited to that, your odds of winning increase automatically over the most democratic tournament in the world, the US Open.

The game has changed for Tiger, the fans and the media just need to accept that.





3JACK

3Jack Golf's PGA Tour Rundown: Week 22

Tiger Woods wins the Memorial.



I will have a post tomorrow regarding Tiger and his metrics. I will say that I noticed at the Memorial, he was not getting ‘laid off’ at the top of his swing, except when he was purposely hitting a sizeable fade ball. I think that he should probably look to get rid of the laid off move from his swing, regardless of the shot. It’s obvious to me that he can hit it fantastic even if he’s across the line at the top of the swing, but once he starts laying the club off at the top, he starts to struggle. He didn’t do that at the Memorial and in his words he ‘put on a stripe show.’ Something to watch out for at the US Open.

Here are the rankings:

ADVANCED TOTAL DRIVING



1. Bubba Watson
2. Jason Dufner
3. Graeme McDowell
4. Tiger Woods
5. John Rollins
6. Rory McIlroy
7. Boo Weekley
8. Roberto Castro
9. Hunter Mahan
10. Kyle Stanley


173. Tommy Biershenk
174. Tom Pernice Jr.
175. Michael Bradley
176. Joe Ogilvie
177. Matt Bettencourt
178. Billy Hurley III
179. Derek Lamely
180. Ryuji Imada
181. Stephen Gangluff
182. David Duval

Biggest Improvement: Ryo Ishikawa
Biggest Decline: Dustin Johnson


PUTTS GAINED (VIA PGATOUR.COM)

1. Ben Curtis
2. Aaron Baddeley
3. Luke Donald
4. David Duval
5. Bo Van Pelt
6. Michael Thompson
7. Zach Johnson
8. Brian Gay
9. Martin Flores
10. Ryan Palmer


173. Arjun Atwal
174. Chad Campbell
175. Nick O'Hern
176. Ricky Barnes
177. Greg Owen
178. Robert Allenby
179. Scott Brown
180. Scott Stallings
181. Heath Slocum
182. Boo Weekley

Biggest Improvement: Ryo Ishikawa
Biggest Decline: Louis Oosthuizen

ADJUSTED SHORT GAME PLAY

1. Kevin Kisner
2. Sean O'Hair
3. Bob Estes
4. Jerry Kelly
5. Mark Anderson
6. Jason Dufner
7. Stuart Appleby
8. Mathew Goggin
9. Rory McIlroy
10. Brian Gay


173. Jeff Maggert
174. Steve Wheatcroft
175. William McGirt
176. Michael Thompson
177. Harris English
178. Bo Van Pelt
179. Robert Garrigus
180. Dustin Johnson
181. Cameron Beckman
182. Gary Woodland

Biggest Improvement: Ryan Moore
Biggest Decline: Steve Stricker


BIRDIE ZONE PLAY



1. Steve Stricker
2. Padraig Harrington
3. Jeff Maggert
4. Jason Bohn
5. Nick O'Hern
6. Rory Sabbatini
7. Brendon de Jonge
8. Garth Mulroy
9. Sergio Garcia
10. Webb Simpson


173. Sang-Moon Bae
174. Brandt Jobe
175. Jhonattan Vegas
176. Stephen Gangluff
177. Aaron Baddeley
178. Scott Stallings
179. D.J. Trahan
180. Jamie Lovemark
181. Billy Hurley III
182. Edward Loar

Biggest Improvement: Dustin Johnson
Biggest Decline: Kyle Stanley


SAFE ZONE PLAY



1. Lee Westwood
2. Graeme McDowell
3. Robert Allenby
4. Steve Wheatcroft
5. Nick O'Hern
6. Jeff Maggert
7. Bo Van Pelt
8. Bud Cauley
9. Jason Dufner
10. Tiger Woods
11. Angel Cabrera


173. J.B. Holmes
174. William McGirt
175. Derek Lamely
176. Henrik Stenson
177. Briny Baird
178. Billy Hurley III
179. Jamie Lovemark
180. Edward Loar
181. Mark Anderson
182. Troy Kelly

Biggest Improvement: Ryo Ishikawa
Biggest Decline: Carl Pettersson


DANGER ZONE PLAY



1. Louis Oosthuizen
2. Bubba Watson
3. Chad Campbell
4. Bo Van Pelt
5. Steve Stricker
6. Justin Rose
7. Jim Furyk
8. Graeme McDowell
9. Brandt Jobe
10. Charley Hoffman


173. Ted Potter, Jr.
174. Joe Ogilvie
175. Stephen Ames
176. Blake Adams
177. Edward Loar
178. Steve Wheatcroft
179. Derek Lamely
180. Richard H. Lee
181. Nick O'Hern
182. Ryuji Imada

Biggest Improvement: Brandt Jobe
Biggest Decline: Ryo Ishikawa





3JACK

Vintage Video of Elkington

Here's a video from Steve Elkington (www.secretinthedirt.com) of him playing with friends at the Bel Aire CC in Los Angeles. Bel Air CC has been given high praise by the Top 100 Golf Course blogger (http://top100golf.blogspot.com). I also hear that it's the home course of Carlton Banks.

This video was taken 1 week before Elkington won the 1995 PGA Championship.










3JACK

A Look Back At the Harrison ShotMaker Insert

Another follow up question I received after the ‘Thinking Man’s Guide To Finding Your WITB’ series was on the Harrison Shotmaker insert.

The ShotMaker Insert is a small, lightweight ‘rod’ that a golfer or clubmaker can insert into the golf shaft. The marketing behind the Insert is that it will help make the ball fly straighter and give up to 40% more accuracy.




The ShotMaker is meant mainly for wood shafts because their current models only fit in 0.335 tip shafts. That’s usually what drivers and fairway woods have for shaft tip diameters. Cleveland and Taylor Made have drivers that carry 0.350 shaft diameters. There would be a way to work around that if you put a 0.335 shaft tip in those 0.350 hosel diameter by adding a shim in order to ‘fill the gap’ between the 0.335 shaft tip and the 0.350 hosel diameter. You could then just insert the Harrison Shotmaker into that 0.335 shaft tip and go about your day.

Anyway, the question was in regards to why I got away from the Harrison ShotMaker insert?

First, I still believe that the Harrison ShotMaker insert can be a useful tool to many golfers. I know I saw my ball flight lower a tad with a little less spin. I felt I was more consistent with the ShotMaker insert as well. Also, there had been reputable customers and clubmakers online who had shown FlightScope and Trackman data showing lower spin and a little lower launch with the ShotMaker insert versus no ShotMaker insert in the same driver.

Here’s where understanding the Shaft Bend Profile comes into play.

Essentially, all the ShotMaker insert does is stiffen up the tip section of the shaft. Thus the ball launches a little lower and spins less. Sounds simple. However, I think it still has some value in the end.




A little while ago Tom Wishon stated that the high priced, popular shafts like the Diamana models, Matrix, Graphite Design Tour AD-DI tend to have a common shaft bend profile…fairly stiff in the butt section and stiff in the tip section. In fact, the Nunchuck shaft has a bit of an underground following and it has an extremely stiff butt and tip section.

This leads me to believe that the majority of golfers in the scratch to 15 handicap range tend to play with shafts with too soft of a tip section. This probably stems from golfers usually going with a ‘stock shaft’ that they get at the golf store or pro shop. I know many golfers and clubmakers will steadfastly claim that the stock shafts in most clubs are not quite the same as the after-market shafts that are the same model.

I also have to question using frequency matching to fit for the shaft because usually the frequency matching either measures the frequency of the shaft as a whole or just gets the butt section stiffness. With Shaft Bend Profiles, it measures the shaft at usually 4 or 5 different locations, from the butt end to the tip end. So, it’s possible to have 2 different shaft models that match up on the frequency machine, but react very differently for the golfer (even if they are the same weight and bend-point). One shaft model may be much stiffer in the tip section and that will cause a lower launch and lower spin, despite the frequencies being the same.

What I wind up seeing from clubfitters is that they usually go at least one flex stiff with graphite shafts. Instead, if they better understood the shaft bend profiles, they could get a more accurate fitting for the golfer.

Getting back to the ShotMaker Insert.

It can be a great tool for a golfer who likes the feel of their shaft from a stiffness perspective. This is usually where the stiffness of the butt-section matters. But, if they have problems controlling their shots, it could be likely due to the tip section being too soft. So by adding the ShotMaker insert, that will help them to some degree. For some golfers, it may help them tremendously. For others, the tip section of the shaft may still be way too soft for them.

Furthermore, the ShotMaker Insert is also light as a feather, so it really doesn't affect swingweight or static weight. From my experience, it will affect MOI by less than 10 kg/cm^2.

Of course, one may say ‘get a shaft with a stiffer tip section.’

While that sounds fine and dandy, you will need to have a clubfitter who knows the shaft bend profiles. Or you will need a fitter with either a Trackman or a later model FlightScope along with plenty of different shafts so you can look at the launch angles and spin rates. Then you could be wind up wanting a $300 shaft. Combine that with the charge for the fitting and then having the shaft installed, a $100 ShotMaker Insert may not be a bad alternative.





3JACK

Thinking Man's Guide to Your WITB: Follow-Up

The PGA Tour rundown will be up either on Thursday or Friday.  Here's my Memorial picks:

Jim Furyk: 25/1
Dustin Johnson: 40/1
KJ Choi: 80/1
Robert Garrigus: 100/1
Scott Piercy: 125/1

Value Pick: Kyle Stanley 150/1

I had some questions with regards to the series ‘The Thinking Man’s Guide to Finding Your WITB.’ I thought I would go over some of them.


How long do the leather grips last?

They are supposed to last ‘years.’ From my experience, the pricey high-end grips I’ve found to last a lot longer than your standard, $5 grip. The Iomics I have still feel good other than the spot where I place my left thumb wearing down. That does not affect my swing or feel at all. As far as being able to grip the club, the Iomics are still in great condition and I’ve had them for over a year. The reason for the GripMaster USA grips is playing in extremely hot weather conditions, I’m looking for the best I can find to deal with those conditions.


How come no Tour pros have their clubs MOI-matched?

Probably because none of them know about MOI-matching. The OEM’s have no interest in it because there’s no feasible way for them to implement that into their clubs. We are seeing more and more clubs using portable weights on their heads. Taylor Made does this with their irons now. However, the only way to accurately measure the MOI is to have the machine, which costs about $500.

That being said, we see Tour golfers and OEM’s trying to do things that are very similar to MOI matching all of the time.

For instance, when you MOI match a set of irons the swingweight for those irons will progress at about 0.6 to 0.8 swingweight points per club. There are plenty of pros who use progressive swingweight in their sets of irons in the same manner, with the long irons at a lighter swingweight. And why do Sand Wedges and Lob Wedges almost always have a much higher swingweight than the rest of the irons?

The answer is that swingweight matching winds up having the clubs feeling different. For those Tour pros who use progressive swingweight, they feel that if they kept the swingweight the same, the long irons would feel too heavy and the short irons too light. MOI fitting and matching does a more accurate job and eliminates the guesswork of what the Tour pros already feel.




Why can’t you do MOI-fitting and matching with non-Wishon clubs?

You CAN do MOI-fitting and matching with non-Wishon clubs. It’s just that Wishon clubs are easier to do MOI fitting and matching because their clubheads are lighter in weight. Thus, all a person has to do is add weight to the clubhead and they’ll be able to find their optimal MOI and then easily match the MOI of the rest of the set of irons.

Here’s a few things to be pointed out:

- When MOI matching irons, we want a tolerance of +/- 5 kg/cm^2
- I personally can feel a difference in 15 kg/cm^2
- 1-gram of weight added to an iron head will alter the MOI by about 10 kg/cm^2

So, if a set of iron heads weigh only 3 grams more than a Wishon set of iron heads, that may affect the MOI by about 30 kg/cm^2.

Where I find Wishon clubs to be very beneficial in the MOI process is with taller golfers who add some extra length to their shafts. That’s because the extra length of the shafts increases the weight of the club and the MOI of the club. But, the reason why golfers use extra length with their irons is to help with their posture at address and so they don’t have to reach for the ball.

Where everything comes into conflict is when a golfer needs that extra length for their posture and not having to reach for the ball at impact, but they cannot handle that extra weight and MOI that comes with the extra shaft length.

If you’re a golfer who doesn’t require any extra shaft length, then you will likely be able to get fitted and matched for MOI with OEM clubs (not a guarantee). But for a taller golfer, even adding just a ½-inch to your golf shafts is going to be problematic unless you have a lighter clubhead. From there, the best solution would be to find a lighter shaft, but the golfer may not like that shaft in question.



If you favor speed control in putting, why not focus on that with the putter instead of alignment?

I believe our brain has a good ability to sense speed on a putt. Geoff Mangum discusses this in his video ‘The Reality of Putting.’ I think once a golfer has a solid grasp of how to use their brain to have the right speed, the putter becomes less important in terms of what it can provide for speed control. I think if you’re struggling with speed control, you probably do not understand how to use your brain to sense the speed for the putts.

It’s not that you will always have good speed control if you know how to use your brain to sense the speed for a putt. It does take some practice if you are going to a green that has a different speed than you are accustomed to. Also, things like spike marks, pebbles on the green can affect the speed of a putt and there’s not much you can do about that. Lastly, a poorly struck putt affects speed as well. I still think you can miss the sweetspot quite frequently and managed to have pretty good speed control. I think mis-hits affect the line more than anything.

With putting, I often try to tell myself to not over-think the mechanics of the stroke. However, if my aim is off, then one has to make compensations in order to get the putterface pointing at the intended target. I think that is more difficult to overcome unless you have the right putter for you.

Wouldn’t hybrids stay on the green just as good as long irons since hybrids have a higher trajectory?

I don’t believe that’s really the case. The term hybrid comes from the fact that is supposed to be a mix between a fairway wood and an iron (usually a long iron). Furthermore, the hybrids were really born from the increasing popularity of the Callaway 7-wood (called the ‘Heaven Wood’) back in the mid to late 90’s. Many good golfers, including Tour pros, started to use the 7-wood in a similar fashion to the way we use hybrids now. Eventually other companies saw the market for the 7-wood and that spawned the hybrid with a different design.

With that, the hybrid was supposed to ‘mix the best of both worlds’ of long irons and fairway woods. Meaning hybrids were supposed to have the 7-wood qualities of being easy to get up in the air and easier to hit out of the rough and the long iron qualities of a higher trajectory and being able to stay on the green.

The hybrids do get up in the air higher, particularly more than a fairway wood. However, their spin rate is still lower than a 3-iron. And if you’re a better golfer who shouldn’t have much of an issue getting a 3-iron or 4-iron up in the air, the irons will stick to the green better than the higher launched hybrid due to the difference in spin rate. The difference today is that the hybrids are not entirely worse at holding greens like the fairway woods were of yesteryear. But if you are looking to optimize your Danger Zone play, you’ll want to start looking at less hybrids and more irons, provided you can hit those irons reasonably well.







3JACK

Thinking Man's Guide to Finding Your WITB: Part VIII

In this part I will discuss some of the accessories in the bag.

GRIPS (IOMIC STICKY 2.3)



I feel that the importance of grips are different depending upon the amount the golfer practices and plays and the climate they practice and play in. If you’re playing in a cooler climate and you don’t practice or play more than 1-2 times a week, than any grip that you like should do the trick. I would only recommend that you clean the grips after use with dish soap and then dry them off with a towel. Grips will get slick because the oils and sweat in your hands will seep into the grip and if you leave them in a warm area, like the trunk of your car or in the garage during the summer, they’ll get super slick. Clean them with a scrub brush, dry them off with a towel and leave them in a room temperature area and they will last a lot longer.

For those who play and practice frequently in cooler climates and are looking for durability and help with the rain, I would probably prescribe cord grips. Generally, I find the Lamkin cord grips to be the most durable on the market. But, even the Golf Pride Decade Compound grips will last if you clean them frequently. The main question becomes if you like the feel of the grips.

Now, if you play in a hot climate, like Florida, the Gulf Coast region, South Texas, Arizona, etc, you will likely have to deal with a lot of perspiration. First, I recommend the following items to help with perspiration:

- Microfiber towel for drying your hands
- Regular cloth towel to soak in cold water to cool you off.
- A bunch of gloves (rotate them throughout the round or practice session)
- Gorilla Gold or ‘Dry Hands’ solution

I prefer the Gorilla Gold because I don’t have to wait for it to work like Dry Hands, which takes about 30 seconds. Also, Gorilla Gold lasts a little longer than Dry Hands and Dry Hands turns your hands into a white powdery substance.

As far as grips go, I believe that the Iomic Grips and the GripMaster USA leather grips are the best to deal with the sweat and humidity. I would rank the GripMaster USA leather grips #1. In fact, I’m experimenting with a Classic Wrap grip from GripMaster USA



The Iomic Grips have a good feel to them. And they do work like they claim in that the moisture, sweat and water will stay atop of the grip instead of seeping into the grip. One can simply take a microfiber towel and wipe the sweat or water right off the grip. However, if your hands are still sweaty, you can have difficulty gripping the club even though the grip is dry. Furthermore, the area where I rest my left thumb wears down on the Iomic Grips a decent amount.

I’ve tried one model of the GripMaster USA grips which have a stitchback design. My friends actually like the feel of the grip, although I could not quite get used to it. But, we all agreed that when the GripMaster grips get any moisture on them, they actually get tackier. That’s why I’m going to experiment with their Classic Wrap, to see if that feels any better.

As far as MOI and swingweight goes, I’ve found that grips have a greater effect on swingweight than MOI of the entire club. A 10 gram heavier grip may change the swingweight by 2 points. But the MOI may change about 20 kg/cm^2 or so. That’s still noticeable enough to throw people a little off. That’s why when you are fitting for MOI, you should do that next to last (last would be to put the final touches on the lie angles). You really need to make sure that you have the grip that you want because that can throw things off a little if you decide to play a different grip.

Lastly, I prefer to have grips that I can put on with an air compressor. The reason being is not only is it easy for me to do, but eventually there will be some grips that start to wear down quicker because I use those clubs more often. With the air compressor, I can simply take a grip off my 3-iron that I don’t use a lot and switch that with my more worn down 7-iron grip. It’s a nice little way to extend the life of your grips.


SHOES (ASICS GEL TOUR LYTE – Size 14)



I believe golf shoes are important in the functionality and power in the swing. As I’ve said before, the ground forces you can use in your golf swing are very powerful. Imagine hitting a golf ball while standing on a sheet of ice or hitting a golf ball while standing on grass. It doesn’t take a great imagination which one you will generate more power from.

Thus, I like to go with a shoe that has a lot of spikes on it, to help keep my feet on the ground.

Also, the Asics spikes have a traditional screw-in tightening system. Not only do I prefer that when it comes to removing and installing the spikes, but the traditional metal spikes have that design. If you don’t have that design for the spikes, you can’t install metal spikes. My course has a ‘soft spikes preferred’ designation, meaning that they would prefer golfers to play with soft spikes, but it is not mandatory. Most courses do not have that.

However, many golfers on the PGA Tour still play with metal spikes because they feel like they are entirely better than soft spikes. The problem for me is that most courses and most events do not allow for metal spikes. However, if I get into a situation where I can use metal spikes, I am the first one to install them.

Of course, more spikes and metal spikes can potentially make the shoes harsh on the feet when you are walking a course. And if you have knee problems, particularly with your forward knee, any spike shoe, be it metal or soft spike, may put stress on that knee that you cannot handle. If you’re worried about performance on the course, I would recommend traction over comfort and looks. But, if you have knee issues, I would consider an alternative. The Asics Gel Tour Lyte’s go for about $75-$85 online.



BALL (TITLEIST PRO V1X)



I think the lower the handicap, the more important the ball is for the golfer. The golf balls suited for the higher handicapper tend to run in the same style, designed to max out distance and to avoid curving too much.

Plus, higher handicappers tend to have vastly different swings in a round of golf as well. One swing they’ll chop down on a driver, the next, they’ll maybe have an upward attack angle with the driver.

When it comes to the ball, you can figure the ball for you if you use a Trackman or a FlightScope (latest model) launch monitor. Here are some key numbers that can help with your decision.

Clubhead Speed
Launch Angle
Max Height
Spin Rate
Spin Loft

With better golfers, I think it’s best to really understand what type of trajectory and spin rate they produce with their swing. Are they:

- High launch, high spin player
- High launch, low spin player
- Low launch, low spin player
- Low launch, high spin player

Spin loft is a calculation that Trackman came up with which is the difference between the golfer’s attack angle number and their dynamic loft (the loft the club has at impact).

I would recommend looking at this with the driver.

First, we need to dispel the myth that the steeper the attack angle will automatically mean that you will generate more spin. You will generate more spin if the spin loft increases.

For example, let’s say your stock numbers with a driver are:

Attack angle: 0°
Dynamic Loft: 10°
Spin Loft: 10°

Now, you hit down more on the ball:

Attack angle: -2°
Dynamic Loft: 8°
Spin Loft: 10°

Because those Spin Loft numbers are the same and you’re using the same club and the same clubhead speed, the spin rate will not increase or not by any significant number.

However, if you produce these numbers:

Attack angle: -2°
Dynamic Loft: 10°
Spin Loft: 12°

You have kept the dynamic loft the same, but are hitting down more. This creates a higher spin loft and the spin rate will be higher as well.

Generally, the idea is that you want the lowest number you can possibly get with Spin Loft. I think there is some flaws in that thinking in certain circumstances. For instance, I would rather produce these numbers with a driver:

Attack angle: 0°
Dynamic Loft: 12°
Spin Loft: 12°

Than these numbers:

Attack angle: -4°
Dynamic Loft: 6°
Spin Loft: 10°

I think of spin loft like hitting a ping-pong ball with a ping-pong paddle. If I want to get backspin on the ball, I will increase the loft of the paddle and hit down on the ball with a chopping down motion. That would increase the ‘spin loft’ and thus increase the backspin. If I’m trying to hit the ball with top spin, I’ll ‘de-loft’ the paddle and swing up on the ball.

For me, I’m more of a mid-launch, high spin player. Occasionally, when I’m not quite swinging right, I become more of a low-launch, high spin player. Generally, I’m looking for a lower spin ball so I can keep the spin rate down and get a little more roll with the driver along with keeping the ball down into the wind.

I’ve found that the Srixon Z-Star and the Titleist Pro V1x work the best for me. The Z-Star is a little harder, so I prefer the Pro V1x around the green. IIRC, Titleist says that there is about a 400 rpm difference between the Pro V1x and their Pro V1 balls with the driver at 100 mph of clubhead speed. I know I generate about 3,200 rpms with the driver with a Pro V1 ball. Thus, at 110-113 mph of clubhead speed, I’m guessing I’m at the 2,600-2,800 range with the Pro V1x. And from my statistical research on Tour, that’s usually the rpm’s range of the better drivers of the ball on Tour. Yes, you can have too little spin with the driver.







3JACK

Thinking Man's Guide to Finding Your WITB: Part VII

In this part, I’ll discuss the putter. Here’s a look at my putter and its specs

Edel Golf Columbia
3° Loft
72.5° Lie Angle
34” Long
Round Edel Putter Grip

Most golfers tend to do a very rudimentary experiment with a putter, be it on a practice green or an indoor practice area and if they like the looks of the putter and how it feels (and more importantly, if they make a few putts with it), they tend to buy the putter and bag it. The problem is that it becomes their only method of finding a putter and it usually winds up with them purchasing a new putter every year, every summer or even every month.

As I’ve written in other posts, when it comes to putting I have a few tenets.

1. I want to hit each putt with the optimal amount of speed.

2. I want to read the putt accurately as often as I possibly can.

3. I want to aim the putt at my intended target accurately

4. I want to roll the ball where I have aimed the putterface, hopefully at that intended target which is hopefully an accurate read of the putt.

That’s it. Nothing else.

I think the putter comes into play in #1, #3 and #4. For #2, I highly recommend taking a green reading clinic thru AimPoint Golf (www.aimpointgolf.com)


I want to hit each putt with the optimal amount of speed.

It’s important to note that there is a difference between ‘speed’ and ‘distance.’ Most golfers go by Dave Pelz’s belief that the ‘optimal speed’ is a putt that travels 17” past the cup. Well, that’s not a ‘speed’, that’s an ‘optimal distance.’

According to Geoff Mangum (www.puttingzone.com), the optimal speed is about 2-3 ball revolutions per second as the ball goes into the cup. What does that look like? Well, the ball should travel at a rate that if it were to go in, it would land and hit the back plastic of the cup. If it hits the back dirt, that’s a speed a little faster than optimal. If it lands on the middle of the cup, that is a speed a little slower than optimal. Remember, speed is a rate an object travels over time. Distance is a length.

Here’s a great video from Errol Helling showing putts that have the same speed, but because they are aimed at different spots, the distance past the cup changes.



Are there other factors like stroke mechanics and green reading that can factor into optimal speed? Sure. But in this post we are talking about the putter.

Generally, the 2 features of a putter that affect speed are loft and weight. Here’s the general rule of thumb on those:

Faster Greens = More weight and less loft

Slower Greens = Less weight and more loft.

I think people understand the differences in loft depending upon green speed. I know Edel offers a putter called the Vari-Loft putter that allows the golfer to alter the loft of the putter face depending upon the green.



However, it can only alter the putter face by 1° from the loft you are fitted for. So, if you are fitted for a 3° loft, then the Vari-Loft model can give the golfer a 2°, 3° or 4° lofted putter.

IMO, you really need to worry more about the loft as to how it fits to your stroke rather than the greens you play on.

Edel Golf first fits for loft by seeing how the golfer aims the putter at address. They not only want the golfer to aim the laser at the cup, but it has to be a certain distance above the cup. Too low and they are de-lofting the putter at address. Too much and they are adding loft to the putter at address. This will require the golfer to make a compensation in their stroke to hit a good putt.

The other test Edel Golf does is that they do some distance control and consistency tests with the loft. Too much loft for the golfer and the ball will skid, like this video shows.



From my experience with a putter with too much loft, I just could not get the speed consistency I sought after. Sometimes I would have too much speed or too slow of a speed, even if the stroke was virtually the same. I’ve talked to others who feel that too much loft makes the ball go too far offline on mis-hits.

With the weight, the idea is that if we can properly adjust the weight, we will make it so we can have optimal speed without having to alter our putting stroke too much. The faster the greens, the less acceleration and putter head speed we will need to get the ball to the cup. So, if we add weight, we can take a similar length putting stroke and still have good speed because the putter will travel at a slower rate. With faster greens, we need the putter to travel at a faster rate, so we lighten the putter to allow that to happen.

Edel also offers a Vari-Weight putter model. The Vari-Loft putter model comes with the Vari-Weight component as well. When all is said and done, the Vari-Loft model (with the Vari-Weight component) probably allows a golfer to do the least amount of adjustment in their putting stroke from green to green.

However, if you’re looking for something else, then you would probably need to find 2 putters that are the same model and have one with a higher loft and lighter weight (slow greens) and one with a lower loft and more weight (fast greens).

Lastly, Edel Golf fits you for the putter shaft. The idea is:

Wristy Strokes = stiffer shafts

Pendulum-ish Strokes = softer shafts

This is again tied in with the acceleration profile of the putting stroke. I don’t know of any other company that has ever fit for a putter shaft like Edel does. Personally, I have had a pretty good touch before I owned an Edel, but the common thing I hear from readers who own an Edel is how much their speed control has improved with these putters. I think the combination of getting accurately fitted for the loft, weight and shaft has helped them tremendously.

I want to aim the putt at my intended target accurately

This is the other big component of putters, aiming ability.

There was a study done by some European scientists (Nilsson & Karlsen) that found that the High-MOI putters and those putters with all of those wacky alignment lines actually make golfers aim WORSE. But the real coup for putter makers is that the golfer actually *thinks* they aim them better. So what I think happens is that the customer eventually junks the putter and seeks another putter with the wacky alignment design thinking that they aim those putters better and he just needs to find the right kind of putter to fit him.

I’m generally a proponent of simple putter designs because I think golfers aim them better. In fact, according to David Orr’s study on putting (www.orrgolf.com), 80% of golfers cannot aim straight from only 6-feet away. And 55% of the golfers aim left of the target (for righties).

I believe that it’s due to a few factors:

1. Most golfers eye dominance is the same as their arm dominance. So a right handed golfer is likely to be right eye dominant. Right handed golfers who are right eye dominant, tend to have a left aim bias.

2. Scotty Cameron model putters have a high amount of loft (5°), which tends to promote a left aim bias (for righties)

3. The putter heads today are shaped more to promote a left aim bias. Putters of yesteryear, like Wilson 8802 would promote more of a right aim bias. So a right handed golfer with a right eye dominance could use a Wilson 8802 and aim spot-on, time after time.

IMO, there are a lot more putter designs that will promote a right aim bias. The problem is that they often do not have the popular look to them and thus golfers continue to use putters that do not fit the way they aim.

Lastly, I usually get a lot of questions about the round putter grip. I can see to a point where the flat putter grip would be wanted so you don’t twist the face open or closed. But, I never liked having to wonder if the flat putter grip was perfectly aligned because if it wasn’t, it could throw me off before I even made my putter stroke.


I want to roll the ball where I have aimed the putterface, hopefully at that intended target which is hopefully an accurate read of the putt.

Again, there are other factors that come into play with this, but the putter is a factor, too. That’s why the lie angle is important. It helps the golfer hit the sweetspot more often. The idea behind the high MOI putters is that if you miss that sweetspot, the putter HEAD has such a high MOI that it will reduce the twisting on off-center hits. That’s why they also make putters ‘face balanced.’ My feeling is that you are really promoting a situation where you can hit a decent putt off a poor stroke instead of promoting a good stroke. The other problem is that many golfers have difficulty aiming face balanced putters. So it doesn’t do much good to be able to prevent twisting on off-center hits when you are aimed inaccurately to begin with.

I have not tried MOI-matching with the putter. I’ve been told it doesn’t work, but I’m willing to give it a try in the future.



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3JACK