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How Equipment Changes Impact Your Game Statistics Dear friends, Apologies! It has been a while since we write. From the last update in Oct 2010, we participated in a couple of events and put a couple of initiatives on the drawing board. We are glad to be able to share the little that we can as a sponsor for Mercy Relief's Stakeholders' Charity Golf & Dinner 2010 for the less fortunate. We participated in GR's Annual Golf Game and ran the GolfSport section of BWM World 2010 @ MBS. We saw a lot of familiar faces :) Perhaps, a good start for WizGolf, is first to be honored as one of the World Top 100 Clubfitters. Check out the press release here. And second, Edel putter selected for the "Top Putter Craftsmanship Award” by Golf magazine’s Best of 2010! Now let’s get on with the subject… (contribution from a clubfitter in USA)
How Equipment Changes Impact Your Game Statistics
Driving Distance If your drives don’t seem to be as long as you would like, you may want to check out a new driver. The vast majority of today’s drivers are in the 45” range, creating a longer swing arc for added distance. The use of lighter weight shafts – some weighing less than 60 grams – will possibly increase swingspeed a mile or two. A larger head will allow you better accuracy on shots not struck quite on center. What about the loft of your present driver? If you tend to hit the ball high and it does carry as far as you think it should, the club may have too much loft. The opposite is true as well; if you seem to have trouble getting the ball into the air, especially on uphill holes, perhaps a higher lofted club will help. Take a look at your current driver and compare its length, shaft, head size and loft to the drivers your playing partners are using. Perhaps new technology has passed you by and its time to move your driving game into the 21st century.	Driving Accuracy As mentioned previously, the larger the head, the more forgiving it may be. A larger head will twist less when not hit on the sweet spot. Though it will not necessarily produce longer shots when hit on-center, a larger head will help you when you miss the center of the face – as even the best players in the game do occasionally. If you seem to be not hitting as many fairways as you would like, look to a higher lofted driver. Although it may not carry as far, a higher lofted club will tend to fly more accurately. A shot ten yards shorter in the fairway is easier to hit than one ten yards longer in the trees. Another possibility is adding any one of the new “hybrid” types of woods as your driving club. With lofts as low as 13 degrees, these “iron-woods” make wise choices for accurate drives, plus they can be used from the fairway or rough as well
Greens In Regulation If, in reality, you tend to hit fewer greens than you thought you hit, a look at your irons is in order. Carefully consider whether you hit most of your shots to the left or to the right. If you miss left more often, the lies of your clubs may be too upright. A higher percentage of misses to the right may indicate that the lies of your irons are too flat. Shots long or short could indicate loft problems, especially if your distance with your #8 iron (for example) travels is greatly different than the distance your playing companions’ #8 irons travel. In most cases, fortunately, loft and lie adjustments can be made to your current clubs so that they perform to the best potential for your swing. If you find that consistency seems to be a problem, the shafts in your clubs could either be too stiff or too whippy. In either case, a change in shafts could yield a big improvement in consistency as well as feel. For the utmost consistency, a change to either a weight-matched set of shafts or a frequency-matched set may help improve performance. Such shafts are available from a number of manufacturers including True Temper, Apache, Fenwick and Royal Precision. Perhaps your grips are the wrong size for you as well. While grip size is not a huge factor in ball direction (unless the grips are much too small or large), it is a factor in consistency. A grip that is incorrectly sized will cause a player to regrip the club at some point during the swing. This will very often lead to inconsistent shots that result in missed greens.	Putting For those of you having difficulty getting the ball into hole, there are any number of putters on the market that may offer assistance. If you have trouble lining up your putts, find a putter with at least one sightline to assist in better eye alignment. If you miss putts short or long consistently, look for a heavier or lighter model than you currently use. If you tend to get “wristy”, a larger grip will eliminate some of the excess hand movement and help maintain squareness of the putter to the target line. If you like to bend over or stand more erect than most, your putter can easily be extended or shortened to match your individual putting style. The best putter for you is the one that you can align easily and stroke smoothly and that positions your eyes directly over the ball. As putting may be the unique individual part of the game, trying a number of putters under the watchful eye of a qualified instructor can only serve to help cure any putting woes you might have. A note here though: If your approach shots are consistently more than 30 feet from the hole, the problem might not be your putter – it might be the clubs you are hitting in to the green. If this seems to be the case and you are often the first one in your group to putt, refer to the previous section related to greens in regulation for some suggestions on how to get the ball closer to the hole thus eliminating some of the pressure on your putting.
Sand Saves If you are having trouble from the bunkers, look first at the bounce on your sand wedge. If you play from soft sand normally, look to a wedge with bounce of at least 10 degrees. A larger sole will also help this wedge cut through softer sand. If, on the other hand, you are consistently playing from firm, tightly packed sand, look for a narrow soled wedge with less than ten degrees of bounce. If the bunkers you most commonly play from have steep lips, you may opt for a 60-degree, utility type of wedge for sand play. Just because the sand wedge is the only club with an “S” on the sole, it is not necessarily the only club you can use from the bunker. Oversized wedges may help add confidence to your sand play aa well. Don’t worry too much about groove type or if the sand wedge is cavity backed or blade style; neither actually mean much from a sand bunker since the sand comes between your club and the ball – or at least it is supposed to!	Scoring This one should take care of itself provided that you have paid attention to proper equipment choices as outlined in each of the above categories. For certain players, only one category may need work, while for others an overhaul of the entire game is in order. In any event, any improvement in even one statistical category should put you well on the way to lower scores; improvement in more than one will undoubtedly make your scoring average one of which to be proud.
Bottomline Maintaining a statistical record of your game should only help to lower your scores. Though a gain in precise knowledge of just how you play, equipment matches can be better made that will ensure lower scores. After each round, it is a good idea to jot down how many greens and fairways you hit, how many putts you had and so on (A systematic way is to use a free portal like WizCaddy). Referring to such information will allow you to concentrate on your weaknesses, something necessary if you are going to become a better player. So the next time you are talking to someone who claims to drive it 300 yards and hit just about all of the fairways, take the conversation with a grain of salt – they (and their equipment) probably aren’t as statistically up-to-date as are yours. As a result, you may be having the last laugh when it comes time to buy the drinks at the 19th hole!
Akang datang (coming soon) A) Abridged "Secrets of The Golfing Machine" seminar (1 day - 23rd Jan 2011) In collaboration with Justin Tang, we are proud to be able to run this abridged seminar for our friends. In this seminar, you will learn: 1) What is the golf swing and its function – no one has explained this to you before and it’s function is not to hit the ball to a certain spot. 2) Why real practice should never be done at the range. 3) The true power sources in the swing and how to harness it. 4) Why 10 hourly lessons never work and the real face of golf instruction in Singapore from an insider. 5) A candid discussion on golf equipment and why your equipment and current industry norms (think regular flex for slow swings) are hurting your game and much much more… The first run has been fully taken up. If you are interested to attend future runs, please drop us a mail.
A little about Justin Tang Justin Tang has been teaching golf for over 5 years. In 2005 he became certified in Arizona by Chuck Evans (Golf Stroke Engineering Doctorate, GSED) becoming the 1st authorized Medicus Instructor in Asia. He holds an Honours degree from the University of London where he topped his cohort in Applied Psychology, winning the prestigious John Mann Award. He also holds a diploma in Engineering. His involvement and association with Homer Kelley’s The Golfing Machine (TGM) began in 2000 after being frustrated with the lack of progress in his game and the amount of misinformation surrounding golf instruction. In 2007, he was also certified by Mal Tongue, former coach to US Open champion, Michael Campbell, under the Cymicon Instructor’s program in New Zealand. He has also spent time with world class PGA instructors the likes of Ben Doyle (GSED), Gregg McHatton (GSED), Lynn Blake (GSED), Dana Dahlquist, Dennis Alberts, Bob McDonald, Shane Scott, John Erickson and Norrie Wright (GSED). He continues to be held in high regard as an expert in the philosophies of TGM and his blog can be found at http://justintanggolf.blogspot.com. Justin has been conducting his "Secrets of The Golfing Machine" workshops since 2005 to select, often elite students both in Singapore as well as regionally and in the USA. The 5 day seminars combine the principles of TGM and the science of learning into a powerful yet simple to understand manner in a way that you can use immediately.	Its one thing knowing WHAT to do in the golf swing, another thing knowing HOW to do it and yet another DOING it all the time. After attending this seminar, you will be equipped with the tools to be your own best coach!
B) Putting with SAM & Brett (29th Jan 2011) Ever wonder what makes a good putt? Different effects of incorrect strokes and how spin are created? How weight can be used to control speed? What is SAM and who uses it? How to make practice more productive? How you can tweak your putters to get the best performance? Spend an evening with SAM and Brett to find out more! Where: NSRCC (Changi) practice green When: 29th Jan 2011 6:30pm to 8:30pm Fee: Complimentray By registration only: enquiry@wizgolf.com.sg or call 6570-1876 * Brett is an AAA PGA Professional, Jim McLean Certified Instructor and Golf BioDynamics Instructor
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