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Golf Equipment Chronicles 2005 (Part 4)

The Tournament Bag Flames Out

We had a great month at the Golf Lab, considering that big equipment changes are supposed to be over for the year. I worked hard putting together my tournament bag and then one bad experience changed everything. The saga continues . . .

In the meantime, a few 2005 products have distinguished themselves. The season’s winners are driver shafts, fairway metals, utility clubs and putters. Keep reading for an update on a few things you might have missed. Finally, Golf Today Magazine reached a milestone. Publisher Bob Koczor has made the entire magazine available on the web. If you’re looking for a late night fix of Golf Equipment Chronicles, all you have to do is go to www.golftodaymagazine.com.

“Mornings at the Muni” are still going strong. I’m there every Monday through Thursday a little after seven. That’s enough time for nine holes and breakfast. You can still get to work just a little late. If you’d like to join me, call the Golf Lab the day before so I know you’re coming.

Russian Roulette with Three Live Chambers

For the last couple of months, I’ve been high on “game improvement irons for low index players.” Alas, that honeymoon is over. It all came down to the Palo Alto Stroke Play Championship on July 9th and 10th. Black tees, medal play, no handicap. The winner is the Club Champion. I’ll maintain the suspense for a few more paragraphs.

I’ve been alternating between my MacGregor 565’s and my Nike Slingshots ever since Ireland in May. I thought it would be interesting to see how a four index player performed with “game improvement” clubs that are usually played by hacks. That’s me: sometimes a four and sometimes a hack. Part of the reason that I got sucked into the vortex of game improvement irons is that when you play in Ireland, it’s not really serious golf. For the most part, it’s all about survival and hitting a few good shots under semi-impossible conditions. When you’re on vacation, you’re not sending your scores in for handicap purposes. You play with a pocket full of balls and if you hit one into the gorse or just want to try one more shot to see if you can get it right, you drop and go. There are no consequences for wayward shots. The goal is to hit some great shots on memorable holes. My most memorable shots came with the MacGregor 565’s.

There’s no better feeling club than the MacGregor 565’s and the Slingshots are just about the same. (I did pop out the stock steel shafts and replace them with Aerotech Steel Fiber 80’s in both sets, SST PUREd, of course.) You can miss the sweet spot by a country mile and the ball still limps onto the green. When you hit a pure shot, the highly engineered clubheads absorb all of the shock and vibration and you just get a sweet click and a “swoosh.” I love the way the Mac’s feel when you hit a pure shot. Maybe some of that has to do with “moment of inertia” matching. Whatever. They’re sweet.

The “Nu-cu-lar Option” (sic George Bush)

The problem with the Mac’s is that you have no idea how far the ball might go. It’s great when you hit it a little off center and you end up hole high with a 15-foot putt. But, (and it’s a big “but”) when you hit it on the center of the clubface, it might start a nu-cu-lar reaction.

I have two examples. On the second hole in the PA Stroke Play I nutted a drive to the center of the fairway, just inside the 150 marker. It was a blue pin, I figured the distance to the hole at about 165. There was a following wind, worth about half a club. I thought that an 8 iron would be a conservative choice. Under normal circumstances, 150 is a long 8 iron for me. I hit it a little too hard. It flew the green by 25 yards. That 8 iron went at least 175 in the air.

On the second day, I was at the 150 marker on the fifth hole. It was a red pin but we were into a solid one plus club wind. I figured a smooth seven iron would be about right. When the shot came off the club, I knew it was hot. It flew the green. I was 90 paces long. Almost a hundred yards past the pin. Egad!!

I like to play the Professional Clubmakers’ Society 6.0 flex value, having convinced myself that 6.0 is a perfect match for my 90 MPH swingspeed with a five iron. I used 80 gram Steel Fiber shafts in the last several sets of irons that I built for myself. If you’ve been following the story, you know that playing lightweight graphite shafts in irons is also unusual for a low index player. I “standardized” on the Steel Fibers, thinking that I wanted to compare head performance and if I changed two variables at once, my comparisons would not be valid. But I’m beginning to think that the light weight is contributing to the volatility. I’ll jack up the flex a little in my next set to PCS 6.5 and use 95 gram Steel Fibers in the short irons. That will make the next set a little more “pro grade.” The results of that experiment will have to wait until next month.

Our recent experience is the lighter the shaft, the stiffer you need to play it. This goes for players at all levels. Recently, we’ve had good luck with seniors playing ultra light driver shafts in stiff flexes.

Constant Weight and Ascending Weight Shafts

There’s a problem when manufacturers try to make graphite shafts play like steel. Remember the specifications on True Temper Dynamic Gold shafts. Each shaft is manufactured at a discreet length, each one a bit heavier as they get shorter. The result is that the shafts in all of your irons weight the same. Most Tour Players have trained on True Temper Dynamic Gold constant weight shafts.

Graphite shafts are normally manufactured in “blanks” that are the same weight. You choose your flex and then trim the tip to make them stiffer as they get shorter throughout the set. The result is that your wedge shaft will be somewhat lighter than your three iron. The notion of “constant weight” goes out the window. This is the big reason why better players disregard graphite shafts. They abhor light weight shafts in their short irons. Mitch Voges, the 1991 US Amateur Champion and proprietor of Max Out Golf Labs in Sherman Oaks, CA, has been testing Aerotech Steel Fiber shafts assiduously and has come to the conclusion that he loves them, except in the short irons. He wants his short irons to be a little heavier and a little stiffer. Mainly, he wants to find his ball next to the hole.

Aerotech has been working on that problem. They produce their 95 gram shafts in discreet lengths and constant weight. It’s a much more difficult manufacturing process, but the results are worth it if you are a good player and want to play graphite. Aerotech is trying to set a standard in graphite shafts for irons. They’re retooling their factory to create an exceptional line of “Players’ Spec” shafts that are designed, tested and finished for low index players. As of today, very few low index players think that they can play graphite with success.

There’s a new idea from Aerotech. The company designed a new line of shafts to follow the “moment of inertia movement.” This is a set of discreet length shafts that is ASCENDING weight. That means that your iron shafts will be progressively HEAVIER as they get shorter. That’s a model that will result in increasing swingweights through the set. This is a creative and innovative idea and only Aerotech is working on perfecting ascending weight shafts. Fuji Bob has a prototype set and has been playing them for over a month. He’s got them in his Miuras, a sure sign that they’re OK. This is another product that’s somewhat ahead of the power curve, but something to watch. Stay tuned.

Aerotech is not alone with constant weight graphite. Several manufacturers offer this option. The most notable is Fujikura with their Vista Pro 90 iron shafts. Rapport also makes a constant weight graphite shaft in their Hyperwound model.

The Bottom Line on Game Improvement Irons

So you probably think that the Mac 565’s will be for sale on eBay next week. Not so. They’re still a great feeling set and a lot of fun to play. They only NUKE it once in a while. The upside is that they are at least half a club longer than any other set I’ve tried. (I even checked and double checked the loft angles to make sure they’re not just set strong.)

If I were had to pick a single set of clubs to go play a recreational round, I’d pick the Slingshots. They’re more reliable on distance control than the Mac’s. I’d be a little careful if I planned to play a tournament round.

My only beef about the Nike Slingshots is the sole shape in the short irons. They have a “players’ profile” if you look at them from the business end. But they have a very broad sole in the short irons. That’s a potential problem if you happen to be on a hard fairway and need to nip the ball out of a depression. It’s also feels like a problem if you’re in the rough and need to dig the ball out of thick grass. Nike is making noises about a “Slingshot 2” model for 2006. If they redesign the Slingshots, they will surely trim down the sole on the short irons.

I think that both the Macs and the Slingshots spin the ball a little less. One of the knocks against game improvement clubs is that better players think they can’t work the ball as well as they can with blades. I think that’s true. With game improvement irons, the ball comes off the face hot, the trajectory tends to be boring. That’s a sure sign that there’s less spin on the ball. That’s also the reason you have a harder time getting the shot shape you want. On the other hand, truly working the ball requires a highly skilled player. Most of us are happy to hit it straight, most of the time.

If you want a set of clubs that will make you feel like a player again, you’ll have a lot of fun with the Nike’s or the Mac’s. If you’re going to play in tournaments, be sure you know what’s over the green.

The New Crop of Putters

If you’ve been following the Chronicles for a year or so, you remember various courtships with belly putters. At one point, I bought an example of every model available on eBay and spent hours working with them. I had a few brilliant putting rounds, at least by my standards. But just as I was beginning to believe that bellys were the wave of the future, I would take one out to a golf course with fast undulating greens and suffer an agonizing collapse. The last time was the Amateurgolf.com tournament at Bayonet and Blackhorse where I three-putted four times in the first nine holes. Belly putters don’t automatically perform better than standard putters.

What I Learned About Belly Putters

The main attraction of belly putters for me is that they make me believe I’m a better putter. Here’s a test. Think about the moment of impact. I’ll bet that you know the instant you strike a putt whether it has a chance to go in the hole, or not. Over the years, I’ve conducted an informal survey asking the question, “What percentage of your putts do you know you miss (ever the optimist) at the moment of impact?” Most players report something around 50%. That’s about my statistic with a conventional putter. With a belly putter I’ve had days where I found myself watching every putt intently; thinking they ALL had a chance to go in. That’s the big difference; you hit a higher percentage of putts squarely. If you do that, you’ll be doubly rewarded because you’ll start missing some into the hole as well.

Belly putters are the most sensitive of all golf clubs to fitting for correct length. The correct length is model-specific. Your odds of getting one off the rack that fits you are just about zero. Standard, you find them in lengths from 42” to 44”. My latest belly was custom ordered at 43.25”. For that model, that’s the length. When you think about it, belly putters add another variable measurement into the equation. You’ve got to take your stance, set your hands and then gently but firmly secure the grip cap in your navel. God forbid that you go on a diet. All of your putters will have to be extended and regripped. You’re going to have to do some work with your bellyfitter to make sure your stance correctly locates your eyes over the ball. You will probably find that you will be putting from a slightly more crouched position than you’re used to with a conventional putter.

The choice between center shafted and heel shafted is very important. After my first round of testing, I settled on a standard Odyssey, center shafted. I’ve had some success with that setup, but it’s also been exasperating on strange courses in tournament play. I ultimately found that a center shafted belly putter is not the way to go. So, I ordered up a heel shafted belly putter from Goolie. Check out some of the work I’ve done to explain the Goolie line on www.golftodaymagazine.com. The short description is that Goolie is designed to be very stable. I tried the Goolie belly putter in a center shafted model and didn’t have much success. I put the heel shafted Goolie in play for the PA Stroke Play. Playing from the black tees, I was hitting the greens, but miles away from the hole. The Goolie performed better than any other belly putter I tried. It was especially good on long lags. Several hit the hole from forty feet. It didn’t save me, but the outcome could have been a lot worse.

Goolie has a complete line of conventional putters as well. If you’re still looking for the magic putter and like a mallet style, give the Goolie’s a workout.

Lessons learned. If you are thinking about a belly putter, try a heel-shafted model. I think that the belly putting stroke is basically a Pelz-inspired, straight back and straight through stroke. The heel shafted model is much more compatible with that stroke. Also, be prepared to work with your clubfitter to get the length right. If you buy one off the rack that fits you, you’re very lucky.

Diamana Daze

The biggest hype of 2005 was the Mitsubishi Diamana shaft. This is the successor to the Mitsubishi “Rayon” shaft that has appeared in OEM drivers in the last year. Mitsubishi publishes its list of users which includes names you know: Tiger, Vijay, Retief, Ernie and a bunch of their friends. Word from the Tour was that Mitsubishi was only providing complimentary shafts for top money winners. Imagine the insult to a plain old PGA Tour Pro with a card. You have to PAY for your shaft. That’s hard to imagine.

Price is an issue. The Diamana was positioned to compete with the Fujikura Speeder but Mitsubishi was trying to prove their claim that the Diamana was better. Therefore, it had to cost more. So the Diamana came out at north of $350 retail, trumping the “cheap” Speeder at $300. Mitsubishi cut an exclusive distribution deal with Golfworks. Mark Masters, the Golfworks manager for the clubmaker channel claims that sales have been much better than forecast. The only shaft on the market that is marketed at a higher price is the UST ACCRA SE Series at $425. Overall, this is exotic country for golf shafts.

And then there’s me. Even though I can get my Diamana for the wholesale price and I think that’s still very expensive. So I did nothing for two or three months despite the fact that Bob and the Golf Lab “regulars” were all raving about it. Finally, I have a chance to trade three MacGregor wedges for a Taylor Made R7 shafted with a Dianana. I take the bait. I SST PURE the shaft, mount it and take it to the course.

In a word: “Fabulous.” This was a combination that as of now is the best setup that I’ve played. You know that’s a hard pill to swallow because it pairs up two products that are anathema to a golf snob. The TM R7 and the Diamana. Believe it or not, that’s my current “Magic Driver.” At least it was until the PA Stroke Play.

That’s when things took a turn for the worse. I was paired with my friend Walter who was one of the first players at the Palo Alto Club to go to a 48” driver. He was hammering his drives thirty or forty yards past me on Saturday. I thought I was doing pretty well but I got tired of hitting first. So, thinking about how great the Diamana was doing in the R7, I slipped into the Golf Lab on Saturday afternoon and built out a 48” driver shafted up with a Diamana 53 gram shaft in X flex. I chose a 9* KZG Gemini head for the setup.

On Sunday morning, the club seemed to work on the range so I put the R7 back in the trunk. That was a big, big mistake. I never saw the golf course until the ninth hole. I was wild as a rodeo cowboy. On the day, I hit three fairways. On Monday, chagrined after posting an 82, I slunk back into the Golf Lab and there was no love from Fuji Bob. All he said is “I never would have fitted you in that high torque shaft.” Silly me, after playing the 63 gram Diamana in my R7, it never occurred to me that the shaft would be that different in a lighter weight at a longer length. But that’s how it turned out. I had a day of “high rights.” I couldn’t turn the Diamana over to save my life. The only upside is that I had a lot of opportunity to practice knock-downs and chipouts.

Lessons learned. We’ve been here before. If a shaft performs at a certain weight in a certain flex and certain length it means nothing if you change the specifications. It’s axiomatic that every setup is different. I confirmed that in spades.

And then there’s the “but.” It just so happens that if you want a 48” driver, you shouldn’t build it with a lightweight Diamana. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be thinking about 48” drivers. On the three or four holes where I did manage to hit it solid and keep it in the fairway, it was long. That’s the danger and the fascination. If you have the skill to play a 48” driver, it’s worth the trouble to try to find a setup that you can hit. I got stung in the PA Stroke Play, but I’m more convinced than ever that I’m going to try (again) to find a 48” driver that performs for me. It just must be that time of year.

2005 Winners

Here are a few additional recommendations for products that you might have overlooked. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list, rather highlighting some of the best products from 2005 that you may not have heard of. My apologies to companies that may have been overlooked. (There’s always next month.) I would also appreciate any advice that Chronicles readers might offer about golf clubs that have helped their game. I won’t repeat positive comments on products that I’ve already covered.

Nike T-60 Fairway Metals. I’ve touted the Nike Ignite 460 cc driver and the Slingshot irons. They’re good. But the big surprise in the Nike line is the fairway woods. Fuji Bob was the first to swap out the stock shaft with a Fujikura Z-Com and take it to the course. He came back shaking his head. His claims of extra distance were frankly a little too extreme. So I ignored them. But only for a little while.

I started picking up some “buzz” on the online forums, GEA and Freegolfinfo.com. Added to Bob’s enthusiasm, I though I’d better check out the T-60’s. I popped the stock shaft out of a four wood head and mounted a Fujikura Speeder 757 that came out of a TM R7. This is a great way to recycle driver shafts that are too stiff. They make great fairway metal shafts.

I’ve made a study of fairway metals over the last couple of years. It’s hard to beat Sonartec. It’s hard to beat the American Golf Technology Super Novas. I’ve played all of them with success. But, the best fairway metal by far for me is the Nike T-60 four wood. It has a deep face that sets up open. Despite the deep face, the ball gets up off of tight lies in the fairway. It has me looking at the green from the fairway on par 5’s. In the PA Stroke Play, I flew the bunker on the 14th from 225 yards. It’s been a long time since I’ve hit a fairway metal that long. I think that this club will have a major impact on my game. Highly recommended.

Fujikura Banzai Shaft. It’s no secret that the utility club category has been huge in 2005. Every shaft company has a shaft that they say is custom designed for utility woods. We’ve tried them all. The one that we play ourselves is the Fujikura Banzai. If you have a utility club that you’re having a hard time hitting, try a Banzai. Highly recommended.

Utility Clubs. The sweepstakes winner for 2005 is the Sonartec MD. Also very good is the Mizuno Fli Hi. Nike has focused on the category with their CPR - offering a more friendly profile for long iron challenged players. Any of them, shafted with the Fujikura Banzai, will be a winner.

UST Harmon Tour Design Driver Shaft. The Harmon line is becoming a franchise for UST. The familiar blue and red graphics and the responsive kick. If you’re looking for a driver shaft in .335 or .350 tips, the Harmon HTD shafts are a great choice. Not too expensive if you have an aversion to spending too much money on a golf shaft.

Nakashima 460. It’s out. This is one of the nicest looking heads you will find. It comes with a measured face angle and measured loft. Highly recommended.

Heavy Putters. The hottest product at the PGA Show. The problem is that they sold too many. Original production was in a little machine shop in New England. By the time they tallied up their order books, they needed a good sized factory in China. It took months to get the supply line in order. But, they’re here. So far, the jury is out. It’s very heavy. Most players are scared silly of fast downhill puts. The heavy putter promotes a very smooth stroke. One downside if you carry your own bag: It weighs two pounds. That’s almost like carrying two sets of clubs.

Leith Anderson is a partner in the Golf Lab in Palo Alto. He will answer all questions related to clubmaking and clubfitting personally. Contact Leith Anderson by email: Leith@calgolftech.com. Cell phone 650-743-2816.