Making Golf Make Sense

Does the average golfer benefit from new golf equipment technology

Scott — Sat, 25 Nov 2006 18:16:00 GMT

There has been a lot said and written in the media over the past couple of years about standardizing golf equipment or rolling back the golf ball to make yesterday's golf courses play like they did yesterday.

So we know that Tour Pros are hitting it farther, straighter, and scoring lower than ever before but what about you, the average golfer?

What have all of these equipment advances done for you? According to one prominent Canadian golfer, PGA Tour Pro Ian Leggat...not much. Here is a quote from Ian that I just read on Score Golf's website.

“You know, I don’t understand what the media is looking for,” Leggatt said referring to today’s improved equipment. “Are they looking for amateurs to hit it as far as Tour players? The media makes it sound like equipment is some kind of huge problem, like a few extra yards is killing the sport. Who are they kidding? This issue is all about touring pros not amateurs. No one is getting any better. The average handicap hasn’t changed in 25 years. Equipment these days is great but it’s not turning amateurs into PGA Tour players. There’s no question it’s helped us and I’ve got no problem with our Tour having its own set of standards if that’s where it goes. Heck there’s virtually two sets of rules in the game now.

“I remember an issue in tennis a few years ago. John McEnroe complained about metal racquets because of how hard they could hit the ball compared to wooden racquets. Some of the stuff I read today makes it sound like we should all go back to persimmon and balata.”

To read the entire article click here http://www.scoregolf.com/articles/xx-column-rick-young/Leggatt-Takes-Hard-Line-on-Golf-Industry-Issues.cfm

Leggat is correct, the average handicap has not changed; therefore,Tour Players are benefitting from better equipement but the average golfer who buys all of the equipment and ultimately pays for the Tour Pros big endorsement contracts has not benefitted even a stroke! Why is that? And more importantly what can be done about it?

Should the manufacturers focus on making golf equipment more user friendly to the average golfer or should they continue to focus on making equipment best suited to the Tour Pro?

What do you think?

Scott

Questions from average golfers

Scott — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 02:46:00 GMT

I quite often get questions from golfers about their swings, and while it is tough to give swing advice without seeing your swing "live in action" there are often some common basic changes that I can recommend to cure most common swing faults. So a golfer from Australia wrote me today:

"Through impact I am inside the line and hitting the ball with the toe of the clubface. I have n’t been playing for a while and have never had this problem before. Can you please suggest what I might be doing?."

My response was:

Hello

Without seeing your swing in person this is tough to answer; however, in most cases hitting shots off the toe is due to one of two things:

1) Losing your posture or spine angle through impact. Basically you need to be the same height at impact as you are at address, if you are taller at impact your club will be coming too much from the inside and you will hit the ball with the toe of the club face.

2) Collapsing your arms through impact, as you swing the club through the ball both of your arms must be fully extended if your arms are bent or collapsed at impact the club will be too close to you and you will hit the ball with the toe of the club face.

If you think you are losing your posture I would recommend that you focus on your address position. Ensure that before you move the club away that your spine is straight and that your weight is balanced on the arches of your feet. If your weight is too much on your heels you are almost certain to “stand up” through the shot.

If you think that you are collapsing your arms through impact I would check to make sure that your grip is not too much in your palms and that your grip pressure is not too tight.

I hope that this helps and good luck with your swing and please let me know if I can help in anyway.

Sincerely

Scott Nichol Canadian PGA
Founder & President Golf IQ

So if you have some questions about your game send me an email, my address is scott@golfiq.com and I hope I can help!

Swing Thoughts, what is your favorite?

Scott — Sun, 12 Nov 2006 01:33:00 GMT

Swing thoughts can turn a bad round into a good one. Swing thoughts build consistency. Swing thoughts can change your swing. So do you use a swing thought?

A simple swing thought allows the golfer to focus their mind on the task at hand and frees them from distraction.

Basically a good swing thought stops the golfer from thinking about putting the ball in trouble and allows them to focus on what they are doing. In sports psychology terms: swing thoughts encourage process thinking while thinking about the result is known as outcome thinking. Sports psychologists recommend process thinking as the best way to deal with pressure packed situations.

My personal favorite swing thought is "follow through" which gets me to swing through the shot and to swing in balance. This keeps me from swinging too hard...which causes mishits.

Anyhow, swing thoughts are great for putting a golfer in a positive frame of mind and will allow you to better deal with pressure. So I am doing some research on swing thoughts and am soliciting your help. What is your favorite swing thought and why does it work for you?

Email them to me at scott@golfiq.com , once I get a few responses I will let you know what I am up to.

Scott

The Canadian Open

Scott — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 05:08:00 GMT

So a lot has been written in the Canadian press about the lack of star power playing in the Canadian Open which starts tomorrow in Hamilton. The press blames anything from the lack of a title sponsor, to questionable dates and poor courses for the lack of star power.

The RCGA is blaming anything from the tax situation for the players, to the lack of a title sponsor, to the time on the schedule.

Personally I think that everyone is missing the boat. The Open has lots of money, one of the larger purses on Tour, so it really is not a sponsorship issue. I understand that next year they will need a new sponsor...but in the past the RCGA has focused so much on the sponsor.

They have lost focus on what the great players care about, great courses and history. The greats want to win on the greatest courses and put their names next to the names on the same trophies as history's greats have done.

Canada has great courses (if only the RCGA would use some of them), so that is not the problem.

It is the presentation of the Open's History. The 102nd Canadian Open is teeing off this week, and the Canadian Open has been won by most of golf's greatest players but that history is not celebrated, it is brushed off as an afterthought.

If it were up to me, I would change the whole presentation of the Canadian Open. I would make it a small select field and rotate it among three great golf courses one in the GTA one in the West and one in Quebec. I would also invite the past champions to celebrate the history of the event. Hmmm past champions, consistent courses, small select fields, and a celebration of the history, sounds like Augusta meets the US Open. Which player would not want to play in that...and which mega corporation would not want to put down a few dollars to advertise during that event?

Do either of these events need a title sponsor? Do they worry about their dates on the schedule? Of course not, all that they do is present their events in the best possible light.

Maybe the RCGA should just call me up for some marketing advice.

Scott

4 Bogies in a Row...is it the end or the beginning?

Scott — Sun, 27 Aug 2006 04:31:00 GMT

After my Saturday morning round, I started the watching Tiger Woods demonlish the PGA Tour, it looks like 2000 all over again.

The man could simply do no wrong, Tiger can hit it behind a boulder and have a throng of admirers move it, hit it in the gallery and have a fan barehand it doing his best impersonation of Omar Visquel...and then hit it off the clubhouse roof, into the chef's power cart and somehow the ball is in bounds! It just seems that when on the golf course, good fortune is one of Tiger's greatest allies.

So this afternoon I tune in and he and Davis Love are on the third tee, Davis looks shaken and as usual Tiger can do no wrong. He short sides himself in heavy greenside rough, a tough par for the rest of the Tour, but what does Tiger do, he chips in for birdie...of course he does. What should I have expected? A bogey??

And then it happens, Eldrick gets on the train...the bogey train and takes his longest ride in over 10 years. 4 holes! As I watched him miss both the second and third par putts, I found it strangely comforting...he is human after all. His given name is Eldrick and like the rest of the world he misses 8 footers for par.

Now it is time for him to try his hand at 5 footer and I am starting to feel uncomfortable, the world could be ending as Tiger is on the train and it appears that he could have a one way ticket to the middle of the pack. He misses, and I have to turn off the television for a few minutes, I check my pulse, breathe deeply, check the foundation of my house. Everything appears to be normal...is this what the end of the world feels like?

After a couple of hours of missing 5 footers in my basement, I turn the TV back on and it is the 16th hole. Davis Love still looks nervous BUT Tiger has not made up any ground. Tiger then makes an 8 footer for par and Davis misses a 4 footer. The world has definitely righted itself, so I decide to keep watching. As they hit their approaches into 17 Tiger short sides himself in the heavy greenside rough...could it be the 5th bogey of the day??

Of course not, Tiger chips in for birdie and is only one shot off the lead, while Davis wilts like a flower. I guess it is 2000 all over again and we are about to watch Tiger rattle off his 4th straight PGA Tour victory.

We all know that Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 professional major championship victories is in jeopardy, but what about the truely untouchable record in golf?

Byron Nelson's 1945 streak of ELEVEN straight victories does Tiger have it in him to erase that record?

It sure doesn't look like Davis, Ernie or Phil will stop him and with Tiger's combination of perserverance, technical mastery, mental toughness and good fortune....what is stopping him?

Stewart Cink & Scott Verplank??

Scott — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 18:50:00 GMT

Am I the only one that is flabbergasted by Tom Lehman's captain's picks for the US team on this year's Ryder Cup?

I have the utmost respect for Mr Lehman and his knowledge and ability but I think that he got a little bit too close to the situation to make the right choice. If I were looking for a pick on a team that had 4 rookies I would choose players that had "been there and done that" in either match play or major championships or both. At the very least I would pick a player that was riding a hot streak.

Unfortunately for the US team neither Cink or Verplank fit any of these criteria. For what it is worth, (not much I know) if I were picking I would have chosen a player who's resume includes a British Open title, a US Amateur Championship, a winning Ryder Cup putt, and a 3-1-1 record in the last President's Cup. That is Justin Leonard, now Justin is not having a great year but he is a great putter and has a resume that is deeper than Cink and Verplank combined.

My second choice would go to the hottest player in the mix. That would be either Dean Wilson (who won the International) or Corey Pavin who won two weeks ago. Heck I would have even gone with 2003 PGA Champion Shaun Micheel ahead of Cink and Verplank. He had a great week at the PGA and has a major championship on his resume that has to be worth something doesn't it?

Now the US team will have to suffer through another loss unless Mr Lehman can somehow convince the Europeans to allow Tiger to play two balls in the Foursome matches.

SWN