The Golf Thread - 2016!

[SpeckledJim]

Blackpuddin said:

Not sure I'm good enough for MP5s, aren't they for low handicappers? They all seem to have stiff shafts which I thought were for fast swingers. I'm trying to slow my swing down a bit.

If your swing is 'too fast' then whippy shafts won't help you slow it down, they'll just help you kill hapless members of the gallery.

[Dan_1981]

Had a couple of charity / corporate rounds this week, which is always nice!

Staverton Park on Tuesday where our four ball managed to win overall. Nice new Golf bag as a prize!

One of our four also just missed out on the £10k hole in one challenge - was maybe a foot away from the hole.


Sandwell Park tomorrow - hoping the weather holds out again!

[HaplessBoyLard]

Blackpuddin said:

Not sure I'm good enough for MP5s, aren't they for low handicappers? They all seem to have stiff shafts which I thought were for fast swingers. I'm trying to slow my swing down a bit.

Weight of shaft is what's going to impact your swing speed.

When I was fitted for my clubs, they used a gadget to analyse swing speed and tempo to recommend the correct weight and stiffness of shaft.

I've read some good stuff on here about certain American golf stores and their fitting process. I've also seen my local AG store, where they don't seem to know their ahole from their ear hole when it comes to fitting, despite it being a service they offer. I'm not even 100% sure they have an actual PGA pro in the place.

IMO it pays to go to a fitter that uses all the modern tracking technology to get the best fit. The money no object option is to go to one of the manufacturer national fitting centres from the likes of Titleist. It'll cost a good amount (£100+), but you'll receive the best service and a set of clubs that you can be pretty sure are perfect for you.

Failing that, find all your local fitting centres and visit them for a chat. Ask tem about their fitting process and the technology they use. Most good fitters use trackman or GC2 (preferably with strike measuring technology called HMT) launch monitors these days. Any fitter worth their salt will happily talk you through the process.

[bodhi]

Blackpuddin said:

Not sure I'm good enough for MP5s, aren't they for low handicappers? They all seem to have stiff shafts which I thought were for fast swingers. I'm trying to slow my swing down a bit.

Clubs like the MP5's (or their even more gorgeous cousins, the MP4s) will tend to have Stiff shafts "off the shelf" as you say, they are aimed at the better player. However I am reliably informed that Mizuno's fitting process is excellent - they tend to have a selection of the available shafts and clubheads they can mix and match to find you the right set up - haven't tried it myself as I bought my current irons before custom fitting was really a thing, but heard lots of good things about the process - am told Titleist and Ping are equally good. Would probably favour Titleist myself, or see if you can get a set of Nike Vapor Pro Combos before they all disappear.

Agree American Golf can be very variable - I had excellent service from the one on the Hagley Road, Birmingham (although I need to take the 5 wood back as they've put too many layers of tape on the grip, so I'm struggling to close the face on the way through), but one more local to me at 3 Hammers looked at my Nike Blades and thought the best idea was to try to sell me a set of Pings (shudder), so mileage will definitely vary.

Heard many good things about the service at the Belfry too, can't see it being cheap however.

[Blackpuddin]

Thanks for the advice guys. Will ponder and update if I do something rash.

[Blackpuddin]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NIKE-VAPOR-PRO-COMBO-SPE...

[bodhi]

Blackpuddin said:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NIKE-VAPOR-PRO-COMBO-SPE...

Good price and lovely irons - only thing that would put me off are the Regular shafts. AG are still doing custom fit on Nikes - will probably be a bit more pricey than the ones you posted, but you can guarantee they'll be right for you.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NIKE-VR-PRO-COMBO-FORGED...

Slight older model, but a chap at the club I play at has a set, and they are lovely.

I'd still probably suggest a fitting however. Bit more cash but great for peace of mind.

[Blackpuddin]

Thanks, still slightly concerned I'm not good enough for stiff shafts, 17 is my first handicap and I'm already feeling a bit daunted by it!

[bodhi]

Blackpuddin said:

Thanks, still slightly concerned I'm not good enough for stiff shafts, 17 is my first handicap and I'm already feeling a bit daunted by it!

I wouldn't worry about that too much - if 17 is your first handicap, there's certainly an element of talent there, so I'd take confidence from that. Stiff/Regular isn't really a question of handicap however, more swing speed and how hard you hit it.

Do you know what shafts are in your Eye 2's?

[Blackpuddin]

SpeckledJim said:

Blackpuddin said:

Not sure I'm good enough for MP5s, aren't they for low handicappers? They all seem to have stiff shafts which I thought were for fast swingers. I'm trying to slow my swing down a bit.

If your swing is 'too fast' then whippy shafts won't help you slow it down, they'll just help you kill hapless members of the gallery.

[Blackpuddin]

bodhi said:

Blackpuddin said:

Thanks, still slightly concerned I'm not good enough for stiff shafts, 17 is my first handicap and I'm already feeling a bit daunted by it!

I wouldn't worry about that too much - if 17 is your first handicap, there's certainly an element of talent there, so I'd take confidence from that. Stiff/Regular isn't really a question of handicap however, more swing speed and how hard you hit it.

Do you know what shafts are in your Eye 2's?

Ping ZZ Lite.

[bodhi]

Blackpuddin said:

bodhi said:

Blackpuddin said:

Thanks, still slightly concerned I'm not good enough for stiff shafts, 17 is my first handicap and I'm already feeling a bit daunted by it!

I wouldn't worry about that too much - if 17 is your first handicap, there's certainly an element of talent there, so I'd take confidence from that. Stiff/Regular isn't really a question of handicap however, more swing speed and how hard you hit it.

Do you know what shafts are in your Eye 2's?

Ping ZZ Lite.

I think they are the same as what I had in my Ping Eye 2+'s, so I suspect stiff will be much better for you than regular.

[Blackpuddin]

Interesting thanks.

[Blackpuddin]

Blackpuddin said:

SpeckledJim said:

Blackpuddin said:

Not sure I'm good enough for MP5s, aren't they for low handicappers? They all seem to have stiff shafts which I thought were for fast swingers. I'm trying to slow my swing down a bit.

If your swing is 'too fast' then whippy shafts won't help you slow it down, they'll just help you kill hapless members of the gallery.

I may mean 'too hard' rather than 'too fast', trying to lash it. It's all in the mind I know but I feel that a heavier-feeling club will give me more faith in the club's ability to do the job it's meant to do with a gentle swing rather than me 'helping' it with extra force.

[SpeckledJim]

Blackpuddin said:

Blackpuddin said:

SpeckledJim said:

Blackpuddin said:

Not sure I'm good enough for MP5s, aren't they for low handicappers? They all seem to have stiff shafts which I thought were for fast swingers. I'm trying to slow my swing down a bit.

If your swing is 'too fast' then whippy shafts won't help you slow it down, they'll just help you kill hapless members of the gallery.

I may mean 'too hard' rather than 'too fast', trying to lash it. It's all in the mind I know but I feel that a heavier-feeling club will give me more faith in the club's ability to do the job it's meant to do with a gentle swing rather than me 'helping' it with extra force.

I see what you mean. Best do an see a pro - very important that your shafts are working for you, not against you.

A heavy-feeling clubhead does help promote a steady, smooth tempo, in my opinion.

[bodhi]

SpeckledJim said:

Blackpuddin said:

Blackpuddin said:

SpeckledJim said:

Blackpuddin said:

Not sure I'm good enough for MP5s, aren't they for low handicappers? They all seem to have stiff shafts which I thought were for fast swingers. I'm trying to slow my swing down a bit.

If your swing is 'too fast' then whippy shafts won't help you slow it down, they'll just help you kill hapless members of the gallery.

I may mean 'too hard' rather than 'too fast', trying to lash it. It's all in the mind I know but I feel that a heavier-feeling club will give me more faith in the club's ability to do the job it's meant to do with a gentle swing rather than me 'helping' it with extra force.

I see what you mean. Best do an see a pro - very important that your shafts are working for you, not against you.

A heavy-feeling clubhead does help promote a steady, smooth tempo, in my opinion.

Agreed, it's also important as you can really feel what the clubhead is doing, especially at the top of the swing. Especially important if, like me, you've had a chronic overswing since age 7.

[HaplessBoyLard]

Blackpuddin said:

I may mean 'too hard' rather than 'too fast', trying to lash it. It's all in the mind I know but I feel that a heavier-feeling club will give me more faith in the club's ability to do the job it's meant to do with a gentle swing rather than me 'helping' it with extra force.

'Too hard' and 'too fast' in this context are essentially the same thing. Speed = distance in golf, but trying to 'hit' the ball hard is usually counter productive and you end up swinging slower due to tension in the muscles, and making worse contact with the ball, resulting in loss of ball speed.

Honestly, a good fitting should sort out the kinks in your equipment setup, but given what you've said, I wouldn't discount having some lessons first. It doesn't matter what irons you've got, if you're trying too hard, you'll ultimately be sacrificing up distance and control.

[Blackpuddin]

I had a batch of lessons a couple of months ago which definitely helped. The guys at my club think 17 is a bit strong for me. In our regular Thursday group I'm off 22. Just got back in from today's outing having swung much slower and came back with 37 points, which was enough to win. Funny game golf, I had a nightmare on Saturday.
If I can keep my long and short game going at something like yesterday's level I'd be happy enough and then concentrate on trying to improve the putting. Missed half a dozen sub-4-footers yesterday.

Edited by Blackpuddin on Friday 30th September 08:54

[HaplessBoyLard]

PB for me today, by 3 shots. It was pissing with rain after the 10th too.

[JamesNotJim]

Playing in our clubs Ryder Club match tomorrow. Can't wait. I'm playing for the Yank side (well, someone has too). A good chunk of money is being bet too. (£20 a man, no joke with 30 guys playing!)