Last week I walked into the local Dick’s Sporting Goods store to pick up some replacement spikes for my shoes. They’ve got hundreds and hundreds of clubs on the racks, so I walk over and pick up a TaylorMade Burner 4 iron…the longest in the set. The dog gone thing weighs about half an ounce…seriously, it felt like I was swinging the grip end of the club, it was so light. I grew up playing '68 DynaPowers and hadn’t held a set of cavity backs in 25 years, so I had no idea…things are much worse than I thought.
Anyway, the salesman see’s me fondling this feather duster, and comes over to put the sales touch on me. Halfway into his first sentence, I interrupted him and said, “Hey do you guys do loft and lie adjustments here?” He replies “Sure, we can turn’em around in one day”. I go “ok, I have a set of '76 Staff Tour Blades I’d like to have bent a few degrees flat” He looks at me funny (as if to say what’s a Staff Tour Blade) and say’s “Are you sure? Lets get you on the lie board and take these measurements and do this and that and hit into one of those big TV screen video game things, and measure spin…blah blah blah”
Uhhhh no…
What the hell…I thought you guys were kidding when you said that would happen.
Last weekend I accidentally left my 8 iron in my office. I was faced with a par 3 - 165 yd downhill shot and saw the empty slot in my bag where my 8 usually resides. While turning to fire my caddie, I then realized that I didn’t have a caddie to blame. My buddy who plays Ping G5’s told me to use his 8. I pulled it out and was shocked at how light it was! Swinging the grip end is a perfect description, aldear. Not to mention it was as long as my 6 iron.
I choked up on my 7 iron and put it in the upper right quadrant.
Yeah…my brother-in law just got some G5’s…$1000.00 lighter in the wallet, he still cant break 100. And I am just appalled at how big the heads are, how wide the soles are, and how much offset they have. Additionally, you know how you hear stories about Hogan’s clubs bent open…well these look like they are bent closed, I can’t even hardly look at them. But then again he looks at my DynaPowers, and goes “my god the head is so small, how do you ever make contact”.
I know I was away from the game for 20 years, but good god, it’s like I fell asleep and woke up on another planet, that is completely devoid of balata, persimmon and musclebacks (but has an abundance of titanium, carbon fiber and butt ugly beltbuckles).
Been hitting heavy, blade gear for about a month now. It’s starting to make a positive difference in my golf swing. That light, oversized, perimeter-weighted gear is in my rearview mirror. I ain’t lookin’ back.
Producing “super light” clubs is the current trend. There is a driver shaft out there which weighs 39g and is actually played on tour!!! Callaway developed some kind of new composite they are going to use in their woods :
You guys really need to stay on top of things, otherwise i´m going to outdrive you by 20 yards everytime (nevermind me hacking it out of the bushes with my second shot AFTER looking for my ball for 5mins on every teeshot )
When Lag asked in his questionaire what my goal was when joining ABS i ticked accuracy over length - thats still my goal, but my length gained tremendously anyways and that made me realize how outragously long you can hit nowadays with an okaish swing already, so why on earth would anybody want more distance, if he had a proper swing. That kind of thinking is just beyond me - you are playing golf, not preparing for a long drive championship. And you can buy all the new equipment you want, you wont get more distance if your swing stays the same (unless the manufacturer cheats on you buy giving you lighter and or stronger lofted clubs). The only ones really profiting from this high end tweaking are the guys who need it the least - the ones with fundamentally sound swings.
@OP - i really hope your brother in law didnt buy G5´s for 1000$, otherwise he just got ripped off big time.
SANSABELT…yes, it’s funny you say that. I have thought seriously about suggesting to Lag, that when they hold those TRG Tournaments, that the players in addition to using gear made prior to 1980, be required to wear period correct clothing. Meaning, Sansabelt pants, big square structured trucker style baseball hats, and multiple shades of earth tones a la Trevino.
As for the price of the G5’s, it wa the irons, and a bunch, of other stuff…hybrid, Vokey wedges, Oddysey putter etc… I always tease him and say that I could have purchased 20 sets of Dynapowers and 10 persimmon’s, and still have some leftover for a Ray Cook putter or two.
My buddy who plays Ping G5’s told me to use his 8. I pulled it out and was shocked at how light it was! Swinging the grip end is a perfect description, aldear. Not to mention it was as long as my 6 iron.
- you are awake now in more ways than one. And regarding the ugly beltbuckles:
)