Faldo on Equipment

With all the tour vans, I think it is becoming uncommon for a player to work on their own equipment. I know anything that’s done to mine will occur in my garage. I can’t see trusting them to anyone else, and even though you would think the tour vans would be very scientific, after seeing inside them I doubt they are capable of much tighter tolerances than anyone doing it at home with decent equipment.

I wonder what the average time a tour player keeps the same driver for now?

I think they change drivers more than they change their underwear…heck, getting the driver for free, it’s cheaper.

Tour Vans are really great for many reasons. Even if their tolerances are a bit off, the player is going to test out multiple drivers and multiple shafts anyway until they get the combo they like the most. I don’t think Tour players keep the same driver long because:

  1. There is too much endorsement money tied into it.
  2. They constantly change drivers based on the weather conditions.

#2 ain’t a bad idea IMO. If I hit a 9.5* pretty well in normal conditions and then it was pouring rain the night before, I’d really like a higher launching club because the rain is going to make it easier to keep it in the fairway, but will cost me some distance if I launch it low.

I think amateurs would be better off really knowing how to fix their own equipment becasue they don’t have the options that the Tour player has. Plus, I think the better a golfer understands how the golf club is designed (at its very base level), then they can start to understand how to create a swing that will create the best results with the club.

3JACK

If I had to guess, the players on tour using a swinging technique are spending a lot more time in tour vans than those using a hitting technique.

Shaft flex is extremely critical for a swinger who is trying to time the kick of the shaft at impact. A hitter holding shaft flex is not going to feel as concerned about it.

Faldo’s 6 majors ran up until the 1996 Masters and his last tour win at the LA Open in 97. Interesting that he mentioned he used the same shafts for all his wins, and his game was never as competitive after all the lightweight big heads came on the market around 98.

Coincidence?

Bradley would probably have some insight on this.

There are a lot of stories about great players using the same gear for decades when possible. Lot’s of stories about how switching gear hurt their games such as Johnny Miller who played his best using a 20 year old set retrofitted Tommy Armour Silver Scots.

I think Greg Norman used the same persimmon driver for a very long time. Just a couple for his entire career in the persimmon age.

Certainly two schools of thought on the subject. Master adaptability or really get to know your favorite gear.

I remember Two posting this back in the iseek days:

Amazing!

From Johnny Miller:

Cheers, Arnie

There is something nice about putting on an old shoe…

I mean it fits… no matter how old it may look… and there is something to be said for that. :sunglasses: