Impact of Equipment on the player: Matthew Goggin

[Addington_Arnie]

I thought this was pretty interesting from an article in the Aussie press in December:

IT was the 6mm that cost Tasmanian golfer Mathew Goggin his place on the American PGA Tour, but also a great feeling of relief when that 6mm problem was found and solved.

The change from TaylorMade to Callaway equipment saw Goggin, 36, make just 13 of 28 cuts and only two top 25 finishes - his worst return on the PGA Tour since his first full tour card in 2006. It was not until the last two days of the PGA’s gruelling six-round qualifying school in Florida earlier this month that it was realised Goggin’s new irons were 0.6 of a centimetre longer than his old clubs. Once the problem was addressed he flew home, falling just two shots short of qualifying for next year’s tour.

“It is was almost a bit of an epiphany to realise what the problem was,” Goggin, back in Hobart for Christmas, said yesterday.

"It took a lot of the emphasis off myself. You felt like it was your own fault, you are trying to fix your swing or working out harder or practising more when it was related more to just something little in your set up in your irons.

"If I was struggling because of the way I was swinging the club and I couldn’t find a solution, then I would be a bit more down about it.

“But because I know I’m swinging the club really well and it is just as simple as my irons quarter of an inch [0.6cm] too long which makes the lie two degrees too upright and once we fixed that it was just unbelievable. It was exciting.”

Far from being downcast about his demotion, Goggin is remarkably upbeat about his 2011 season.

“Like anything, your career goes a long time in golf, it is not just over because of one bad year,” he said.

“I’m really looking forward to attacking it next year.”

He plans to gain entry back on the PGA Tour by playing in a qualifying round to a PGA event, or by winning three tournaments on the secondary Nationwide Tour.

Similar story published again today following his win on the Nationwide Tour http://msn.foxsports.com/golf/story/Mathew-Goggin-determined-to-get-his-PGA-Tour-card-back-030111

Cheers, Arnie

[Richie3Jack]

Uhh…

1 cm does not add 2* of lie angle.

So 0.6 cm does not add 2* of lie angle.

Not even close.

It takes about 1/2 and inch to make 1* of lie angle

Goggin was using some Taylor Made R7 TP irons before going to Callaway. R7 TP irons…5-iron measures in at 60.5* for lie angle. Have no idea what he’s using for Callaway, but their new Razr X-Forged irons…5-iron measures in at 61.0*.

Sounds like the placebo effect.

3JACK

[Addington_Arnie]

You might well be right Richie, though perhaps a combination of actual and placebo effect. Actually if you look at the second link I posted the change is stated as even more dramatic lol!:

“It turns out they were all too long, which made them about four degrees too upright and if you have clubs that are too upright, you’re going to miss it left,” he said.

[Richie3Jack]

Tom Wishon says that 1/2" = 1* of lie angle. I do trust him.

1 centimeter = 0.393701 inches

So…

0.6 cm = 0.23622 inches

Perhaps the article got the number of cms wrong.

For it to be 2* more upright, we would need 1 full inch extra shaft.

However, we need to remember that Callaways were likely about 0.5* more upright than his Taylor Made. Let’s say that’s correct, so he may have had somehwere around 1/2 inch longer shafts (along with the standard specs of the Callaways already being 0.5* more upright).

Perhaps they got centimeter and inches wrong and perhaps it was supposed to say 0.6 inches longer (along with his clubs already more upright).

3JACK

[Addington_Arnie]

Yep hard to believe that a player wouldn’t notice his shafts were that much longer having changed sets. I don’t really understand exactly the concept of the “effective lie angle” rather than “actual lie angle” anyway if I am honest.

[lecoeurdevie]

Lord, this one could be a bigger joke than the last one about the guy who lost his card because he had S4s instead of S3s… The same knuckleheads print this crap and the downfall of Federer a couple years ago leaving out the small detail that he had mono. I had it in '07 and I’m still not 100%, what Fed did when he was sick was about the most impressive thing I’ve seen. And these so-called journalists need to turn on the brain cells.

[Richie3Jack]

@Addington Arnie

Yep hard to believe that a player wouldn’t notice his shafts were that much longer having changed sets. I don’t really understand exactly the concept of the “effective lie angle” rather than “actual lie angle” anyway if I am honest.

I agree. I can tell if my irons are a 1/4 inch shorter or longer immediately.

Lie angle is just the lie angle of the club. So if they get a protractor that measures lie angle and it comes to 60* with a 5-iron. That’s your lie angle.

However, the longer the shaft, the more upright the club will play. The shorter the shaft, the flatter the club will play. That’s where the “effective lie angle” stuff comes in.

Let’s take Mickelson last year. Let’s say his 5-iron measured in at 61*. However, let’s say that his 5-iron is 39 inches long (according to reports, his shaft lenghts were +1 inch longer).

Now let’s take Goosen. Same exact club with the same lie angle of 61*. But the difference is his 5-iron is 38 inches in length.

38 inches is approximately standard length for a 5-iron these days (it’s either 37.75 or 38.0" these days).

So Goosen’s 5-iron would effectively play at 61* of lie angle (61* lie angle + 0 inches extra shaft = 61* effective lie angle). But Mickelson, his lie angle would be playing at 63* effective lie angle (61* lie angle + 1 inch of extra shaft which equals 2* upright = 63* effective lie angle).

3JACK

[Richie3Jack]

@lecoeurdevie

Lord, this one could be a bigger joke than the last one about the guy who lost his card because he had S4s instead of S3s… The same knuckleheads print this crap and the downfall of Federer a couple years ago leaving out the small detail that he had mono. I had it in '07 and I’m still not 100%, what Fed did when he was sick was about the most impressive thing I’ve seen. And these so-called journalists need to turn on the brain cells.

I sorta disagree.

The difference in 2010 between the player with the 10th lowest scoring average and the 127th lowest scoring average was 1.08 strokes.

2* could probably make a slight difference. You’re not going to compress the ball as well as you should and are more likely to hit a hook. 4* too much lie angle? I think that would absolutely make a difference. Major disadvantage against the rest of the field.

The problem I have is buying into the ‘I couldn’t tell my irons were 0.6" longer.’ I know many PGA Tour pros are aloof to this, but I think most are not. Give me a few 5-irons and I can tell what’s right and what’s short and what’s long.

3JACK

[lagpressure]

For it to be 2* more upright, we would need 1 full inch extra shaft.

That sounds about right…

[lecoeurdevie]

Come on now, there’s nothing but that bad math saying whether or not the clubs were too far upright and more importantly what golf pro can’t tell at first glance that his irons are too upright even if he can’t tell if they’re 1/4" too long… Plus if he switched from TM to Cally he probably went from a taper tip to a bore-thru parallel shaft which is a way bigger change than 1/4" here or there. I wonder how many tour players even know the difference these days. Too many computers spitting out useless data not enough common sense like logging your misses.