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17 May 2016 Corina Pelloni

The Technology Contrarian

Today’s equipment, or the advances in technology over the last 10 years or so, have (apparently) helped today’s average golfer, but hindered the career of perhaps the greatest talent who has ever played the game in Tiger Woods. As you can probably tell, you know where I’m going with this. I’ll admit at times I’m a contrarian, but not without doing research. Let’s take, for example, Trackman and the data it provides us from the touring professionals. Contrary to popular belief, the “average” PGA Tour player does not hit up on the ball (positive angle of attack or “AoA”). The average AoA amongst the men is -1.3 degrees, whereas amongst the women professionals it’s +3 degrees. As well, there is an astronomical difference in average clubhead speed, where the women swing on average at 94 mph versus the men at 113 mph. In talking to many coaches who use TrackMan daily and are specialized in understanding the data and ideal numbers, there is a consensus that with the driver the AoA number should remain within the -2 to +2 range. We’ve heard Justin Thomas has a +5 AoA with his driver; however, this is simply not the truth. His average is +1.4 degrees. He perhaps can attain this number and perhaps bombs it when he does, but it is not ideal. This leads to the point of this article. The majority of golfers today who struggle with the game can in essence blame technology (again contrarian), but the question is, why? The club manufacturing industry has led the golfing public to believe longer and forgiving is better. Get your launch angle to 17 degrees, adjust the driver to lower the spin and increase launch, get the ball airborne easily with our secret outer-space alloy strategically placed in a progressive heel-to-toe pattern helping to adjust the COG even while you swing. Let’s call a spade a spade. Modern equipment has helped people tremendously in getting the ball in the air, but has it made them better ball strikers? Of course not. For those who grew up only knowing what a blade iron and wood head were, you get it. The goal of the golf swing is to hit with accuracy and to strike the ball purely in the middle of the face with an iron, making a relatively shallow divot commencing after the ball. Game improvement irons with wide, bouncy soles, low COGs and perimeter weighting have taken this sensation, and I would go as far as saying taking the opportunity away. “The opportunity to do what?” one may ask. It is the opportunity to know what it takes to strike a blade properly – the fine-tuning of one’s swing so it becomes possible. All the competitive players (some quite young) I coach work with a blade. They play with game-improvement irons except for a few; however, they all practice with a blade as a means to develop a better club-ball contact and effective AoA, which will hold them in good stead with every club in the bag. The average female player on the tour, in my opinion, would be well served to perform a similar exercise. With an average +3 AoA with the driver, the path must shift more toward an inside approach to the ball. Although this may help some with lower clubhead speed attain distance, it compromises their ability to hit pure shots again and again from the turf with short and mid-length clubs. The clubhead speed these women attain is quite similar to many male average golfers. I hope this offers some food for thought.

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11 May 2016 Corina Pelloni

The Turning Point

Chris Richards of Trinidad and Tobago was only 12 years old when he was first introduced to the world of golf, and he believes that event changed his life forever. His older cousin Marlon Nunes, who was a caddie at the Chaguaramas Golf Club, encouraged Chris to come and work at the course to make some extra money, and Marlon promised to show him the “ropes.” Chris didn’t know a thing about golf – he had never swung a club before – but the second that he did, he fell head over heels in love with the game. “I picked up the club, swung, and missed completely!” mused Chris, “But that just made me want to try again. So I kept trying and I haven’t stopped since.” At that time, Chris was a student at Diego Martin Junior Secondary School, living with his mother. Other boys his age were getting involved in all kinds of wayward activities like drugs, alcohol, stealing, and getting in trouble with the law. He took a long hard look around and knew what he wanted for himself. What he wanted most was to make his mother proud, so instead of getting into trouble, he got into golf. And… in a big way. By the age of 14, Chris became a member at Chaguaramas Golf Club, and later that year played in his first tournament. He stunned everyone by winning it, all within the six years of picking up a club. Chris had earned himself a +3 handicap. Ten years ago, Chris went to study at the U.S. Golf Teachers Federation and earned his Level 3 Certified Golf Teaching Professional license. Chris is more interested in the personal development aspect of the game, and coaching is something he finds rewarding. “I love that coaching aspect of golf, even after a lifetime of playing it. I see there is still so much for me to learn.” Golf starts with fundamentals, I’ve learnt that you don’t teach someone to play like how you play; you have to bring out the golfer in them. Presently, Chris is a Certified Master Golf Teaching Professional and is based in Trinidad and Tobago. Chris believes the turning point in his life was golf.

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11 May 2016 Corina Pelloni

Handicapping

Handicapping, as in horse racing, allows players of differing abilities to compete on an equitable basis with each other. Each player is assigned a handicap index that results from the scores recorded for that player, is revised over time, and moves up or down as the player submits scores and his game changes. The handicap index is calculated to one decimal place so your index may look like this: 13.4. You will also have a course handicap for your home course, which will usually be a different number of 1 or 2 digits, e.g., 15 if you propose to play competitively on another course. The important number that you must carry is your handicap index. There is no minimum handicap index, but the USGA recommends a maximum index of 36.4 for men and 40.4 for women. Clubs may stipulate a maximum course handicap for competitions. The mass of players have a positive number handicap, as above, but better players may have a negative number handicap, such as minus 2, which is stated as +2, so that in a handicap competition, such players must add their handicap to their gross score to arrive at their net score. If each course has a course rating and a slope rating, a player can play competitively on any of those courses, through the use of a conversion table which translates the player’s handicap index at his home course to a course handicap for the other course. If you propose to play on a different course, you must therefore know what your handicap index is, and you will usually be requested to have it certified by your club before you are allowed to play in a handicap competition at another course. Each course will also have the different tees rated, and there will be a different course rating and slope rating for each tee. This is important for converting handicaps of players against each other from different tees.

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13 Apr 2016 David Hill, USGTF Level IV Member

TIGER’S ADVANTAGE

By: Dave Hill WGCA contributing writer Tiger Woods averaged 342 yards off the tee at the 1996 Masters, his second year playing the event. We all know how the story went in 1997 with his dominating 12-stroke margin of victory. Pictured below were his tools of the trade. What is remarkably noticeable are the two steel-shafted small-headed woods. His driver was 43 5/8 inches in length, with which he once again dominated the field in driving distance with a 324-yard average for the tournament. On holes 13 and 15, both reachable par-5s for most (but not all), Tiger had no more than a 7-iron in his hands for his second shot throughout the tournament. The ’97 Masters prompted both Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus to state Tiger would go on to win more Masters than the two of them combined. Coming from them, we believed it. “Tiger-proofing” Augusta National was now the modus operandi. As Augusta National reworked the length of its layout to prevent his assault on the record books, it appeared to be working; however, true to form, Tiger always found a way to win as he did so in 2001 and in 2002. Although he never slowed down winning majors through 2006 with his last victory coming in 2008, his only victory at Augusta since his 2002 victory 14 years ago was in 2005. So what happened? This is certainly a far cry from the predictions from two of golf’s greats. Was it the lengthening of the course? I believe not. Was it his competition who stepped up? Not in my opinion. Was it the equipment changes that helped golfers gain yardage overnight once a better understanding of ball speed, launch and spin conditions came about? Yes, I believe to some degree, but not for obvious reasons. The changes in equipment may have helped other players catch up to Tiger in terms of his dominance over them due to his length advantage. He may not have always been the longest on tour, but he was definitely in the top five prior to the high-tech-driver equipment era. Not only was he long, but fairly accurate, as he always led the tour in overall driving. The new equipment didn’t particularly aid Tiger in developing extra length, and if anything, it was probably a detriment with longer and lighter shafts and overall club weight. Tiger always treated the game as an athletic endeavor for which he trained physically. The advances in driver/ball technology definitely hurt Tiger against the field as it adversely affected his athletic prowess advantage, and hence affected the psychological advantage he had over the field. He may have still been able to hit the par-5s with short- and mid-irons, but now more of the field could, as well, accompanied by shorter hitters giving the par-5s a go when in the past this was not an option. The other caveat to the longer-shafted driver was a loss of accuracy for Tiger. Yes, he was Houdini with his ability and creativity in escaping precarious situations, but these were situations he found himself in less often early on his career. With the field catching up, Tiger knew he could always outwork everyone and he did, particularly in the gym. We witnessed his body change. His sinewy build became thick like that of a linebacker. Is it possible the advances in equipment were a catalyst for Tiger believing he needed to work harder in the gym in order to regain his length advantage? With the build of a superhero, was it his way of creating a physical and psychological advantage over his competitors? He was not the first to embrace fitness in golf, but it’s one of the main legacies Tiger brought to the game. However, did he overdo it? Looking back, we can say he lost some of his natural speed due to his thickly-muscled frame. The stats don’t lie, however. Was it truly his fault or the fault of the advances in research and development within the equipment arena? The high-tech world of golf gear today has made the game easier for most; however, it may have compromised the opportunity for us to witness the best career in the history of the game.

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