Category: Equipment

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How often to replace your golf club grips

I just bought new golf club grips online.  I bought an entire set of Winn DSI grips.  I bought them online because they’re cheaper and because I could get exactly what I wanted.  I love getting new grips because they feel so great in your hands.  They give you confidence with every stroke and help you make a consistent stroke every time.

You should replace your grips every 12 to 24 months depending on how often you play.  However, make sure to inspect your grips regularly for any ware or tear.  On the other hand, even if you haven’t played much, if your grips are old they may become hard and slippery as well.  In any of these cases you also may want to change your grips.  Also, try to replace the grips on your entire set at the same time.  This will help your consistency with different clubs.

Plus, new grips make it almost feel like a new set of clubs, which is always fun!

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What is bounce?

We’re not talking about Tiger Woods and the commercial where he bounces the ball on his wedge and then hits it out of mid air.  Have you ever tried that?  It’s fricken hard.  Anyway, bounce on a golf club is usually associated with wedges like a 60 degree lob wedge or a sand wedge.  It refers to the angle on the sole of the club.

Bounce is important for several reasons that greatly impact your short game.  First of all, bounce is very important on sand shots.  This is what keeps the club moving through the sand instead of digging deeper.  This helps you move sand and the ball on top of it.  If you listen to bunker shots that the pros take, you can hear a ‘thud’ before the ball comes out.  That’s bounce at work.  It happens when you hit the sand with the sole of the club (bounce) instead of the leading edge of the club.  Next time you practice a bunker shot, hit the sand a few times without a ball.  Try to make that sound and you’ll notice how easily the club moves through the sand.  Remember don’t hit the sand with the leading edge of the club.

Bounce is also important when chipping.  Phil Mickelson is known to grind down all the bounce until it’s gone.  This is so he can get the maximum loft on the wedge.  It makes it tougher to hit because the club will dig into the ground if you don’t hit it perfect, just like in the sand.  On the other hand, if you have too much bounce, you may tend to hit it thin or skull it.  For example, I had a 60 degree lob wedge with 7 degrees of bounce.  I hit it great, but when I got a new wedge with 11 degrees of bounce I skulled every chip because I had to hit it differently.  I went back to a club with less bounce and my chipping so I could use the stroke I had learned over the past several years instead of trying to relearn a new chipping stroke.

So that’s bounce.  Hopefully, you can use it to your advantage when you buy your next wedge and your up-and-down’s will put some…bounce… in your step!

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You CAN buy a better golf game

I was having dinner with some friends in Honolulu last weekend, when they asked me about my game. I was there for a bachelor party and it was early in the evening so I still remember exactly what happened. I gave them an update on my game and told them that I shot 77 the previous weekend. They were all very impressed, but I assured them that that was out of the ordinary for me. Then a friend of mine since my last told me that he was still playing the same clubs from almost 10 years ago. He had an old Callaway big Bertha wood that is about the size of the five wood these days. I told him he needs to buy new clubs. It would improve his game.

Technology can change your game. The technology to the companies are putting into today’s clubs is head and shoulders above what they did 10 years ago. At least 10 years ago the irons were cavity back and had started becoming more forgiving. However, the driver technology has changed exponentially. Take for example the size of the driver. I was playing golf in Honolulu during graduate school with the same guys when the first 460 cc driver came out. I demo’d one for a round and they teased me and called it a “cartoon” driver. It didn’t look big when I went into my stance, but when I hit correctly the ball flew pretty far. Who’s laughing then?? 🙂

Even today’s low-end clubs have improved greatly. You can buy an entry level set golf clubs for $200 or $300 and they will be more forgiving than any clubs from 10 or 15 years ago. I have some friends who still play with blades that their father gave them! Those clubs are probably 30 years old! How can you expect to play great with those? It’s like another handicap. In any case, I don’t mind so much if we play for money. Ha ha. But if you’re going to play a lot and want to get better at the game, you may want to consider a new set of clubs. And while you’re at it, get them fitted. It’ll help, really. Plus it’s always fun to buy new clubs!

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Sky Caddie

Imagine my excitement when I ripped the beautiful wrapping of my Christmas gift and revealed a brand new Sky Caddie SG2! It was a fantastic day! I knew I’d be taking that to the course and all my friends would be so jealous! It was great! So I immediately opened it and plugged it in to the computer. With Sky Caddie, you pay for the unit and for a subscription to the various courses. You can sign up for courses in your state, the country, or the world. I signed up for all courses across the country. Of course, the unit didn’t have enough memory for all the courses, but I found the ones I wanted online and downloaded them to the unit.

On the course, it was great. There are some courses that aren’t mapped out completely and you just get distances to the center of the green. You may not get distances to bunkers or trees or water on those courses. But there are lots of courses that are completely mapped out and can give you all this information. It really helps with shot selection. By knowing the exact yardage, it gave me a lot of confidence with each shot. And very importantly, when I was hitting from the adjacent fairway or the rough, I was still able to get accurate distances to the green. It was a huge help and I couldn’t play without my Sky Caddie.

These days there are even more updated versions with more capabilities. More courses are mapped out with detail. As an amateur, sometimes I get really wrapped up in my swing, but in reality course management and the short game are possibly more important for scoring. The Sky Caddie really helps with these aspects of the game. And it’s so cool to show people!

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The Importance of Golf Shoes

I learned years ago the importance of golf shoes. When I first started playing golf, as with many players, it was important save money. Golf is an expensive game, but there many ways to save money. For example, I bought used equipment and walked the course whenever I could. Well some things never change. Golf is still an expensive game and I still try to save money whenever I can. However, there are a few things that I have spent a little more on and this includes shoes.

As taking lessons for a while from a golf pro who knew and respected. Shopping for shoes one day in the clubhouse where he taught and he came over and recommended a pair of Footjoy Gel Fusion shoes that he told me I could get a discount on. They were a lot more than I was expecting to spend. But then he said something that I always remember. I asked about some cheaper shoes and he said they’d be fine, but they wouldn’t help my game. In essence he was telling me that the technology in the shoes could help me play better golf. The particular pair of shoes had a new technology which would help me turn my feet better. He was my coach and I took his advice.


IN THE HOLE! Golf

The shoes were great. They were very comfortable and worked through my swing fantastically. However, I really didn’t realize how great they were until I tried my old shoes. My previous shoes were a $30 pair that had worked well for me. But when I tried them on to practice with, I realized how much they were actually hurting my swing. There were not comfortable and didn’t seem to support me as well. And I could feel the extra movement through my swing. Since that session, I threw away those shoes and haven’t been able to buy cheap shoes since. Now I am forced to shop at outlet malls and sales.

Here of the things I look for in shoes: comfort, a snug fit, waterproof upper, and style. After finding the correct size I need for each brand of shoe, I’ve been able to find some good deals on the Internet. I usually try them on in a store and buy them on the Internet. Although I spend a little more, I’ve been very happy and my feet have thanked me for it.