Do you think you over complicate things?

[Robobum]

Almost guaranteed that every day there will be a new post asking for advice on quite fine details regarding the game.

Using a different ball
Shaft too stiff/ light/ heavy etc.
Bounce on wedges
Grip thickness

to name but a few recent ones.

Do you think that addressing this sort of detail is a bit like putting nice curtains in your house when the foundations are subsiding??

I understand that it is very much a game of confidence so knowing you have the right gear is a big part for some people but I think that just by getting out there and learning to hit whatever you have through a little bit of trial and error as well as improving technique would prove better time/ energy use than worrying about the accuracy gained by fitting a different spike to your shoe!!

Once you have addressed all the minor details and are 100% happy that your kit is perfect for you, what happens when you then have a bad day out on the links?

That £200 upgraded stiff shaft seems like a scaffold pole because you aren't swinging great and feel a bit knacked after a night shift. Can you now adapt and hit low cuts in play for that round?

That extra bounce wedge you bought because of those boggy fairways you play on is hard work during your day at the seaside links. Can you adapt and adjust your ball position etc for a crisp clip off the concrete like fairways??

I'm not saying that we shouldn't get the set up that suits us best, just that we may be losing lots in shot making and imagination and basically making ourselves a "flat track bully", pretty much unbeatable if the conditions are spot on but an NR in waiting if they aren't.

Sorry for the long post (quiet day). Any thoughts??

 

[brendy]

Make way, Homer, Tiger and Alex coming through

 

[sweatysock41]

I think we all over analyse - I have now come to the conclusion that I should do the best I can with what I have.
It doesn't matter what club I have in my hand it is the technique that is the most important so the best money I feel that I have spent recently was £90 for a course of lessons.

 

[Alex1975]

For sure there is something in what you say but it is not possible for most of us to be on the course or range every moment of the day so when we are not our minds wonder to greener pastures. The forum provides a great outlet for that and allows the geeks among us to really find and share knowledge. I think it helps make the sport a hobby too; I have a history of doing my hobbies to the absolute maximum. I am not happy to just play along at whatever it is, I want all the info, all the kit and all time I can find to sink into it.

I think on the kit side you can only buy from data on your good shots and live with your choices on the bad shots, but ye stiff shafts do hurt on a cold morning when you catch a bad one!!


@Brendy hehe I was making this post as you made yours...

 

[PPE]

The way I see it people who race cars for a hobby dont just turn up and put the car on the track, conversely when they they are racing they are not just thinking of what they will be having for tea that night!

I think that grips, balls etc are all part and parcel of the hobby, agreed some people dont tinker, pick their clubs up on a Sunday morning and play, they dont wash their clubs, add to the bag or nothing. I get a little buzz from washing my clubs, buy a new box of balls etc thats just me.

I also analyse my swing to death and have a million swing thoughts which is not good

I also play snooker to quite a decent standard and have had over 70 centuries, but, I have the same cue as I had when I was 15 and pick it up and play, golf, I'm nowhere near as good but tinker all the time and enjoy the sport ten times more!

 

[chrisd]

Well Robo - I am now planning to slash my wrists!


Don't know whether to use a carving knife, scissors or a razor blade and not too sure what the best angle of attack is?

Can anyone advise??


Chris

 

[USER1999]

You've got a point, but I'm still thinking of spending money I haven't got on new irons I don't need.

 

[bobmac]

I spoke to a guy down the range recently who proudly told me he had never had a lesson in his life, he was purely self taught.
I watched him hit 3 balls which must have taken about 5 mins.
When I asked him what he was thinking about over the ball, he gave me a list as long as your arm.
He had all his clubs checked, measured, loft, lie, grip, bounce, swing weight, smash factor etc etc etc.
Could he hit a ball....nope.
he thinned all three balls with a wedge.
Was he happy?
Absolutely.
I asked him how long he will be staying for and he replied "as long as it takes to cure this thin"

I really wanted to help him but after a while, you just know when to leave a guy alone.
Was he over analysing? some say yes but he was happy and determined to fix it himself. Some people just love to tinker.
Live and let live

 

[Deleted member 1147]

My personal thoughts are that all of the above minor adjustments (grip size, shaft flex etc) do not make someone become an able golfer as they don't improve the swing/basic ability.

However, I do believe that if all of these things are in place they may aid the player to be comfy, which could lead to a relaxed player and thus improvements may follow, and at the very least should not harm the golfer.

Now I am significantly better than I had been a couple of years ago I suppose I'm more inclined to look for the extra assistance in my game. The Clive Woodward approach of "don't improve one thing 100%, improve 100 things by 1%" seems to have paid dividends.

 

[Robobum]

The way I see it people who race cars for a hobby dont just turn up and put the car on the track, conversely when they they are racing they are not just thinking of what they will be having for tea that night!

....

That's a good comparison, when those enthusiasts started racing it wouldn't have been in a car moulded to their specs. It would have been a go kart or a banger where they had to learn the skills of driving without having the benefit of downforce, traction control and all that jazz.

Don't get me wrong, I've had my irons fitted and have been on the launch monitor with everything bar my driver, so I'm as much a "flat track bully" as anyone.

If you feel like slitting your wrists Chris, please keep the screeming to a minimum and don't bleed on the carpet.

 

[Alex1975]

The way I see it people who race cars for a hobby dont just turn up and put the car on the track, conversely when they they are racing they are not just thinking of what they will be having for tea that night!

....

That's a good comparison, when those enthusiasts started racing it wouldn't have been in a car moulded to their specs. It would have been a go kart or a banger where they had to learn the skills of driving without having the benefit of downforce, traction control and all that jazz.

True true, but the banger or Kart would have been worked on to get the very best setup based on the dirvers input based on things he had learned on and off the track. If he then came into a little money he would for sure change any part on the Kart to improve its performance no matter by how little.

 

[PPE]

I was tole the following:-

* Custom Fitted clubs can help your game by up to 30%

* 80% of ametuer sport is in the head and 20% is down to ability

* 88% of all statistics are true

Do what you enjoy, simple.

 

[patricks148]

I do agree with you.

This forum is my only exposure to golfers who obsess about their equipment, set up etc.

in the 5 years I've been playing up here I've hardly ever discussed equipment with anyone I've played with. The two guys I play with at Tain never ever mention equipment and my mate from Inverness isn't that bothered about his gear at all. all these guys are single figures too.

 

[Losttheplot]

Do we overanalyse things...???

Probably yes. When things don't go right we always try different things to cure it. Whether it's standing too closed or swinging to hard we try to cure it with lots of different solutions.

Take my round today, I've been driving the ball like a prat recently so today I went out and just set up straight (hips, shoulders, feet) and just hit through the ball. Nothing specific, just the basics and hey presto, straight flight down the fairway.
It's took my 3 months to be able to work that out.

So do I overcomplicate things.... Definately!

I'll try not to now

 

[Robobum]

Related question - do you think you could stand facing all over the place like Bubba Watson (or a scaled down Happy Gilmore !!) and still hit a shot out there in play?

Not necessarily the prettiest of shots but just something manufactured that get's it out there and in bounds somewhere?

 

[daymond]

Just turn up when your senior's section gather for their competition. Look at their kit. You will see clubs that should be in a museum but they can still hit them,and well at that. Think of the money they have saved.

 

[Grumps]

Well Robo - I am now planning to slash my wrists!


Don't know whether to use a carving knife, scissors or a razor blade and not too sure what the best angle of attack is?

Can anyone advise??


Chris

Brilliant.
got my vote for post of the day

Only now the others on this train are thinking what's that numpty laughing at

 

[Owen_Thomas_14]

I dont

 

[MashieNiblick]

Getting into the gear and the technology is all part of the fun and interest of the game for me and I thought I was a bit geeky about my gear....until I came on here. OMG!

So far as its significance in terms of playing is concerned, my feeling is that, whilst the right gear is important, so long as it's right within certain parameters, given the inconsistencies in our games as club golfers, we shouldn't fret too much.

As you get more consistent and margins of error get smalller (i.e. low s/f and pros) those little variations will be more important but I doubt that many of us should be that worried about whether we should get 50, 54 and 58 or 52, 56 and 60 wedges, or whether a particular shaft will give us a slightly more penetrating ball flight or a particular ball spins slightly more, or whether vokeys are "better" than Mizunos, because with next week's swing it probably won't matter and there are almost certainly more important parts of our games that we should be worried about.

It is fun though to read about various forummers quests for their particular holy grails, be it the perfect set of irons, driver, wedge or whatever.

 

[0]

In a word - definately