The Tinkerman..

[Klimski]

I too have tinkered a bit: 4 hybrid, to chunky 4 iron, to chunky 5 iron, to 5 utility iron...and now a 4 hybrid again at 24 degrees. We'll see. Oh, and a new driver...tinkered with the settings too. Now for a round of regripping and I am ready to go!

 

[Patster1969]

As for putting, go all in with it using a single grip. It will keep is simple and stop you having slight different mechanics and thoughts depending on what length your Putting. It’s easy to say for example you’ll only use it on 15ft putts or less, what about 16ft etc it’s to whimsical to judge like that.

I’ve always been a pretty good putter but would have the odd pull left. I switched to the Pencil grip on all length putts and I have seen no issue with judging pace on longer putts at all, if anything I get a truer roll on all lengths and find now missed putts are not due to technical issues at all just misreads. As for lag putting with it, it’s just a case of practice and getting used it and minimising changes during the round, I’d say my lag putting is even better now due to the ball rolling better.

I had a tendency for poor pace control & pulling putts left, especially the longer ones but had a putter fitting/lesson a couple of years ago. What this showed was that my back swing was too slow & long and then on the downstroke, my brain took over & accelerated my hands faster to make up for having no momentum from the backswing (saw the data and the videos & you could see it happening).
Also, I was trying to keep the putter head as still as possible instead of having a little arch, which the coach advised was really difficult to do unless you are spending hours on the putting green.
Since then & having made a conscious effort to shorten & speed up the back swing, both the pace control & pull have improved greatly.

 

[Patster1969]

I haven't carried a 3 wood in years, just had too many issues with getting in up in the air. Went driver straight to 5w....not enough distance difference to care about and a LOT more consistent strikes. Going 16 to 15 shouldn't make enough difference to really care about....and at this time of the year the ball is just sticking in the mud and stopping anyway.....more air time is better.

I was the same, couldn't hit the 3 wood off the deck, as didn't have the swing speed for it - the fitter suggested doing exactly what you did and love my 5 wood

 

[Orikoru]

Winter is the perfect time for tinkering and kit changes. Wish I’d had that luxury this year but mine is all going to be in April as the season kicks in due to work.

Can’t see you gaining any distance with the 7 wood, but you may well gain better dispersion even on off centre hits due to the more modern construction.

As for putting, go all in with it using a single grip. It will keep is simple and stop you having slight different mechanics and thoughts depending on what length your Putting. It’s easy to say for example you’ll only use it on 15ft putts or less, what about 16ft etc it’s to whimsical to judge like that.

I’ve always been a pretty good putter but would have the odd pull left. I switched to the Pencil grip on all length putts and I have seen no issue with judging pace on longer putts at all, if anything I get a truer roll on all lengths and find now missed putts are not due to technical issues at all just misreads. As for lag putting with it, it’s just a case of practice and getting used it and minimising changes during the round, I’d say my lag putting is even better now due to the ball rolling better.

As for bunker practice it’s easy to say the strategy is to just avoid them but that doesn’t improve your play when you’re in them and that could cost you 1-2 shots if not more. Can you not speak to the club about the dire practice bunker and see if they have plans to improve it.

Yeah, I'm maybe unlikely to see more potential distance, but if the forgiveness is better than the average distance will be better - i.e. more consistent distance. I'm not imagining it's going to be 5-10 yards longer than the old one.

I see what you're saying with the putting. I think tomorrow will be a bit of a 'soft launch' and if I like it and gain the confidence I'll soon be using the grip from everywhere. We'll just see how it goes. Generally I don't think my putting is awful, but whenever it's a crucial putt that matters I feel like I tense up and make a hash of it. I'm hoping the pencil grip will stop that tension and give me a more 'flowing' feel for those putts. We'll see.

I don't think the money is there to improve the practice area. It's very bog standard, and I think there are other plans in place like lengthening one of our par 3s into a par 4 at some stage. And my membership is already increasing at an alarming rate as it is.

 

[clubchamp98]

I'd definitely like to reduce the loft on my driver, it's set to 12° and I'm interested to see if turning it down a bit would give me more distance. Worth a driving range test I think.

This is a thing I have had for years.
With a 10* driver my launch angle is 8* because I have a minus AOA.
At 12* I launch it better but still low for modern drivers.
I blame the old Persimmon driver I learnt on and belive me I have tried to change my AOA but have not been able to.

I get more distance in the air with 12* but very little roll.
But I am very straight so swings and roundabouts.

 

[garyinderry]

This is a thing I have had for years.
With a 10* driver my launch angle is 8* because I have a minus AOA.
At 12* I launch it better but still low for modern drivers.
I blame the old Persimmon driver I learnt on and belive me I have tried to change my AOA but have not been able to.

I get more distance in the air with 12* but very little roll.
But I am very straight so swings and roundabouts.

I just absolutely balloon any driver 10 degrees and over. Goes nowhere and spins like crazy.

 

[clubchamp98]

I just absolutely balloon any driver 10 degrees and over. Goes nowhere and spins like crazy.

Do you hit down on it .?
That can cause excessive spin.

When playing well I can get to zero AOA but that’s rare these days.

 

[garyinderry]

Do you hit down on it .?
That can cause excessive spin.

When playing well I can get to zero AOA but that’s rare these days.

No I tee it really high but tend to catch it low on the face.

 

[Lucifer MorningStar]

Yeah, I'm maybe unlikely to see more potential distance, but if the forgiveness is better than the average distance will be better - i.e. more consistent distance. I'm not imagining it's going to be 5-10 yards longer than the old one.

I see what you're saying with the putting. I think tomorrow will be a bit of a 'soft launch' and if I like it and gain the confidence I'll soon be using the grip from everywhere. We'll just see how it goes. Generally I don't think my putting is awful, but whenever it's a crucial putt that matters I feel like I tense up and make a hash of it. I'm hoping the pencil grip will stop that tension and give me a more 'flowing' feel for those putts. We'll see.

I don't think the money is there to improve the practice area. It's very bog standard, and I think there are other plans in place like lengthening one of our par 3s into a par 4 at some stage. And my membership is already increasing at an alarming rate as it is.

Give the putting grip a few rounds as it will take time to get used to. It may or may not work for you but like I said I would class myself as a decent putter but the change has made me do a more consistently rather than being streaky.

 

[timd77]

only thing ive really played about this winter is putter.

just as a throwaway experiment i got myself a Temu LAB DF3 - and its been brilliant. A few weeks ago a got a KBS Carbon GPS putter shaft from Temu and replaced the stock steel shaft in it (keeping the press grip). Its been a monster and now looks the part too.

Interesting about the temu lab. I only became aware of these in the last couple of weeks and watched a couple of reviews on YouTube, they seem positive.

Do you know if the fakes offer the same zero torqueness that the genuine ones do?

Played with a random chap last week and he was using temu vokeys. I play vokeys and couldn’t tell the difference in looks, not sure if they’re as good as the real deal. He laid something like £30 per club!

 

[Orikoru]

Give the putting grip a few rounds as it will take time to get used to. It may or may not work for you but like I said I would class myself as a decent putter but the change has made me do a more consistently rather than being streaky.

That's good to know, as streaky is what I am currently. My mate reckons I'm a great putter because he remembers the times when I holed everything against him. But there were plenty of days where nothing went in all day.

 

[D-S]

That's good to know, as streaky is what I am currently. My mate reckons I'm a great putter because he remembers the times when I holed everything against him. But there were plenty of days where nothing went in all day.

Tommy had a day today in Dubai when nothing went in, doesn't make him a streaky putter - it just happens some days.

 

[Skytot]

I'm going through an entire process of analysing my bag and balls in order to optimise my old man swing.

Off down my local range in a minute to have a swing with the new 9-wood.

Sunday will be proper golf

Monday will see me back in an indoor Trackman range properly analysing the 9-wood to see how it exactly fits in yardage wise. If it doesnt, then it will be sent back to Callaway Pre-owned.

In the coming three or four weeks I will also be taking a selection of different balls into the trackman range to see how they perform differently....for a bit of fun i might "borrow" a range ball from the range this afternoon and throw that into the mix as well.

I also plan to grab a couple of irons from my previous set (Ai Paradym Smoke) which still lurk in the cellar, just to compare them to the current Ai 200's

Once the bag is all sorted then all I need is to purchase some new wedges and i'll be set for 1st March when we start playing competitions in earnest.

I’ve got a 9 wood and love it , just got some new irons and my longest club is now 6 iron . I will be interested in hearing about your ball experiment. I used to use basically anything, then reading about balls that suit slow swing speeds which I think or thought I had I started buying Wilson Duo. I then found them a bit soft and last season moved to Wilson Triad which I really like , but on the tinkering theme I fancy trying Wilson Staff X . I read great reviews on them .. I would really like a proper ball fitting but my club pro only does a ball fitting on balls he stocks !

 

[nickjdavis]

I’ve got a 9 wood and love it , just got some new irons and my longest club is now 6 iron . I will be interested in hearing about your ball experiment. I used to use basically anything, then reading about balls that suit slow swing speeds which I think or thought I had I started buying Wilson Duo. I then found them a bit soft and last season moved to Wilson Triad which I really like , but on the tinkering theme I fancy trying Wilson Staff X . I read great reviews on them .. I would really like a proper ball fitting but my club pro only does a ball fitting on balls he stocks !

I've got some of last years Staff X balls to try in my tests.

I am actually beginning to form the viewpoint that the historical advice that slow swingers are best suited to soft balls can be a bit of a misguidance....(unless its REALLY slow)...I started playing the Chrome Tour X at the back end of last autumn and found that my subjective on course distances were not impacted....only switched back to the Triad's to use up what "stock" i had. Will be interesting to see what differences so called "higher swing speed" balls make (or dont) with my pedestrian swing. Maybe a firmer ball might spin more, ekeing out a bit more distance, launch, peak height and steeper landing angle.

Watch this space....Monday I've booked a session to get the 9-wood on the Trackman simulator and see how it fits in to the existing bag.

 

[Springveldt]

I've got some of last years Staff X balls to try in my tests.

I am actually beginning to form the viewpoint that the historical advice that slow swingers are best suited to soft balls can be a bit of a misguidance....(unless its REALLY slow)...I started playing the Chrome Tour X at the back end of last autumn and found that my subjective on course distances were not impacted....only switched back to the Triad's to use up what "stock" i had. Will be interesting to see what differences so called "higher swing speed" balls make (or dont) with my pedestrian swing. Maybe a firmer ball might spin more, ekeing out a bit more distance, launch, peak height and steeper landing angle.

Watch this space....Monday I've booked a session to get the 9-wood on the Trackman simulator and see how it fits in to the existing bag.

The last MyGolfSpy ball test said the same thing, a firmer urethane ball benefits everyone.

As for tinkering, wish I could stop, I change stuff all the time especially now I get access to Trackman twice a week. I'll try changing grip, changing backswing thoughts, changing downswing thoughts, adjusting driver and hybrids etc.

With the swing changes, I'm hitting it great in the studio but out on the course it's still far too inconsistent with some real stinkers that are destroying my score. The changes I'm seeing in the studio are worth persevering with though and I do seem to be getting more comfortable each week with them. Hopefully it will feel like second nature in a couple of months time for the start of the new season.

 

[Depreston]

Just my stats from last year such as greens in reg, up and down %, number of putts, number of three putts per round, etc. I've also told it swing speed and club yardages etc when making club decisions.

Canny idea if you’ve got the stats

Not tinkering with anything at the minute I’m pretty content with my game the itch to speed train is still there though, especially some of my yardages I had left in when the white tees went into hibernation and we were off the yellows while the ground was still pretty dry

 

[Firestormgjc]

Still working out what i need, so tinkering is based around eBay ……
Read somewhere that my pedestrian swing speed would benefit from ladies flex.
So a 7 wood and a hybrid in the bag , and driver, 3 and 5 woods on the way I hope to see if anything changes in the long game.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Wondering about what I need to change in my golf - my pro/coach asked me my short-medium term golfing goal was. I told him. He said that I need change nothing other than becoming a bit more consistent at what I’m already good at; and become a little bit better at what I’m not. So that’s practice. He nodded, adding that all we are looking to do in golf is hit a ball and make it do what we want it to do.

 

[Voyager EMH]

Made a big change, for me, towards the end of last year.
Brand new driver and fairly newish irons. Not had new driver or irons since 2008.
New irons are 19° to 47°
For many years my longest iron was 21° and the next club a 20° hybrid.
Now that my longest iron is 19°, I have purchased recently an 18° hybrid.
I am still thinking about one club between driver and 18° hybrid.
The Cobra F Speed in that role at the moment is 20 years old and regular flex, whereas the driver and hybrid are stiff flex.
I am quite happy with this 3 wood though, and it is probably the least hit club in my bag most rounds. Don't want to spend oodles on a club that does not get used much.
I could replace it with the same but stiff flex and that would cost only around £30. This might happen this year.

I have room for 2 wedges beyond the 47° iron.
I am thinking of 52° and 58°.
Currently using a 2008 (had from brand new) Ping 52° and a 1990s Cleveland 58°. No rush to change these and will be thinking about it throughout the year ahead.

Putter.
Finished tinkering over 35 years ago. I had been putting for more than 20 years at that point.
One of my best golf-decisions ever, I feel.

 

[Orikoru]

Well the pencil grip worked an absolute treat today. I used it anywhere on the green too, just went back to normal grip if I was putting from off the green. I holed a 12 footer for par on the 4th, a left-to-right breaking 6 footer for birdie on the 6th, a 15+ footer to save par on the 13th as well - plus zero three-putts which is very rare for me on my course. Total of 28 putts for the round which is outrageously low for me (granted I chipped it stone dead with hybrid on about three occasions though). Very pleased! One knock-on effect that I think helped was that I spent a little bit longer making sure my alignment was correct with just my left hand on the club before I added my right hand. Not had this as part of my routine before, but I think it really helped as I kept hitting my lines. Only had one bad putt all day, on the 9th, when I didn't quite feel comfortable and bludgeoned in well long and right of the hole - but the more I use it the more comfortable it will feel.

3 wood was pretty good at 15° as well. Still fairly high in flight from the tee, definitely noticed it going a fraction longer, and even found the front edge of the green with my second shot on the 4th when I wasn't sure I could reach.

7 wood was ok, miscued a couple of shots with it, but it is a new club that takes some getting used to.

Overall the tinkering was positive so far.