We don't really believe the hype, do we?..............
- Thread starter bobmac
- Start date
S
Snelly
Guest
Some people do believe it yes.
I don't. Ever.
I don't. Ever.
palindromicbob
Tour Winner
But it all looks soooo shiney! Surely the shinier the club the less friction been the face and the ball therefore less energy wasted as heat and therefore more distance? New clubs don't have blemishes on the face either this means more accurate shots because the face is true
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Also everyone knows the average putter only has 500 good putts in it before the magic fairy dust runs out and it begins playing up.
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Also everyone knows the average putter only has 500 good putts in it before the magic fairy dust runs out and it begins playing up.
A
Alex1975
Guest
We all know bob, but will you concede that some shinys work better for some players/handicap/skill levels so its a quest for what fits you best?
bobmac
Major Champion
I think today everyone has a set swing and they search endlessly to find clubs to suit that swing. Every day on here there's someone who is looking for/selling/ buyng clubs that are completely wrong/ perfect for them. They want clubs to hit the ball higher/lower for them, they want clubs that are more forgiving and perish the thought they should buy blades because everyone knows only good players should use them.
When I was a lad, you got a SET of clubs. They all matched (if you were lucky) and you learned how to hit them. If you wanted to hit a high/low/fade/draw, you learned how to do it. If you wanted to control your wedges, you practiced and got better. And if you couldn't putt, you didn't run to the shops and buy another putter, you practiced.
It seems to me people new to the game today are just bombarded with hybrids, belly putters, new drivers, game improvement irons and endless wedges with different lofts, grinds, bounces....
Give me strength, get out there and learn how to hit what you've got.
Sorry, quiet afternoon and it's raining
Training aids however have come on leaps and bounds
Moral of my tale?
While I concede some people may need specialised clubs, the vast majority would probably get more satisfaction by increasing their range of shot making without reducing the hard earned in the wallet.
Monty_Brown
Tour Rookie
"THE 3 IN 1 TRAINING AID THAT HELPS YOU TO AIM, CHIP AND PUTT LIKE THE PROS"
What a load of cobblers! Who falls for ths guff?
:rofl:
What a load of cobblers! Who falls for ths guff?
:rofl:
A
Alex1975
Guest
I think today everyone has a set swing and they search endlessly to find clubs to suit that swing. Every day on here there's someone who is looking for/selling/ buyng clubs that are completely wrong/ perfect for them. They want clubs to hit the ball higher/lower for them, they want clubs that are more forgiving and perish the thought they should buy blades because everyone knows only good players should use them.
When I was a lad, you got a SET of clubs. They all matched (if you were lucky) and you learned how to hit them. If you wanted to hit a high/low/fade/draw, you learned how to do it. If you wanted to control your wedges, you practiced and got better. And if you couldn't putt, you didn't run to the shops and buy another putter, you practiced.
It seems to me people new to the game today are just bombarded with hybrids, belly putters, new drivers, game improvement irons and endless wedges with different lofts, grinds, bounces....
Give me strength, get out there and learn how to hit what you've got.
Sorry, quiet afternoon and it's raining
Training aids however have come on leaps and bounds
Moral of my tale?
While I concede some people may need specialised clubs, the vast majority would probably get more satisfaction by increasing their range of shot making without reducing the hard earned in the wallet.
So I you were my pro and I came to you with my so-so swing and said I was going to buy some new clubs as my old ones had been stolen... would you give me advice or would you tell me to buy anything?
This is not me questioning what you have said, I totally get it but am interested in how you advise clients.
One Planer
Global Moderator
I am living proof this comment is 100% true :rofl:
Tiger
Money List Winner
daymond
Tour Rookie
Bob is right. Before the advent of independant golf shops and golf superstores golf sets were bought from the golf club Pro.
His stock was very limited and custom fitting and fancy shafts was for the future.
I doubt that golfers then had more than two sets throughout their golfing life. As bob said learn and practice with what you have for as long as possible and have sufficient lessons.
Constantly buying new "shineys" is akin to the woman/man who can't pass a shoe shop without buying another pair to go with the cupboard full at home.
His stock was very limited and custom fitting and fancy shafts was for the future.
I doubt that golfers then had more than two sets throughout their golfing life. As bob said learn and practice with what you have for as long as possible and have sufficient lessons.
Constantly buying new "shineys" is akin to the woman/man who can't pass a shoe shop without buying another pair to go with the cupboard full at home.
USER1999
Grand Slam Winner
And this is wrong?
FairwayDodger
Money List Winner
OK, so broadly I don't disagree - it's the player not the clubs.
However... are you suggesting that I should be able to get the same results from my ancient John Letters "Dai Rees" wooden driver that I do from my TM R11?
Tempting to take it up the range sometime to see....
However... are you suggesting that I should be able to get the same results from my ancient John Letters "Dai Rees" wooden driver that I do from my TM R11?
Tempting to take it up the range sometime to see....
bobmac
Major Champion
Not at all
There's been great advances made in club and ball technology and anyone who doesn't move with those advances will be worse off for it.
But, there's a difference between a good player fine tuning their clubs and a newbie buying a new wedge or driver because he cant hit his old ones.
FairwayDodger
Money List Winner
Definitely. As discussed elsewhere I genuinely think my game will improve with new, better suited, irons. As I've had the current ones for around 15 years and recently seen trackman analysis I think I'm entitled to be optimistic....
Alternatively, having just got an R11 driver last year I don't think swapping it for a new one would make any difference. (Although a certain Edinburgh club fitter did show me I could get a few extra yards with a different shaft!)
D
Deleted Member 1156
Guest
Here is a slightly different angle on it......
Modern clubs are much easier to hit so maybe people accept that and are prepared to spend less time working on their game as a result. After all, some of the strikes you can get away with using modern clubs would be have been pretty disastrous using equipment from a few years ago.
Just a thought................
duncan mackie
Money List Winner
I think it's a combination of this, and the fact that a player who has confidence in his clubs has a better chance of making a good swing with it.
Marketing focuses on this and gives people added confidence - whether it's misplaced or not! I would tend to agree with Bob that it's generally misplaced
rickg
Money List Winner
You should jump on the bandwagon Bob....I'm surprised the V-3easy isn't out yet, "hole 3 times more putts, and chip 3 times straighter"...........
kid2
Money List Winner
I have my own theory on all this.....Anytime that i have an inkling that i might buy a new club....While i have it in my hands ill just say to myself......Have you hit more than 5 good shots with your own club since you bought it......More often than not its a firm yes which i cant argue with.....
Im playing well with what i have at the moment so they'll be staying in the bag for a while yet i think even though there is temptation when im in a shop im a little nervous to change as im hitting what i have very well....
So maybe more than most i would agree with Bob's point of view....:thup:
Im playing well with what i have at the moment so they'll be staying in the bag for a while yet i think even though there is temptation when im in a shop im a little nervous to change as im hitting what i have very well....
So maybe more than most i would agree with Bob's point of view....:thup:
RGDave
Money List Winner
I can't ever remember buying a club on hype.
I have however gone to a golf shop/pro shop and asked to look at new kit now and again.
I don't really know why.
I have however gone to a golf shop/pro shop and asked to look at new kit now and again.
I don't really know why.
Wenglish
Medal Winner
Long post warning
Ive been involved in another sport for quite a while and have reached a level where I have a number of sponcers and team rider status across a few brands. Im involved in product testing and last year i was lucky enough to go out to Denmark for a week with one of my teams and spend a week developing new kit and taking photos for the upcoming season. I also have spent time writing reviews for a magazine testing new kit from a number of dirrent brands so have a good idea of sports marketing hype and product development and have been personally responsible for some of it.
What ive come to belive is every new item is diffrent to the last. even the smallest change can make a diffrence to the performance and feel of a product, does this mean that its worth dropping last years model and spending a large amount of cash on the newest gear? 99% of the time the answer is no. For the majority of people out there the new stuff would not make any diffrence to their day out and would not perform any better than their old gear. This said if your swapping from gear that is 2 or more years old then a noticabe diffrence can be seen but not always improvements that will benefit the user. In my case i actually spent time developing gear to suit my own personal style and this was then toned back a bit, put into production and sold to the genral public who in most cases i can assure you would not benefit from the changes i had made from prototype to finished product as I got it to suit me and I have my own style. I can honestly say the prototype was fine for use by most people and they could have sold it after a few stability tweaks. If someone else is lucky enough to have the same style as me and buy the kit then its going to really stand out to them as the best possible thing on the market for tehm but most of the time people are either buying something and making a compromise as they feel after demoing that they like it over thir current equipment or they have fallen for the hype and belive that they will be just as good as the pros if they use the same gear (in my case this can actually be dangerous and the reverse will happen with performance gains only available if your a very competant user of the gear with a high skill level, it can hold beginers and intermidiates back)
As to pros using older kit, i have outdated gear that i will not give up because the company has taken a direction in development which has made that perticular product less suited than the older versions to my needs. This is something that i actually questioned at one point with the company director and was told in order to make more money they needed to look at a wider market and stepping back was the only way to do this. To produce equipment with increased workability and forgivness meant a drop in performance this appeals to most users as they will notice an increase in performance over their exsisting equipment as they are able to get more consistant results from the gear. And so we sold it as the latest and greatest with all the usual hype that turns you into the worlds best.
Every now and then however a product comes out thats is an exception to the rule and this is normally comes from scrapping all previous ideas and starting fresh with a new concept and blank canvas. When this happens you take a chance that people will not buy the product or give it a chance as they dont like to much change all in on go as they will need to forget what they thought they had to do to use the product and learn something new which takes timeand no one wants to look like an amature for a period of time whilst they tune into new gear when they know they can get results from their old gear even if the new stuff will out perform it ten fold.
Im not saying the world of golf is the same as ive only been doing the sport for about a year and started due to a serious injury i picked up out in Denmark product testing which put me out for 6 months. Part of my recovery was to stay active but pick a less dangerous and strenious sport where i could then recover and not drive everyone around me crazy as i like to stay active.
Ive been involved in another sport for quite a while and have reached a level where I have a number of sponcers and team rider status across a few brands. Im involved in product testing and last year i was lucky enough to go out to Denmark for a week with one of my teams and spend a week developing new kit and taking photos for the upcoming season. I also have spent time writing reviews for a magazine testing new kit from a number of dirrent brands so have a good idea of sports marketing hype and product development and have been personally responsible for some of it.
What ive come to belive is every new item is diffrent to the last. even the smallest change can make a diffrence to the performance and feel of a product, does this mean that its worth dropping last years model and spending a large amount of cash on the newest gear? 99% of the time the answer is no. For the majority of people out there the new stuff would not make any diffrence to their day out and would not perform any better than their old gear. This said if your swapping from gear that is 2 or more years old then a noticabe diffrence can be seen but not always improvements that will benefit the user. In my case i actually spent time developing gear to suit my own personal style and this was then toned back a bit, put into production and sold to the genral public who in most cases i can assure you would not benefit from the changes i had made from prototype to finished product as I got it to suit me and I have my own style. I can honestly say the prototype was fine for use by most people and they could have sold it after a few stability tweaks. If someone else is lucky enough to have the same style as me and buy the kit then its going to really stand out to them as the best possible thing on the market for tehm but most of the time people are either buying something and making a compromise as they feel after demoing that they like it over thir current equipment or they have fallen for the hype and belive that they will be just as good as the pros if they use the same gear (in my case this can actually be dangerous and the reverse will happen with performance gains only available if your a very competant user of the gear with a high skill level, it can hold beginers and intermidiates back)
As to pros using older kit, i have outdated gear that i will not give up because the company has taken a direction in development which has made that perticular product less suited than the older versions to my needs. This is something that i actually questioned at one point with the company director and was told in order to make more money they needed to look at a wider market and stepping back was the only way to do this. To produce equipment with increased workability and forgivness meant a drop in performance this appeals to most users as they will notice an increase in performance over their exsisting equipment as they are able to get more consistant results from the gear. And so we sold it as the latest and greatest with all the usual hype that turns you into the worlds best.
Every now and then however a product comes out thats is an exception to the rule and this is normally comes from scrapping all previous ideas and starting fresh with a new concept and blank canvas. When this happens you take a chance that people will not buy the product or give it a chance as they dont like to much change all in on go as they will need to forget what they thought they had to do to use the product and learn something new which takes timeand no one wants to look like an amature for a period of time whilst they tune into new gear when they know they can get results from their old gear even if the new stuff will out perform it ten fold.
Im not saying the world of golf is the same as ive only been doing the sport for about a year and started due to a serious injury i picked up out in Denmark product testing which put me out for 6 months. Part of my recovery was to stay active but pick a less dangerous and strenious sport where i could then recover and not drive everyone around me crazy as i like to stay active.
