Novo's Golf Adventures: Do You Know How Far Your Clubs Carry?

Novo's Golf Adventures: Do You Know How Far Your Clubs Carry?: Knowing how far your clubs carry may sound trivial, but it could make a difference in your game! Have you ever watched a tournament on ...

Do You Know How Far Your Clubs Carry?

Knowing how far your clubs carry may sound trivial, but it could make a difference in your game!

Have you ever watched a tournament on TV and heard the Caddy and the Player going over the distances for the next shot? It probably went like this... 151 front, 157 middle, 172 back. We need to hit a carry of 153 with the wind. How do the player and caddy know what club to hit? 

Every year the player goes through a process known as gapping. They know exactly how far each club carries and what most likely will be the roll-out of the ball as well, depending on the type of shot they hit. This process takes a lot of doubt out of the game for them... 

Below is an example of my gapping chart. While not as extensive as a pro's chart, it does give me insight into how far the ball will carry for me on a set of known conditions. It allows me to adjust to conditions such as temperature, wind, and rain. I know that when I'm playing into the wind or downwind what my perfect carry is based on known factors and how to adjust.  

Knowing your distances can save a lot of strokes in any round. The process of gapping does not take up a great deal of time. A couple of practice sessions at the driving range or on an indoor monitor is all it takes. But here's the deal, you have to be honest with the numbers to get true benefit out of the process.

If you notice in my chart, I have recorded three different categories - Normal, Weak, and Strong. I am not looking for the best number that I can hit the ball for each club. For example, I know for a fact that on a perfect day and with a perfect swing I can carry (actually fly minus rollout) a driver 285 yards. But how many perfect days and perfect swings do I have in the bag?

What I want to know is my true distances on average. This helps me decide what club to pull when there is a bunker or a creek setting out there!  I also want to base it on how I feel and how I'm swinging on any given day as well. This is called decision making and course management!

I can honestly say that since I started being true with myself on how far I can hit a ball on average, I pull the correct club more often, I swing the club better, and my scores have decreased. I would highly recommend that everyone go through the process.

If you want more information on the process, drop me a note in the comments section. I'll be happy to send you a bit more detail.

What's in Your Golf Bag?

Having played golf for at least 40 years, one can only imagine all the different clubs that have been in the bag. Clubs ranging from Ping irons, Ping Eye 2s, Wilson Staff Blades, TaylorMade 300s, Adams a2OS, Mizuno MPs, and my latest Mizuno JPX 900 Forged. Surely there is a couple of sets that I missed along the way, but you get the idea. A lot of clubs have been in the bag! This begs the question - Why do we change clubs, especially when the ones we currently have in the bag are probably working just fine?

Is it that we are doing it to keep up with our buddies?

Are we seeking the newest technology that we think will finally get us to where we want to be?

With all the hype on Game Improvement Irons and the Player's Irons, is there a stigma attached to a certain category and we are buying clubs to meet an ideal?

Do we need the latest and greatest to promote who we are?

Knowing what I know and seeing what I have seen - I can tell you for a fact that I know some old-timers, who play clubs that are older than some of the guys I run into on the course, play an incredible round of golf! They are not concerned in the least with how far they hit the ball. They manage the course and let the game come to them. Their equipment is good enough for what they are trying to accomplish - enjoying the game.

Now I am not advocating that you should not buy new equipment from time to time. But I do have to ask - When is the right time to buy new equipment?

Speaking from my own experience, I have looked at changing equipment when I felt my game was changing. There were periods of time that I had time to practice a lot and there were periods in my life there was no time at all. When I practiced and played consistently, I could handle the Wilson Staff Blades I mentioned earlier.  I absolutely loved them! During the time period in my life when I was raising a family and had heavy work commitments, I needed clubs that would give me max forgiveness, i.e., Adams a2os and the Taylormade 300s (best club Taylormade ever produced IMHO). I always tried to match the club to my swing and the game that I was trying to play, and no they weren't always the latest and greatest.

Today, I find myself not hitting the ball as far with the irons as I once did, its an ego thing I guess to have really noticed enough to care. The clubs I play are a generation or so back. It actually took me twelve years to pull the trigger on a new set of irons when I did put them in. I changed for two reasons... First, the swing is slowing down, and second, I wanted the experience of the feel you just can't get outside of forged irons. So what's in the bag now?

Here's my humble bag starting top to down...

Driver: Wilson Staff D7, 9 degrees, UST Mamiya Helium Stiff Shaft (This club went in my bag in 2019 after an unfortunate episode of the head cracking on its predecessor.)

3 Wood: TaylorMade RBZ, 15 degrees, Stock Stiff Shaft ( In the bag for 8 years now, no need to change something that works great!)

Strong 7 Wood: Adams Tight Lies, 24 degrees, SuperShaft Stiff mid-flex ( In the bag since 1998 and will probably be three until it finally dies. Regripped to many times to count! Best rescue club ever!)

2 Iron: TaylorMade 300 Forged, 19 degrees, True Temper Rifle Shaft S flex (In the bag since 2002, partly because most more modern iron sets don't come with a 2 iron. Partly because I just can't part with it, and mostly because it goes for miles in windy conditions.)

4 Iron thru GW: Mizuno JPX 900 Forged: Strong lofted 21 degrees to 50 degrees, N.S. Pro 105 shafts (In the bag since 2018, the feel and accuracy of these irons cannot be overstated. The strong loft on these clubs puts the 19 degrees TaylorMade 2 iron in play nicely.)

Sand Wedge:  Pursuit s510 True Forge: 56 degrees. Bought it because I was curious and it turned out to be a great purchase.

Putter: I own a bunch of them, just ask my wife! But my favorite is still my old PING B60, Circa 1986.

With the exception of the wedges, I really don't see myself upgrading any of this equipment anytime soon. I do see myself hitting the range and getting a short game lesson or two in the near future. The handicap went up a bit last season - Mostly due to the short game. Putting has been the biggest challenge, working on it, and no it's not the equipment (I've tried many a putter!). I am currently playing to an 11.2 handicap. Perhaps with good weather here in Colorado and consistent time on the course, I'll get it back into single digits this year. If it comes to fruition, it certainly won't be because I went out bought the lastest and greatest equipment.

The Stress-Free Golf Swing - Excerpt I Want To Share With You...

Here is a small sample from The Stress-Free Golf Swing...

First I want you to imagine...

- Swinging without a million and one swing thoughts going through your head.
- Playing golf and not trying to find a swing to use that day, because you have a simple one you can rely on and trust.
- Having one key move that you practice and perfect, and the rest of the swing just falls into place.
- Swinging with one key swing thought and that swing thought staying the same, from one swing to the next and from one game to the next.

Sound far-fetched?

It's NOT!

The advice given to you in this book is for you to have the simplest golf swing on earth. It finally solves the problem of golf swing timing for us busy golfers who don't spend hours every day hitting balls.

Now in the main part of this book, I have not included any information on the setup. But at the end of this book, I have included some bonus information on the setup, if you want to refresh yourself with the important aspects of the setup.

This book, however, is about the golf swing, and how to make that easier. The setup is obviously very important. But if your setup is ok then you'll get the most bang for your buck by improving your golf swing and making it more efficient and easier. That's what this book is all about, so let's get started...

The Modern Swing Problem

One of the things that the majority of golfers find most challenging about the modern golf swing is timing. One day you have it and the next you don't. It's very frustrating, isn't it?

And when you look at the golf pros on tour they seem to have good timing day after day. But here's the thing...

They hit hundreds of balls every day to have that timing. You, on the other hand, I imagine don't have the luxury of spending hours and hours every day hitting balls.

Even if you do have the time to spend every day hitting balls, what I share in this stress-free golf swing method will make the golf swing a lot easier. And this one move comes from a golfer who basically invented practicing, Ben Hogan.

Ben was also one of the best, most consistent ball strikers the world has ever seen.

And I believe he knew exactly what the secret was to his consistent swing, but he never revealed it to anyone. I also believe at the end of his career he didn't hit lots of balls every day to figure his swing out... but instead, he did it because he loved to hit the golf ball properly.

It's well documented that Ben Hogan had a bad problem with a hook earlier in his golfing career. And it's well known that Ben changed his grip from a strong grip to a weak grip to help combat this. He did this before his car crash in 1949.

But after the car crash, his ball-striking improved!

The 3-time major champion and hall of fame golfer, Cary Middlecoff, said that Hogan was as inconsistent as most tournament professionals before the accident, scattering drives in the rough and imprecise with his irons.

"It was in 1950 that he began showing the kind of precision golf that set him apart".
- Cary Middlecoff

Because of the car crash, Hogan saved his strength to focus solely on winning major championships. And win them he did!

Just 17 months after his car crash Hogan won the 1950 U.S. Open. That's the one with the famous 1-iron into the green at the last.

Then of course, in 1953 he won The Masters, The U.S. Open and the British Open and unfortunately he couldn't compete in the PGA Championship because the qualifying was at the same time as the British Open.

However, I won't go on about his record after the crash, because you can look into that more if you want to.

The point is, Hogan said he had a secret and his ball-striking improved after the car crash.

In April 1954 Life Magazine published an article in which Ben Hogan was quoted as saying....

"I have a secret... It is easy to see if I tell you where to look."

In the next chapter, I am going to explain what I believe the secret was, and show you evidence for this. But before I do that, here's the problem with the modern golf swing that is often taught these days (and I'm not pointing fingers, because I have taught this and I learned this)....

That's a small sample from the new Stress-Free Golf Swing. To find out more about The Stress-Free Golf Swing, simply go here.

CLICK HERE!

Let's Get Started

Publishing the first post is always scary!  No matter what the topic is, there is always the thought that we might say something wrong or perhaps find a way to offend someone. Well, trusting in good judgment and a ton of experience as a writer of training materials for most of my adult life, perhaps we can avoid controversy.

Here is one premiss concerning the posts on this site that may give the reader some insight into who the author is - I am a golfer. I've been a golfer for a very long time. The one thing you can expect is that I will try anything to get better at the game- as long as it works! If it doesn't work,  I get rid of it! Additionally, I enjoy the game, no matter what my scorecard may reflect! Carpe Diem (seize the day!) is what I'm about when it comes to the game of golf.

But how do we seize the day, improve our skills and enjoy the game at hand?

Well, that's what this blog is about. Please join me in future posts on my adventure to improve and enjoy the game. Please feel to comment and add your own two cents. I look forward to our next adventure together.

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