Reaching Par

Archive for the ‘DIY’ Category

In doing some research a while ago I ran across a study that essentially said that what helped people enjoy golf the most was solid ball contact. Well, that generally makes sense – we all keep coming back to the game because we crushed that one drive or smoked that long iron or something like that. So, in the name of solid ball contact manufacturers have put out game improvement clubs to to help people hit more solid golf shots and thus keep coming back to the game and spending more money. In fact, I can remember the Ping Eye 2s when they first came out and their crazy looking offset next to my Arnold Palmer blades.   But, have the manufacturers perpetuated bad swings?  Maybe…

If having an easy to hit club helps people really enjoy the game then I’m all about it.  But, if it keeps you from developing a proper swing then probably not the best thing. With that in mind, I’ve been debating about switching up my equipment to force me to be better at striking the ball solidly.  And, I’m starting to think about how to incorporate that into my semi-regular practice on the net downstairs.  Maybe its as simple as tracking the number of times I hit the ball with solid contact and seeing if I get better over time.

For more thoughts on club playability and how to measure it, Ralph Maltby at the GolfWorks.com has done some absolutely fantastic work, especially to the engineering mind. Oh, and he’s measured all of the other name brand clubs – so most of those “this will so help your game get better” clubs more often than not are “we have to hype this club, but it really won’t help your game…”

Check out this wealth of knowledge – The Maltby Playability Factor

- http://www.ralphmaltby.com/system/assets/398/2011MPFIronHead_additions.pdf

That’s right, make a new putter.  Not assemble one from components, but truly make one.  Since I don’t have a metal mill I am going to have to make one using wood.  And, in case you didn’t know, there are companies out there that make wooden putters.  Check these guys out: emberwoodputter.com.  They have some very exotic woods and absolutely beautiful looking putters.

Take a look at the wood color on this bad boy

Louisvillegolf.com is another one that pops up pretty quick in searches and they too have a great assortment of beautiful wood putters.

Brass insert even - awesome. The STIMP ACC from Louisville Golf Company

Despite the beauty of these putters, I am just not willing to drop $100+ on any putter. Nope.  And, I have a bad habit of saying ” I can make that!”  So… I think that might be my next project – Making my own wooden putter – in all of my spare time.

Frugality is an interesting word and there is a fine line between smart and thrifty use of money and down right cheapness.  Well, I’ve never been great a distinguishing that line so I end up on the stupid cheap side waaaaay too often.  Combining that with my gullibility that I can really “lose 30 strokes in 30 minutes”  and I have an interesting menagerie of golf self help purchases and explorations under my belt.

Tao of Golf - I actually have the VHS tape somewhere in my basement.  I honestly can’t remember if I learned anything from this video.  I thought it was decent enough, but I didn’t improve my game over night.

Howtobreak80.com - I signed up for the email when it was free, but they started adding pay for DVDs and I never paid for them or got them.  Maybe that’s why I never learned their secrets… ”These Powerful Secrets Are So Simple And EasyTo Learn, You Can Have Them Down In Just One Hour!”  Man, these are tempting!

I signed up for email from a guy out of Australia who gave some great no-nonsense advice but he stopped doing his blog and eventually I dropped the list.

I have watched YouTube on several people including Jaacob Bowden and his Swingmangolf.com  site (I haven’t paid for the subscription), Dan Shauger, Rotarygolf.com.

Now, I am anxiously awaiting the MCS from DJ Watts to see what his latest effort will entail.   Hmmm…you’d think with all of this that I’d be a better golfer…Nope!  I think it comes down to a lot of practice before any of these really help…  Then again, maybe if I actually paid for the programs I might get something out of them!!!

Golf is a gentlemen’s game, or so they say.  And, I do love it for the honesty required of the individual golfer.  But, one thing I have grown to somewhat despise is that somehow a “gentlemen’s” game has turned into a “status” game – who has the best and latest equipment, who uses what ball, how much they paid for the driver, etc.

Here’s what I’m talking about.  I was playing in a tournament and one of the players was not as experienced, to say the least, but had all of the equipment to where one would think otherwise.  The interesting thing, though, was when he hit an errant ball and a couple of us went looking and found it – a Top Flite 3000.  Now, if you have spent anytime shopping for golf balls, a Top Flite is on the bottom rung of the price ladder – not as much of a hit when it lands in the drink.  Our playing partner said in passing, “Hmmm…I didn’t know he hit a Top Flite…”  I’m still not sure what he was trying to say, but I took it simply as some more circumstantial evidence that game of golf is just as much about the status as it is the game.  I know, I know, nothing new, but it bugs me.  Maybe if I could afford all of the latest and greatest I wouldn’t be bugged by it, but I derive a certain amount of satisfaction playing with my home grown $100 set of clubs and playing just as well as those who have spent $100 on balls!!

Again, I’m not that great of a golfer, but, as one salesperson asked me after hitting an $800 set of Mizunos versus a $700 set of Pings, “Do the Mizunos hit $100 better than the pings??”  I thought it was an insightful question and certainly strikes at the heart of what I’m getting at… Golf is a game to be enjoyed for the skill and environment, not to brag about the latest and great equipment you can’t hit!!!

Alright…my turn on the soap box is over

—–Swing status update —-

I am making progress in my DIY driving range and trying to make the swing changes to more closely align with the theories of Mike Austin which I have found to be absolutely fascinating and more conducive to my natural swing.  I’m still very perplexed by the wrist and arm motion of this swing and have found some contradictory sites, but I’ll keep trying…

The key ingredient to being able to inexpensively improve my golf game is my indoor driving range.  Keep in mind there are very impressive studios that can be purchased for a pretty penny, but as you can probably tell, I really don’t want to spend the money.  Here’s what I’ve got:

- A place tall enough to swing a club.   In my previous home I had this set up in the garage. In my current home I can actually swing in the basement and not have any problems with irons (a driver would be an issue).

- A net.  There are several nets that can be purchased, but I found a particularly economical solution on ebay: used commercial fishing nets.  Do a search on ebay for “fishing net golf” or something along those lines and see what you find.  The following link http://tinyurl.com/3oapkbo has a 20′ x 10′ net for about $22 with shipping about $11.  That’s a great deal considering a much smaller pop up or framed net costs 2 to 3 times that.   The netting pattern does play into consideration and these nets are a diamond pattern so they tend to gather when you hang them up. Here’s how mine looks hanging in my unfinished basement.

Notice how I’ve simply used some sheetrock screws to hang the net on.  Nothing fancy, but it works.  I’ve also got it wrapped around so that any really bad shanks get captured and don’t destroy the Christmas decorations in the same room.  I’ll say $50 to be conservative.

- Putting green.  

One year I received a Golf Digest putting green with automatic return.

And I found the quality to be a bit suspect but I liked the carpet.  So I ripped it off and now it’s a great flat carpet putting surface to help with the shorter distance – 10′ putts.  Not totally ideal, but it helps.  I also had a little mock golf cup that was molded into a wedge shape that I slip under the carpeting just to force a little confidence in rolling it solidly into the hole.  Here’s how it all looks put together.

For the putting green I’d say about $30.  Not too pretty, but effective.

- A hitting mat.  This is where the greatest cost will come into play.  I purchased mine from the Golf Works website and it cost me about $70.  You can find other less expensive options but this is a good size (4′ by 4′) which I would recommend.

For less than $150 I have a great little place to hit golf balls in the comfort and convenience of my home.  I try to get down every night and hit a few balls into the net and fiddle with my swing.  This allows consistent practice in relatively short chunks(depending on how diligent I am) which is a key to improving at this crazy game.  I’m counting on this as a key ingredient of my improvement plan.

You may have noticed (or not) that this blog is about improving my game without alienating my family or breaking the bank.  So far so good on the not-breaking-the-bank front, but I may be approaching a threshold on the not-alienating-my-family side of the coin.  My son Zach, noticing me with my imaginary club practicing my take away and wrist position says, “Daddy, you are always doing that…”  or something along those lines.  Hmmm…  And, I will sheepishly admit that I am writing this while my good wife is vacuuming around me feet.  Hey, I did the dishes tonight – does that count?  Okay, so I’ve got to be careful about how I execute my practice plan so as not to land myself sleeping on the couch.

The Plan

I’d love to say I have a perfect plan in place, but it’s more like a loose set of guidelines that revolve around some key ingredients:

• The indoor practice range complete with net, mat, putting green and camera (with the help of my son)
• Online golf tip sites of which there are billions it seems.  I’ve already mentioned one of particular interest djwattsgolf.wordpress.com.  But there are several more that I  will chronicle in a later post.
• Consistent practice – not long stretches batting balls on the range, but short snippets, 20 minutes here, 20 minutes there.

Pretty simple to say the least and I’ve already started on it by doing something utterly ridiculous – completely revamping my swing without a professional for guidance.  Maybe its not such a great plan after all…