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The 8>9 Challenge: Nike SQ Dymo STR8-FIT vs. TaylorMade R9

June 16, 2009 By 4 Comments
Top view - STR8-FIT on the left and R9 on the right

I love a challenge.  There’s nothing better than laying down the gauntlet and doing battle.  For this reason, I was intrigued to learn about the 8>9 challenge. Nike Golf is so confident that the SQ Dymo STR8-FIT driver is longer than the TaylorMade R9, that it asked consumers to hit both and see for themselves.  I was happy to participate when a representative of Nike Golf asked me to take the challenge.  STR8-FIT driver in hand, I went out and procured an R9, and then it was ON. For those not familiar, these two drivers are the latest in the blossoming trend of adjustable drivers.  Each driver has the ability to remove the shaft, change its position, and create a different face/lie angle combination. For instance, if you slice, you can set the face closed a little to help you straighten out.  Or, if you’re playing a course that challenges you with a lot of drives that set up left to right, you can set the face to be open a little, to help you

Filed Under: Club Reviews, Equipment
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If Tiger Needs More Loft, You Probably Do Too

June 9, 2009 By 2 Comments
longdriver

Club gurus have been screaming for a long time that amateur players don’t play enough loft in their drivers.  If you’ve ever read Tom Wishon’s books, you know what I’m talking about.  If you’ve ever been fitted for clubs by a skilled club fitter, then you know what I’m talking about.  If you’ve ever had a launch analysis done with fancy technology then you know what I’m talking about. Yet people still play low-lofted drivers, at the expense of distance. Maybe that will change, now that Tiger Woods has switched to a more lofted driver, going from 9.5 to 10.0 degrees.  He charged from behind to win the Memorial last week, hitting over 87% of the fairways for the week, including all 14 on Sunday. His stellar driving was not completely equipment related, though.  As Michael Breed showed on The Golf Fix this week, his swing mechanics are improved as well, probably because of his repaired left knee and the natural evolution of his work with Hank Haney. We’ve discussed before how achieving the proper

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Adventures in Club Fitting

March 10, 2009 By 5 Comments

I decided last last season that it was time to get some new irons this year.  Coincidentally, one of my long-stated goals is to get a club fitting. Perfect.  At least until it started to unfold anyway. I’m not an “off the rack” guy when it comes to irons.  I typically play them longer and more upright than standard and I also use mid-size grips.  Because of this, I know that when it’s time to get new irons, I need to order them.  That means they get put together at the factory to my specifications. That also means that it takes anywhere from two to six weeks to get new irons, depending on the manufacturer.  Since I wanted to have them for the start of the season, when the calendar flipped to March, I knew I needed to get moving if I wanted to get a fitting first. So, last week, I scheduled a fitting at a great golf shop in King of Prussia, PA, called Golfdom.  Most of you who live in this region

Filed Under: Equipment, My Progress
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Shortening Your Driver for Added Control

November 12, 2008 By 14 Comments

Recently, I found myself reading Tom Wishon’s book, “The Right Sticks“, where he topples a mountain of long-standing golf equipment myths.  It’s a great book that I’ll be reviewing shortly, but one of the myths stuck out to me. Wishon tackled the myth about longer drivers producing more distance.  Myth #18 (out of 37!) is: “The longer the length of a club, the farther you’ll hit the ball.“  That’s right, it’s a myth.  Well, to be fair, it’s a partial myth.  It’s true that physics dictate that a longer shaft can allow the club head be swung faster, but Wishon holds that only a small number of players possess the right combination of swing fundamentals and athleticism to do it.  The rest of us suffer with lessened control and diminished contact. He also pointed out a stunning fact.  While we’re buying 45 and 46 inch drivers off the rack, the average driver length on the PGA Tour from 2005-2007, according to Wishon, was 44.5 inches.  Remember that small number of players able to hit longer

Filed Under: Driving Tips, Equipment
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Golf Balls and Cold Weather

February 16, 2008 By 5 Comments

Those of us that live in places with a cold season understand all too well how the cold affects our golf games. For one, ball flight is going to be shorter because cold air is more dense and creates more drag on the ball. Depending on how cold it is, you might see a decrease in distance of a club or two. Equipment expert Frank Thomas says that for every degree that temperature increases, there is about one foot of added carry. So, playing in 50 degree weather will give almost 7 yards of additional carry over 30-degree playing conditions. Many players like to keep an extra ball in their pocket to keep it warm to be able to swap their “live” ball out between each hole. But did you know that this may be having little or no effect? According to an article at Golf.com, a golf ball’s optimum playing temperature is around 80 degrees. That refers to the temperature of the ball itself, not to the weather at the time. At that temperature,

Filed Under: Equipment
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