Alpha Golf

Keeping your clubs in top shape is easy if you apply a little discipline and create a routine during and after you play a round of golf.  The golf club has three main components; the clubhead, the shaft, and the grip.  Each requires a small amount of care to be maintained in top condition which will provide you the best performance.

CLUB HEAD/FACE

The face of a clubhead has grooves on it, and they are there for a purpose.  They create the spin on the ball when you hit it.  Without spin you could not get the ball airborne leave alone hit a draw, a fade, or stop it on the green.  Keep your grooves clean throughout the round.  Always have a towel attached to your bag for this purpose, and before the round get one end of the towel wet.  (Do not dip your towel into a water hazard to wet, as you could be penalized for testing the condition of a hazard)  After you hit each shot wipe the face of the club with the wet end of the towel and all the grass and mud will easily come out of the grooves.  Then dry the face with the other end of the towel.  If you do this after each shot  your clubface will always be ready to hit the next shot.  You do not need to delay play when you do this, you can easily clean your club as you walk from one shot to the next.  If you delay cleaning the face the mud and grass will dry and become stuck to the face making it much more difficult to clean.

After you have completed your round you should again clean the faces of each club and at this time it is useful to use a soft bristled brush to make sure they are perfect.

SHAFTS

The shafts of your clubs do not require much maintenance whether they are steel or graphite.  After the completion of each round as you are cleaning the grooves on your clubfaces, just wipe the shaft down to remove any debris that may have attached itself.  However if you are caught in the rain on the course and your clubs become wet with water dripping down the shafts inside the golf bag, be sure to remove them all from the bag, dry them off, and leave them out while the inside of the bag dries overnight.  Leaving them wet, or putting them back into a wet golf bag could cause corrosion which would weaken the shaft and diminish its performance.

GRIPS

Modern clubs have rubber or composite grips that will last about 100 rounds of golf (depending on how many times you hit it each round).  But dirt and perspiration will build up on the grips and cause them to get slick.  About every ten rounds or so  you should clean them.  In a sink run the grip under a light steam of water.  Put one drop of dish washing soap on the grip and brush them with a soft bristle brush.  Rinse the soap off and dry with a towel.  Then leave them out of your bag for a few hours to air dry.  You will be amazed at how tacky they will get – almost like new.  After about 100 rounds though they will be worn down and at that time they should be replaced with new grips.  Regripping is not too difficult and you may learn to do it yourself, but it is not very expensive to have a golf shop do it for you and assure a neat professional job.

There are a lot of misconceptions about golf club fitting and how it can help your game.  Most people are concerned about what length their golf clubs should be.  They may be taller than the average person and think that perhaps they need longer than standard clubs, or if they are short they think they need shorter clubs.  This is not generally the case, nor is it the goal of proper club fitting.

Tall people generally also have long arms (in proportion to their body), thus the distance between their hands and the golf ball when they address it for a shot is the same as a shorter person whose arms are also in proportion to their body.  Now if you are tall and have short arms, you may in fact need longer clubs to set up to the ball properly and comfortably.  But most of us have arms in proportion to the rest of our body and club length is not a huge issue.  Beware of any club fitter that just takes a tape measure to your wrist and the ground – they are doing you a disservice.

What club fitting is really all about is loft and lie of the club to fit your swing.  There are two types of golfers that are coming in to be fitted.  The first is a novice golfer and their swing might not be very effective.  This person is more in need of instruction on how to hit the ball than they are of club fitting.  An expert fitter can fit them with a good loft and lie for the swing they have today.  But will they have that swing tomorrow?  And will they have it next season, or after they have taken 10 lessons from their professional?  Probably not.  Before getting clubs fitted to your swing you should be pretty sure that the swing you have is the one you’re going to continue using in spite of any limitations that it might have.

This second type of golfer is the one who will benefit the most from a good fitting of loft and lie.  Loft is generally a matter of preference as some people wish to hit the ball higher with the thought that it will carry farther and stop quicker upon landing.  Others may wish to hit the ball lower and have it run out more.  But if your swing plane is very steep (and you do not wish to change it) and the ball goes very high robbing your of distance, then a stronger loft (less loft) can help.  The same is true for someone who has a flat swing plane and wants to get the ball up more, higher loft adjustment can help them as well.

Lie angle is the most critical area in club fitting, as it will effect how solidly you hit the ball on the sweet spot, and it will improve your directional control.  If your clubs are too upright for your swing plane you will tend to hit the ball to the left (for a right handed golfer) and vice versa.  You can easily demonstrate why this occurs to yourself.

Take out your nine iron and aim it at a target using your normal set-up.  The sweet spot on the clubface is aimed at your target.  Now lower the shaft of the club down to the ground.  Look where the face is pointing.  It is about 40 degrees left of your target.  This is due to the geometry and loft of the club.  If you do the same thing with a 3 iron, the amount of “left” will be less, but only because the club has less loft.  So if your clubs are too upright for your set-up and swing plane, you have effectively lowered the club at the handle when you set-up and closed the club face.  But if you have the lie angle adjusted to fit your set-up and swing plane, then the club face will remain pointed at the target and you will find you hit it straighter with the same or even less effort than ever before.

There are many other aspects to club fitting relating to the swing weight of the club, the proper grip size, the flexibility of the shaft as well as its kick point, and torque.  All of these things will affect the trajectory and shape of your shots.  Every golfer has a different body, different strength, different timing and hand eye coordination and a proper fitting of your clubs can go a long way toward increasing your enjoyment of the game, and lower your scores.    

Back to basics - Jack Nicklaus explains the one basic swing for all shots. Same grip, same aim, same ball position, and the same swing arc and plane.

This will be an ongoing post of some of our favorite golf sites on the web.  We’ll add to it as we come across others…

Alltop Golf - An excellent directory of golf sites (Guy Kawasaki’s latest startup)

Blogs:
Deep Rough

Gear Head

Suite 101 Golf

Eagle Par Birdie

OobGolf

Waggle Room

About.com Golf

UK Golf Blogger
Build Golf Clubs Directory

Golf Club Manufacturers

Golf Equipment at Ultimate Golf Directory

MyGolfDir - the best golfing resources

Sports Blog Directory

This article is meant to be a guide for golf club wedges. The wedge is designed to have the following performance characteristics: high and short trajectory, maximum backspin, and easy penetration into sand or grass. These characteristics make wedges useful for high-accuracy “utility” shots like chipping onto the green, escaping a sand trap, or getting around obstacles in the rough.

To achieve these performance characteristics, golf club wedge designers focus on the following design characteristics:


Loft angle - this is simply the angle at which it hits the ball off the ground. Wedges have loft angles in the range of 45 to 64 degrees. Pitching wedges (PW) range from 45-50 degrees, Gap wedges (GW) range from 50 - 54 degrees, Sand wedges (SW) range from 54 to 58, and Lob wedges range from 58 - 64 degrees.

More loft obviously means higher ball flight and shorter distance. This chart shows how many yards each wedge will travel for a good golfer:

Bounce angle - The angle formed by the leading edge of the clubhead and the ground. This allows the bottom of the club to “bounce” through the ball as it hits the sand or grass turf. A low bounce angle creates a sharper contact and a shallow divot (better for firmer turf). A high bounce angle creates a deeper divot to pass cleanly under the ball (especially in soft turf). Sand wedges have the most bounce to get you of the sand trap and reduce “dig”.

Sand wedges thus usually have 10 all the way up to 16 degrees of bounce. Gap wedges range from 8 to 10 degrees. Pitching wedges range from 6 to 8. And lob wedges range from 2 to 6.

Camber - The heel-toe camber is the curved portion of the sole between the leading and trailing edges of the wedge. (see the picture above). More camber means more rounding of the sole. And more rounding means less bounce than clubs with little camber.

Sole Width - A wider sole means more bounce. A more narrow sole means less bounce. Sole width, along with bounce angle and camber, determine the entire amount of bounce that these wedges produce. In general, beginner players should seek as much overall bounce as possible to reduce the risk of “digging in”

The club head and face itself are also important factors in wedge performance. Wedge clubheads are usually made of softer material, like copper or beryllium alloy, to increase feel and touch (you’re near the green and want extremely high-accuracy after all!). Carbon steel is among the softest metals. But the tradeoff with carbon steel is that it rusts. So wedge manufacturers use chrome-plating which has its own tradeoff of taking away some of the softness of carbon steel.
Scoring or sandblasting of the face gives wedge shots a large amount of spin, which is needed to prevent rolling upon landing. Other tactics for the face are CNC-milling, reverse-milling, U-shaped grooves, and face inserts that use a different material all together. All these manufacturing techniques strive to make the face super-conducive to spinning.

Most golfers have a sand and pitching wedge in their bags. More and more are also including a lob and gap wedge. How many wedges are in your bag?

All golfers should do some basic stretches before teeing off. Here are 5 of my favorites that can all be done right on the course.

1. Back stretch

Keep your feet a little apart. Place your hands on a vertical club (like a titanium golf driver) or the back of a chair. Grasp it with both hands so you have a firm grip. Keep your spine straight. Now move your body to the right and hold for 15 seconds. Repeat this process to the left.

2. Trunk rotation stretch

Stand straight with your arms at a 90 degree angle at your elbows. Place your feet slightly apart. First keep your back straight and bend forward. Hold for 15 seconds. Now get into a backswing position by bending to the side. This helps with upper body rotation so you can pivot better during your golf swing.

3. Shoulder muscle stretch

Stand straight with your feet apart and hold your right elbow with your left hand. Gently pull your right hand across your body in the left hand direction. Hold for 30 seconds. Repeat the process with your left hand. You can also try crossing your arms while holding a golf club. Remember to keep your feet together as shown in the picture.

4. Wrist stretch

Stretch out your right hand and turn your palm towards the ground. Keep the elbow absolutely straight. Now with your left hand hold the top of your fingers and gently draw the wrist up. You will easily feel the stretch in your right wrist. Repeat the process with your left hand wrist.

5. Calf stretch

You can either steady yourself by standing in front of a wall or just use a golf club for support. Keep your feet pointed in front and firmly placed on the ground. Place your left foot back with the heel on the ground as shown in the picture. Now bend your right knee till you can experience the stretch in your left leg. Repeat this process with the right leg.

With these stretches your body will be well prepared to take on the greens. It’s important to stretch before the round, while on the course and also after the round. Post-round exercise will prevent lactic acid build up in the lower lower back and hips.

Concentrate on your area of weakness to improve technique, consistency and strength. Flexibility is a key ingredient to your swing mechanics. What are some of your routine stretches and exercises for golf?

Your putter is the most used club in your bag. Each hole requires your putter at least once (and for most of us twice, if not more!). Let’s take a closer look at the variations and classifications available.

Based on shaft length:

If your aim is to produce quality puts then it’s important to get the right putter length for your height. The minimum length limit is set at 18 inches but the maximum length is your decision.

Standard length- This 33 to 36 inch putter lets your arms hang down and gives you that famous pendulum swing to get the ball rolling towards the cup.

Belly length- This 41-46 inch putter offers three points of contact. It allows you to anchor the putter against your body. Although this putter requires a little more practise, it is easier on the wrist.

Long putters - Ranging between 48 and 52 inches, the long putter is also called the broom-handle for obvious reasons! Normally used by experts, this putter requires a completely different kind of grip. It can be rested near the chin, chest or at the belly button.

Based on design:

Blade - this traditional design features a small head and a flat look and is suitable for most greens. These are ideal for golfers who have a straight putting stroke.

Peripheral weighted - this putter is not face balanced and thus is ideal for golfers with an in to out stroke. It offers more head than the standard blade putter and is used by both amateurs and experts alike.

Mallets - Bigger sized and heavier, the mallets are face balanced and offers a soft hit although the head is large. It helps reduce backspin and would be great for a straight through.

Based on putter faces:

Your putter face material would largely depend on the speed of the greens and the ball that you have selected.

Metal faced - Apart from traditional steel other materials like bronze, copper, brass, aluminium, titanium and zinc are also used. A metal face putter gives you noise feedback so you can actually hear the ‘connection’!

Insert faced - This variety of metal putters has a non-metal insert to ensure a smoother roll and a softer feel. It offers a wide area for pure strikes as weight is added to the toe and the heel.

Groove faced - Missed putts result when the ball skids, slides, hops or spins upon impact. This can be avoided when grooves are placed on the putter face. The ball is gripped by the groves and is lifted so it is ready to roll.

Other classifications:

Putters can also be classified on the bases of shafts and hosels. There are three main varieties- Heel shafted, centre shafted and offset. Further, your choice of putters can be based on the kind of grip that you desire. However, the primary consideration should be your level of comfort. So try a lot of putters, and choose the one that feels the best.

Happy Golfing

Kickpoint, torque, bend profile, frequency, length, and weight are all important factors in the design of a golf shaft. But let’s go back to the basic and most important parameter - shaft flex.

The right flexibility of a golf shaft for you depends on your swing speed and swing tempo. You can qualitatively measure your swing tempo on how smooth your transition is from backswing to downswing, as well as the smoothness of acceleration from the beginning of downswing to the point of impact.

Let’s first examine swing speed. This chart from GolfSmith is a good rule-of-thumb to map swing speed to flex. But beware - one shaft company’s regular flex is another’s stiff flex. There is no standard out there.

For swing tempo, a golfer needs a stiffer shaft if he has the following characteristics:

• fast transition from backswing to downswing
• uneven acceleration from the top of the swing to impact (faster acceleration towards impact)
• late release of the wrists during the downswing

All 3 factors comprise a swing tempo, which can basically be boiled down to how “jerky” your swing is. The smoother it is, the softer the flex should be.
For both swing speed and swing tempo, you don’t want the club head to lag behind your shaft at impact (too soft). And you don’t want the head to be misaligned in front of the shaft at impact (too stiff). Optimal energy transfer from club head speed to ball speed happens with perfect alignment of shaft to head. And the right flex is the most important factor in accomplishing this.

What happens when your shaft is too soft for you?

• The ball will launch higher than it should due to a lagging kick point.
• The ball will hook left since most golfers have closed clubhead faces during the backswing, and the head will remain closed at impact
• With inaccurate trajectory and direction, the ball will not travel as far

What happens when your shaft is too stiff for you?

• ll will launch lower than it should due to a stiff kick point
• The ball will slice right since most golfers since the clubface will be open at impact
• With inaccurate trajectory and direction, the ball will not travel as far

Most golfers pick a shaft flex that is too stiff for their swing. When in doubt, err on the side of flexibility. We designed our interchangeable shaft driver so that golfers can try different shafts with one clubhead, and feel the difference for themselves.

In Feb 2007, the USGA formally proposed allowing more club adjustability. Specifically, this nearly guaranteed that drivers with interchangeable shafts would soon be ruled conforming.

“PGA Tour players have long had the opportunity to have their clubs adjusted or modified quickly and often. This has allowed them to fit their clubs to their swings as they feel the need to do so. By relaxing the rules to permit club adjustability, average golfers can enjoy similar fitting benefits.”

Alpha Golf was in close contact with the USGA throughout 2007 for the interchangeable driver that we filed a patent for. When Dr. Yeh heard the news that our design was approved in Aug 2007, we immediately ramped up production and got it in the hands of Champion Tour players by October. By January ‘08 (technically 1/1/08), the C830.4 was legally conforming and in play on the Tour.

It’s worth noting that our interchangeable shaft driver is completely different from the Taylormade SelectFit or the Callaway OptiFit systems. Both are great innovations and toolsets that remove some of the mystery of pairing shafts with heads. They’ve allowed many mainstream retail outlets to become bona fide fitting centers. But both systems are designed to replicate the actual golf club to be produced. And not designed to be the golf club used in play.

The new USGA ruling doesn’t affect the OptiFit and SelectFit clubs. But the ruling does open up opportunities for adjustable golf clubs like ours that explicitly got conforming clearance by the USGA, effective Jan 1st 2008. But we owe a debt of gratitude to Callaway and Taylormade for educating the mainstream golfer on the benefits of custom fitting.

Hopefully more golfers will take advantage of fitting with the interchangeable shaft technology…

Long Driver Cody Ellis decided to light his club on fire before swinging. Makes for a pretty cool picture!