The summer edition of NCGA Golf excerpted Barney Adams’ new book.  Read on for the complete equipment quiz.

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THE WOW FACTOR

How I Turned One Great Idea and
My Unbridled Enthusiasm
Into a Golf Revolution

Author: Barney Adams
Copyright © 2008 by Barney Adams

CHAPTER 32: YOU AND YOUR CLUBS, AN EQUIPMENT QUIZ

I had a little fun with my industry analysis, but grant me that while it was an effort to keep things interesting, the essence of the story is true. If it discourages a reader from entering the golf equipment business that was not the intent. I’ll give the Barney version of a great historical statement: “Those who don’t study history are subject to lose their shirts.”

This part is about you and your golf clubs, a quiz from my days at PGA seminars.  Given golfer’s passion about their equipment I promise that this approach will be conducted with appropriate seriousness.

Before I start the quiz let me give an analysis of a set of clubs as they are sold today. In “my time” we had sets of clubs. They consisted of a driver, two fairway woods, and irons generally 2, 3 through a sand wedge.  It was normal that with an exception or two all the clubs would be from the same manufacturer, a matched set. These have since given way to a combination of application specific woods and irons. Start with the driver. They have very large heads, very high momentum, and long, light shafts. They are essentially a specialty club, designed to hit the long bomb with a mostly straight ball flight. They are not ideal for curving the ball or hitting shots off the ground, hence the designation as a specialty club.

Fairway woods are essentially two different categories, three woods and the rest. The three wood of today now embodies the specs of drivers in past years. They range in length from 43” down, lofts as low as 9, 10 degrees depending on head design. No wonder the pros hit them so far. If I remember correctly, Jack Nicklaus’s driver was 42 ½” long with eleven degrees of loft. The three wood is designed to be hit off a tee and off the ground with a trajectory applicable for the player involved. Subsequent fairway woods are simply players’ choice.

Next comes the long irons which are now, in many cases, hybrids. One question is why hybrids, and there are several influences. The era of strong lofted clubs in the shorter irons has decreased the group of 2, 3, 4 irons to a narrow loft range that is very difficult to manufacture accurately These clubs have always been difficult to hit, and the stronger face loft hasn’t helped. Fairways are cut tighter than in years past, resulting in tight lies [I love that term] and adding to the difficulty. Driver and ball design have also affected long irons and yes, I’m serious. Manufacturers know that drivers that hit farther sell more. Decreasing spin while keeping the launch angle is the objective. The same is true for golf balls with an era of softer, lower spin rate balls. Standing over a 2, 3 iron we need spin to lift the ball or we need significant club head speed to help. Hybrids have a low and rearward center of gravity in their head design and as a result launch the ball higher with less spin. In other words for most of us they go farther and that is a good thing.

The category of hybrids has been a very interesting development. They were embraced by Tour players before the general public. The best players in the world were using hybrids that are more forgiving, easier to hit and especially easier to hit high soft shots. During a significant time period amateurs stuck to their long irons, a phenomena that baffled manufacturers and tour players alike. This has changed now but it was an interesting period. 

Now we get to the iron looking clubs, and with the knowledge learned from the increased efficiency in the hybrids, manufacturers are providing us with irons that are longer, stronger and easier to hit. Take two competing 8 irons and the one that goes farther sells 90% of the time. Trust me, manufacturers know this.
 
On to wedges, which have become a category of their own. Again in the old days we carried a pitching wedge and sand wedge. The super strong lofts created gaps so a G wedge was introduced.  Now we have 60, 64 degree wedges. Different bounces for different head designs. It’s important to be aware of the type of course you play and the wedge design you use. You want less bounce for very tight, firm fairways and more bounce on your sand wedge [or a wider sole] for soft fluffy sand. I also suggest that for 90% of the amateur players all wedges with over a 56 degree (standard sand wedge) face loft be given to someone you want to beat. Yes, I am aware of all the advertising copy but there is one thing missing; practice. It takes some serious practice to develop the feel and technique for these clubs; most ranges don’t even have an adequate area. Even if they do, I guarantee the time spent hitting drivers is 10:1. The mishit 60, 64 degree wedge almost always leads to a greater disaster than if you carry a 56 and 52 (gap wedge) and learn to hit them with confidence.

Now that I’ve given you the big picture on a clubs let’s get to some specifics, in a manner that is both fun and interesting.  The approach is one I’ve used in the past, a simple True/False quiz. The questions that follow are selected from some thirty-five I’ve used over the years and the objective here is to give you information that will help you select the best equipment for your own game. Let me start with one basic suggestion: whenever possible, hit clubs before you purchase them. If the season doesn’t allow, go indoors. The new sensor technology for hitting balls indoors is outstanding and you can get great feedback.

The reason I recommend this approach is the human factor. I have custom fit as many clubs as most in the business, and one thing I know is that whenever I think I can watch someone make a couple of swings and call out their specs, I’ll be wrong. With that I hope what follows is helpful and they’re all T/F except one.

Equipment Quiz

(1) The heart and soul of any golf club is the shaft. 
True ____  False ____
(2) Drivers with longer shaft lengths hit the ball farther. 
True ____  False ____
(3) If you buy a 5 wood and hit it great, buy a 3 wood in the same specs to get even more distance.
True ____  False ____
(4) Since graphite shafts are lighter you will swing them faster, producing more distance.
True ____  False ____
(5) A forged head in an iron has a softer feel than an investment cast head. 
True ____   False ____
(6) If a new club doesn’t look playable at address, don’t worry; it will get better over time.
True ____  False ____
(7) You can get clubs made from non brand components that will perform as well as the expensive brands.
True ____  False ____
(8) It’s an industry secret that companies use inexpensive graphite shafts in their woods to save money.
True ____  False ____
(9) Graphite shafts fatigue over time, especially if exposed to serious heat or cold. 
True ____   False ____
(10)  The longest drives are the straight “bullets” that roll out a ton. 
True ____  False ____
(11) On balance you will hit softer shafts better and that’s equally true with softer golf balls. 
True ____  False ____
(12) Custom fit clubs will make you swing better. 
True ____  False ____
(13) This last is a multiple choice: You enter a golf shop where the professional has been granted magic powers. He can grant you one golf wish. You get to improve your game, and make it more like that of a Tour player. There are four areas to pick from:
(A) longer, straighter tee shots,
(B) longer accurate second shots say, from 160 yards to 200+,
(C) more accurate short shots including wedges and chipping, or
(D) better putting. Whatever the degree of improvement, it will be the same in each category, so to move your game closer to that of the touring professional, you get to pick one, which will produce the best result. You in this case are an avid golfer, say a bit better than average, a 16 handicap. 
A ____  B ____  C ____  D ____

THE ANSWERS

These answers are relative to a majority of golfers. As a fitter I came across exceptions to just about everything, so don’t contact me about your Uncle Mycroft who plays the opposite of every answer, as I’ve already met him.       
 
(1) The heart and soul of any golf club is the shaft. FALSE.  Furthermore, the shaft can be considered the most overrated part of a golf club!
If this one doesn’t get your attention, you should put the book down because 99% of the honest reactions are TRUE.  Furthermore, my answer is often met with skepticism (at best).  Before I go into detail, let me remind you that I have access to some of the best shaft experts in the golf industry and am pretty careful when I discuss controversial subjects.

Let’s start with history.  I’ll recite from Barney’s list of equipment blunders, in this case the J driver.  Approximately 20 years ago, Jumbo Ozaki, the great Japanese player, arrived to play in the Masters with a Bridgestone driver named after him called the J driver.  Among other pros, Greg Norman used one, and throughout the tournament the announcers talked about this club and the incredible distances it produced.  It was the kind of TV response every equipment manufacturer dreams of, and the club became a phenomenon.  Way before Callaway, the J driver had an oversized head, was expensive by the standards of the time, and golfers had to have one.
There were sign-up lists at stores and pro shops.  Golfers with access traveled to Japan and returned with as many as they could find. Some sold them for enough to finance the trip plus make a significant profit. 
 
This product should have influenced golf equipment for years to come, but it didn’t.  It had one rather minor flaw: in the hands of the average golfing public, it was almost unhittable. The ball went low, right, not a desired ball flight for a driver. What did the smart golfers do?  They had it reshafted, some more than once, but the results were essentially the same. The club was acceptable to some elite players, but there was no market for the average golfer and people bought it with the most positive expectations.

Back around 1970 I remember that a fellow golf nut showed up with a radical new set of irons he bought called PING.  By standards of the time ugly they were, and received great ridicule.  Their inventor, Karsten Solheim, was not easily deterred, believing that he had a superior product design. (I bet he had some WOW responses.)  Over the years his product was not only accepted, it became the #1 selling iron in the industry (an overnight success after 15 years), praised by golfers of all skill levels. He enjoyed an iron market share never before achieved by one company.  What wasn’t universally known at the time was Karsten’s choice of shafts. They were X flex, designed not just for strong players but for everyone!  These irons are still in play, loved by their owners, and during my “in shop” days I had a lot of fun showing people what they were actually using. I might add, I also told them that they were/are a great club. Shafts overrated?  You could certainly say so in this case.
 
No rational club fitter today would prescribe X flex shafts for all his customers regardless of club head speed. Yet the Ping Eyes did exactly that and received universal praise. I’ve had people say it was because they used light shafts, but they were only slightly lighter than the standard shafts of the time. The club “played” lighter because the grips were heavier. I know this was back in the ’80s, but I don’t think the human race was much different then than they are today. The Ping Eyes enjoyed the largest market share in iron sales, was universally praised, and its shafts were in violation of all known standards for flex.
 
The J driver was simply a case of a head design that did not work for less than very high swing speeds. If a head design is off you can’t save the club with a shaft. The Ping Eye irons were a bit more complex, but they were very consistent, very well balanced, and had a great head design. The common denominator here is head design.  Do the job right and you can optimize performance with a shaft, so my false answer can be true in certain instances.
 
Even then it is a complex area. I fully subscribe to the philosophy that well-designed driver heads for some players can be optimized with a shaft fitting, especially given the electronic analysis available today. This is true for fairway woods and hybrids but less true as you get into short irons and wedges. Most golfers I’ve seen could play with a stiff shaft in their wedges with no letdown in performance, even with 9 and 8 irons. It’s quite individual.  If some golfers knew they had an “S” shaft in their wedge, they would have a hard time hitting good shots even if it was correct. Such is the mental aspect of the game.
 
What exactly is the job of the shaft? To return the club head to the ball in a square position so the maximum energy can be transmitted. The shaft does not create energy. From a playing standpoint you want a shaft that does its job in a repetitive manner, something you feel confident you can use. Let’s say you should play an “R” flex shaft.  That doesn’t mean you can’t muscle up and make solid contact with an “S.” It just means that the “R” fits your swing and using an “R” you’ll be able to perform more consistently. The point to calling this false is that you understand a good club is just that: head, shaft, and grip. And if some component part is off, it cannot be fixed with just the shaft.
 
(2) Longer shafted drivers produce more distance. TRUE.  This has been proven on machine tests and through human testing. The USGA has placed a 48″ limit on drivers; most of the long drive contestants use drivers 48″ and longer. If the answer is so clear, then why the question? Because the Web is full of columns by golfing experts. I have read various entries that state the optimum length for a driver is 44″, 44 ½”, a variety of lengths wherein the author of the site purports to have some magic insight (and no test data) into driver length. They say that any longer than their standard and your off center miss-hits increase negating any value of the long shaft.
 That just isn’t true, especially in this era of high MOI heads; it’s still an individual game and you may not be comfortable with extra length but it’s worth trying. I’m not saying everyone will hit longer shaft length drivers for greater distance, as some people just can’t adjust to the extra length. I’m saying the potential is there.

(3) If you buy a 5 wood and hit it great, buy a 3 wood in the same specs to get even more distance. FALSE. This is a very common misconception. Let’s say you are assigned the job of watering the lawn, more specifically the flowers at the end of the lawn. You have the hose stretched as far as it will go and the water pressure on full blast. If you hold the hose parallel to the ground the water doesn’t reach the flowers; hold it perpendicular and you water yourself.  But hold the hose at the proper angle and the water reaches the flowers. The water pressure is club head speed and the hose is launch angle.  It very well could be that the 5 wood is optimum for you to reach the flowers and a 3 wood will not go as far. This is something you need to test before running out and buying a 3 wood.

(4)  Since graphite shafts are lighter you will swing the club faster producing more distance. FALSE. Well, false in irons and up to about 42″ in woods, then it’s true.  You can be right with either answer if you were thinking about certain clubs. I have included the question because it’s one I’ve been asked countless times at demo days.  Fast only counts at the moment of impact.  I’ve seen many players hit graphite shorter because they swung the club faster in the backswing but couldn’t time their impact properly. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen slow-swinging seniors and ladies hit steel shafts farther. I can’t tell you how many times in possession of this hard data I’ve had them say, “Well, I really like graphite” and I say, “Yes, certainly” because I know if they have a mind-set that steel doesn’t work for them, it won’t. Based on years of range experience I see no special value in graphite shafts.  The exception is in the minds of golfers, their perception, and that is a major consideration. 

Starting with longer clubs, approximately 42″, graphite is preferable.  The overall length, head weight and lighter shaft can be engineered to produce more distance. Rarely do you see product on the market that doesn’t use graphite for these lengths and it’s just about universal in drivers.

(5)  Forged heads produce a softer feel at impact. FALSE. Since Adams Golf produces a forged head I can ramble on without being accused of company bashing. Forged heads have what is known as a long grain and they are easy to bend. However, this softness is not the same as impact softness. A soft feel at impact is the absence of vibration and that comes from club head design.

While I’m discussing feel, let me include a major factor, sound. It’s well known among manufacturers that they are so closely associated as to often be considered one and the same. Consumers have picked out the best feeling clubs with great certainty, only to wear sound inhibitors and not be able to repeat their conclusions. Nothing is wrong with forgings, but there’s no magic feel inherent from the process.

(6)   If a club doesn’t look playable at address, don’t worry. It will improve over time. FALSE.  It’s essential that when looking at a club in the address position the message to your golfing system must be, wow, I can hit this. If the message isn’t there you will lose faith in the clubs long before there is any grudging acceptance.

(7)  I can buy components and have a club made as good as the brand products and for a lot less money.  FALSE.  Before I get the wrath of the components guys, read my answer and remember I was once a components guy. I see the process that goes into club design: months of research and testing. Designs down to 0.005 to ensure the exact location of the mass properties. The use of different weight materials in one head, stringent controls, and quality checks to be sure that product is made to specification. I have been in the Asian operations of some of the largest components builders. They may make clubs that externally resemble well-known brands but the internal design and control of mass properties is not the same.  In this case I’m referencing drivers, but with the complex design technology used today it pretty much runs throughout the set. 

The incredible competition in the golf business forces big brand manufacturers to continually fine-tune their products and even smaller companies have to really hustle to keep up, much less component houses. “Uncle Mycroft is a beginner, so why should he shell out his hard-earned cash to show off a brand? You ask. “I know that half that cost is marketing money, not the true cost of the components.”  I told you I have been to this rodeo.  Tell your Uncle to look for deeply discounted models from last year; they weren’t bad, and the improvements aren’t quantum leaps better. Use the savings to take lessons.

(8)  It’s an industry secret that big brand manufacturers use cheap shafts to reduce product cost.  FALSE.  Years ago there was some truth to this but not today. No chance. Take someone small like Adams: we have 27 (and growing) R&D personnel.  It takes months to design and test, say, a new driver; over a year is not uncommon. So after all that time and expense, are we going to just throw in a cheap shaft to save money, then go out and compete against the best in the industry? If it’s a major brand they have the same issues, only more expense; they are not going to use a cost-saving cheap shaft so someone like us can kick their butt. 

Once you design a head, you go into extensive testing to pick a shaft design that helps provide optimum performance.  Do you negotiate for the best prices? Certainly…but not by sacrificing quality.   

Now you’re shaft company A, you’ve just gone through all of this with a major equipment manufacturer and during the testing you find out that the shaft pattern they like is really pretty good. Can you market it under your own name, different color pattern, different brand, and sell it for considerably more as a component to the independent shops.  Have I ever seen anyone re-shaft their driver for what I know is VERY close to the same shaft, color being the big difference? Of course, and they are convinced it’s better.

(9)   Graphite shafts will fatigue over time, especially if exposed to extreme heat.  FALSE.  In the old days, yes, but today’s resins are impervious to those types of ambient conditions. As for steel shafts, they may start to fatigue after about 50 years.

(10)  The longest tee shots are those bullets that go in a straight line and roll forever. FALSE.  Unless you are playing the Bonneville Flats Yacht and Country Club. A golf ball is sitting on a tee minding its own business. Along comes this mass, propelling it off into space; the ball is moved by force and because its surface is not smooth, aerodynamics come into play. It will reach maximum distance when the combination of force and spin work together. 

If the trajectory is flat, the ball looks like it falls out of the sky.  This is force without enough spin. If the ball starts out flat but climbs vertically into the sky, then spin has taken over and is not in synch with force. If the ball rises in a rocket-like trajectory, reaches an apex, and falls to earth, it is the optimum combination of force and spin.  Buy the club that produces that shape. What is the “optimum trajectory” that’s a tough call. I’ve seen flatter drives run out and later the same trajectory doesn’t carry a rise in the fairway. My best answer is every long hitter I’ve seen launches the ball.

(11) Softer shafts and softer golf balls work best for most golfers. TRUE.  Yet why do I see so many golfers playing golf balls especially designed for faster swing speeds? The application of softer shafts has been written about many times in recent years and I think the public is getting the message. Remember, the job of the shaft is to help you return the club head to the ball in a square position; the shaft doesn’t create energy so find what works for you.

One of the greatest changes in modern golf is our ability to try golf ball designs until we find one that fits our game.  In the old days the biggest variable was the brand and the number on the ball. There were ultra-wound balls for the elite player or the wealthy because they’d cut if you looked at them funny. I haven’t seen a smile on a ball in years but I do see folks playing with expensive brand-name balls that don’t fit their swing speeds. I don’t know if it’s ego or great branding, but don’t be afraid to experiment – you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

(12)  Custom fit clubs will cause you to swing better.  TRUE.  I’ve seen this first-hand and it surprised me. After I thought about it for a while, it shouldn’t have; it is relatively simple. One of the keys in a custom set is good posture both at address and during the swing. Combine that with the proper club length, shaft flex, and lie and a custom set is there to do its job.  The primary objective is to decrease your bad hits and increase the probability of good ones. Once that process starts, your personal computer recognizes what is going on and Mr. Confidence enters the picture. It doesn’t take much as the process works together and you in turn will make better swings. Am I a proponent of custom clubs? You bet I am.

(13) This is the multiple-choice question with the magic power professional.  Let me repeat one thing: the objective is to improve your game, making it closer to the level of the Tour player. The answer is B, the long second shot. I’ll now give five full minutes for the putting crowd to yell at me and explain that putting is half the game and that even a minor improvement in putting will show up in the score.

Now you are playing in a scramble, one of those A, B, C, and D player events, and in my example the handicaps are fair. The A player has just hit a big tee shot and your team is facing a 192 yard forced carry over water to the green. Truthfully, how many guys need to get out of the cart besides the A player and the answer is maybe the B three times out of 10.  The A player hits a nice shot onto the green 18′ from the cup.  Now how many players are in the game? How many times has the D player been the best or at least tied for the best putter.

The answer is B because for a long second shot to a green most of us play to some degree of failure. Sure, we don’t putt like the pros, but sometimes we come close.  Yet we very seldom hit high, long second shots softly onto the green. If we want to score more like they do, we need to get better in that area. 

In seminars I’ll inevitably get someone who says my answer is wrong.  They have the putting yips, or they can’t get off the tee, and those are the areas that need the genie. They’re absolutely correct, but my question is of a general nature. Just yesterday I was watching a Tour event on TV, and the leader missed two putts under 4′ on the back nine; he also hit a beautiful 4 iron 227 yards over a hazard onto a green. I can make a 4’putt; under those conditions I might have choked so bad that I’d have 3 putted, but I can make a 4’ putt.  Put me 227 yards carry over a hazard and unless I bounce off a turtle it isn’t going to happen. That Tour player has a full shot advantage; from 227 I’ll always be laying up, but at 197 if I improve and can get my ball on the green or fringe, my scores will go down.

I could start playing 6,000-yard courses where my second shots never exceed 147 yards.  I’m not that smart and don’t have control over my ego. 

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