Senior Suggestion for Driver and Clubs
I have been writing a few articles about club fitting and the importance of having properly fit clubs to play better golf. I have been closing each article with a statement ,'To get a good hit'¦the club has to fit.'
I have a suggestion I want to lay on the table for all seniors over 65 years old who are under 5'10 inches tall. This also has to do with any men who have endurance and strength or arthritic issues that want and need help to improve their shot making, especially their drivers and woods. Along with this suggestion I will throw out a challenge and ask that those who take it also report back with the results to see if there is any merit to the suggestion.
I have written articles about club fitting responding to questions from our readers and members about difficulty in hitting their driver and other woods. In many cases the writer has said that he or she hit hybrids and irons OK, but the fairway woods, especially the driver, are just poor to awful. That leads to asking why they hit the hybrids OK. Because hybrids are designed, for the most part, to replace long irons with a design that hits the ball higher and thus longer. Because they are replacing irons, the hybrids are much shorter and lighter, which makes them much easier to swing and hit better than the fairway woods and driver. I think we can easily conclude from this that shorter and lighter has merit and could be an answer to the poor performance many experience hitting their fairway woods and driver.
As seniors, we loose flexibility, suppleness, strength, speed and endurance. Throw in arthritis and other ailments in our physical condition and we have all aspects of life, golf included, diminishing in performance due to this drain on our abilities. I believe, and Dr. Armstrong concurs, that loss of strength and speed in our movement is a major cause of peak performance waning into poor performance as we age. And, I believe, there is help for your golf game.
My suggestion is that senior men consider trying ladies fairway woods and drivers to see if they can swing them and hit better shots. The lengths of most ladies clubs are close if not the same length as standard men's clubs were back in the late eighties and early nineties. Ladies clubs will be shorter, lighter, flatter, and more flexible than men's clubs. Also, the fairway woods and drivers tend to have a few degrees more loft, which makes hitting the ball in the air much easier. The grips may be too small and maybe the shafts too weak, but if the fit in length, weight and lie angle are good, then getting them made or altered with stiffer shafts and larger grips shouldn't be difficult and should be done if needed.
The first obstacle men have to overcome is any mental, physical and ego aversions to trying and even playing with ladies clubs. To me, this is simple and easily deduced with common sense dictating that if they are easier to swing with more speed and control and you hit better shoots, this is a no brainer. You should get them in your bag ASAP. The heck with ego, embarrassment and the possible ribbing you'd get from your friends. When you hit it better and start outdriving them and beating them, and feel better physically, mentally and emotionally after the round, who will have the last laugh.
I have one last point I want to throw out on this. Years ago on the PGA Tour, Fred Couples played with his wife's 3 wood, I am pretty sure, at the Bob Hope tournament in Palm Springs. The commentators talked about it all through the telecast, pointing out the great and long shots he was hitting using it. Fred even spoke about it in interviews, saying how easy it was to swing and control and how good he was hitting it. The ground work has already been laid and the door opened by Fred Couples. If you need another boost, I play 1 inch under men's standard length clubs (I have super long arms for my height) which basically are ladies length. In fact, since I am writing this, I guess I'll give my wife's club a go.
The next question is how do men go about trying ladies clubs? If you are lucky enough that your wife plays, just take her clubs out for a test run, or try them when you play a round with her. If you don't have access to a set of ladies clubs at home or through a friend, most golf courses should have ladies demo clubs and or a ladies rental set. Then there is demo day at clubs to try them out.
The key is to see how the shorter, lighter, flatter and more lofted woods feel for swinging with less effort and control, and if your shots improve with solidness of contact, accuracy and distance. I suggest using the irons also and see if they also perform better in the same way as the woods. If you play a complete round with them, pay attention to how you feel at the end of the round in terms of energy, versus fatigue, and how your strength and endurance is compared to your normal after round levels.
The purpose of this exercise is to see if you can improve your swing and ball striking and hit better shots to shoot lower scores. If this happens, golf will be more enjoyable, more fulfilling and more fun, with the bonus of more strength and energy left over after the round to be able to go home and mow the grass.
So, I challenge all you seniors or anyone who has strength issues, arthritis or physical limitations, to see if shorter, lighter, flatter ladies clubs will help in swinging easier and more controlled for better shot making. Take the test run, and be honest. Anything that can make playing golf easier, better, less stressful, more enjoyable, fun and rewarding, has to be good and worth a try. I ask all you 'pioneers' who take the challenge to please report back to me your results, thoughts and comments so we can report the results to all our readers and members. Just put, 'Pioneer' in the first line of your comment. Go for it!
The Surge