Equipment or Instruction? Chicken or the Egg?
by PGA Teaching Professional Marc L. White
My first article for the equipment review department is going to come at you from a different angle. I feel the need to set some groundwork for future specific articles in this field. At one of my teaching facilities in Michigan (see my website – marcwhitegolf.com), I work in conjunction with one of the most qualified and experienced club builders in the state. His name is Ed Opie. Ed has a magnificent workshop at his home and a satellite shop with me at the Marc White Golf Training Studio. In September, Ed invited me to attend his fall meeting of the Professional Club Builders Society. I felt just a little out of place; a seasoned teaching professional in the same room with 25 professional club builders/fitters. Through the years, the relationship between golf instructors and club builders has been somewhat tenuous. The club-maker wants to correct a golfers slice by making the club more upright or giving the driver more offset. The teaching professional wants to correct the slice by working on the grip, stance and swing plane. When I stood in front of those 25 men and presented this exact example complete with demonstration into a hitting net, I was thrilled to hear the majority of the room agree that if they had a potential client come to them with a drastic over-the-top swing path that they would recommend that person work on their swing before getting fitted for clubs. The general consensus was that the teaching professional needs to have a greater understanding of what’s involved in building a fitted set of clubs and the professional club builder needs to have a better understanding of swing mechanics.
As golfers, you are doing yourself a disservice, if you don’t seek out an experienced and knowledgeable teaching professional to ensure your swing mechanics are sound. Once that is the case, then you must have your equipment checked for the correct lie angle, loft, length, grip size and shaft flex. Skillful golfers know exactly what I mean. However, even the average to higher handicap golfer can benefit from these suggestions.
A few years ago, a gentleman called me for a lesson. When he arrived, he proudly displayed his new set of Ping irons just purchased at a retail golf store. He said they did a “fitting” and that these clubs were “made for him.” I watched him hit a few shots with respectable results. I recorded some of his swings on digital computer video. As a man of 40 years, his major complaint was a slicing and lack of distance for his age, strength and flexibility. In reviewing the video, he himself, noticed and commented on how much the club was pulled to the inside on the backswing and then thrown out over-the-top on the downswing. I continued to explain how this swing fault typically produces weak slices and that the weaker the slice (more loss of distance), the faster he tried to swing the club. The faster he tried to swing the club, the more he swung with just his arms. This produced an even more over-the-top swing resulting in an even weaker slice. No wonder he was exhausted after the round. Getting back to his equipment, when someone swings outside-in (over-the-top), it always results in a “toe-deep” divot. As the toe hits the ground, the face of the club will quickly open, contributing to a slice. So, when he was “fit” for this set of irons, they sold him an extremely upright set of clubs so that the bottom of the club had a greater chance of soling flat at impact.
This gentleman and I continued to work together at rebuilding his golf swing. Through a much better understanding of swing mechanics, he was able to make the necessary adjustments that allowed him to hit the ball much straighter, even with a little draw. He noticed not only an improvement in his direction but also a substantial increase in distance. What else did we have to do along the way? You guessed it! After about two months and six sessions, we shipped his irons back to Ping to be adjusted for a more correct lie angle. That also helped. So what’s the moral of the story? Don’t be so anxious to buy your buddy’s used latest and greatest driver at a super-duper price. He’s getting rid of it because it probably didn’t fit him correctly. Chances are it’s not right for you either.
Future article in this department will involve specific golf equipment review from putters to wedges, irons and drivers. Thank you for your support, and as always keep in mind that “going low” is more than having the right equipment and a sound golf swing. It’s a state of mind.