The Idiocy of Movable Weights and Draw Drivers
On the Chinese calendar, 2007 is the Year of the Pig, but in golf, it is the year of the Draw. The first major equipment company to the "Draw-ing" table was TaylorMade with their r7 Draw. Then Callaway added to their FT line and its innovative square head, but couldn’t help themselves and now offers a FT-5 in three flavors: draw, neutral and fade.In 2004-06, we saw the introduction of moveable weight drivers. Then they expanded the concept to irons, hybrids and putters. Now we can move weight around on everything in our bag except maybe our ball retriever.
Lately, to gain a market edge, TaylorMade and Callaway have been trying to undermine each other's credibility in the media. Creating a controversy of moveable weights versus square heads. This public fight may be good for equipment sales, but it does nothing for the average golfer. Neither of these product innovations will improve a 15-handicapper's game.
You have just blasphemed!! May the legal departments of these companies smite you.**
Not hardly. Changing the configuration of your driver by throwing weight around a club is not going to make a difference to any golfer unless we have a REPEATABLE SWING. If we can't do the same thing two consecutive times, what difference does it make if we can put weight in the toe, heel or anywhere else?
Every golfer wants to improve their game. It's one of those great truths in the universe. Short of outright cheating (a little rule-bending is okay), we are all looking for the next golf magazine tip or Zen moment when everything is right with the golfing world and we shoot that elusive par round.
We are being taken for an expensive ride my friends. Buying that $499 driver isn't going to mean a hill of beans to your game if you can't do the same thing twice. Save your money and buy some lessons. That and your old trusty 360cc driver will help lower your score faster than any of the fancy new drivers on the market today.
**Insert “cover-your-ass” legal babble here.
Labels: Callaway, Moveable Weights, Retailing, Square Drivers, TaylorMade
posted by Golf Gear News @ 6:57 PM
4 Comments:
A good commentary here. What you are really saying is "keep it real" - there is no substitute for a repeating swing - tricking up your golf clubs is not going to help.
Your comment "Every golfer wants to improve their game. It's one of those great truths in the universe" is so true. However, you cannot buy a golf game....you have to work at it.
Cheers
Aidan
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A repeatable consistent swing is a good thing, IF you can hit the ball straight. Otherwise, it is a waste of time.
The only way you hit it long is to apply FORCE to the ball ... Force is simply MASS X Acceleration.
The rest is all hype.
Given identical clubs and balls, the guy who has the fastest swing speed will hit the ball farthest - on average.
Whether the shot is straight or not is another question. But far is all about acceleration and mass applied to the ball.
Now the problem with far for most people is they can't swing it fast enough.
What club makers have to do is make the heads of drivers and fairway woods at least 3x heavier by weight not bigger or just changing the shape.
It is much easier to acquire a decent repeatable swing using a club with a heavier head than one with a lighter head, simply because the weight of the club makes it harder to get off line when you swing it. And the heavier club would add more force to the ball since it's mass would be more, while the swing speed would be the same as it would be with other clubs.
It really is rocket science ... actually it is ballistics.
The other reason people suck is they always try to hit it farther rather than straighter. If you can putt some, you do not need to hit the ball much more than 200 yards to break 80 on just about any course in the world.
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