I recently returned from the 2010 PGA Merchandise show and spent some time looking at the new clubs and balls that will be offered in the upcoming season and of course they come with all the promises – drivers that go longer and straighter, irons that produce more accurate approach shots, putters that make more putts than any other, and wedges that will spin like no other.
So what does all this mean for the 2010 golfer. Honestly, not much. This “new” breed of technology won’t really make any difference in the game of golfers, just as past equipment really hasn’t had that much of an impact – which is proven by the fact that golfers scores/handicaps are not improving. Now I don’t want to downplay the importance of club/ball fitting, because I think that each golfer should be fit with the proper equipment, and the right ball. But I can’t help but wonder whether equipment changes and benefits are just as much mental as they are physical.
The reason I say this is the countless times I’ve experienced the following scenarios with golfers; a golfer finds and purchases a new driver that he absolutely loves, then a couple of months later is looking for a new one because he can’t hit that one anymore. Or a golfer finds a golf ball – a brand/model he’s never played – on the golf course, decides to play it and plays the last 7 holes of his round really well – so now he wants to buy that brand of ball. A golfer is struggling terribly with his putter so he buys another one – then starts to put really well. Another golfer tries a demo set of irons, that he loves, so we order the set, but then he finds he can’t hit them as well as the demo set so we sell him the demos and we end up putting his new/used set in stock as the demos. Now in this last example, could there have been a physical difference? That’s possible, but I doubt enough of a manufacturing physical difference to explain the radical performance difference the player was experiencing.
So what all these things mean to me is that much of it is mental. I see golfers with the same 5 wood in their bag for the past 15 years and ask why they haven’t changed it – the new technology is clearly proven to be better. But they’ll say they’ve tried the new technology, but they just love that 5 wood and have confidence in it. This is especially true with putters – once you find one that you like, most golfers tend to use it for a long time – which makes sense since, in my opinion, there really isn’t that big of a difference in technology when it comes to putters. In fact sometimes when a golfer comes in and I ask him or her if they love their putter, and they respond “no”, I suggest they look at possibly trying some other putters. Why? Because chance are if they change their attitude toward their putter, their putting will start to improve. And once it starts to show some improvement, the player gains more confidence, which then improves their putting even more.
So as the season begins (and it will for those of us that live in colder climates), there will be new equipment choices that will be presented to you – and may even tempt you. But I think you owe it to yourself to make sure that you are using the correct equipment – both with clubs and balls. Then after that you have to ask yourself the question, is it the club, or is it my attitude towards that club? So you have choices. You can change the club, or change your mental approach/attitude, or maybe do a little bit of both.
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