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Book Review: The Grumpy Old Golfer’s Putting Tips

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PuttingTipsI’ve never been one to spend a ton of money on a putter. To spend $100+ for something that, in essence, could be replaced by any flat-faced object with a handle never made much sense to me.

For me, it’s always been about the “feel” of the putter in my hands. If I had confidence in it, then I would have success with it. For some, having confidence means spending a ton of money on the latest mallet or blade style putter; for others, like Happy Gilmore, a modified hockey stick did the trick.

So it struck a cord when I read Tip #6 in “The Grumpy Old Golfer’s Putting Tips” book:

“When choosing a putter, confidence in the putter is more important than the cost.”

And then Tip #10 too:

“Choosing the correct putter for you is a very individualistic and personal decision. Never let someone choose your putter for you.”

The Grumpy Old Golfer’s Putting Tips has 300 quips like those mentioned above. Author E.P. Murphy explains at the beginning that many of the tips will convey similar sentiments, but will be stated differently. This is done to address the varying personalities of those reading the book – a tip that connects with one person, may only connect with someone else after a being restated in a different way. Plus the repetitiveness helps drive home his points.

Mr. Murphy is extremely transparent from the start, stating his book alone isn’t going to make you a great putter…but it will make you a better one. He has drawn from his 40+ years on the links and his collection of notes along the way: “This grumpy old golfer and his old worn notebooks will provide all you need to take you to another plateau in your putting skills.” And he might be on to something. After all, putting is a very important part of the game – as he states in his book; “Over 40 percent of the average golfer’s score comes from putting.”

Some of the tips you might have heard before (“Tip #127: On short puts aim to the back of the hole“) while others are unfamiliar, but effective: “Tip #119: On short putts, visualize yourself frozen in a block of ice up to your waist. Use only your upper body to execute the putt.”

But the book isn’t just a collection of tips. Each chapter is a theme (the approach; the setup; etc.) and at the beginning of each theme, Mr. Murphy digs a bit deeper with his narrative. The last chapter (Putting in a Nutshell) is a standalone pocket guide in and of itself, providing tips for short putts; long putts; and even preparing mentally.

But the tips make this book a must read. Perhaps my favorite is this one:

“The only club in the bag specifically made to hit the ball into the cup is the putter. Master it first, master it best.”

When you think about it, the above statement is perhaps one of the most profound pieces of golf advice you may ever receive. And the source is not your typical confusing and hard-to-read golf self-help book. Instead, The Grumpy Old Golfer’s Putting Tips is a simple and easy way to help keep you focused while on the greens.

The Grumpy Old Golfer’s Putting Tips is officially being released today via Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other online retailers.

Best Of Golf Gadgets; WTF!

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For the fifth installment of GG; WTF, I’ve decided to take a look back and showcase some of the rather unique gadgets that have graced our posts plus, as an added bonus, a new golf aid is featured! Without further delay, here we go…Golfstink’s Top Five Golf Gadgets…WTF!

 

#5

What they say: Swingyde will provide you with the feedback necessary to hinge the wrists correctly and assure that the face is perfectly square throughout the swing.

What I say: Holy $%#@!!! Vishnu has reincarnated to an amateur golfer people, amazing!

 

#4

What they say: With the Whippy TempoMaster® you will learn to:

  • Relax your hands and arms and swing the club head with incredible speed and control
  • Strike the ball using the large muscle that runs along the left side of your back (the lattismus dorsi muscle)
  • Swing hard without using your arms or hands to initiate the force of the swing
  • Keep your left arm connected to your rib cage
  • Transfer your weight from one side to the other correctly and smoothly with rhythm
  • Drive the ball really far, time and time again

What I say: HAAAAAAAAA! Whippy Master?!?!?!

  • Da da da da da…Crack that whip!
  • When a problem comes along…you must whip it!
  • Now whip it!
  • Whip it good

 

#3

What They Say: Using a proven and unique frame and brace design, several new features have been incorporated into the new CentreCup Pro so it promotes both the ‘straight-back and straight-through’ PILS putting stroke and the ‘inside-square-inside’ stroke. CentreCup Pro is the upgraded version of the best-selling CentreCup® putting aid and delivers a pure putting stroke every time – whichever method a teaching professional recommends.

What I Say: I got a better method for you. Get drunk, I’ll slump you over a lowered pull up bar and you can putt til you puke. Hey, at least you’ll get your money’s worth.
#2

What they say: Get the Right Angle with Right Link! The Right Link teaches you the proper role of the right arm throughout the golf swing. It develops the width and full extension you need for a more powerful, on-plane swing.

What I say: Steve Austin, golfer, a man barely alive…Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to make the world’s first bionic golfer. Steve Austin will be that golfer, better than he was before. Better, stronger, faster…

#1

What they say: I couldn’t imagine what they could say.

What I say: How the F$%# do you golf with this contraption? Looks like someone is a closet S&M fan…kinky.

As promised, please welcome the newest gadget to our collection…The Robo Swing Machine!
robo swing

What they say: The Robo Swing Machine Series enables golfers to experience what a professional golf swing feels like.

    • Encourages a well coordinated swing from start to finish
    • Build muscle memory for a correct swing through repetition
    • Players adjust and correct their swing by conforming to the machine’s swing
    • Focuses on the components of the swing – the shoulder turn, the swing plane, individual muscle strength, club face at impact, the finish, and so on

 What I say: There are no immediate words that come to mind…I am in awe. Oh wait, so that’s where the stick goes…

Hit’em long…yell FORE!!!

Can Perfect Pitch Help Pitch Your Way To Perfection?

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perfect-pitch-golf-perfect-pitch-golf-mat-66Without a doubt, the weakest parts of my game are my chips around the green and my shots out of the green-side bunkers.  No matter how much I concentrate, how many times I try or how much I practice, I stink around the green.  Every once in a while I get it right.  But usually, I either hit it weak so it doesn’t reach the green, launch it through the green to the fringe/rough on the other side or, if I do manage to keep it on the green, it’s nowhere near where it should be.

Not being a professional golfer, I simply don’t have a lot of time to work on my game.  I get to the range once in a while.  Over the winter, I’ll make it to the indoor facility once or twice.  But that’s about all of the practice I get.  Every other opportunity is spent on the course.  But we may have come across something that can actually help – the Perfect Pitch Golf Mat.

The Perfect Pitch Mat is a portable golf mat designed to help with your chips, pitches, sand and flop shots.  By using a series of curved and straight lines as well as ball placement markers, the mat helps teach you the correct way to set your feet as far as stance and distance to stand from the ball.  But it’s not just a mat on which you stand and aimlessly chip your ball around.  A helpful instruction guide explains where your feet should be in relation to the configuration of lines.  Additionally, the guide also helps to explain the characteristics of each swing with info such as weight distribution, where your hands should be in relation to the ball and the extent of your backswing.  It’s a nice little guide that can be especially helpful to high-handicappers such as myself.

But, it’s not just the guide and what the mat itself teaches you.  Part of the draw of this mat is it’s portability and convenience.  You can literally use it just about anywhere.  Out in the yard, in the living room, in the garage…I’m even thinking about bringing it to my new office at work!

However, as nice as the mat is, it’s not without it’s drawbacks.  For starters, the price.  Like most golf equipment, the price seems to be a bit inflated.  $64.95 seems to me to be a bit steep for, essentially, a golf mat.  However, that is also purely opinion.  If the mat helps the way it’s supposed to, then $65 may be well worth it.  But drawback #2 may be insurmountable for many golfers.  Well, all left-handed golfers really.  There currently is no left-handed version of this mat available.  Hopefully that’s something they’ll consider in the near future.

All around though, I think the Perfect Pitch Golf Mat is a convenient, helpful tool for those of us who struggle with our short games.  And guess what –  as usual, we at golfstinks.com are not going to keep everything to ourselves.  Anyone interested in taking one home can simply head over to our Facebook page and give this post a like for your chance to win your very own Perfect Pitch Golf Mat.  With any luck, one lucky winner and I can improve our short games in time for next year!

Swing ’til you’re happy!

New ‘Vision’ Golf Ball A Bright Idea

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visiongolfballsRemember back in the late 1980’s and early 90’s when neon yellow golf balls were “kinda” popular? That fad died-out for a while but recently, brightly colored balls are making a comeback. Today, one of the newest additions to this trend are the UV:X3 balls from Australian manufacturer, Vision.

This family-owned company is making its debut in the American market with these new golf balls. And let me tell you, after getting my hands on a sleeve of these, they aren’t the neon balls of 25 years ago. Touted as not only brightly colored, these babies absorb UV light from the sun to provide maximum visibility – in fact, they absorb so much light, they actually glow!

Obviously for the average golfer, the more visible a ball is, the less chance you have of losing it. But beyond this advantage, the UV:X3 also touts an extremely “durable and slick” cover that creates “less drag in flight and greater overall distance.”

vision golf ballsIn addition, Vision collected information from many golfers who complained other golf balls were hard to identify during play. To this end, the company decided to imprint large, highly visible numbers in two locations on the UV:X3 (the numbers are large, but not an eyesore – making this slight improvement not only practical, but also design-friendly). And of course, the ball completely conforms to the USGA and R&A rules.

This is perhaps the most stinky golfer-friendly ball I have seen to date and it’s completely legal (unlike some other balls out there). To help launch this cool new golf ball in North America, there’s a crowd funding campaign setup here: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/vision-golf-balls. There’s no word on what these balls will retail for in the U.S. yet, but a donation of $38USD via the aforementioned link will get you a dozen of these sweet little yellow orbs.

Losing Your Grip On Your Clubs…No Sweat.

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no-sweatOne of the most common excuses we all hear from our golfing buddies after a bad shot is “The club slipped.”  Hey, it’s not really an excuse though.  It happens.  It’s happened to me several times.  After the first couple of times it happened, I was given the old “you should try wearing a glove” advice.  So I gave it a shot, but just found it to be a bit uncomfortable.  So, gloveless, I just had to keep my hands as dry as possible throughout the round and learn to live with it.  And, as many people know, keeping your hands dry in a humid New England summer is no easy task.  Enter No Sweat.

We here at golfstinks.com are sent lots of products to try out.  So far, luckily enough, just about all of them have been useful, done what they were supposed to do and worked as advertised.  Well, you can now add No Sweat to the list.  No Sweat is a spray-on lotion which, with one application, claims to keep your hands dry throughout your golf round.  And, as mentioned earlier, that’s exactly what it did.  As a matter of fact, No Sweat lived up to all of it’s claims – there’s no odor, it’s not sticky and there’s no powder.  It’s also non-toxic, but rather than test that out the only way I know how, I just took their word for it.

Another of their claims is that the effect will last all day.  And again, No Sweat lived up to it’s claim.  I sprayed No Sweat on my hands just a few moments before my first swing, and nine holes later, there was no need for reapplication.  Now I can’t say it would have fully lasted 18 holes without another spray because I didn’t play 18.  However, if it required another shot to each hand…then so be it.  It’s doing it’s job, so it’s well worth it.

Speaking of worth it, that’s another term worthy of describing No Sweat.  At only $8.99 per bottle and with a claimed use amount of up to 50 applications per bottle, how can you go wrong?  Even if it’s a super-humid day and you do have to reapply it for the back nine, that works out to only 36 cents per eighteen hole round.  Now that is a good value.

What about uses for non-golfers?  You can put No Sweat to use in just about any situation where having sweaty hands would be a problem.  Maybe in football, baseball or, basketball.  Or how about billiards?  That’s a terrible sport in which to have sweaty hands.  Or maybe you’re on a job interview.  You can’t have sweaty hands for the initial handshake.  And you sure can’t keep wiping your hands on your pants all interview long.  Heck, even holding hands with your girlfriend, boys!

So all-in-all, No Sweat is a winner in my opinion.  And at only $8.99 per bottle, which will likely last you throughout your golf season, it’s a no-brainer.  And being the good-hearted, sharing bunch we are, we here at Golfstinks don’t want to hog all of the good stuff.  So as usual, we are going to choose one lucky winner who will be awarded a free bottle of No Sweat.  Just click here to head over to our Facebook page and “like” the post on our wall entitled “Golfers! Win a free bottle of No Sweat!” We’ll pick a random winner and put their hand-sweat problems and concerns to rest.  Well, for at least a golf season anyway.

Swing ’til you’re happy!

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