GolfStinks

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POLL: Does the Type of Putter Matter?

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Are all putters basically the same or does the tech behind the design matter? (photo by Greg D’Andrea)

I’ve always held firm that you could hand me a sawed-off broom stick with a block of wood nailed to the bottom and it would work as effectively as the most expensive putter on the market. But am I right?

I’ve had one golf buddy tell me you should never spend less than $100 on a putter! He would go on and on about how the putter is the most important club in your bag. And who knows, maybe he’s right?

I actually completed a round putting with a 3-wood one time because I broke my putter across my knee after 5-putting a green. And though I couldn’t really tell the difference, I can’t imagine that would be as accurate as using an actual putter.

These days I’m using a “Condor” Balata putter from Connecticut-based golf company NGC. Now over the years, NGC has had a tendency to bend the USGA equipment rules. But since I live in CT, I see my purchase as supporting a local golf business. And even though NGC claims the Condor “can double your putting accuracy,” I still don’t see much of a difference with my results.

Of course, I simply may not be a good enough player to notice. I mean, golf pros will tell you the right putter will be the difference between making a 10-footer or missing by a quarter-inch. I suppose that could be true and my green-reading skills are just atrocious.

But I also think that putting has a lot to do with the look and feel of the putter you use. In other words, if you think you’ll putt better with it, you probably will. You can apply this argument to the rest of your clubs too, but the style of putter seems to be of particular interest to golfers. That being said, perhaps you just need to find a putter you like and not worry about the cost?

So are all putters are basically the same and it’s just a matter of personal taste? Perhaps we golfers just like to spend money thinking we are getting a fancier, more technologically advanced piece of equipment? Or does golf tech really make the difference between sinking a putt and missing by a quarter-inch?

Take the poll below and tell us if the type of putter matters and feel free to elaborate in the comments section.

Does the Type of Putter Matter?

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Can You Stomach The Belly Putter Argument?

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Ah, the belly putter.  Throughout generations of golfers and golf fans it has been a lightning rod of controversy.  No greater battle between two schools of thought has ever been documented.  Families have been divided.  Friendships dissolved.  Countries have gone to war.  World powers have crum….OK, I’m going a little overboard.  Actually, I’m going way overboard.  As is the heckler getting on Keegan Bradley’s case. 

So let me try to understand this.  Most people haven’t given much of a crap about the belly putter in the past.  It was more of something to poke fun at than anything else.  Maybe some hardcore fans look at it differently.  But to the average or passing golf fan, we don’t really care.  It’s within the rules, so it’s fine. 

But now the belly putter will be banned in a few years, so suddenly anybody using one is a cheater.  Well, at least according to the heckler.  But this reminds me of a similar situation a couple of years back involving Phil Mickelson.  Quite simply, if the rules allow it, then it’s not cheating. 

Like it or not, the belly putter is a part of the game and, for the time being, it is allowed.  So to heckle someone for using it and to call them a cheater is not only rude and uncalled for, but it’s just plain stupid.  Now, if Bradley tries to sneak one into a tournament three or four years from now when they are banned, then you can say what you want.  But until then, to refer to him as a cheater is insulting.  I mean, we’re not talking about a corked bat here.  We’re not talking about steroids or PED’s.  We’re talking about a golf club that is entirely inside the lines of the golf rule book. 

Me personally, I don’t care.  If it’s in the rule book, then it’s OK with me.  If he’s cheating, then he’s cheating.  But that clearly isn’t happening here.  So let’s not insult him like he’s doing something he shouldn’t be doing.  It certainly isn’t the gentlemanly thing to do.

Swing ’til you’re happy!               

Help! I Need New Golf Clubs!

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Time for new clubs? (photo by Jeff Egnaczyk / CC BY 2.0)
Time for new clubs? (photo by Jeff Egnaczyk / CC BY 2.0)

So I have this set of golf clubs, right? Thing is, I’ve had these golf clubs for some time…going on twelve years now. Actually, it’s the first set of golf clubs I had ever purchased when I was originally introduced to this great game.

The set came with irons three through nine, three woods (driver, 3 and 5) and a pitching wedge. Two of those woods (the driver and the three) are long gone…as is the wedge. The driver was once replaced with a nice Callaway Big Bertha. I lost the ability to hit that straight and it no sooner found its way to eBay. I replaced the wedge with one I received as a gift and added another one later.

Putters have come and gone. Bags have done the same. But what’s remained consistent through all of the change surrounding them are my original irons and trusty five wood. They do the job, and my five wood off the tee is probably the most consistent club in my bag.

I want to sit here and say I have this emotional attachment to my clubs, and that’s why I still have them. I want to say they are good enough for me and new clubs aren’t going to make me any better or improve my game at all. I also don’t want to lie. Neither of the two previous statements are true. I want new clubs. I need new clubs. I just can’t friggin’ afford them!

Now I know some of you are probably saying to yourselves the same things I’ve said to myself. “I don’t need to spend $1,000 to get a good set of clubs” or “Just get a decent set of irons for now and worry about the driver and other stuff later.” I’ve got that down. I’ve tried a bunch of clubs and have pretty much narrowed it to a few relatively affordable sets. The problem is…I still just can’t friggin’ afford them!

So my new quest has been to discover WHY I can’t afford them. I’ve narrowed that down to three issues:

#1 – My own foolishness with my money:
A few years ago, I got into a car accident. I was uninjured, but my car was totaled. The other guy’s insurance company however, did not want the car. So they offered me a nice amount of money to just keep it – an offer which I gladly accepted. The car was drivable, just a bit unattractive. But hey, it was paid off and the insurance company gave me more money to keep driving it! So I have this nice sum of money now. But instead of doing something responsible with it – like buying a new set of golf clubs – I decided to purchase a sports car that I had wanted for a few years. So now, terrible gas mileage, many high car payments and expensive maintenance bills later…I have no new golf clubs. Good job Chris.

#2 – My wife:
Hey guys…does your better half buy a ton of purses? Well, for your sake…I hope not. But unfortunately, I’m sure they do. My wife calls them pocketbooks. I call them the bane of my golf existence. My wife somehow believes they are necessary. I can understand they are necessary…in limited quantities. I do not understand why so many are necessary! At any point in the day, there are at least two of these in her car, several more in our bedroom, maybe one or two in the family room, and who knows how many in random closets throughout the house! The cost of these things interferes with the cost of my new clubs! How do I know how much they cost? I don’t. But what I do know is I have to order Rosetta Stone to pronounce the names! That makes them too expensive. Honey, if you’re reading this….we have to suspend your next purchase or two. You have enough. I need clubs. I’ll bet if my clubs were made by some famous Italian fashion house I would have them by now! Of course, if that was the case…she would have taken up golf already.

#3 – My job:
See, the problem with my job is…I currently don’t have one. I guess I don’t really need to go into much detail here. The fact that I don’t currently have a job is explanation enough. But, since roughly 1 out of 7 people in the country play golf, and 1 out of every 10 adults in the country are unemployed right now…I’m sure I’m not the only golfer currently dealing with this problem.

So there it is in a nutshell. Three reasons I have not purchased new clubs, and may not purchase them anytime soon. Getting a job would help. So if anyone is hiring, please hit me up. I’m willing to do just about anything if the pay is good enough, as long as it involves keeping my clothes on. It’s not that I wouldn’t take my clothes off for money….it’s just that you don’t want to see it. Trust me.

I just want new clubs.

Golf and A Wife: A Tale of Three Women In One (Part 3)

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Picture the scene: It’s a spectacular Saturday morning. The sun is shining brightly, barely a cloud in the sky. It’s warm, but there’s a gentle breeze blowing making the temperature feel about as comfortable as it can get – warm enough for short-sleeves and shorts, but not so warm that you’ll be sweating like a hog by the 8th hole.

It’s the nicest day of the year by far. It’s the perfect day for golf. Your clubs are clean and shiny, new spikes in the shoes, no sore muscles. You’re all dressed and ready to go. You’re just about to head out the door for another wonderful day on the course. And then it happens.

Have your ears deceived you? No. You heard it exactly right. Your wife just said “Maybe I’ll come with you?” As if she was a Jeopardy contestant, she stated it in the form of a question. But you already know…that was no question. Nope. She just told you she’s going with you.

People always say “It’s not what you say, but how you say it.” Normally that’s true. But not in this case. In this case, it’s both. It’s what she said AND how she said it. But not believing your ears, you ask for confirmation anyway. I mean, it’s possible she said something else and you misunderstood right? Maybe she said something that just sounded like it. Maybe she said “Who’s going with you?” or “I think I’ll wear blue.” or “Hey honey, why don’t you stay out as long as you would like, play golf for a while, drink beer and smoke cigars with your friends and come home whenever you feel like it?” It’s possible. So you give it a shot – “What’s that babe? I couldn’t quite hear you over the sound of my clubs rattling in the bag.” But it’s worse the second time. Now it’s like the scenes from the movies where everything slows down and the voice drops to that deep bass tone, like a 78 RPM record being played at 33 1/3. “I…said…, maybe…I’ll…come…with…you.” You cringe. Now what?

The kicker for me is, my wife doesn’t play golf. Doesn’t care about it, doesn’t want to know about it. She couldn’t tell you the difference between a putter and a bogey. But what she does know is it’s a nice day and the golf course is a great place to relax, have a drink and get some sun without having to put on a bathing suit and get sand in her shoes.

Now I’ve taken my wife to the range before. It was a sight, for lack of a better term. Handing her a club was like handing a cell phone to my grandmother. Some things are better left in the hands of others. I’m no PGA pro and I sure as hell shouldn’t be teaching anyone the proper mechanics of the golf swing. But I do know the basics. I tried to pass those basics along to her, but it was no use. You ever see a baby just learning how to walk? It’s walking into things and falling down and you can’t help but to laugh. Picture that baby with a golf club in one hand, completely throwing off it’s balance even further, and a glass of Jack Daniels in the other. It was like that. But less graceful.

So why on earth does she want to come with me? She’s not going to play. She’s going to be bored out of her mind. And she couldn’t care less about the conversation going on between my friends and I. As a matter of fact, she’d probably be offended, or even repulsed by it! But for some reason, she wants to come.

But I think I know what it is. I think I might know why she wants to come. And better yet, I think I know how to fend her off. So I’m going to take a shot at it. Here I go…

“But honey, we’re not taking a cart. It’s such a beautiful day, we’re going to walk the course.” She responds “Walk?! Forget it. I’ll go shopping instead.” It worked! She just wanted to ride in the cart! I try to tell her that it’s not all that much fun, but those guys on Jackass sure do make it look like a better time than it is.

When we get to the course, I tell the guys about what happened at home and how my wife almost showed up with us. We all had a good laugh before we strapped our bags to the back of the carts and drove-off to the first tee.

So there you have it. The final chapter of the tale of my three wives in one. Fellas, if your wife is anything like mine, then I hope I’ve helped you to understand that you are not alone. Maybe I’ve even provided some insight somehow. However, if your wife is nothing like this, then I at least hope I have provided you with some type of entertainment at my own expense. If this is the case…you’re welcome.

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