same high-tech functionality of the men’s line.”
 
Spring, summer and fall, Dunham’s Sports has the serious golfer covered with apparel specifically designed for the season. These are the same products worn by PGA players and available to you at terrific prices, meaning there’s more money left over for additional rounds or new clubs.
 
See you on the links!
 
-Par Shooter
 

Before you get up on the tee box and swing away, Detroit Pistons strength and conditioning coach Arnie Kander suggests you take a few minutes to maximize your swing and warm up.

What I see, and I’ve golfed a lifetime, is there is always a rushing process when you get to the first hole. Sometimes it’s 30 seconds, a minute, do not rush the process.  Take your time; go through all of the body parts that need to be warmed up.  Golf is a sport that involves multiple joints that have to move together.  If they move together, not only will you have more flexibility in your golf swing, but you’ll have a lot more productivity and you’ll feel a whole lot better about  playing golf.  So before you get to the first hole, there are a few simple movements. You’ll need about 10 minutes to warm up:

1. Ankle Flexibility: Golf is

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a game of lowering your center of gravity and is also a game of using your ankles to begin the initiation of power.  The ankles create a pronation, supination component in golf that can only occur, that transference of power to the ankles, when the ankles have been warmed up.  Use the club as a reference tool to keep your back square, unlock your ankles and do some ankle flexes. Do 10-15 repetitions.

2. Small Rotations: Get into a golf stance with the club in your hands horizontally, grabbing the top and bottom of the club.  Feet are square, the club close to the body and begin to do very small rotations without turning your legs.  You’re unlocking your ribs and loosening up your shoulder blades.  Do as many as you need to until your back

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starts to feel warm.

3. Extended Rotations: Extend your arms out and continue to do rotations without turning your legs.  You’re starting to warm up the back and shoulders. This will give you the maximum flexibility through your back.

4. Transfer of Weight Rotations: Extend the club and let yourself shift your weight as you come through.  It’s still level to the chest, unlocking the back shoulder.  You’re beginning to transfer the weight and you’re beginning to unlock the front hip.

5. Lower the club: Engage the back. Lower the club down, take the movement slow, do not take it to your end range.  Slow, controlled and methodical.

6. Unlocking the hip: Put one foot behind, as if we’re stretching our calf out.  If it’s the right leg, hold the club in front and push the club out across so the club is actually facing the left side of your body.  What this is doing is connecting the shoulder to the chest to the hip to the calf.  In a golf swing, that translates to the ability to come through a swing and unlock it.  Then do the same on the other side.  So now we’ve warmed up the ankles, we’ve warmed the hips up, we’ve worked on the rotations, and we’ve warmed the spine, what’s left? Get on that first tee, line it up, and take the club back slowly.  You hit, you follow through and now you’ve got the maximum flexibility and the potential performance of a golfer.

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  All winter long you’ve been itching to get back on the golf course. Well, all winter long equipment manufacturers have been re-programming their computers and adjusting their algorithms to help you hit the ball just a little bit longer and a little bit straighter.

 Farther Down the Fairway

Drivers are usually the focus of attention because everybody wants to be longer off the tee. But TaylorMade is emphasizing the next club in your bag — the fairway wood. It’s called the RocketBallz™ or “RBZ,” and yes it is a club. The unusual name came when testing engineers who first used it said the ball “rocketed” off the club.

There are two keys to RocketBallz technology. First, the center of gravity has been moved forward to provide a higher launch angle and less spin. Second is a cavity (Speed Pocket) carved into the sole. Positioned just behind the face, it’s designed to increase flexibility of both the face and the sole. Both developments increase ball speed, and more ball speed means more distance.

Here’s the geeky engineering explanation, all centered around the Coefficient of Restitution (COR). In English, that means how well object A (the golf club) transfers energy to object B (the golf ball). Traditional fairway woods have had a COR of about .777, while the RocketBallz jumps to .815.

So what does all this engineering talk mean to you? More distance. TaylorMade is advertising that the RocketBallz fairway wood will add 17 yards of distance for a typical golfer. And if the lawyers let them say that, who can argue? (Not that any lawyer actually swung the club). What it all comes down to is hitting the ball farther, says TaylorMade’s Rob Backus. “It’s all about speed and how the ball trampolines off the face of the club.”

Nike has its own technology to increase distance off the tee. Its VR_S driver has what it calls NexCOR (notice how it got “COR” into the name of the product?). This concentrates on the face of the club. A multi-thickness design makes the face of the club ultrathin at the sweet spot, which — ta-da — increases ball speed off the tee.

“The VR_S is hot,” says Nike’s Chris Coffman. “It feels fast — I don’t know how else to describe it.” 

Speaking of Ball Speed

You spend a lot more money on a new club than on a golf ball, but it’s the ball that actually determines your score. Not to fear, the golf scientists have been spending plenty of time on the little white sphere.

Titleist has long dominated the ball market and they are introducing four new products. Most significant is a new version of the NXT Tour, the highly popular, non-urethane cover ball first introduced a decade ago. The new ball has a slightly smaller soft center and higher volume outer core layer engineered to increase power and (of course) distance. A soft, thin Fusablend cover features a new spherically tiled octahedral design with four axis of symmetry and 302 dimples in five sizes.

All the laboratory work and science is important, but it’s what happens on the golf course that determines whether a product succeeds and the Titleist development process is heavy on real world application. “Our ball development process always starts with golfer testing where we identify improvement that will help golfers score better,” says Bill Morgan, Senior Vice-President, Golf Ball Research and Development.

Nike is introducing what it calls a radical new core technology for its 20XI ball. The core is lighter with a low density that distributes weight to the perimeter, thus increasing ball moment of inertia (MOI). That higher ball MOI maintains spin after the apex of the shot, adding yards and minimizing travel off line.

There are also cosmetic changes to balls. Titleist is beginning to use double digit markings on its balls. Not a revolutionary change, but it’s different and something to make your ball stand out. And the new NXT Tour S is being offered in white and yellow.  Colored balls were all the rage in the 1980s, and when Jerry Pate won the TPC at Sawgrass in ’82 with an orange ball, there was some thought golf might join tennis and leave the white ball behind. That never happened and the color craze faded.  Now colored balls are making a comeback.

“There’s definitely been a resurgence in color,” says Gary Humenny of Bridgestone, which has long offered many colored variations. “They are easier to see, they are distinctive and they’ve always been popular with women.”

 Belly Up to the Putter

One of the hottest products in golf is the belly putter and it has very little to do with technology. The excitement stems from a day last August when Keegan Bradley won the PGA with a belly putter. Nothing sparks interest in a new club like winning a major.  “Our sales have exploded,” says Powerbilt’s Dennis Wente. “We re-introduced belly putters in October and through February we’ve sold close to 15,000.”

You can’t just convert a 35-inch putter to a belly putter, because the putter will be too light. That’s why 50-60 grams of weight have been added to the belly versions.

Belly putters have tended to be popular with older golfers and have been a staple of the Senior Tour. As people age their hands become less steady and, because the longer putters require less wrist action, in theory that means fewer putting ‘yips.’  But now that younger players are winning tournaments with belly putters, the belly putter is being validated for all golfers.

The grip, stance and putter itself are quite different, and Wente says not to expect overnight success and to plan on working out the kinks on the practice green. “First, get the right length and lie. And give the putter some time before you take it to the course, because it will take some time getting used to.”

But then, success in golf requires plenty of practice in all phases of your game, right?

 Belly Putter Fitting

Determine Length

A belly putter of the correct length will allow the sole of the putter to rest flat on the ground, and will position your eyes directly over the ball.

STEP 1: Position the butt-end 2-3 inches above your belt buckle in the center of your belly.

Another technique is moving the butt-end 2-3 inches left of center if you’re a right-handed putter, or 2-3 inches right of center if you’re a left-handed putter, to find which position feels best.

STEP 2: Hold the putter just firmly enough against your belly to keep the butt-end anchored.

STEP 3: Check to see if putter head is flat on the ground, and your eyes are positioned just inside the ball.

STEP 4: Check posture — you’ll want to assume comfortable position that allows your arms to hang freely and your shoulders and body to rotate to make a pendulum-like swing.

TOO LONG: You’ll know the putter is too long for you if:

• The toe of the putter head is raised in the air.

• Your arms and hand are extended and not hanging freely.

• Your stroke starts sharply inside and finishes sharply inside.

TOO SHORT: You’ll know the putter is too short for you if:

• Feel hunched over in an uncomfortable position.

• Your weight is constantly falling towards your toes.

• Your stroke starts outside and swings inside.

-Par Shooter

For a scratch golfer, about half of his or her strokes are on the green. And while the ratio may be lower for high handicappers, the importance of putting can’t be overstated. You can recover from a bad drive—not so for a missed putt.

Putting technology has changed dramatically since the days of Bobby Jones’ famous wood-shafted “Calamity Jane” (still a very good putter, by the way). The advancements have all sought to improve that ephemeral “feel” that all golfers need on the green. Regardless of the head design—blade, peripheral-weighted or mallet, you can take advantage of high tech enhancements.

Metal Inserts

Inserts are added to the face of a putter. Technically, they increase the “Moment of Inertia” (MOI). Non-technically, that means there’s less chance the head of the putter will twist, causing the ball to go places you don’t want it—say, anywhere besides the hole. Steel is the traditional insert and it usually gives soft and responsive feedback for a solid, controlled feel. Various other metals are also available—bronze, aluminum, brass, copper, zinc, titanium—all with their own distinctive “feel.”

Non-Metal Inserts

Lightweight non-metal inserts allow the weight of the putter to be redistributed elsewhere on the putter face. The MOI increases, as does the “forgiveness” (at least in theory). The downside of non-metal inserts is they produce less sound than metal, reducing the feedback, which for some golfers means less “feel”.

Groovy Putters

The key to accurate putting is to achieve forward rolling motion immediately upon striking the ball. Grooves on a putter can help achieve this motion and keep the ball on line. At impact, the grooves grip the surface of the ball and simultaneously lift the ball out of its resting position and give an over-the-top rolling action.

Putting Is Personal

Finding the right putter is definitely a trial-and-error process. When your putter is working well, you are on top of your game. When it’s not, well—time to go shopping again.

-Par Shooter

Likely, the higher your handicap the more problems you have hitting irons, and those problems become more severe the farther you are from the pin, right? The difficulty with irons for mid- and high-handicap golfers is trajectory, or lack thereof. Average players aren’t able to get the ball as high as better players, which means less control of the shot. That’s why higher loft woods and hybrid irons have become so popular with weekend golfers.

However, thanks to advanced technology, there is hope for the double-digit handicapper who wants to hit traditional (non-hybrid) irons.

Cavity-back vs. Blade–The cavity-back design (also called “perimeter-weighted”) really took hold in the 1970s. It provides more weight around the outside edges of the clubhead, resulting in a larger “sweetspot,” and is thus more forgiving. A blade iron has a thin top-line (what you see of the clubhead at address) and a smaller hitting surface. It gives a very soft feeling when hit properly. (But then golf would be a whole different game for most of us if we could hit the ball properly!)

The Best of Both Worlds

Cavity-back versus Blade is no longer an “either-or” choice.  Increasingly clubmakers are offering designs that incorporate the forgiving benefits of cavity-back in a blade style with a thinner top-line.

Casting vs. Forging – For decades, most irons have been made by investment casting in which the metal is poured into a mold. Not only does this cost less, but it makes it easier to produce complex shapes in today’s cavity-back era. However, forged clubs, where the metal is hammered and shaped, are not likely to disappear because many golfing traditionalists believe it offers better feel and “workability”.

Hosel Offset – This is measured from the leading edge of the hosel (where the shaft enters the clubhead) to the farthest front portion of the clubface. A club with offset will contact the ball later than a club without the offset. It helps “square” the clubface at impact and reduces the chance of slicing.

Progressive Weighting – In this case a heavier metal, such as copper and tungsten, is placed on the sole of lower-lofted irons. This lowers the center of gravity and helps get the ball in the air.

Modern Materials

In recent years, golf design has become a kind of full-employment act for the metallurgy profession. New steels and dense inserts are being used to your advantage. These modern materials maintain strength and integrity of the clubhead, while putting more weight on the sole and different parts of the head. In engineering terms, it means a more robust design. In golf terms, it means a lower score.

Grooves

Grooves add spin and control to the flight of a ball. Without them, a ball would “squirt” off the face. While backspin may sacrifice distance slightly, it greatly enhances control.  Ping helped revolutionize the game of golf with larger and sharper groves to add even more control. The USGA now strictly controls groove depth and shape, as well as the distance between scoring and lines on the clubface to ensure fairness.

Sole

The sole is the very bottom of the clubhead. It has a slight curvature from toe to heel and from leading edge to trailing edge—a “camber” that improves consistency. A narrower sole works better from fairway and tight lay conditions, while a wider design is better for softer lies.

Decreased Lofts

You probably haven’t noticed, but clubmakers have decreased the standard lofts on irons—all in the never-ending quest for more distance. In fact, what used to be a 6-iron is now a 7-iron. Shaft lengths have also gradually increased to give more clubhead speed. None of this would have been possible without the new head designs which maintain consistency and accuracy. And, the low center of gravity in today’s clubs means the higher lofts don’t reduce trajectory.

Wood or Iron?

Modern designs in irons will improve your game. More importantly, they will give you confidence when you’re standing 165 yards from the flag. But does that mean you throw out that 7-wood that’s been your trusty friend all these years?

Whether to hit a wood or iron will always be a crucial question, especially for mid- and high-handicap golfers. It depends on your game, your clubs and your confidence. It all comes down to deciding which club is best for which situation. And isn’t that what golf is all about?

-Par Shooter

The Disc Golf Association estimates that between 8 and 12 million people have participated in the sport, with 500,000 regular players. And these aren’t all just weekend enthusiasts. A man by the name of Nikko LoCastro made just under $43,000 in 2009 on the Professional Disc Golf Association Tour. That tour features almost 1,000 events with total prize money of more than $2,000,000. Now do we have your attention?

Besides being a lot of fun, disc golf is a whole lot less expensive than “real” golf. There are no clubs to buy, no need to rent a cart (not even a pull cart) and there usually aren’t greens fees. (Though some municipalities, recognizing the growing popularity of the game, have created “pay-to-play” courses with highly sophisticated layouts).  The game is very easy to learn, takes less time than regular golf and still lets you exercise in the great outdoors.

Disc Golf – A Little History

The increasing popularity of disc golf isn’t surprising. Throwing a disc and watching it sail into the horizon seems to satisfy some sort of basic human desire of flight. Cavemen probably would have done it had someone invented plastic.

Human nature being what it is, most any popular activity will soon prompt competition. There is no definitive history of disc golf, but there are stories of “Tin Lid Golf” in Canada in the 1920’s that pre-date the Frisbee. In the mid 1960s a recreational counselor in California (isn’t that where everything starts?) set out a crude golf course for Frisbees with hula hoops as “holes.”  Not long after Ed Headrick, who worked for Wham-O, the manufacturer of the Frisbee, invented the disc pole hole, still used today in competitive play. Headrick is known as the father of disc golf, and helped establish the Disc Golf Association and the Professional Disc Golf Association.

Just Like Golf – Mostly

Disc golf is just like regular golf — players see who can take the fewest throws to get their disc in the hole, which is a set of chains hanging from a holder that surrounds the center pole. At the bottom is a circular basket that serves to catch the disc. Disc courses don’t have hazards, at least not like sand traps, but there are out-of-bounds areas, as well as mandatories, or “mandies.” For example, a hole might have a “tree right mandatory” requiring the disc to pass on the right of the tree, or a one-throw penalty is assessed.

Disc courses take a lot less property than a normal golf course. A championship course requires about an acre per hole, with typical fairways 20-40 feet wide. Different tee placements can accommodate various skill levels. A recreational course can afford 2-3 holes per acre, depending on terrain.

Faster, Straighter, Longer

Nowhere is the sophistication of modern disc golf more apparent than in the disc itself.  Where the original recreational disc had to be slow enough to be caught, modern competitive discs are designed for speed and distance. Innova Disc Golf got its start in the 1980s when it patented a beveled edge design. “The old fashioned disc was designed to float through the air and be caught,” says Innova East Coast Sales Manager Ryan Baker. “Our designs are more aerodynamic so the disc penetrates the air and goes farther and faster.” A top professional disc golfer can throw a disc well over 400 feet (at a speed of 60 mph).

Just as a golfer needs different clubs for different shots, a disc golfer uses different discs depending on distance from the hole. Driving discs have the sharpest edge and will go farthest, but they are most difficult to control. Mid-range discs have a slightly sharp edge for better control, while putter discs are straight and slow. The number of discs available is mind-boggling to the neophyte, and Baker recommends a starter set of a putter, mid-range and fairway driver, with a typical retail price under $30.

Baker says one of the biggest reasons for the growing popularity of disc golf is that the learning curve is very short. Because you are holding the disc itself (unlike golf where there is a club in between you and the ball), you have a greater ability to correct your mistakes.  Plus, putting is much easier than regular golf. So, who doesn’t like a sport where after a couple of hours you can say ‘Hey, I’m pretty good at this!’

Question: Have you ever tried Disc Golf?  Would you recommend it to others?

-The Friz Whiz

Just as GPS technology has exploded in the general consumer market so that stopping for directions out of town is a thing of the past, now it is revolutionizing the game of golf. Gone are the days of, “I guess I’m 20 yards from the 150 yard marker” to, “It’s 163 yards to the front of the green.” Global positioning technology connects to orbiting satellites to tell you precisely (plus-or-minus one yard) exactly how far you are to the front, middle and back of a green, as well as the distance to bunkers, water and other hazards.

The systems are pre-programmed with information on various courses or they include subscription services to download thousands of courses worldwide.

More Than One Number

Knowing the distance to the green (actually three distances to the green — front/middle/back) is obviously a big help. But getting maximum use from GPS technology means using more than just your approach distance. Because the devices are programmed for individual courses, you also have distances to things you want to avoid — bunkers, water, etc.

For example, on your second shot on a par five, the yard marker may put you at 240 yards from the green. But GPS will add information such as those bunkers 210 yards away, so your best strategy may be to play short of the bunkers and then hit a wedge close for a possible birdie.

Different Approaches

One of the most popular GPS golf devices is the GolfBuddy® World Platinum. Featuring:  30,000+ preloaded courses, high resolution full color screen, full layout mode, full statistical analysis module, automatic course and hole recognition and includes rechargeable Lithium-ion battery and swivel holster.

Of course, no piece of golf equipment would be complete without a full range of accessories. Cart mounts, clamps, suction cups, leather cases and belt clips – low tech support for high tech golf.

GPS systems bring absolute precision to golf strategy. When you know you are exactly 187 yards from the green, you know exactly which club to use. Now, if you could just hit the ball exactly 187 yards!

-Par Shooter

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Except now, technology can have as much of an impact on the direction your ball goes off the tee as how you swing the club. Adjustable drivers will alter the face of the club and the weighting to help you correct natural flaws in how you hit the ball. You can adjust your driver so the ball flies right, left or straight.

Adjustable Drivers

The mechanics of adjustable drivers are deceptively simple. You can adjust the face of the club. Open the face and the ball will move right and at a higher trajectory. Close the face and the ball will tend left at a lower trajectory. Keep the face neutral and the ball will go straight (at least in theory). You can also adjust weighting on the club. This alters the all important center of gravity (CG) when the club strikes the ball. Adding weight to the heel of the club will enhance a draw, while weight added to the toe will tend to move the ball right.  Putting the extra weight in the center promotes a straight trajectory (again, in theory).

It’s been known for a long time that adjusting weight on the clubhead will affect direction of the ball. What’s made the new adjustable technology possible is advancements in materials. High strength titanium allows for placement of small weights without making the clubhead too large to be practical.

Making the adjustments is easy. Clubs come with a small tool (think miniature torque wrench) that loosens the hosel and lets you slide the shaft. TaylorMade has advanced the adjustable playing field with its R11 Driver that lets you adjust the loft angle and club face independently of each other. A third adjustment of the weights on the clubhead will move the flight path left or right.

Are Adjustable Drivers Right For You?

Adjustable drivers can help correct a natural fade or draw and they really do work. But they are no substitute for good swing mechanics. One other thing. You can’t make adjustments to a club during a round. USGA golf rules don’t allow that.

-Par Shooter

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Now the style element in golf goes well beyond what you wear. You can make a fashion statement with the clubs you use. While golf equipment manufacturers have always emphasized a distinctive look for their clubs to enhance the brand image, they are now giving you a lot more choices in colors.

Get a Grip on Color

By far the easiest and cheapest way to color up your game is with your grips.  “We never realized how many different sports teams there are and how many different colors they represent,” says Golf Pride, a leading manufacturer of grips.  “We’ve got colors for just about every team, and they all sell like crazy.”

Of course, color will always be secondary to how well a piece of golf equipment works, and Golf Pride emphasizes that Golf Pride grips work well whether they are orange, purple or basic black. They are partially cord, which puts woven material over the palm of the upper hand to improve wear characteristics.

The explosion of color in golf grips began a few years ago, and Golf Pride expects the trend to continue. “As club manufacturers continue to bring out new colors in their products, we can match whatever they do.”

Pretty in Pink

Wilson Sporting Goods has a complete set of ladies clubs in pink, but the primary motivation isn’t really color.  Their Lady Hope Pink set recognizes the fight against breast cancer and the company has contributed more than $2 million from sales of the set to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

The pink set is complete, with clubs, putter and wedge, cart bag, balls and glove. While colorful, this is a very serious set of golf clubs. “The Hope line provides our customers with premium women’s golf products and a way that they too can support breast cancer research,” says Wilson Golf .

New Technology, New Color

Golf technology is highly competitive and manufacturers constantly look for new methods to add just a little more distance and a little more accuracy to their clubs. Now, they’re also paying more attention to the look of those clubs, adding color to make them more distinctive. A perfect example is the new TaylorMade R11 adjustable driver, with the technology to independently adjust the face angle and loft, is breakthrough.  But the first thing you’ll notice about the R11 is the dramatic white color of the clubhead. Not only is it distinctive visually, but the surface is specially formulated with a non-glare finish.

Now that is a two-stroke advantage.  Improve your game and look better doing it.

-Par Shooter

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