Curious: Tennis Racquet and golf?

[LeeD]

185 with a 5 wood is easy, just half effort swing off the backfoot for slight increased loft.
185 with a 4 iron is impossible for me. I shank, I toe, I club, I divot. 3 iron is worse. Long irons are difficult for duffers like me.
a 5 iron out to 175 is still sweet and straight.

[stringertom]

Back to topic...don't be fooled by endorsements; many of the top players have switched club brands without much change to their sticks. The new company tries to match what the player is used to, even if they don't make something similar. Mickelson and Els are now Callaway guys but they had much of their success from their Titleist gear. Ditto Woods (grew up playing Mizuno IIRC) and Nike.

[chopstic]

Originally Posted by krz

Golf technology actually changes and you are at a disadvantage using old tech. Tennis not so much.

I heard it was just the opposite. I'm not a big golf fan myself, but I remember reading an article about some golf pros using older clubs that left incredible back spin (I think thats the terminology??) on the ball, mostly from the texture of the golf clubs surface. Newer golf clubs using the same texture were made illegal by the PGA, but pros were still allowed to use the old ones if they were produced before the rules went into effect.

An interesting case where older tech trumps the newer tech!

[Maui19]

Today's tour pros change gear all the time. It didn't used to be that way, but advances in technology and big money contracts have led to top pros changing gear almost annually. Gone are the days where a tour pro would play the same irons for 10 years. Most now change with every new model year. Since the USGA changed the rules on grooves, some pros put new wedges into play every week (although they don't change wedge models that frequently).

The clubs that are changed least frequently tend to be putter and driver. The driver situation is interesting, because the driver is now one of the two or three most important clubs in the bag. Pros tend to hang onto their favorite drivers for a long time. However today's modern, thin faced drivers tend to crack under the rigors of pro use, particularly among the high-clubhead-speed players on tour.

As for some of the distances pros hit the ball, it is not unusual for big hitters like McIlroy, Woods and Dustin Johnson to hit their pitching wedges 150 yards. Golf is now undisputedly a power game, and those boys hit the ball unbelievable distances.

[chrischris]

Is golf a sport or a recreational and social activity mostly?

[r2473]

Originally Posted by Maui19

As for some of the distances pros hit the ball, it is not unusual for big hitters like McIlroy, Woods and Dustin Johnson to hit their pitching wedges 150 yards.

Yes, but a pitching wedge used to be 52-degrees. Now it is 45-degrees.

Though there is no real standard. Nobody really knows what the loft is on Tiger's pitching wedge.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_(golf)

Golf is now undisputedly a power game, and those boys hit the ball unbelievable distances.

Golf is a power game on the tour, not really true at all for rec players. First of all, we all play from "the blues". And even if we play from "the blacks", I bet our blacks are nothing near what they play on tour (though I play at a course called Thanksgiving point that is 7728 from the blacks. Now THAT requires power. For the record, I play from the golds and do fine, but the blacks are OUTRAGOUS). But pro courses are nowhere near 7728 either. The advantage of power comes from the fact that they can be hitting 8-irons and up into greens instead of 4 irons. That's great for them because they are deadly accurate with short irons. Most rec guys will still make a mess out of a 150-yard shot, so it does them no good anyway.

http://www.playutahgolf.com/provo/th...nt-golf-course

Second, on most courses I play, if I hit drives as wayward as Tiger, I'd be in the woods or in a neighboring field. On tour, it is wide open for the most part. So just smack it. Even if you are 50 yards off the fairway, you probably still have a shot at the green.

The golf I play requires **some** power, but mostly accuracy......at least if you keep track of all those pesky OB strokes and don't just take "another mulligan".

[Maui19]

I thought we were talking about the top players, as referenced in the OP.

[chrischris]

I tried to play a little bit of golf today. It was too boring imo. What is it about golf that makes people like it?

[LeeD]

Golf, your enemy is yourself.
Your body just won't do what you want it to do, under pressure.
So you're trying to overcome your inner demons.

[chrischris]

Originally Posted by LeeD

Golf, your enemy is yourself.
Your body just won't do what you want it to do, under pressure.
So you're trying to overcome your inner demons.

My inner demons say:' no sir ,you dont enjoy golf' .
What bothers me is quite frankly how lazy an activity this 'sport' seems to be, besides somewhat or downright snobby too.

[LeeD]

Easy for you to say, since you suck at golf.
Some golfer's say tennis is stupid too, and tennis players snobby with the "holier than thou" attittude.
Golf...carry your bags for 27 holes, 4 days a week. Try swinging the racket with the slightest physical injury or stiffness.

[chrischris]

You got me wrong here, its golf that i think sucks.
Not my swings or golf.

[LeeD]

What's happenning is that you dislike things you don't do well. Golf is hard. You thought it was going to be easy. You were wrong. You sucked, like everyone else who started golf. So you're giving up, and saying it's golf that sucks. That's the easy way out, isn't it?

[Maui19]

Originally Posted by chrischris

I tried to play a little bit of golf today. It was too boring imo. What is it about golf that makes people like it?

A lot of people enjoy the challenge of golf--it is by far the hardest recreational sport. Tennis is a piece of cake compared to golf.

People of vastly different skill levels can also play the game together. You can't do that with sports that you play against an opponent.

BTW, sometimes the top pro players will play a driver that has a different manufacturer's headcover on it. They let the public think they are playing one manufacturer's club, but in fact they are play a club made by a different company. This is as close to a "paint job" as they get in golf.

[chrischris]

Originally Posted by LeeD

What's happenning is that you dislike things you don't do well. Golf is hard. You thought it was going to be easy. You were wrong. You sucked, like everyone else who started golf. So you're giving up, and saying it's golf that sucks. That's the easy way out, isn't it?

I dont suck or do badly at golf. You are wanting me to be bad at it for some reason but you are wrong . No big deal.
I just dont like the game that much and it does bore me .
Thats all.

[LeeD]

Sure, you're just an average golfer who think's golf sucks, you hate it, and you'll take the time an energy to tell people it sucks, even though you're OK at it...

[chrischris]

I like tennis a lot better.


Mini golf is fun too. Compact and fun. No grandstanding.

Golf , nah, not for me.