A Golf Launch Monitor For Those Who Analyze Their Game

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I remember watching golf last year and they were talking about Tiger’s comeback. Now I don’t know what you might think of Tiger because folks tend to either love him or hate him. One thing that did strike me about the conversation was when they mentioned the angle of descent and launch angle and how those numbers had changed over the last few years for Tiger. According to the announcers, those numbers told the story of how Tiger’s game started to deteriorate. They continued on and said the reason why Tiger was having a very good year in 2012 was because the swing plane and launch angle were coming back to the same numbers that he had when he practically ruled week in and week out. So I decided to do a little research on my own to see how launch angle and how using a golf launch monitor might improve my golf game.

When you turn watch golf on TV, you are bound to see the new commercials which now promote drivers, 3 woods, and such where you can change the launch angle. The pro hits a ball some 270 yards with his 3 wood (fairway metal) and the guy using the launch monitor tells him that he had a certain clubhead speed, ball speed, and launch angle. Then he walks over and with a minor click or adjustment the 3 wood now has a different setup. The pro hits the ball again and he has now hit it 280 yards. Makes for a great commercial and you and I say to ourselves, “where can I buy one of those clubs”?

Tip: Before going any further let me state one thing. If you go to a golf store and want to try out some clubs, make sure that you also try a couple of competing brands. If you are not aware, some unscrupulous stores will ramp up the golf simulator. What this means is that if you typically hit a 6 iron 150 yards, you might all of a sudden be hitting this new club 165 yards on the simulator. Do yourself a favor and either bring in your current clubs or test the clubs that you are looking to buy with competing brands at the same time on that same golf simulator. That way your 160 yard Taylormade 6 iron can be compared with a Callaway, Ping, Titleist, etc… The other thing to note is that not all clubs are created equal. So your current 6 iron might have a 33 degree loft while the new club that you are trying out on the simulator has a loft angle of 30 degrees. All things being equal otherwise, you are more likely to hit that 30 degree club further than the 33 degree club.

Lets quickly look at a couple of affordable golf launch monitors.

Swingbyte Golf Training Device

What I like about the Swingbyte is the opportunity to couple it up with your smartphone or tablet. As a new tablet owner, it is a definite plus. The Swingbyte Golf Training Device hooks up similarly to the Medicus Power Meter, just below the grip on your golf club. So I can watch the swing plane and path right on my tablet. How am I doing with that new Moe Norman swing I’m trying out

Club Head Speed
Swing Tempo
Club Face
Club Path
Lie Angle
Club Loft

In general users like this launch monitor. The main negative seems to be with slippage of the device but if necessary you can tape up the Swingbyte and it should not have this issue. All for a price of about $150 retail but you can usually find it for somewhere around $130 on sale here.

Similarly priced is the SwingTIP Wireless Golf Swing Analyzer Package

At a retail price of around $130, SwingTIP has received relatively good reviews and it is very similar to the Swingbyte above. Download the app, hook it up to your driver, woods, or irons just below the grip, swing away, and then look at the data on your android or iOS 5.1 device. All of this in virtually real time. Why is the ball flying to the left? Look at the data.

If you’ve got the time, this is a good interview regarding the SwingTIP Wireless Golf Swing Analyzer. Close to 10 minutes long and not a video but worth listening to.

I have not had the opportunity to try either of these devices as of yet but I am leaning towards the SwingTIP. This is my thought. If you are struggling with your golf game or just want to see feedback on how your swing looks and the numbers that go with your swing, check out one of these golf launch monitors.

Cut Strokes Off Your Game Using a Golf Ball Locator

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Stop Losing Golf Balls Thanks To A Golf Ball Locator

Have you ever heard of a golf ball locator? No, I’m not talking about a buddy you bring along or a dog who finds your errant shots. Golf ball locators can be used on the gof course by beginning as well as veteran golfers who are tired of spending hundreds of dollars each year replacing golf balls that have somehow not ended up down the middle of the fairway.

On the other end of the spectrum, I’m sure you’ve had the occasion of looking for a lost ball for a couple of minutes only to find it almost right in front of your face, just slightly into the rough. At other times a leaf might be hiding the ball or it can be on the other side of the tree that you haven’t checked yet. Let’s face it that golf balls are small enough and sometimes so dirty that they might not be found as easily as we like them too. Then there are the times that we’ve hit a shot 60 yards off that almost goes into the next fairway. In those cases, a golf ball locator can often be your best friend.

So how does a lost ball locator work? Well actually there are a few different types of golf ball locators. One kind has simple technology using a transmitter that finds the ball’s code using receivers. So if you’ve hit your shot out of bounds from the tee, a receiver gets a signal from the ball, it shows you where this golf gadget calculates your ball to be and then you can go and locate it easily and quickly.

Another technology is through something that looks like a pair of sunglasses. Some of these golf ball finding glasses use light which reflects a certain way off the ball to help you find your golf ball while others may dull the surrounding rough while at the same time make your golf ball stand out like a sore thumb. So in effect if you’ve hit the ball into the rough and put on these golf finder glasses, they in theory should be able to help you more readily and quickly find that golf ball.

Some lost golf ball locators are relatively simple and come with a low price tag of around $30 to $40 or so. Heck, I paid nearly that dollar amount for the last dozen golf balls that I purchased. Others are very high tech and may cost in excess of $300. My personal opinion on this is to go with the sunglass type of golf ball locator and see how that works for you but if you are into gadgets, then check out this cool video.

Prazza Golf Ball Finder

In the end, a golf ball finder may cut down on the frustration and sometimes embarrassment a golfer might feel when they’ve not only hit a bad shot but then may have to spend the next few minutes looking for the ball. Between the cost of losing golf balls and losing strokes on the course for the lost ball, my recommendation is to look into the various types of golf ball locators and decide which one might be right for you.

What Putter Do You Use? Belly Putter?

Standard, Long, And Belly Putter

Anyway, long story short, I started to change out all of my 20 year old clubs in an effort to freshen and liven up my love for the game. I bought one of those Face Forward wedges and thus far I like it and now I have a new Nickent Omen putter. However I have a question for the golfers out there because the first time out on the course with the new putter was tragic. I’m hoping in some way you might be able to relate and offer some guidance by commenting on this post.

I golfed for the first time this year at 7:30am yesterday up here in Illinois. The weather here has been beautiful for March and this was another great day. However the greens were sopping wet and full of dew. I played alone and was just going to get in a quick 9 holes before having to go into work. The rest of my game was decent (still trying to get used to the Face Forward 56 degree wedge and not being able to judge distance too well) but my putting was horrific. I’m sure some of it was me but due to the dew (pun intended), a 12 foot put seemed more like a 25 to 30 foot putt. And the dew wasn’t consistent from hole to hole. So you could end up going to the next green and seeing all the dew but the 5 foot putt rifled 6 feet past the hole. In fact, I 3 putted on 6 out of the 9 holes I played yesterday. Besides crying, how do you handle a situation (the scoring part) where for all intensive purposes seems to be out of your control? I know its not the putter and for the most part I know it is not me, but I am really bummed out about my putting right now.

Taylormade Burner 2.0 Irons Review

A friend of mine asked me to do him a favor and do an iron review covering several of the different model/brands based on my recent research and play. I was more than happy to oblige. Well, lets back up. I played with an old set of Cougar irons (a Ping knockoff) since just after graduating college. In other words, over 20 years. They served me well as most of the time I was so busy in my career that I didn’t have a heck of a lot of time for golf. Still, I usually played low 90′s out on the course with the occasional mid to high 80′s. However over the years I was losing distance big time. My scorecard and handicap was going in the same direction which was the wrong way. I went from blasting 270+ yard drives to averaging right about 200 yards off the tee. My 6 iron went from 160 to about 130 to 135 yards. So, I headed off to Dicks Sporting Goods and later Golf Galaxy and went over to their simulator with a few clubs (drivers and irons) in hand. Namely, Ping, Callaway, and Taylormade. To make things fair with the drivers, I made sure to swing with the same flex shaft and clubs with a loft of 10.5 degrees.

I started out by hitting the Ping G15 clubs and also tried a few of the different types of shafts in regards to flex. For some reason I thought that maybe if I was using a senior flex that I might be able to control the ball better and with the combination that these clubs were much lighter than what I was swinging, I was sure that I would see gains in distance and hopefully consistency of hitting in the fairways. When all was said and done and with guidance from the professional, regular shafts seemed to be the best for me, so I would stick with them throughout the testing. The Ping clubs just didn’t seem to add anything at all to my swing. Meaning, nothing changed in my distance with the clubs. I was hoping to be a Ping fan simply because I used a Ping putter for some 20+ years. Off the record, I now use a Nickent putter. Truth be told, I’m not one for having a set from all the same manufacturer. I just want to play my best.

Next up came the Callaway Diablo Octane Driver and the Callaway Diablo Edge irons. I like the way these clubs felt in my hand. My swing speed and distances increased on each of the clubs that I used over Ping. I was hitting the driver about 210-213 yards off the tee and hit 220 yards on my last drive. I wasn’t trying to over hit these clubs and simply based on the driver alone, I was ready to pull out my wallet. I had a problem getting the 4 iron up in the air but I have that issue with most 3 and 4 irons. The Callaway Diablo Edge Irons were pretty sweet as well but I wasn’t so sure about the price.

Finally I hit the Taylormade Burner 2.0 Irons and Driver. I know that the Rocketballz line had just come out but I don’t see paying full price for something when you can get last years model on sale for a few hundred less. So with the driver in hand, my club head speed increased from an average of 83mph with the Ping G15 to 91mph with the Taylormade Burner Superfast Driver. Drives were now rolling up to 220 yards on a consistent basis with a few getting to 230. Now mind you, the only thing that is changing here is the clubs. I hadn’t done a single thing to improve my swing except for dropping some of the heavier 20+ year clubs for the newer ones. Because of how I hit last time out on the course, my goal was simple. I was looking to add length to my game.

Taylormade Burner Iron Video

My Taylormade Burner 2.0 Irons Review

Here’s the deal. After seeing me hit the Taylormade 2.0 irons much better than any of the previous clubs that I tried, the pro wanted me to check out the Taylormade RocketBallz Irons. No doing. Why you ask? Again. Simply because if I’m buying new, I see no reason to pay double on this years model. Plus I have no problem saying no. But that is just me. You are welcome to check out the Taylormade RocketBallz but as for me, I’m happy with the Taylormade Burner 2.0 Irons. Anyway, I was hitting the Taylormade Burner 2.0 Irons about 6-10 yards further than the irons that are currently in my bag. Beyond that (and I know I still need to straighten out my swing), the shots that I was hitting off-center (I tend to hit on the inside of my clubs) seemed to travel better. Now maybe I would have seen yet increased distance with the RocketBallz model. Just say no. Perhaps what sold me more than anything else with the Taylormade Burner 2.0 irons was that I was getting the ball into the air quicker and continuing higher on a good flight path. As being the guy who is known for hitting line drive shots (worm burners) with the ball rolling 20 plus yards, I like seeing that I have the opportunity to hit the green and stay there with the longer irons.

The bottom line is that I did not have the intention of talking about competing brands in this post. This is after all just one persons review. So I have I purchased the Taylormade Burner 2.0 irons? No…. can you believe it. I always like to contemplate any purchase decision and when I went back, for whatever reason the 2.0 clubs with the cool look had been replaced with a chrome stainless steel look. Now take it from me, purchase the Burner 2.0′s and you should be more than satisfied. What did I end up doing? I stalled the purchase throughout the 2012 season. What? Yeah, I just kept playing with my old irons. What was I thinking?

Update: 12/15/2012 To make a long story short, throughout the 2012 season I spent more time in the simulators and finally ordered the Taylormade Burner Plus irons. Huh? After talking about the Taylormade Burner 2.0′s so much? Yeah. Now I didn’t care so much for the grips but otherwise these clubs felt so much better with my swing. What would have been errant shots seemed to somehow leave the clubhead better. I gained even more distance than my 20+ year old irons and with an even yet higher trajectory. We are talking an average of 10 yards per club! The larger clubface made this golfer feel all the yet more comfortable. Maybe it was a mental thing but it worked for me. Yes, this all was in the simulator but I’ll be looking forward to putting these clubs to the test on the course in the upcoming golf season.

What Are Hybrid Golf Clubs And Why Are They Replacing Irons?

In recent years, hybrid golf clubs have become popular amongst both amateurs and professionals alike. In fact, you will find many PGA tour pro’s with hybrid golf clubs in their bag. You may also hear the term utility club or rescue club to describe a hybrid club depending on the manufacturer.

So what do hybrid golf clubs look like and how should you hit them?

Why Use Hybrid Golf Clubs?
As you can see by the video, long irons can be very difficult to hit just because they have a small degree of loft. Hybrid golf clubs on the other hand will most likely be much easier to hit (especially for the amateur) and give the golf ball a higher trajectory.

Just realize that hybrid golf clubs are not the do all be all that will change you from a 20 handicap to a 10. For many golfers, having effective course management is the number one key to reducing scores. For those that are looking to improve their game, golf gadgets that teach golfers how to keep their swing on plane, increase club head speed, and make sure to properly release their hands while keeping lag can help to take strokes off their game.

To understand why amateur golfers have difficulty in hitting long irons (mainly 3 and 4 irons) all you need to know is one simple rule. It is called the 24/38 rule and is well known amongst golf club makers. Basically, the rule goes like this: Most golfers do not have the ability to consistently strike the ball well with an iron of 24 degrees or less loft and 38 inches or more in length. So for most mid to high handicap golfers, they will not be able to hit consistently with a 2 thru 4 iron. It is recommended that those players use a 3 and 4 hybrid to take the place of the 3 and 4 irons and then the next club in their bag would be a 5 iron. Make sure that you purchase hybrid golf clubs that are meant to replace the 3 and 4 irons or otherwise you would have too much of a gap in distance between your clubs.

There are no standards that dictate which degree of loft an iron should have. So one manufacturer may have a 3 iron that has 22 degrees of loft while another comes out on the market stating that you can gain 5 to 7 yards by hitting their iron. Only they don’t come out directly and tell you that the loft of their 3 iron is now 20 degrees. However, here is a handy chart for those looking to convert their low loft irons with hybrid golf clubs.

Men
Hybrid Golf Club          Replaces Iron
17° – 19°                            2 iron
20° – 22°                            3 iron
23° – 25°    4 iron

Women
Hybrid Golf Club         Replaces Iron
18° – 20°                           2 iron
21° – 23° 3 iron
24° – 26°                           4 iron

Hybrid Golf Club Shaft

The length of a hybrid shaft is usually between that of a fairway wood and iron.

This is a hybrid golf club: and this is a hybrid golf club:

Notice the difference in look.

Depending on the manufacturer, you should have the choice of purchasing hybrid golf clubs either in a steel or graphite shaft. For high handicap golfers, graphite may increase your club head speed but on the downside this type of shaft can also reduce control. Graphite shafts also tend to come with a higher price tag. One of the unique features of hybrids is the different degrees of flex that they offer. Generally speaking, the stiffer the shaft, the more speed is needed when hitting the ball. For beginners, however, hybrids with a flexible shaft are recommended as these allow for greater distance. As players progress, they usually move to a stiffer shaft which will offer improved control.

With any golf club and especially hybrid golf clubs, I recommend trying them out in a golf store before you buy. For me it is nice to be able to try a few different manufacturers and even models of clubs in a golf simulator before making a purchase. Of course I know that more and more folks like to shop online (I’m one of them) and make their purchases from seeing good reviews. I have no problem with that. Just realize that hitting a hybrid club is more like hitting an iron than a fairway wood. If you are good with that, just do some research before buying online. And if you are like me, you might just find that hybrid golf clubs can help lower your golf score.