| 10th
May 2007
Greetings from Duncan,
Thanks again to those of
you who have responded to my online equipment
survey. It’s really
going to be interesting to see and bring you
the findings… for instance, which Driver
do you think is most popular amongst our members
and how many of us are using the famed hybrid?
For those of you who haven’t responded,
it takes less than 5 minutes, literally, and
by entering you stand a chance of winning fantastic
prizes worth £2500 from Srixon, Ping, Mizuno,
Powakaddy, Glenmuir and Nike. What’s there
to lose? Click here to fill in the survey…
Wilson Demo Day
Another successful Demo Day has been held at
Hele Park - this time it was Wilson’s turn
to show off their latest ranges of clubs and
accessories. Next up is Tour Edge on Tuesday
15 May, 4-8pm. You’ll be able to try out
their famous Bazooka Iron Wood which has revolutionised
club head design since its introduction. This
is your chance to come and see how easy golf
can be! Tour Edge are so confident you’ll
like it that they offer a 30 day exchange.
Ladies’ Coaching
At Hele Park
Our Ladies’ Coaching events have been very
successful so far and I’m now looking to
arrange one for
non-members. Please get in touch if you’d
be interested in receiving more information duncan@heleparkgolf.co.uk.
The courses are suitable for any lady wishing
to improve, and will cover all aspects of the
game.
Moment Of Inertia
In this week’s newsletter I discuss MOI – Moment
Of Inertia. Because of the new rules that limit
the speed the ball comes off the club face, the
industry is now trying to make you hit it straighter.
The better the MOI of a club, the straighter
you’ll hit the ball. With this in mind,
I’d like to recommend my three favourite
drivers;
MD Golf Superstrong Square EQL2 - £129, £149
RRP
Callaway 460 Big Bertha £199, £229
RRP
Cobra Speed £229, RRP £249
*** Special Offer ***
£10 off the above drivers when you mention
this newsletter!
I have demo clubs for all
of the above in store now – come and try! I’d like to hear
your opinions on these or any other drivers – please
get in touch - duncan@heleparkgolf.co.uk
Best wishes,
Duncan
GOLF SCHEDULE
Saturday 12 May
Men’s Monthly Medals &
EGU Gold Medal 1pm
Sunday 13 May
Ladies’ Monthly Medal 1pm
Monday 14 May
Ladies’ Away Match at Ilfracombe
12.30pm
Monday Group 1pm
Tuesday 15 May
Seniors’ Stableford
9.30am
Wednesday 16 May
Ladies’ Stableford
9.30am
Thursday 17 May
Midweek Mixed Stableford
Book your own times
Friday 18 May
Lady Vets 9-Hole Stableford
9.30am
PLEASE DIARISE
Friday 11 May
Music Quiz
with Kenny ‘Fluff’ Allen
All Club Members are invited – Please contact
the office if you want to come.
SPECIAL OFFER FOR READERS!
A new selection of logo shirts is now available
in the shop.
If you mention this newsletter, I’ll give
you 20% off your purchase.
TWILIGHT GOLF
Our special offer was so popular last year, we’re
doing it again! With immediate effect, from 6pm
each evening you can pay for 9 holes, and play
as many as you like.
PALAIRET 2007
Commiserations to our Hele Park team that played
but lost at Sidmouth over the weekend. A young
inexperienced team gained a wealth of knowledge
and I look forward to seeing how they get on
in next year’s match. This year’s
team will now go into the Palairet Plate.
SAID I BET THAT YOU
LOOK GOOD ON THE GOLF COURSE…
New clothing technology means that you can look
hot and keep cool on the course.
Here, Hele Park’s very own style guru Stuart
Disney models his personal favourites from our
current range (one fashion show six months ago
and it’s all gone to his head….!)
Stuart is cutting a dash in Cutter & Buck … (heaven
only knows what he’s wearing underneath!)
Sleeveless slipover (£34.99)
Mock Shirt (£29.99)
Pinstripe Trousers (£39.99)
Special Offer – purchase any two items
from the Cutter & Buck range and receive
a 15% discount. (Offer excludes sale items)
WHICH MOI ARE THEY MEASURING?
The industry is abuzz with high MOI (Moment of
Inertia) Drivers which ‘apparently’ mean
you will be able to swing harder and still be
straighter. These are benefits we all want but
let’s spend a little time understanding
what the physics are behind this so that we can
make sure we’re on top of the manufacturer’s
claims. There’s always a wrinkle!
MOI is simply the resistance to twisting. That
is if you hit the ball off-centre then how much
will the club twist at impact (which of course
will send your ball wide of the target line).
What is less obvious (and I need to be careful
with any physicists amongst you) is that there
is more than one axis in your clubhead that is
relevant to how you strike the ball.
At its simplest; many super-size club heads provide
increased MOI around the vertical axis (axis
A). A higher MOI with this axis will ensure less
twisting if you hit the ball against the club
face right or left of the axis.
The better club manufacturers are also providing
increased MOI around the horizontal axis (axis
B) ensuring that a slightly higher or lower strike
on the club face will have less negative impact
on the launch conditions (and therefore distance).
What we don’t want is the manufacturer
to provide all this but also to provide a higher
MOI around the shaft axis (axis D). That would
make it harder to square the face at impact.
That’s why you have seen Mizuno, TaylorMade
and Srixon pioneer the placement of weight closer
to the heel in the 460cc Driver heads.
Can you imagine trying to
get all of that across in one glossy advert
and it certainly won’t
fit as an endorsement on the side of a Pro’s
cap. So come through and chat to me about which
Driver will offer you the benefits your game
needs. It’s my job to understand exactly
how the technology will work for you.
MORE THAN ONE ROUTE
TO ‘STRAIGHTNESS'
If you have paged through any golf magazine at
the moment you will be drowned in MOI. It’s
the new COR. I’ve explained it, and if
you want me to tell you more or give you a demonstration
at the shop, please come in and chat to us.
But, it’s the wrong conversation. The
conversation needs to be started by you: “I
want to spend more time hitting my second from
the fairway. How can you help me?”
There are many ways, but
the right way for you depends on where we start
from, with your golf game and your golfing
ability. So that’s
where the conversation is going to go next.
Now I need to add my knowledge of which Driver
will provide which technology solution, from
the many alternatives, to benefit your game.
The Callaway FT-i Driver has made a big impact.
Using ‘geometrics’, Callaway have
designed a club with the weight placed in the
extreme corners driving up the MOI rating to
the extreme.
This makes the club head very, very stable allowing
shots, where the ball strikes nearer the toe
or heel, to still go straight up the fairway
with good distance rather than a weakly to the
left or right of the target.
We’ll have to narrow
down the ways to make you straighter from:
A simple swing fix and drill. Often the quickest
(and cheapest way) to land on the fairway more
often is a little fix in your swing. No, it isn’t
cheating to have a lesson.
A shorter shaft. The manufacturers continue to
lengthen the shafts on Drivers as another way
to make the ball go further. Trouble is you are
less likely to hit the sweet spot and more likely
to find the longer grass. Almost all touring
Pros play with a shaft shorter than yours.
Offset. If there is nothing that is going to
stop your swing bringing the club to the ball
with the face open, then let’s get a Driver
with an offset face that is already a little,
or even a lot, closed.
Heel-weighting. Extra weight in the heel of the
Driver head will help your hands turn the club
over at impact.
Shaft strength. Making sure
you are playing the right shaft strength will
not only allow you to hit the ball straighter,
you’ll also
hit it further.
Increased loft. If the swing speed that allows
you to hit the ball with control and accuracy
is less than 90mph, then I bet you have too little
loft on your Driver.
The right golf ball. You’re probably pretty
fixed on what golf ball you want to play. After
all it’s probably your connection with
your favourite Pro. Ironic isn’t it though.
He’s getting paid, so that you’ll
end up in the rough. (I withdraw that comment!).
Higher MOI Driver. Yes, a Driver with a higher
MOI will bring relief if you consistently strike
the ball on the heel or toe and studies show
that the average golfer strikes the ball closer
to the heel or toe on the majority of tee shots.
There are many potential ways to help straighten
out your game. But, if I checked out your fourball,
I bet that there would be three different solutions
that would apply.
Do yourself a favour come
and start a conversation about YOUR GOLF GAME
with me. We’ll get
to the products later.
Have a great week and good luck to all of you
playing this weekend.
Regards
Duncan
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