Tag: single length irons

The Importance of Tracking Your Game

On By Menno ZachariasIn Playing the Game4 Comments

What do golfers do when they are not scoring well and their handicap starts to climb?   All too often they buy new equipment, a  new driver perhaps, or some wedges, or even a new set of irons.

I’m facing that dilemma right now.

I finished up last year with a handicap of 3.6.  It’s normal at the start of a new season for the handicap to rise a bit, and then stabilize once you’ve played ten or fifteen games.

I’m now between 30 and 40 games into the new season and my handicap has climbed to just below  7 with no sign of slowing its ascent.

For those of you who have read my previous posts you will know that I made some pretty dramatic changes this year, trialing  a set of single length irons.  As my cap kept going up my first thought was that it must be the irons.  I stuck with them for the first 30 rounds and then decided to switch back to my conventional length clubs.

That however did not cure the problem.  I had a few good rounds and then things reverted to normal (the normal for this season that is).

That’s when I decided to look at the stats.  When I enter my scores I use the stats option and track just some of the basics:  fairways hit, greens in regulation and putts, ah yes putts.

I’ve never been a great putter, however I’ve been a steady putter who normally has very few 3 putts.  I had been noticing that I was 3 putting more this year than in the past, and when I looked at the numbers I was taken aback.  My fairways hit and greens in regulation had not changed significantly.  However, my putts per hole changed from 1.8 to just under 2 putts per hole.  This translates into less pars and birdies (I no longer hit it long enough to get many eagles), and more bogies and doubles.

When worked out in terms of  putts per round, the increase in my putting stats corresponds very closely to the rise in my handicap.  So the culprit is not my new irons, or the new driver I’m using this year, it’s putting.

So what do you think happened to the new putter I put in play this year?  If you guessed ‘penalty box’ you are right.  I played a number of rounds with my  trusty putter from last year and a few more with older putters that had been languishing in the penalty box for several years.

The problem is I’m not able to putt well with any putter right now which means its not the putter that’s the problem , its the puttee.

Case in point, last Monday I played a match at the Selkirk Golf and Country Club and my partner and I managed to halve the front 9.  Neither of us were playing particularly well on the back nine but I managed to birdie holes 14 (538 yard par 5) and 15 (565 yard par 5) to go one up on the back.  I followed that up with a 2 putt from short range on 16, and 3 putts on 17 and 18 to lose the back nine.

So what did I do yesterday in the rain?  I went out and practiced.  With an array of putters I hit around 600 putts over a 4 and a half hour period, trying every grip and set-up known to man plus a few others.  The result, inconclusive at best.

And what am I doing today as soon as the rain lets up?

Pinhawk Single Length Irons – Performance Update

On By Menno ZachariasIn Clubs5 Comments

In a previous post I promised to provide an update on the performance of my Pinhawk single length irons once the grass was green and the birds were singing. Well the grass isn’t really green yet but like a true Manitoba golf nut, despite the cold and windy weather, I’ve already completed my first 10 rounds of golf.

All 10 rounds have been played using the Pinhawk single length irons.

By way of comparison, my scoring average for the first 10 rounds is 2.9 strokes lower than last year.  It is however not a true apples to apples comparison in terms of equipment as not only did I change my irons I also replaced my driver, a hybrid and my putter.

However all that being said my first impressions are very positive.  I am hitting the single length irons straighter than I did my conventional length irons.  The ball contact is solid, the flight trajectory is good and the distance control is excellent.

I have been tracking the distances on my clubs and as of right now (in cold weather conditions and using a low compression ball) these are the distances I’ve been hitting the irons:

LW           85

SW          95

GW          105

PW          115

9I            125

8I            135

7I            145

6I            155

5I            165

4H          180

 

These distances are not spot on accurate but are based on using a laser range finder where possible and pacing yardages.  The gaps between clubs is excellent and although the distances are somewhat less than with my conventional set of irons I think once the weather warms up and I start using better quality (higher compression) balls the distances will improve.  I am very optimistic in terms of matching my usual distances with my conventional length clubs.

When I first started writing about the single length iron concept I received an offer from one of the golf professionals at a local golf course to test the clubs on Flightscope.  Once I get more used to playing with the Pinhawks and the weather warms up I will be availing myself of that offer and reporting the results.

In the meantime, I’m off to Bridges to play my first round of golf on that course this season.

DeChambeau finishes T4 at Harbour Town

On By Menno ZachariasIn Clubs, Playing the Game3 Comments

As a golfer who has been dabbling with a single plane swing and single length irons for many years I have been following Bryson DeChambeau’s progress closely.

Many have told me that Dechambeau’s success in winning the NCAA  individual title and United States Amateur were ‘flukes’  and that he would turn out to be a ‘flash in the pan’.    Many are not prepared to believe that a golfer using single length irons and a single plane swing could be successful at the professional level.

After DeChambeau’s recent performance at the Masters (low amateur and T21 overall) and T4 at Harbour Town in his first event as a professional, many including big name television commentators covering those events are starting to come around.  They are starting to admit albeit grudgingly, that Dechambeau may be the real thing.

I for one am a firm believer in DeChambeau’s approach to the game and the method he is using to achieve his goal. For those of you who know me you are probably getting tired of hearing me talk about  DeChambeau and my Pinhawk single length irons.

As indicated in a previous post I will be starting this golf season using both single length irons and a single plane swing.

I’ve played 3 rounds with my single length irons so far and the results are encouraging.

As promised in an earlier post, once we get a little further into the season (a least 10 games) I will report back and provide an evaluation of my single length irons.