Golf Clubs n Tips

Cobra Adjustable Driver – Longer or Longest

U.S. Golf Association regulations theoretically level the playing field. However, if you can generate enough club head speed, a driver face that generates a very low spinning shot can provide a distance advantage. Cobra claims their new L5V scheduled to be available October 1st with an estimated $480 MSRP is “insanely long and straight”.

This is Cobra’s successor to the popular L4V and represents a major step into the future of club design. The face height is deeper with a lower center of gravity. This new design the effective hitting area and provides a significant improvement in forgiveness for off center hits. Depending on individual swing factors the spin rate is down 10-15% and moment of inertia is up. The trademark dimples are shallower and the sound, a very important factor for feedback, is more metallic than the L4V.

The most revolutionary feature is the adjustable face angle which Cobra refers to as adjustable ball flight. Shafts are interchangeable with a torque wrench and a simple rotation of the shaft after insertion will alter face angle from a draw bias to open.

The L5V comes withe your choice of three Diamana shafts plus several optional custom shafts. The Diamana shafts come in X, F,and M for extra-fast, fast, and moderate swing speeds. Tinkering with the adjustments can provide hours of range entertainment. The big question for Cobra is will golfers seriously test and evaluate all the options to optimize their individual setting?

Here’s the bottom line. Most of us golfers want more distance and most of us can achieve it by getting a lower spin rate off a driver face that provides for more roll. A driver face with a draw bias and a shaft appropriate for our swing characterics can greatly improve our shot trajectory and roll out. Since most of us don’t have a tour van available to alter and tweak our equipment, Cobra is providing us the next best thing and we can tweak away.

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Tags: Golf Clubs - Drivers by Golf Clubs N Tips Staff
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Putter Optics – The New Trend
Abundant theories of what we see when we putt, gaze patterns, fixation points, even eye dominance, have been engineered into the new crop of putters. Some are amusing and some have scientific foundation. The science of optics is what we actually see when putting and how it affects our alignment and stroke. Our brains stitch together a lot of data. We assemble information on the cup, the contour of the green, the grain of the grass, the implied pace and we construct the illusion of the intended pace and path of the golf ball.

Titleist has the new Scotty Cameron Studio Select Squareback with an extended flange and fairly compact face. It has a white alignment groove extending over the large flange. MSRP at $300.

Yes!Golf’s Sandy has triangle cutouts at the heel and toe as alignment aids. MSRP $190.

Seemore’s M2, in their first ever offset series, has an optical aid designed to be hidden by the shaft when the alignment is square. It is a small red dot on the heel that will not be visible when addresses square to the line. MSRP $325.

Nike’s 20-15A has a green head and shaft to blend with the green and focus attention on the two white alignment swooshes. MSRP $140.

Nike’s theory is to suppress non-critical data and focus on the club face alignment. Most attempt to create a longer sight line, a concept that has been around and success for some time.

We really believe that while optics can assist our sight line and alignment, the choice of which putter to use is almost as personal as which girl we date. The only factors that we had total staff agreement on was that the putter had to feel and look right at set up.

We do like the Seemore dot alignment system, but one of our guys still putts with a Bullseye. My personal favorite is the Scotty Cameron Studio Select Squareback. For most golfers, we believe the optics of a longer sight line and grooves, marks, and or color to focus more on squaring the club face to the line are key elements.

We have general agreement that short game practice is the single most important factor.

Please visit our affiliate Austad’s for your golf equipment and accessories.

Tags: Putters by Golf Clubs N Tips Staff
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Ping Golf Has The Recipe – Forgiveness and Distance

The Ping engineers claim they used a Cray supercomputer, one of largest and fastest computers this side of Star Wars, to simulate and optimize the G10™ driver’s crown, sole, and face structure for maximum energy transfer, and read distance. They have produced a thinner crown, allowing some of the club head weight to be shifted to produce a higher moment of inertia.

In short, they claim more forgiveness on off center hits and optimal distance: two things that we golfers, cherish. We went to the range, and then played the G10™ at Dragon Ridge Country Club in Henderson, Nevada, a beautiful venue that hosted the Senior Open Qualifier earlier this year.

First let’s explore the company specs on the G10. The clubs have no offset and can be ordered with lofts of 7.5°, 9.0°, 10.5°, 12.0°, and 13.5°. There is a draw bias available. The standart shaft is 45.75″. Lie is 58.0° and head weight is 199g with a swing weight of D3.
• These are design specifications that may vary due to manufacturing tolerances
• Standard swing weights for Soft R and Regular shafts are 1 point lighter than shown
• The G10 Driver is available in both RH and LH models.

Note that while the length is three quarters of an inch longer than the old standard for drivers, it is a good half inch shorter than several current competitors. It is a light driver which should slightly increase swing speed.

We really liked this driver on the range. We had the square faced (rather than draw) version and started hitting nice high little draws with the 9.0° head right from the get go. When we tried to hit a fade, it reacted accordingly with cut shots. Toe hits traveled remarkably well. It is more forgiving, if possible, than the G5 that we fell in love with in 2005.

The only negative appeared on really ugly heel pulls that squibbed dead left. No surprise.

The course is always the ultimate test. It is a gamer. It is in the bag (replacing the most played driver on the PGA Tour). It is a bit longer than the G5. Since I’ve been hitting a driver than comes with a 46.25” shaft, I’m thinking of re-shafting this one to that length as an experiment to see just how long this club can be.

Our marketing affiliate, Austad’s, carries Ping Golf products.

Tags: Golf Clubs - Drivers by Golf Clubs N Tips Staff
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Better Contact, Longer Drives, More Accuracy – The Mantra Of Every Golfer

We have read many (maybe too many) golf instructional books that promise really great things, but deliver very little. Robert Cotter, a former golf ball designer, after years of observing some of the best world-class golfers up close has developed an incisive tutorial. We believe that his instructional manual, called “The Key To A Repeating Golf Swing”, can assist every golfer from club pro to high handicapper who is serious about hitting crisper shots that travel where the club face is pointing. As a bonus, we found that our average distance did actually improve because we were consistently making better contact. It’s available in digital or hard copy for  $39.95.

“The Key To A Repeating Golf Swing” strips away the differences in grip, swing plane, and physical attributes (short or tall, slim or medium pudgy). It is logical in getting us to more consistently return the club face square to the target line. Even our accomplished staff pros found some helpful tidbits. No, they are past their prime and not headed back to Q School. As one of our guys said, “I’m hitting it more solid and have gained about 12 yards on average, but the young flat bellies are still way out there – and they can putt.”

If you go to his web site, Robert will for a limited time send you a free lesson on the alignment error that affects a majority of amateur golfers Click Here!

Our advice for any instructional manual or video, is to read or watch it once. Then on your second read, practice the tips as you go. After your second read, take it to the range. It may take several range sessions to imprint your new swing knowledge, so don’t play competitively until you are comfortable with your transition.

Tags: Golf Instruction and Tips by Golf Clubs N Tips Staff
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Long Off The Tee and Short Game Spin

Callaway introduced two versions their new tour golf ball recently and have publicized immediate tour acceptance and testimonials. We had our staff professionals compare them on the range, the practice green, and most importantly “in play”. Both balls share a similar construction with a low density inner core and a tungsten infused mantle, but the engineers made subtle differences for alter spin characteristics at different swing speeds. They share a hex or what the company calls a sub-hex dimple design. The dimple design is made up of deep depressions in the cover pattern that make for an optimized aerodynamic flight. The result is a very thin cover that provides maximum distance off the tee and still offers tour caliber spin in your short game.

Tour i For Short-game Spin and Control

The Tour i Golf Ball, according the company’s marketing, provides the perfect balance of breakthrough distance and control. A softer core formulation provides unparalleled tour feel and the softer urethane cover generates more short-game spin for precision control and aggressive shot-making. We found that the low compression inner core does provide good distance due to reduce spin with a driver.

Around the green, it stops predictably on chips and pitches. The higher compression outer core provides high shot spin around the green. Our recommendation is that if distance is not your primary concern this a golf ball you should try, especially if you are having difficulty holding your pitches on the green.

Tour ix For Maximum Distance Off The Tee

The Tour ix Golf Ball features 4-piece inertia technology and dual core construction designed to optimize distance. The ball’s high-density outer core moves weight away from the center of the ball for increased moment of inertia (MOI) resulting in even more reduced driver spin for increased distance and accuracy. Callaway claims this is the longest tour ball they have ever made.

It is long. Our pros said longer than what they have been playing (both play Titleist Pro V1x), but not by all that much. They estimated 8 yards longer, but that is not a scientific estimate. It is longer than the Tour i by a couple yards.

The key is always in our humble opinion from 100 yards in. Predictable spin control is more important to many low handicap players than distance off the tee (assuming they can already carry the ball 240 yards or more off the tee).

Our recommendation is to try the Callaway Tour ix if your tee shots average less than 240 yards. The ball reacts well on chips and pitches. It is predictable off your short irons. It just spins less than its sister the Tour i.

Tags: Golf Balls by Golf Clubs N Tips Staff
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Aldila’s New Golf Shaft – the Voodoo
The new golf shaft called the Voodoo from Aldila is creating a buzz. More distance is a common theme among both professional and amateur golfers at all levels. Aldila created some golf magic with the Voodoo golf shaft.
The golf shaft is the engine of the golf club. Most engineers will say it is the most important golf club component. The Voodoo golf shaft has a high-modulus carbon stabilization rib running the length of the shaft. The company claims that this maximizes energy transfer by providing cross-sectional stabilization. Without an engineering degree, it is logical to assume that the less deformation in the shaft during the swing the more probable that the club head will be accurately returned to the point of impact.
Our staff loves this shaft. Our unscientific results are overwhelming. Is long and straight any good? We want it in our driver. Can we make it any clearer? If Stuart Appleby and Boo Weekly can boom it and stay in play, it passes the tour test. Yes, they both have it in play.

Tags: Golf Shafts by John
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