Spring has sprung in the Great White North!
I’ve managed to get a handful of rounds under my belt after a long winter of Rotary Swing Tour drills. Normally my round progression works from high 90′s/low 100′s for the first couple months of the Central Canadian season, followed by low 90′s and the odd dip into the 80′s for the next (last?) 4 months. However, this year, I’ve already started out in the mid/low 90′s (and would have broken 90 except for stupidity setting in on the 18th).
Is it swing drills? Of course. Apparently my rotary swing was OK, and the adaptation to the Tour stuff has gone along OK. No, I haven’t had it checked, but it sure feels OK, and I know I have stuff to work on still.
Part of the contributing factor for me is the gear. I revamped my sticks in light of the new RS Tour setup and motion, moving to shorter clubs. I also traded in my Wishon 770CFE irons for the new Wishon 870Ti irons. A little more sole width, a little more ball speed, and less offset. Talk about a head design that wants to go straight. I can feel like I’m releasing the snot out of the club, and end up with a 5 yard draw. Does this mean I’m in trouble if I have to hit a 15 yard screaming hook? Yes. But it also means that there’s not much curvature when it comes to my shots – it’s easier to hit targets. I’ve paired these heads up with the Apollo Hump S – the most tip-stiff iron shaft in existence to date. This, however, does not translate into harsh feel as it cycles a little softer than your DG S300 at the butt. So a somewhat lower trajectory, a little less spin, and feels good to boot.
I’ve got a few tournaments lined up – about one per month – and am excited to see how I fare. I am not affiliated with a club this year (but did manage to leave after escaping the 4th flight for the 1st flight last year), so I’m not sure how I’m going to define success for new tournaments (obviously better scores than previous years would be improvement for tournaments I’ve played in).
On the technology front, the new technology is evidenced in the new TaylorMade R9 and the Nike DyMo STR8. But let’s not be fooled – those of us that have worked with Chuck have already witnessed this old technology – in the Nakashima HTEC drivers. It’s all the same tool – a hosel drilled offset so that as you rotate the shaft around, the face angle is effectively opened and closed again. No, the actual driver loft doesn’t change when you do this (contrary to what the ads would have you believe) but the dynamic loft does. Now the actual ratio of Face Angle (FA) to loft isn’t quite 1:1, but it works well for the purposes of guesswork and also illustration. So, for example, a 10 degree driver with a 2 degree closed FA will play like a 12 degree driver with a square FA. Conversely, that same driver with a 2 degree open FA will play like an 8 with a square FA. Again, it’s not quite this exact, but close enough. And this, friends, is all you’re doing with your HTECs, R9′s, and STR8′s. It works, though – effectively increasing and decreasing launch angles, although the driver may look a little ‘off’ at setup as you clock your way through the hosel. If you’ve had your driver properly fit, I say there’s no logical reason to run out and try to better your clubmaker with an off-the rack R9 or STR8. If you simply need the latest and greatest, then by all means – to Edwin Watts with you!
As always, may the course be with you.
