Putters may be gettin' groovy -- as in grooves showing up on the faces of several recent putter models -- but concentric groove technology is actually marking its 10th anniversary on the market.
In 1996, Texas-based Pro-Gear made a deal with Harold Swash to manufacture and market his putter, which boasted concentric grooves in a half-circle shape on its face. Within five years, Pro-Gear had moved to Denver and changed its name to Yes! Golf, while focusing primarily on the increasingly popular C-Groove putter line.
Like other grooved putters, the C-Groove putters' grooves work to lift the ball out of a slightly depressed resting position and get it rolling sooner and more smoothly than traditional putters. The concentric shape of the grooves reduces sidespin even further for more accuracy.
"A ball which is truly rolling on its vertical axis in line with the putter face cannot have sidespin by definition," said Blair Phillips, technical service manager for Yes! Golf. "C-Groove putters impart an early and enhanced roll on the vertical axis of the ball in line with the putter face for more accurate and consistent results.
"The C-shaped grooves are specifically angled to enhance the over- rolling motion of the ball on both squarely hit and mis-hit putts. "Any putt that is struck in the grooved portion of the face will roll sooner than conventional putters reducing side spin. Reduced side spin and skidding translated into better putting."
An independent test conducted in 1997 shows C-Groove putters with the edge in starting a smooth roll earlier than other putters. Using a robotic putting machine and high-speed cameras, the test measured the specific point when a putted ball achieved one full revolution. C-Groove models did this before other popular models. New independent testing is currently being done, which the company believes will support its internal testing data that nothing has changed in those nine years.
Each C-Groove putter has the concentric grooves on the face, but more than 13 models ensure that a style is available to appeal to each individual golfer.
The company's putter models are each christened with a woman's name, part of a marketing strategy that began in 2001 when Retief Goosen used a C-Groove putter to win the U.S. Open. The putter he used was named Tracy after his wife.
Goosen's first U.S. Open win garnered attention for the C-Groove, but after he won the major a second time in 2004, consumer interest in the putter began to pick up speed. Other professionals -- more than 150 of them from the PGA, LPGA, European, Nationwide, Canadian and Futures tours -- have adopted and found success with the putter, further increasing its popularity.
"Most of the PGA Tour players have equipment contracts from the major manufacturers which require them to use their putter and if they choose to use another company's putter they are not allowed to endorse it," Phillips said. "We have a few players on the PGA Tour that fall into this scenario."
Tour input has played an important part in the development of two of the company's upcoming offerings, the Callie-F and the Victoria II.
The Callie-F, developed with help from South African David Frost, is a cavity-back style with a forged head made of a manganese-bronze alloy. Other players have weighed in on the Victoria II, a face- balanced mallet with a head 10 percent larger than the first Victoria model and a single-line sight alignment aid.
The company plans to introduce an advertising campaign around the Callie-F that includes select print ads aimed at consumers. Consumers will also be able to see C-Groove putters at demo days around the United States.
"The Golfweek Demo Days have been very successful for us by getting our putters in the hands of golfers to demo and also putting golfers on a video-cam to show them the benefits of C-Groove technology," Phillips said.
Yes! Golf also continues to grow its on- and off-course distribution so more golfers will see and test the putters at their local stores. The new putter models are expected to be available this summer.
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Friday, April 21, 2006
Ball Is Not The Solution — Yet
A PGA Tour player nears the first tee. A Darrell Survey employee checks his bag -- what kind of driver, irons, wedges, putter? She even dutifully records the brand of cleats in his shoes, all so manufacturers know for certain which professionals use their products. But one thing she doesn't check is his golf ball.
This isn't reality … yet. PGA Tour professionals choose the golf ball they want for distance, spin and quality. But could the implementation of a single uniform ball ever be used to combat ever-increasing distance off the tee?
After a much-hyped revamping of Augusta National again this year, Masters chairman Hootie Johnson did not completely eliminate the idea, but suggested that there were additional ways to change the course before going to that extreme.
"We don't want to take the golf ball off the table but we don't have any serious … we're not giving that any serious consideration right now," Johnson said. "But as far as the golf course is concerned, we'll have to continue to evaluate that."
All equipment, not just the golf ball, contributes to the longer drives that PGA Tour professionals are recording. Johnson indicated the issue is one for the U.S. Golf Association and the Royal & Ancient Golf Club to deal with, not a single tournament.
"The club head gets bigger, the ball goes farther," he said. "And, like Jack Nicklaus said, I don't know that anyone has the answer. I hope the governing bodies, they are addressing it."
The USGA actually does put limits on how far the golf ball can go -- distance has been regulated since 1976. According to Dick Rugge, the USGA's Senior Technical Director, the testing method was last updated less than two years ago to reflect the equipment used by PGA Tour professionals today.
And yes, the USGA does make pros the focus of its testing.
"The test method employed by the USGA, using a 120 miles-per-hour swing speed, is representative of the swing conditions used by the longer PGA Tour professionals," Rugge said in an e-mail. "The USGA tests balls like the PGA Tour pros hit balls."
Simply by addressing concerns about the golf ball's performance in the e-mail, which was sent to media and posted on USGA.org and in last week's Wire, the association shows it's aware of the controversy. Still, from the eight myths and one truth described in the e-mail, USGA officials don't believe that golf ball distance is too high.
Some of the other myths include: Faster swing speeds get greater distance from new golf balls, PGA Tour driving distance is increasing rapidly, and the average distance for 5-irons on tour is more than 200 yards.
As far as the truth goes, accuracy off the tee really isn't as important as it used to be on tour. That explains why the tour's top three golfers -- Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh -- rank 13th, 17th and 55th, respectively, in driving distance but only 138th, 92nd and 135th in driving accuracy percentage.
"During the '80s driving accuracy was almost as strong a predictor of money-winning as putting. Today it has fallen to the lowest level ever," Rugge said.
As accuracy takes a backseat to distance, other pundits have made suggestions to limit golf equipment. Recently, former USGA technical director Frank Thomas wrote a column in The New York Times suggesting that maybe tour pros should have to use four fewer clubs than amateurs do. After all, he argues, once players could carry as many clubs as they liked for every possible situation, until the Rules of Golf were changed to a 14-club limit in 1938.
That would certainly put the brakes on Mickelson's successful use of two drivers, but it might also return the spotlight to shot making, a skill that hasn't been around as much in the age of the 300-plus-yard drive.
Certainly that would allow each golfer more autonomy over their choices than a one-size-fits-all golf ball.
This isn't reality … yet. PGA Tour professionals choose the golf ball they want for distance, spin and quality. But could the implementation of a single uniform ball ever be used to combat ever-increasing distance off the tee?
After a much-hyped revamping of Augusta National again this year, Masters chairman Hootie Johnson did not completely eliminate the idea, but suggested that there were additional ways to change the course before going to that extreme.
"We don't want to take the golf ball off the table but we don't have any serious … we're not giving that any serious consideration right now," Johnson said. "But as far as the golf course is concerned, we'll have to continue to evaluate that."
All equipment, not just the golf ball, contributes to the longer drives that PGA Tour professionals are recording. Johnson indicated the issue is one for the U.S. Golf Association and the Royal & Ancient Golf Club to deal with, not a single tournament.
"The club head gets bigger, the ball goes farther," he said. "And, like Jack Nicklaus said, I don't know that anyone has the answer. I hope the governing bodies, they are addressing it."
The USGA actually does put limits on how far the golf ball can go -- distance has been regulated since 1976. According to Dick Rugge, the USGA's Senior Technical Director, the testing method was last updated less than two years ago to reflect the equipment used by PGA Tour professionals today.
And yes, the USGA does make pros the focus of its testing.
"The test method employed by the USGA, using a 120 miles-per-hour swing speed, is representative of the swing conditions used by the longer PGA Tour professionals," Rugge said in an e-mail. "The USGA tests balls like the PGA Tour pros hit balls."
Simply by addressing concerns about the golf ball's performance in the e-mail, which was sent to media and posted on USGA.org and in last week's Wire, the association shows it's aware of the controversy. Still, from the eight myths and one truth described in the e-mail, USGA officials don't believe that golf ball distance is too high.
Some of the other myths include: Faster swing speeds get greater distance from new golf balls, PGA Tour driving distance is increasing rapidly, and the average distance for 5-irons on tour is more than 200 yards.
As far as the truth goes, accuracy off the tee really isn't as important as it used to be on tour. That explains why the tour's top three golfers -- Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh -- rank 13th, 17th and 55th, respectively, in driving distance but only 138th, 92nd and 135th in driving accuracy percentage.
"During the '80s driving accuracy was almost as strong a predictor of money-winning as putting. Today it has fallen to the lowest level ever," Rugge said.
As accuracy takes a backseat to distance, other pundits have made suggestions to limit golf equipment. Recently, former USGA technical director Frank Thomas wrote a column in The New York Times suggesting that maybe tour pros should have to use four fewer clubs than amateurs do. After all, he argues, once players could carry as many clubs as they liked for every possible situation, until the Rules of Golf were changed to a 14-club limit in 1938.
That would certainly put the brakes on Mickelson's successful use of two drivers, but it might also return the spotlight to shot making, a skill that hasn't been around as much in the age of the 300-plus-yard drive.
Certainly that would allow each golfer more autonomy over their choices than a one-size-fits-all golf ball.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
In The Market For A New Putter?
At the conclusion of the Masters, Tiger Woods' caddie, Steve Williams, pretended to snap Woods' putter over his knee. The action followed a poor putting performance with 33 putts in the final round.
Have you ever felt that way about your own flat stick?
"I putted atrociously. I didn't have it all day," said Woods after he shot a 70 and fell three shots short of winner Phil Mickelson. "I lost it on the green. I'll probably snap this putter in eight pieces."
Woods' putter, a Scotty Cameron by Titleist brand Studio Stainless Newport 2 putter that's 35 inches long, with standard loft and lie, is unlikely to be banished from his bag any time soon. Unlike many golfers -- both pros and amateurs - Woods does not often try different putters. In fact, he's had the same putter for the last 40 victories or so after switching to it in mid-1999.
But for those of us who do enjoy an occasional change -- and don't rely on our putters to earn $50 million for us -- a few putters on the market might be fun to check out.
Heavy Putter
Boccieri's Heavy Putter uses weight creatively to help the golfer stay more stable during the putting stroke and, therefore, more accurate. The putter head on the Heavy Putter models weigh about 200 grams more than a traditional putter, and the company's Weight Management System includes 250 grams of weight in the grip area. The point: the putter's balance point is much higher and promotes a more consistent stroke.
For even more fine-tuning, the Heavy Putter comes with adjustable tip weights that can be used to adjust the balance point for your individual putting stroke.
"We found a common weight that worked for 99 percent of the golfers. From that point we narrowed the band of adjustability to a range that makes sense for people to customize the putter," company founder Stephen Boccieri told The Golf Channel in an interview last month.
"We have five different weights that can be put in to the heads which affects the balance point and affects the release of the putter."
That means you may be able to experiment with the Heavy Putter and come up with a customized flat stick that gives you more confidence on the greens. Earlier this year, Boccieri released its Heavy Putter Matte Series with this weighting technology in both blade and mallet styles. Including the adjustable weight kit, retail price is $229.
Grooves are also gaining popularity in putters. Billed as a way to reduce skid when the ball comes off the putter face, and thereby increase accurate roll, grooves initially showed up in Guerin Rife and Yes! Golf C-groove models in the mid-1990s. Ten years later, the technology is catching on.
TaylorMade Mezza Monza
A recent incarnation of the grooves idea shows in an insert on the new TaylorMade Mezza Monza putter with AGSI technology. The company introduced the insert, called Anti-skid Groove System Insert or AGSI, in its Rossa line last year.
"After AGSI technology was introduced last year, we received so many requests from tour pros and consumers for a Mezza Monza with AGSI that we made the decision to launch the Mezza Monza AGSI," explained Jose Miraflor, TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company's manager of product creation for irons, wedges and putters.
The idea is that the insert, made of an alloy called Titallium that is both stronger and less dense than steel, provides better feel through 12 grooves that are filled with a soft polymer. As well as improving forward spin and reducing skid, the insert's structure deforms at impact to increase the grooves' contact with the ball.
The Mezza Monza putter is made of aluminum, which saves weight in the front of the putter head, and features two "CGB Pipes" made of Titallium and filled with tungsten for weighting in the back of the putter.
The putter will retail for $200.
Odyssey White Hot XG
If inserts agree with you, give the Odyssey White Hot XG putter a try. It has worked well for Mickelson the past two weeks, having been in his bag for victories at the BellSouth Classic and the Masters.
"I am really rolling the ball exactly the way I want to with the White Hot XG putter," Mickelson said. "In the past, I had been skeptical of whether insert technology was for me, but with the consistency of feedback and the true roll I am getting, the White Hot XG is definitely in the rotation."
The Odyssey putter uses an insert that blends two different materials with different firmness for increased feel. The inner part of the insert is a resilient elastomer material, while the outer cover is urethane. This insert weighs less than one-fifth as much as steel, so it allows Odyssey's makers to reposition the weight for less twisting and a better roll.
The White Hot XG putters will retail for $150 and are set to hit shelves this week.
Have you ever felt that way about your own flat stick?
"I putted atrociously. I didn't have it all day," said Woods after he shot a 70 and fell three shots short of winner Phil Mickelson. "I lost it on the green. I'll probably snap this putter in eight pieces."
Woods' putter, a Scotty Cameron by Titleist brand Studio Stainless Newport 2 putter that's 35 inches long, with standard loft and lie, is unlikely to be banished from his bag any time soon. Unlike many golfers -- both pros and amateurs - Woods does not often try different putters. In fact, he's had the same putter for the last 40 victories or so after switching to it in mid-1999.
But for those of us who do enjoy an occasional change -- and don't rely on our putters to earn $50 million for us -- a few putters on the market might be fun to check out.
Heavy Putter
Boccieri's Heavy Putter uses weight creatively to help the golfer stay more stable during the putting stroke and, therefore, more accurate. The putter head on the Heavy Putter models weigh about 200 grams more than a traditional putter, and the company's Weight Management System includes 250 grams of weight in the grip area. The point: the putter's balance point is much higher and promotes a more consistent stroke.
For even more fine-tuning, the Heavy Putter comes with adjustable tip weights that can be used to adjust the balance point for your individual putting stroke.
"We found a common weight that worked for 99 percent of the golfers. From that point we narrowed the band of adjustability to a range that makes sense for people to customize the putter," company founder Stephen Boccieri told The Golf Channel in an interview last month.
"We have five different weights that can be put in to the heads which affects the balance point and affects the release of the putter."
That means you may be able to experiment with the Heavy Putter and come up with a customized flat stick that gives you more confidence on the greens. Earlier this year, Boccieri released its Heavy Putter Matte Series with this weighting technology in both blade and mallet styles. Including the adjustable weight kit, retail price is $229.
Grooves are also gaining popularity in putters. Billed as a way to reduce skid when the ball comes off the putter face, and thereby increase accurate roll, grooves initially showed up in Guerin Rife and Yes! Golf C-groove models in the mid-1990s. Ten years later, the technology is catching on.
TaylorMade Mezza Monza
A recent incarnation of the grooves idea shows in an insert on the new TaylorMade Mezza Monza putter with AGSI technology. The company introduced the insert, called Anti-skid Groove System Insert or AGSI, in its Rossa line last year.
"After AGSI technology was introduced last year, we received so many requests from tour pros and consumers for a Mezza Monza with AGSI that we made the decision to launch the Mezza Monza AGSI," explained Jose Miraflor, TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company's manager of product creation for irons, wedges and putters.
The idea is that the insert, made of an alloy called Titallium that is both stronger and less dense than steel, provides better feel through 12 grooves that are filled with a soft polymer. As well as improving forward spin and reducing skid, the insert's structure deforms at impact to increase the grooves' contact with the ball.
The Mezza Monza putter is made of aluminum, which saves weight in the front of the putter head, and features two "CGB Pipes" made of Titallium and filled with tungsten for weighting in the back of the putter.
The putter will retail for $200.
Odyssey White Hot XG
If inserts agree with you, give the Odyssey White Hot XG putter a try. It has worked well for Mickelson the past two weeks, having been in his bag for victories at the BellSouth Classic and the Masters.
"I am really rolling the ball exactly the way I want to with the White Hot XG putter," Mickelson said. "In the past, I had been skeptical of whether insert technology was for me, but with the consistency of feedback and the true roll I am getting, the White Hot XG is definitely in the rotation."
The Odyssey putter uses an insert that blends two different materials with different firmness for increased feel. The inner part of the insert is a resilient elastomer material, while the outer cover is urethane. This insert weighs less than one-fifth as much as steel, so it allows Odyssey's makers to reposition the weight for less twisting and a better roll.
The White Hot XG putters will retail for $150 and are set to hit shelves this week.
Thursday, April 6, 2006
For Mickelson, Two Drivers Better Than One
Phil Mickelson plans to carry a pair of drivers in his bag this week. Both clubs are Callaway Fusion FT-3s, but one is set up for a longer draw and the other for a controlled fade. Mickelson says he'll hit the first club for distance and the second when control off the tee matters most.
"I had played the course exclusively with a fade and there are a number of holes where you can move the ball left to right and have it be very effective. I have a driver that I have been working with Callaway on getting some extra pop, and this thing goes, it really goes," Mickelson said of his first driver.
"But there are holes like No. 7, you have to have control of your ball, same on 10 and 13, you have to control that fade. So that's where I came up with the two driver concept. I can hit a little controlled cut on the holes where distance isn't as big of a factor, like No. 7, like No. 10 and I can use that draw driver and get a little extra pop on some holes. Maybe No. 8 I might be able to go for now in two and some of the other par 5s, I can move it 15 left to right and get it down there. It's nice having that little extra punch."
The internal weighting of Callaway's FT-3 driver is designed to promote either a draw, fade or neutral hit. Callaway uses a carbon composite for the clubhead, combined with a titanium face, to free up weight that can be positioned as needed to help the golfer get a particular shot.
"Because we were able to free 44 grams of discretionary weight as a result of the carbon composite body in the FT-3 Driver, we have been able to reposition that weight in a variety ways on both the horizontal and vertical axes to impact center of gravity and moment of inertia," said Larry Dorman, senior vice president of global press and public relations for Callaway Golf. "This benefits every level of golfer, from tour pros to weekend players."
It's a good concept, but does leave golfers who want to work the ball with a choice to make. Mickelson said he had tried to limit himself to one driver, but the conditions at Augusta really dictate that he have two this week. He experimented with two drivers last week in his run-away win at the BellSouth Classic.
"I had been working in the off-season to get this longer driver in play," he said. "We got it dialed in to where I could hit just a very long draw. But all of the little finesse shots like carving it around the trees on 13 and so forth, the club wasn't designed for that and just wasn't doing it."
So that leaves Mickelson needing to choose which club he removes from the bag to make room for his extra driver. He's already removed his sand wedge, believing that a pitching wedge, lob wedge and gap wedge will be enough for his needs. Now he's trying to decide if a long iron or a mid-iron won't make the cut.
"Three-iron, 4-iron, it could be somewhere in the middle," he said, "it could be a 7 or 8. I just don't know what club that is yet. It will probably depend on whether it's wet or dry conditions."
Other golfers aren't so surprised by Mickelson's choice.
"I think you'll find, and not just on this course, you'll find a lot of people using two drivers now," Colin Montgomerie said. "Why try and change one swing to accommodate a hole? Why not if the club is designed to go left or right or whatever, why not use that? We have a number of courses that you can think of immediately that would favor both and certainly used more than a 3 iron or 4 iron in a round of golf."
FROM DOUBLE EAGLE TO DOUBLE DRIVER
Masters week cannot roll around without consideration for "the shot heard 'round the world" -- a 235-yard, 4-wood shot that Gene Sarazen hit on Augusta's par-5 15th hole. The shot, of course, went in for a double eagle and gave Sarazen an eventual victory in the 1935 Masters over Craig Wood (although it required a playoff the next day).
The Wilson Turf Rider 4-wood was, for 1935, a pretty technologically advanced club. It boasted a hollow back to put the weight forward in the clubhead, which helped get the ball up in the air quickly. We might consider such a club, then called a spoon, to be a utility wood -- it was effective in getting Sarazen's ball out of the slight hollow in the 15th fairway's wet grass.
"(Sarazen) took a quick look over the hill to the distant green, and then rode into the ball," wrote Herbert Warren Wind in "The Story of American Golf."
Then, as we would see a well-struck utility club today, "It shot up like a streak and fled for the green."
Sarazen was a professional who truly cared about his sticks and was open to new ideas with his equipment. In the 1930s, he adapted a reminder-grip style that Wilson had experimented with but never used on its clubs.
He worked in a machine shop during the off-season in 1932 to invent the sand wedge, an iron with a heavy sole and flange to quickly get the ball up and out of the sand. His 4-wood with its hollow back was another example of his adoption of new technology for the time.
"I had played the course exclusively with a fade and there are a number of holes where you can move the ball left to right and have it be very effective. I have a driver that I have been working with Callaway on getting some extra pop, and this thing goes, it really goes," Mickelson said of his first driver.
"But there are holes like No. 7, you have to have control of your ball, same on 10 and 13, you have to control that fade. So that's where I came up with the two driver concept. I can hit a little controlled cut on the holes where distance isn't as big of a factor, like No. 7, like No. 10 and I can use that draw driver and get a little extra pop on some holes. Maybe No. 8 I might be able to go for now in two and some of the other par 5s, I can move it 15 left to right and get it down there. It's nice having that little extra punch."
The internal weighting of Callaway's FT-3 driver is designed to promote either a draw, fade or neutral hit. Callaway uses a carbon composite for the clubhead, combined with a titanium face, to free up weight that can be positioned as needed to help the golfer get a particular shot.
"Because we were able to free 44 grams of discretionary weight as a result of the carbon composite body in the FT-3 Driver, we have been able to reposition that weight in a variety ways on both the horizontal and vertical axes to impact center of gravity and moment of inertia," said Larry Dorman, senior vice president of global press and public relations for Callaway Golf. "This benefits every level of golfer, from tour pros to weekend players."
It's a good concept, but does leave golfers who want to work the ball with a choice to make. Mickelson said he had tried to limit himself to one driver, but the conditions at Augusta really dictate that he have two this week. He experimented with two drivers last week in his run-away win at the BellSouth Classic.
"I had been working in the off-season to get this longer driver in play," he said. "We got it dialed in to where I could hit just a very long draw. But all of the little finesse shots like carving it around the trees on 13 and so forth, the club wasn't designed for that and just wasn't doing it."
So that leaves Mickelson needing to choose which club he removes from the bag to make room for his extra driver. He's already removed his sand wedge, believing that a pitching wedge, lob wedge and gap wedge will be enough for his needs. Now he's trying to decide if a long iron or a mid-iron won't make the cut.
"Three-iron, 4-iron, it could be somewhere in the middle," he said, "it could be a 7 or 8. I just don't know what club that is yet. It will probably depend on whether it's wet or dry conditions."
Other golfers aren't so surprised by Mickelson's choice.
"I think you'll find, and not just on this course, you'll find a lot of people using two drivers now," Colin Montgomerie said. "Why try and change one swing to accommodate a hole? Why not if the club is designed to go left or right or whatever, why not use that? We have a number of courses that you can think of immediately that would favor both and certainly used more than a 3 iron or 4 iron in a round of golf."
FROM DOUBLE EAGLE TO DOUBLE DRIVER
Masters week cannot roll around without consideration for "the shot heard 'round the world" -- a 235-yard, 4-wood shot that Gene Sarazen hit on Augusta's par-5 15th hole. The shot, of course, went in for a double eagle and gave Sarazen an eventual victory in the 1935 Masters over Craig Wood (although it required a playoff the next day).
The Wilson Turf Rider 4-wood was, for 1935, a pretty technologically advanced club. It boasted a hollow back to put the weight forward in the clubhead, which helped get the ball up in the air quickly. We might consider such a club, then called a spoon, to be a utility wood -- it was effective in getting Sarazen's ball out of the slight hollow in the 15th fairway's wet grass.
"(Sarazen) took a quick look over the hill to the distant green, and then rode into the ball," wrote Herbert Warren Wind in "The Story of American Golf."
Then, as we would see a well-struck utility club today, "It shot up like a streak and fled for the green."
Sarazen was a professional who truly cared about his sticks and was open to new ideas with his equipment. In the 1930s, he adapted a reminder-grip style that Wilson had experimented with but never used on its clubs.
He worked in a machine shop during the off-season in 1932 to invent the sand wedge, an iron with a heavy sole and flange to quickly get the ball up and out of the sand. His 4-wood with its hollow back was another example of his adoption of new technology for the time.
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