What if You Could Play Every Round with a Pro?

So I'm hitting balls into the simulator at Dick's Sporting Goods a few months ago, trying to find a new driver (see story HERE). Anyway, the pro helping me (yes, Dick's hires PGA pros for their golf department) is named Ralph.

Ralph is a down-to-earth kinda guy and is completely amused that I write for a blog called Golf Stinks. After a few minutes of chatting, he begins telling me about an idea for an app he has - one where he can be (sort of) on the course giving advice to thousands of golfers all over the world at the same time.

This idea intrigued me and I told Ralph he should get busy developing said app. He agreed, I purchased my new driver and went on my merry way. Of course, I completely forgot about Ralph's app idea - until about two weeks later when I received an email from Ralph explaining he had gotten a developer and Golf Pro To Go was about to become reality.

You've gotta hand it to old Ralphie-boy. Not many people would be inspired by talking to someone who claims they stink at golf, but it appears I had some effect on Ralph to realize his dream app - and he didn't waste any time getting started.

Fast forward just a few short months and the Golf Pro To Go app is developed and on the iPhone app store - ripe for downloading at just $0.99 cents (Droid version is in development). But how does it work? Here's the deal: Golf Pro To Go asks you a series of questions, which, when answered, will explain exactly how you should play whatever shot you're faced with.

Let's say you're on the tee with the wind blowing right-to-left. There's a water hazard on the left side of the fairway and grass conditions are wet. A few taps taking less than 30 seconds will give you a text-book approach to hitting your shot: "Tee up on the left side of the tee box and aim down the right center. The right to left wind will push the ball left. With trouble to the left, choose your target far enough right to allow for the wind. Wet conditions will eliminate roll."

More complex shots are also covered (e.g. if the ball is above or below your feet or what the specific slope of the terrain is). You can also save shots - so, like me, when you're faced with the same approach (side-hill lie, from the rough) again on the next hole, you can easily tap right over and get a refresher on how to play from that position.

Sounds simple enough, but with golf, sometimes all you need is to regroup and refocus, and Golf Pro To Go helps you to do just that. Ralph is still tweaking some things though - there's no putting, chipping or trap play included in this version, but he assures me they're working on it for future versions. But for a buck, you really can't go wrong - it's worth the dollar alone just to give you a chance to breath and mentally prepare - all just by tapping through the shot you're faced with before you actually take it.

As a thank you for inspiring him to develop his idea into a reality, Ralph has agreed to give five Golf Stinks readers the app for free! Just email us HERE - first 5 to do so win!

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The Process Of My Custom Club Fitting

About two months ago I talked about getting fitted for clubs. Well, I did it. And after quite a bit of a delay from a certain club manufacturer, I received them. Further, I've even played with them! But one nine-hole round certainly doesn't constitute enough playing time to make a proper judgement as far as the difference between my old "off-the-shelf's" and the newbies. So I'll have to get out a few more times before I can really make a fair comparison.

But in the meantime, many have asked me about the actual process of the club fitting. Was it hi-tech? Did they video your swing? Did they measure your swing speed? Did they hook you up to computers? Well, the answer to all of those questions is, simply, no.

Rather, the pro and I went outside. Can you believe that? We actually went outside...where golf is actually played! He took me over to the driving range, handed me a 6-iron and had me smack a few balls. After watching me hit a few, he threw some tape on the bottom of the club head, dropped a board on the ground and had me hit a few more off of that. After about three or four swings, he took the club and showed me the tape. Ah-ha! Now I see part of the reason I stink at this sport! I could see which part of the club-head was hitting the ground....and it was not the part that's supposed to be hitting.

So we swapped some differently angled club heads, taped those up and hit a few more. We combined the club head swaps with some different types of shafts (steel, graphite, stiff, regular) and before you know it, I had something in my hand that felt quite comfortable.

I say "before you know it," but that's not how it felt at the time. This process went on for about an hour or so. After non-stop swinging (for the most part) on the range for that long...I was wiped! I mean, it felt like I took more swings on that range than I would possibly take in two rounds! But, even though I have yet to have enough time to see if it was beneficial, I feel this was well worth it.

See, I could have watched my swing on video. I could have measured my club-head speed. I could have been hooked up to a computer and I could have stayed inside and hit balls into a net eight feet in front of me like in the picture above. Thing is, I've done all of those things before. And other than a recent swing video analysis, which you can read about here, they've gotten me next to nowhere. I could have done them all again, but what would that have gotten me had I not seen the end result of my swing?

Any of us can hit a ball straight for eight feet. What does that tell me? What matters is what the ball is doing 170 yards down the fairway. And by being out on an actual range, I can see exactly what that ball is doing. After all...do you really give a crap how fast you swing? You shouldn't. What you should care about is having the proper club for that swing and the end result. I don't care if I swing 95 mph or 125 mph, as long as I have the right club for the job.

One of the questions I am also asked is, "How much did it cost?" Thanks to the hook-up from my wonderful wife, I didn't pay a cent. So I have no idea what it would have cost. However, upon doing some research, I see people pay as little as $20-$30 for a fitting. For that price, it's well worth it. But there's always that other end of the spectrum.

As I may have mentioned before, one thing I will never understand about golfers is the amount of money many are willing to spend in order to try to make themselves better players. Doing that same research, I have seen that some are willing to fork over $400 for a club fitting! $400?! How much more are you getting than what your local pro can offer you for a small fraction of that price, if not free? Some people just take this game way too seriously. But, I guess if you have the money, then good for you.

So like I said earlier, I'm going to need a few more rounds before I can make an accurate judgement as to how beneficial a custom fitting really is. But as of now, I'm going to say I'm quite satisfied so far. My new clubs feel nice in my hands and nice during my swing. During my first time out with them, I felt like I hit the ball more solidly. My score didn't reflect it, but it feels like I'm headed down the right path. We'll see if that keeps up a few rounds from now.

Swing 'til you're happy!

Related Posts:
Custom Fitting Golf Clubs: Worth It?
Judging My Custom-Fit Clubs

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Custom Fitting Golf Clubs: Worth It?

I'm approaching a very special time in the career of a golfer, and I want to share it with everyone. It wouldn't be fair to keep such a joyous occasion to myself. I need to tell everyone about the next step in my golfing life.

You see, I'm finally putting down my off-the-shelf clubs (the same set I've been playing with since I took up the game), and getting myself fitted for a new set!

Once again, I have my wife to thank. For the umpteenth time, via the benefits of her place of employment, she has come through with something to benefit me. You see, I've mentioned previously that she works for a company that manages or owns several golf courses throughout the state. So I'll be headed to their top course to meet up with the pro who will promptly measure me up! It's a combination Fathers Day/Birthday gift...and a damn good one at that!

Now, as excited as I am for this, I also have no idea what to expect or what to look for. I'm sure the pro is going to help me understand those things, but it's still a funny feeling. So I have a few questions with which some of you in the golf blogosphere may be able to help me out?

1. What exactly am I looking for? What I mean by this is, how do I want to feel with these clubs in hand? Should I feel like I'm holding something as light as a feather or something of significant mass? Should I feel like I'm holding anything at all or should I feel as if it's simply an extension of my arms?

2. In my club shopping, swinging and testing-out of clubs, I've become a bit partial to a brand or two. But what happens if I've tried out a few and decide on one, but once it's custom fit to my specs, I no longer like the feel of it? Is there a possibility of that happening? One would have to think so. It's like if I was to test-drive a new car, decide I like it, and have something on it customized. Then, once I get it out on the road, it feels different due to the customization and I don't like it as much. Has anyone ever heard of this happening or experienced it for themselves?

3. Is it worth it to do this at all? I mean, I'm getting a relatively large break on the cost of all of this, but it's still not going to be cheap. Is a nice set of custom-fit clubs that much better than a nice set of off-the-shelf clubs? Especially considering I'm a stinky golfer? It's something to think about.

Keep in mind, if not for my wife's connection, this is something I likely would never do. I honestly never really cared about getting custom-fit clubs. As a matter of fact, I find it quite humorous that so many people who are not professional players, and never will be, spend the money to do this. So for a player of my caliber...I find it to be absolutely absurd!

I suppose I don't understand it because I don't take the game as seriously as many others do. Now don't take that statement the wrong way. I very much enjoy playing the game. I also very much enjoy playing softball every Tuesday night, but I'm not about to go spend several hundred dollars on a custom bat, or have a custom glove tailored to my hand! So why do it for golf?

Well, the answer is, I wouldn't. But I have the chance to do it now for less than what I was planning on paying for a nice set of off-the-shelf clubs. So that puts me in a different position. I would almost be foolish to NOT do this, right?

So next weekend holds the big day. Provided I can find a bit of free time, I'll be in the pro shop, likely asking these same questions. If anyone can give me any insight before going in, it would be very much appreciated!

Afterward, give me some time with the new clubs and give me a chance to see how much difference they make and if they are, in fact, worth it. I'm sure I'll then follow up with my verdict.

Related Posts:
The Process Of My Custom Club Fitting
Judging My Custom-Fit Clubs

Read more »