Congratulations to Tyler Johnson, nominal winner of the “Odom Spokane City Golf Championship.”  He beat everybody.  Almost.  He actually shot a score four shots higher than the winner of the Senior Championship Flight, Jim Solan.  213 is a higher score than 209.

However, I guess the old guys play from different tees…but four shots is a lot, in 54 holes.  I guess I’d like to know the yardage difference…???

So have a nice day, Tyler.  Take that trophy and put it up on your mantle.  But old guy Jim Solan deserves an attaboy, too.

Ever want to adjust your clubhead loft and/or lie?  (Lie is the angle between the sole of the club and the shaft.  If the clubhead toe points “up” at address, and the sole does not sit squarely on the ground, then your lie is too shallow, needs to be steeper.  However, the shaft actually torques downward a little bit at impact, so maybe 1 degree upright is necessary to get level impact. An incorrect lie can cause unwanted sidespin.) You probably need to have the lie checked first with a plastic ”strike board” which makes a little mark on the sole of the club as you hit a ball and determines if you are hitting the ball with a square, level clubface.   The local golf shops have the boards and the loft/lie bending machines.  The machines are low tech, but quite precise.  And if you have a forged clubhead, they bend fine.  If it’s cast, you can get maybe one or two degrees, OR a broken clubhead!  Check with your manufacturer if you don’t know.

Checking and changing the loft is a good way to fill a little gap (say, seven iron flies 145 yds and six-iron goes 160 yds - might want to tweak one of them.)

Did you notice the shaft YE Yang was using on that #4 hybrid he hit to 18 at Hazeltine to win the PGA?  Yup - the Aldila NV-series…the green one.  There is some magic combination of fibers, flex point and forgiveness that just seems to work.  Try one in a favorite (or less-than-favorite) club.  You can always go back to your original shaft - Mike Mengert or Dave Clarke can help.

Thie IOC is sending it out to member countries for review.  The group on the Golf Channel is pretty high on this, with a couple of grumblers - “golf is not a sport” was the complaint.  I’m in favor, but I’m also old school:  this needs to be amateurs, not pros.  That would level the playing field a little bit and let some golfers from smaller countries actually have a chance…any comments? 

We still prefer the green one.  That is the NV-65 (stiff), vs. the newer VS-60-Proto-by You (the blue one - also stiff).  We built a three-wood using both of these and the higher torque value (3.5 in the NV vs. 3.2 in the Proto) and slightly lower kick point on the VS produced a better shot for us.  We all have driver speeds slightly over 100mph.  You see the green shaft all over the tours…I’ve had one in my drivers for 8 years.

Full credit to Michael Breed of the Golf Channel for this tip.  The pros regularly hit nine-irons 150 yards.  That is like 20% farther than you and I do.  One way they achieve this is by “de-lofting” the club a little at impact.  This is done by pinching the ball into the turf a little — it’s not really hitting the ball as the club is descending, but almost.  It does kind of feel that way.

Breed’s suggestion is to imagine that the top edge of your iron leads the clubhead into the ball.  This also keeps your hands slightly ahead of the shaft at impact and adds backspin.  Works for full wedge shots, also.

Of course another reason they hit it so far is clubhead speed.  Driver head speeds of 120 mph are pretty normal.

A friend of mine has a handicap index of 1.3.  I have personally seen him hit it 370 yds on the fly…uphill.  When I first shook his hand, mine got lost in his.  We are talking 12-inch spans here!  Then I grabbed his seven iron.  Nice shaft and head, but dinky standard grip.  I said “Patrick, let me re grip your seven-iron and see how you like it.”  His thumb pads had little dents where his fingertips had been pressing into them.  When I gave it back to him, he took me aside: “How soon can you re-grip every club in my bag, including the putter with one of those Shark grips???”  Well, I got it done pretty quickly and he’s very happy.

Stop in at Clarke-Stephens or King of Clubs or your favorite retailer or pro shop and be sure your grips are the right size before having them replaced.  You will have more control and comfort, for sure!

Replacing grips is easy.  Yes, specialized tools help, but they are not critical.  To be over-brief, with the shaft held in a padded vise, you cut off the old grip and the tape under it, add fresh tape (be sure it does not go below the point where the bottom of the grip meets the shaft,) put some grip solvent into the new grip while covering the little hole at the top, shake it very well to coat all the grip inside sleeve, then let the solvent drizzle out the hole onto the taped shaft, slide it on and align it.  You can hit balls in about half an hour…maybe less.

From various online sources (Golfsmith, Golfworks, Monark, eBay, others…) you can get grips for as little as $2.50 apiece.  The Golfsmith kits are great, include tape and solvent.

Of course the local golf shops can do it too…about $6.00 per club - also a good deal. 

What is not a good deal is having the club slip in your hand and watching the ball drift OB.  Replace any slick grips soon!!