"Fiddling" with golf clubs

[mtg]

I have been an equipment nut and have changed shafts, altered lies, changed swing weights and altered lofts. I have accumulated dozens of sets of clubs and been "fitted" for clubs interminably. When I was young, I played to scratch at age 16 and never thought about the gear I was using---I just hit the clubs.

I have come to the conclusion that we golf nuts think far too much about our equipment and would all benefit from having approximately the correct shaft flex in virtually standard club heads and then just playing. STOP "fiddling" with your clubs and just play golf!! I bet few agree on this forum, but I KNOW that this is the way to go. STOP constantly changing equipment and just get on with the game.

 

I won't be surprised to see this thread "locked" however!!!

 

I have come to the conclusion that golfers will do almost anything to blame something for their game other than themselves.

 

Golf is hard because its hard to "just play". If it was easy to "just play" golf it would be darts and nobody would care about it. Golf is a simple game that is as complex as you want to make it and that's why its both interesting and hard.

 

"Fiddling" has nothing to do with you being worse than you want to be at golf. Good grief.

 

Says the guy playing an Aeroburner and J40 DPCs. You sir are not a tinkerer. Again... for the 17th time in this thread - diff'rent strokes....

 

bit presumptuous on my part. Maybe twist face just wasn't for you. Kinda feel my instinct is right on this one though. But you're exactly the kind of guy who gets it and doesn't even know it. At least as far as what equipment can offer YOUR GAME. It might do wonders for you Saturday nights lol, but it ain't helping you beat your buddy out of a $2 nassau, or qualifying for the US Open.

[Vintage1976]

Cannot say I'm "cured" but I have all but stopped effing with my current bag.

 

The catch is, I still fiddle/tinker/tweak with a number of different clubs but they are fiddled with one at a time, with the specific purpose of head to head competition versus the club that already performs good enough for me to be in the bag. Ties go to the incumbent.

 

Best of both worlds for me :)

[PeanutsDaddy]

Fiddling is the only way to get thru winter ... will it ever end ?

 

Chance of snow here on Monday Cardy. We are getting oodles of rain at the moment. Everything is going to be flooded. I've teed it up at least twice a week indoors since early November. Sometimes I play 72 holes in a session. I'm at a point that I'd give a testicle to hit balls off of real turf, on a real golf course.

 

All this means that the "violinist" continues to pluck on the strings.

 

Purchased 3 dozen balls this weekend (all different models) to give a few new things a whirl. Who knows maybe matte Duo's will be the magic pill ; ) Upon further inspection I found 10 dozen new balls (all different models) waiting for their time in the sun.

 

None of 'this' has anything to do with improved performance. I am what I am. I shoot what I shoot.

 

Improvement will come with increased focused practice and play.

[bevans0222]

I think the OP's point is valid. I've fallen into that trap in the not too distant past. I also really enjoy spending time in the workshop "tinkering". Like many have mentioned, winters are long around here, and it gives me something to do. So I've arrived at a compromise, where I can tinker all winter, but try not to make changes to my set during the playing season. I was pretty good about not changing much once the season got going, but did end up with a 3 wood and hybrid mid-season last year. I'm hoping to be even better about not changing anything this "playing" season.

[pinestreetgolf]

Its odd to me that people think changing equipment hurts you but can't imagine a scenario where changing equipment helps you. If it can hurt, it can help.

 

Tinkering doesn't actively hurt you or help you. Its irrelevant to how good you are at golf or what you shoot. The only possible argument would be that it takes up too much time, but lots of things take up time.

 

There is this idea in golf that "all I have to do is just play" and "good players just hit the friggin ball" that is ridiculous. Good players have developed a whole lot muscle memory. That's why their good players. You can "just play" all you want and if you haven't built up the myelin you can't do it. Golf is deceptive in this respect, because once in a while you'll hit a tour caliber shot and think "no reason i can't do that all the time". Well, no, there is a reason. Its because the difficulty of golf is being able to repeat it and, when you can't, picking a less aggressive shot.

 

Golf is mainly a game of decisions, not equipment or mechanics. So y'all can have the equipment versus mechanics false debate and it misses the most important thing that decides if you are good or bad.

 

Edit -

 

A study at Brown in 2005 found that there is only one mental trait that corresponds with a low handicap. As handicaps trend downward, the player thinks less and less about mechanics and more and more about the course and club selection, to the point that a 20-cap thinks almost exclusively about mechanics and the scratch thinks almost exclusively about decisions. Getting good at decision-making is the heart to improving at golf, once you can make consistent contact, IMO. Your decision making skill has nothing to do with the amount of time you spend tinkering.

[mtg]

Nobody enjoyed 'fiddling with clubs' more than 'The King', Arnold Palmer!

 

 

 

Arnie won his last major in '64 at the age of 34. Ben Hogan was just getting started at that point. We all know he was plenty healthy well past that. Just a hypothesis for his early decline.

 

I'd add... the shaft, head, spec options in his day were about 1% of what they are now.

[KaiserSoze]

I have been an equipment nut and have changed shafts, altered lies, changed swing weights and altered lofts. I have accumulated dozens of sets of clubs and been "fitted" for clubs interminably. When I was young, I played to scratch at age 16 and never thought about the gear I was using---I just hit the clubs.

I have come to the conclusion that we golf nuts think far too much about our equipment and would all benefit from having approximately the correct shaft flex in virtually standard club heads and then just playing. STOP "fiddling" with your clubs and just play golf!! I bet few agree on this forum, but I KNOW that this is the way to go. STOP constantly changing equipment and just get on with the game.

 

I won't be surprised to see this thread "locked" however!!!

 

Depends on why and how a person is fiddling. I agree with you, but fiddling on a club or aspect of the game (eg-short game) if done strategically and with purpose to improve that club or aspect then fiddling can be fun and productive.

 

I would really like to read the Brown study posted about earlier if published .

[pinestreetgolf]

I have been an equipment nut and have changed shafts, altered lies, changed swing weights and altered lofts. I have accumulated dozens of sets of clubs and been "fitted" for clubs interminably. When I was young, I played to scratch at age 16 and never thought about the gear I was using---I just hit the clubs.

I have come to the conclusion that we golf nuts think far too much about our equipment and would all benefit from having approximately the correct shaft flex in virtually standard club heads and then just playing. STOP "fiddling" with your clubs and just play golf!! I bet few agree on this forum, but I KNOW that this is the way to go. STOP constantly changing equipment and just get on with the game.

 

I won't be surprised to see this thread "locked" however!!!

 

Depends on why and how a person is fiddling. I agree with you, but fiddling on a club or aspect of the game (eg-short game) if done strategically and with purpose to improve that club or aspect then fiddling can be fun and productive.

 

I would really like to read the Brown study posted about earlier if published .

 

I'll dig it up. It used an acronym for the methodology that was catchy. i posted it in another long, three-wood based thread in the past (might have been "should i ditch the 3 wood?").

 

There is a mountain of academic literature devoted to how golf works. For example -

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17917952

 

Stop practicing your putting stroke!

 

Typing "Golf" into google scholar and spending a few hours reading the most popular studies leads to some very interesting conclusions, IMO.

 

If anyone knows the acronym i'm referring to i could find it super fast (its three letters, and its about how athletes narrate their thoughts to a control person while playing).

 

Spoiler alert - there isn't one that says tinkering makes you bad. There is one linking calmness (heart rate, breathing rate) just prior to shot to success of the shot (the number one most correlated factor to a good golf shot is a low heart rate and low respiratory rate just prior to the backswing).

[mtg]

It’s not the act of tinkering itself. It’s directly correlated to the mental side of things. As a golfer you bring everything with you to the golf course. If you’re the type to play 5 difference shafts and 3 iron heads in a given month you are bringing some baggage to the first tee that is not on the beneficial side of the the research you’re referencing.

 

The putting stroke example is a great one! The type of guy who tries 4 different “toe hangs” on his putter is the exact same guy who practices his stroke. He’s a perfectionist in the wrong ways. The brain isn’t compartmented when it comes to these things.

 

In other words tinkering is a symptom of the illness that causes poor play. Not the cause.

[pinestreetgolf]

It’s not the act of tinkering itself. It’s directly correlated to the mental side of things. As a golfer you bring everything with you to the golf course. If you’re the type to play 5 difference shafts and 3 iron heads in a given month you are bringing some baggage to the first tee that is not on the beneficial side of the the research you’re referencing.

 

The putting stroke example is a great one! The type of guy who tries 4 different “toe hangs” on his putter is the exact same guy who practices his stroke. He’s a perfectionist in the wrong ways. The brain isn’t compartmented when it comes to these things.

 

In other words tinkering is a symptom of the illness that causes poor play. Not the cause.

 

Good point. Didn't think of it that way.

 

The academic literature is pretty clear that the most important thing with a bullet is comfort. I can see how switching out equipment could hurt comfort (or help it). If you think its hurting you, why keep doing it? Its not a heroin addiction!

[Bye]

I thinker a lot more with the top end of my bag. Mainly because I don't play that much these days, and the thought of making a technical change scares me as it may ruin the part of my game which I rely on. Trying to find something that fits and works with what you have seems like the sensible option. But nothing surpasses good technique.

 

Trying to improve is why most of us go back for more punishment. Finding better fitting equipment is a part of the process.

[cardoustie]

It took me 30 minutes to hack 3" of ice and snow off my hot tub lid this morning ... using a hockey stick

 

Painted all weekend again

 

Sim golf again this week ..... arghhhhhh

 

 

[cjaxun]

I love fiddling with the simple things...regripping, shaft changes. Painting and paint fills ect

[A.Princey]

Anything that noticeably changes feel is ok if it's done in moderation, and left alone to "settle" in. The constant shaft change, grip change, loft/lie, bounce etc is very detrimental to feel, and I know.

 

Fiddling with a poor setup is probably not going to hurt, could help or it could be worse. Fiddling with something that's proven successful is a dangerous road. Why make a major change to something already delivering great results??? I'm guilty here, sad to say, and instead of admitting defeat and going back to what worked, I chased down other avenues for a similar result.

 

Tech in the last 5yrs is maxed out for me, no more MOI chasing or gimmicky trends to jump on. I've got a couple drivers, 3 irons sets, and countless putters. The next changes will be wedges that are wearing out. I've just about got my current set weighted perfectly and the last piece of my puzzle is grip style and diameter(wraps). I'm zeroing in on a stable bag for once.

 

When I was a poor college kid I lacked the means, money and even knowledge in club making, so my bag stayed as it was for 5+ years. My best rounds and highest level of confidence were back then. Today, I cannot say that I'm entirely confident standing over the ball with each club I've got now.

 

Time to build a familiarity, and get that effortless feel and confidence back. Funny thing is some of my old "college" irons are in my dads bag, same worn old grips and R flex shafts and they still feel like "home" to hit. FML

[Marengo]

I thinker because it's fun. I love golf and I love new toys. Altering existing toys is cheaper than buying new ones. To me, it's like when you change the grips on your clubs. The only thing new is the grip but they might as well be a brand new set to me. Talking with my buddies about the technical aspect of clubs is fun for us. Do I want to fiddle with my set time see if my game changes? Sure but if it doesn't, I'm not upset about it. Just means that I have to research the next thing I am going to do with my clubs.

I'm not going pro nor am I ever going to be a scratch HC (2 kids under the age of 3) but my kids are going to have a sick set of clubs to play with (whenever they get strong enough to swing a club).

[Valtiel]

I think it depends completely on the personality involved. For some people, "fiddling" removes variables and provides more confidence. Being able to know that the equipment can not be the source of the problem is the main driving force here I think. For other people though I think it can be too much of a possible scapegoat or simply something that is being incorrectly focused on. Someone with a massively over the top out to in swing that hits a big inconsistent cut or a slice should spend less time fiddling with moving weight around to make a driver draw biased and more time fixing the swing fault.

 

Everything in my bag is customized to the nth degree so I DON'T have to think about it, therefore it is easy for me to figure out what needs changing because if I do start thinking about it, something isn't right. For example, right now I feel like my MP-H4 is a touch too heavy, launches a touch too low, and has a little too much offset for my eye (I like very low offset and my irons are bent weak to help this) plus my Anser hybrid is feeling slightly redundant given the versatility of my 4-wood, so i'm considering putting the MP-59 4-iron back in the bag and bagging an MP-H4 2-iron bent weak to match the hybrid loft thus removing a redundancy with a different driving club and getting rid of something that is feeling wrong to me in the 4-iron. Some might consider that "fiddly", but the only purpose is to remove an ill-feeling from my head.

[lil'mike]

I am not much of a fiddler, although at times I wish I knew how and did like when I see a great set of irons go on sale but they don't have the right shafts for me. I get thinking man I wish I had a set of shafts here for those irons! But again, my wallet thanks me that I don't buy them! lol

 

I would like to know more about how the weight in drivers is effecting swingweight etc. since the ones I use have removable weights so I often wonder what I would get if I put in a different weight either lighter or heavier depending on the shaft I have and the weight of it. Just thinking about fine tuning I guess or instead of thinking a particular shaft isn't working for me, it may work for me if I changed the weight in the head kinda thought! :)

[Oldplayer]

Its odd to me that people think changing equipment hurts you but can't imagine a scenario where changing equipment helps you. If it can hurt, it can help.

 

Tinkering doesn't actively hurt you or help you. Its irrelevant to how good you are at golf or what you shoot. The only possible argument would be that it takes up too much time, but lots of things take up time.

 

There is this idea in golf that "all I have to do is just play" and "good players just hit the friggin ball" that is ridiculous. Good players have developed a whole lot muscle memory. That's why their good players. You can "just play" all you want and if you haven't built up the myelin you can't do it. Golf is deceptive in this respect, because once in a while you'll hit a tour caliber shot and think "no reason i can't do that all the time". Well, no, there is a reason. Its because the difficulty of golf is being able to repeat it and, when you can't, picking a less aggressive shot.

 

Golf is mainly a game of decisions, not equipment or mechanics. So y'all can have the equipment versus mechanics false debate and it misses the most important thing that decides if you are good or bad.

 

Edit -

 

A study at Brown in 2005 found that there is only one mental trait that corresponds with a low handicap. As handicaps trend downward, the player thinks less and less about mechanics and more and more about the course and club selection, to the point that a 20-cap thinks almost exclusively about mechanics and the scratch thinks almost exclusively about decisions. Getting good at decision-making is the heart to improving at golf, once you can make consistent contact, IMO. Your decision making skill has nothing to do with the amount of time you spend tinkering.

Wish I could like this post more than once. Excellent work!!

[Greenstealth]

I don't fiddle with clubs on the premise of a promise of improvement in my scores. I just like to do it. I am, by nature, a "fiddler" with most of my hobbies.