Golf

So, Here is a picture of an iron. If you put down the club "correctly" when the buttom/sole of the club to the ground. You should able to see the club from the side like the picture above.

Above are the shots that a golfer can create from a swing. There are total 9 different ways of the ball flight.

1st) Pull Hook : Close Face + Outside-In Swing Path
2nd) Pull : Square Face + Outside-In Swing Path
3rd) Hook : Close Face + Inside-Out Swing Path
4th) Draw: Close Face + Straight Swing Path

5th) Pure: Square Face + Straight Swing Path

6th) Fade: Open Face + Straight Swing Path
7th) Slice: Open Face + Outside-In Swing Path
8th) Push: Open Face + Straight Swing Path
9th) Push Slice: Open Face + Inside-Out Swing Path

The direction of the ball fly can be effected by two factors. They both measure in degrees.

1st) The Club-Head (Swing) path/Path of Hand. Which meaning how did the club contact the ball. And there are 3 ways that a "SWING PATH" can be produced. The swing path is measure from usually the distance/track between player's two feet.

a. A Straight Path. This is what every golfer's good swing path. If the Face is Flat when contact. The ball will travel nice and straight.

b. A Path from Out-side to In-side. Usually happened to most of the golfer because the right arm is stronger than left arm. (Right-Handed) Sometimes it can be generated also by "pulling" the club down or "chopping" the club down from the top. More than 80% of the beginners have this type of the swing path. The initial of the ball fly will goto the left side.(right-handed)
c. A path from in-side to Out-side. Usually can see from player that also play other sports that have the pulling out motion. Also from better players will favor in this style of the swing path.The initial of the ball fly will goto the right side.(right-handed)

2nd) The Club-Face Angle. There are basically three way you can impact the ball for the club face angle. OPEN, SQUARE, and CLOSE. However, degree of open and close can be different from swing to swing. The more degree it open, most likely the ball will spin to the open direction more later after the ball fly out.(Fade or Slice). The more degree it close, most likely the ball will spin to the close direction. (draw or hook).


EFFECTIVE LOFT AT IMPACT
This will determine the height the ball will fly. If, at impact, the hands are behind the club-head, the loft will be increased and the ball will fly higher. In another hand, if, at impact, the hands are ahead of the club-head, the loft will be decreased and the ball will fly lower.

SWEET SPOT
This is the focal point of your club-face(usually in the center) and, if struck there, you will get solid contact and maximum distance. Also today, there is a measurement call M.O.I. this is also the measurement of the size of the sweet spot. So, when a golfer hits a off-center shot. Today's high M.O.I. driver will still hit the ball far and not lose much distance.

CLUBHEADSPEED
This will determine the distance your shot will travel with a given club, assuming you make solid contact.

So we all know the new irons hit the ball further. But do you know what is the majority reason behind the new "hitting further" secret? This chart should give you an idea about how the Golf Makers of the world play around from the past.

Men's Club Loft Angle for average Brands
Club / Degree	1960/1970	1980〉	Early 1990	After 1997
1 Iron	17	17	16	16-17
2 Iron	20	20	19	18-20
3 Iron	24	23	22	20-21
4 Iron	28	26	25	23-24
5 Iron	32	30	28	26-27
6 Iron	36	34	32	30-31
7 Iron	40	38	36	34-35
8 Iron	44	42	40	38-40
9 Iron	48	46	44	42-44
Pitch Wedge	52	50	48	46-48
Gap Wedge	None	None	52	50-52
Sand Wedge	56	56	56	55-56
Driver	11	11	10	9-10.5
3 Wood	16	15	15	13-14
5 Wood	22	21	19	17-17
7 Wood	28	27	23	20-21
Driver Length	43.5	44	44.5	45-45.5
7 Iron Length	36	36.5	36.5-37	37-38
These are the average specs from different brands. They could be all slightly different due to different models.

As you can see. A 7 Iron from 1970 most likely have Loft Angle of 40 and Length of 36. Now you look at our 9 Iron from today, Loft 42 Degree and Length of 36. Is there something funny here? The club numbers are moving through time or we hitting further everyday?

And why we need a "GAP" wedge now? So from 1970 the gap between my PW and SW is 4 degree. Really! There is not a "big gap" it is quite standard. Look today's Iron. My PW is 46 and my SW is 56. My God! There is 10 degrees inbetween them. I really need something to fit into the gap! That is why!

Ofcause! I know the material changed and Tech really improve. That is also some factor of why we all hit the ball further. But the really improvement of the club is the forgiveness. Today we have a fancy term call M.O.I. (Moment Of Inertia) Which really mean that if I make a "bad" shot. I hit the ball somewhere around my sweet spot. I will not lose too much of distance and the direction of the ball fly will not be off completetly. Woo! That wil save my day somehow right?

So the question is that "SHOLD I GET A NEW SET OF IRONS?" The answer is most likely to be "YES". Because it will increase your happy days because it is really "more forgiving".

"ARE NEW DRIVER HIT THE BALL FURTHER?" The answer is also "YES" because most of the golfer dont hit the ball inthe dead center of the club-face. Therefore, we will find with the new driver, we dont"lose" much distance base from a higher M.O.I.

If you are a professional player. Always hit the ball at the sweet-spot and know what you doing. (like the people you see one TV playing for Million dallor) Keep using the new model of the clubs does not really help them much. They dont really hit the ball further by switching the clubs......Dont forget, playing golf is their job. They just pick the club which give them the most sponsorship money. So, Ernie use his new Callaway Iron now because it is much better than his old clubs? Hmmm.....I am guessing because he gets paid for using them? That is why now some people will be willing to pay for big money to use the same clubs that he used right? You tell me...

So, There is two "weight" you can find from a golf club. One is the "swingweight" and another is just "weight".
Weight is simple. It is the total weight in "gram" for a club. It is added together from following:
club-head + shaft + grip. (Also ferrule, glue, and tape inside the grip) Usually, an iron should be around from 300g~500g and wood might be from 250g-400g.
Swing-weight in another hand is a measurement of a golf club when it is swung. It is to find out the balancing point of the club. It is measure by C0, C1, C2 ~ C9, D0, D1 ~ D9, E0, E1~ E9.
People mention that heavier swing-weight referring to more toward E, Lighter is toward C.
Usually, a man's club would be from C9~D5 and lady's club will be from C2~C9.
Heavier swing-weight meaning whena golfer swings his club, he feel the head more.

Lets make an example:
Take a club, say a 7-iron. Imagine adding lead tape to the 7-iron. No matter you put the lead at club-head, shaft, or grip. The actual weight of the club will be identical. However, swing-weight will be totally different. if the lead tape is on the club-head, the swing-weight will be heavier because now the balancing point will be more toward to the club-head now. In another hand if the lead tape has been put at the grip, the swing-weight will be lighter because now the balancing point of the club is more toward to the end(grip) now.

The key application of swing-weight is in matching the clubs within a set. You want all your clubs to feel the same weight during the swing.(Especially most of the irons). If you are replacing a club or adding one, you want the new club to match the swing-weight of your current clubs.
Lots of golfer will make the short irons have heavier swing-weight because it can be more easier to lift up the ball since it can feel easier swing into the ground.

So, HOW IMPORTANT IS SWING-WEIGHT?
Well, lots of recreational golfers who fancy themselves equipment "experts" (You know who..) might argue that it is "extremely" important, and for many golfers, they actually might be right.
But the research show that majority of the golfer cannot feel anything different if the measurement is less than Two swing-weight measuring point. Even professional players cannot tell the difference between one swing-weight measurement. However, most people can feel the different once the swing-weight is moving more than 3 measurement.
For example: If your 7-iron swing-weight is C9 and your 6-iron swing-weight is D3.... I am sure you will feel something is weird. Even your distance will be funny because the swing-weight of your irons are big different.
Therefore, if you feel that your irons are giving you weird feeling when you swing different clubs. You should go check them.

HOW ABOUT TOTAL WEIGHT OF THE CLUB?
In theory, the lighter the club. the potential of distance will produced. Why? because the swing-speed can be faster. A person can surely swing a 300gram club faster than a 600gram club right?
That is why most of the driver today use "ultra light weight shaft + Titanium Head + light grip". So I can swing harder and faster with my light club.


COMBINATION OF WEIGHT AND SWING-WEIGHT?
Well, sorry guys..... Golf is personal. You just have to find out yourself. If money is not an object. Doing some good experiment with your club-maker will be a good choice!
In general, a better golfer will toward to lighter swing-weight club and slightly heavier in total weight. (Just most of them. Not everyone!)

My personal opinion.
Beginner Male players - Heavier weight + HeavierSwing-weight.
Reason? Heavier Feel for everything. Easier to "hack" the club!

Easy Players (Teens, Ladies, Senior) Mid-Weight club with Lighter Swing-weight.
Reasons? Less effort to swing. Dont worry about feeling the club-head "dragging" behind.

Better players (12-0 handicap) - Find out what you like!

Above pictures are three typical style of impact position of the club-face with different lie.
Imaging if a golfer swing back and hit the ball while the face is "too upright lie", the club-face
actually is aiming to the "left-side" even hit on the sweet spot. In another hand, if "too flat lie"
then the ball will actually going to the "right-side".
Lie angle incorrect at impact might caused by few different things or combination of them.
1st) Posture ( Too far away from ball = Too upright Lie)
2nd) Length of Club ( Club too short = Too upright Lie)
3rd) Swing Path (Swing from Out to In with Club-Face Open = Too upright Lie)
4th) Lie Angle Incorrect (The Club-head Lie Angle Off angle)
PS: Please dont tell me you think a club-head made by piece of metal can keep its shape forever............

To check how you made contact with the club. You can goto a local professional clubmaker who has the equipment to test your club. Make sure the club that you use has the right angle for you.
Otherwise, it is almost waste of the time to practice at all.
A club with a right lie angle made for you can always make your game more consistent.

From the Picture Above. The Top is where you hold the club(Grip) and the bottom is where the club-head is. If they are same FLEX, you can see they actually will launch the ball differently because the "bend point" is different.

"Kickpoint" is actually old term shaft design that was used to try to describe how the shaft's overall stiffness or flexibility was distributed over the entire length of the shaft. Today, It will be call Bend Point of Bend Profile.
The most important factor for different bend point result in the trajectory of the ball fly. The reason for that is from the construction of the shaft.
By varying the outer and inner diameters of the shaft, along with the wall thickness in-between at any point along the shaft, we can construct shafts of the same overall stiffness but which differ in where they are more or less stiff.
For example, the factory can produce two shafts both in R flex but with different bending point / bend profile.
Let's say we compare these two drivers:

1st Driver 9.5 degree with 65gram Regular Flex High Profile (Low Kick)

2nd Driver 9.5 degree with 65gram Regular Flex Low Profile (High Kick)


The 1st Driver will actually launch the ball higher due to the Profile of the Shaft.
(If the swing is exactly the same..)

Therefore, most of the drivers designed for Senior, Lady are most likely to have Lighter weight in shaft, softer flex, and higher profile.
Light Weight = easier to swing and can swing faster.
Softer flex = does not require fast speed of the swing.
Higher Profile = Launch the ball higher.

Distance come from the speed of the ball(Club-head speed at impact) and the carry distance(Ball travel time in air).

The Measurement of Shaft Flex also is determined by CPM (cycles per minute).


The way to measure by this chart. If your CPM with Driver is 240CPM and the length of the driver is 44" Long. The Flex should be A flex. (Senior, Lite) If your 7 Iron is 320CPM and it is 37" Long. The flex for it should be Regular Flex.


Frequency is the measurement of the butt stiffness (stiffness at the grip end) of a particular shaft. For years custom clubfitters have used butt frequency as the measurement tool to compare the specific stiffness between various shafts. The shaft is placed into a frequency analyzer and oscillated either up and down or side to side. A counter on the analyzer calculates the cycles per minute (CPM). The higher the CPM reading, the stiffer the shaft and visa-versa. However, butt frequency does not take into account the tip design of a particular shaft. Therefore it is critical to identify the type of ball flight you desire to achieve and find a shaft with proper tip characteristics to optimize trajectory.

However, there is "No Standard" measurement in Golf. For example, Titleist Stiff Shaft will be much stiffer than Callaway Stiff because Titleist define their stiff CPM measurement different.

Today, people hardly use the term to call different clubs in the bag anymore. However, it is nice to know them in their "real name".

Woods

At the old days, there are 2 and 4 woods. unlike today only D, 3, 5, 7.... Or sometimes you see 3+ and 5+. Actually 3+ is more like a 2 wood.

• [1] Playclub/Driver
• [2] Brassie
• [3] Spoon
• [4] Baffy
• [5] Cleek

Irons

At the old days, there are more 1 and 2 irons. Some of them are even handmade. Ever since the Hybrid(Rescue, Recovery) Club out to the market. The long irons are fading away from the market. However, there are always golfers who can play long iron better than wood and hybrid. In that case, you might find 2 or 1 iron from his/her bag.

• [1] Driving Iron (deep-faced iron with a short head) or Cleek (longer-headed iron with shallow face)
• [2] Mid-Iron
• [3] Mid-Mashie
• [4] Mashie-Iron
• [5] Mashie
• [6] Spade Mashie
• [7] Mashie-Niblick
• [8] Pitching-Niblick
• [9] Niblick
• [Specialized chipping club] Jigger

Wedges

The degree is more like standard degree. However, base from the brand and models of the club. The angle could be different as well. In some irons, all clubs are stronger. Therefore, the PW maybe 45, Gap can be 50, and sand wedge can be 54 or 55.

• [48°] Pitching Wedge (PW)
• [52°] Gap Wedge (GW), Approach Wedge (AW), Dual Wedge (D), Attack Wedge (AW) or Utility Wedge (UW)
• [56°] Sand Wedge (SW)
• [60°] Lob Wedge (LW)

Shaft Weight is define by the total weight of the "raw shaft" itself. It is measured in grams. Most of the time when a club is purchased, somewhere on the shaft has a printing of number of gram(65 grams, 55 grams etc.). Most of the driver today come with graphite shaft and there are always printing on the shaft that classify the specification including the weight.
For instance, in shaft "ALDILA NV 65-R " Aldila is the brand, NV is the model, R meaning Regular Flex, and 65 is the weight in grams. "ALDILA NV 55-R" will be 10 grams lighter compare to 65-R.
In theory, the lighter the club is the faster the club-head speed base from same force of the energy(Golfer's Swing Energy). Therefore, to make a shaft lighter seems like a great idea to get more distance. That is why there are more and more clubs using lighter weight shafts today. However, lots of golfer actually might "lose the feel" of the club because the club itself is too light. Therefore, choosing a shaft that a golfer can "feel" during the swing is very important. Sometimes a golfer can actually play much better with a heavier shaft. (like Steel shaft in Driver) Typically, a male hitter will love to have something that is heavy in his hand to swing.