Confessions 12 --- Exploding Heads

[DeNinny]

Halebopp don't put too much stock in how flex compares across manufacturers and even across models by the same manufacturer. There is no numerical standard for flex, so it is just a relative variable based on only that shaft model.

 

I understand what you are doing with the screw counterweight, but there is another way to see how the two shafts differ in flex. If you can carefully fix both of them in a horizontal position and support them as such at the grip end, you can hang a standard weight, say 5 or 10 lbs, on the head end of each and measure how far down the weight drops the head below the horizontal line. The weaker flex shaft will always drop the head lower under a given load. And if you find this is the case with your two clubs, where one bends more under the same weight load, then this *might* be the only reason you hit one worse than the other.

That last part you are talking about is a old school deflection board which I still use. In fact I made mine. I have done enough clubs over the years with it and have compared them on a frequency counter I have it dialed in. Also when using the deflection board note where the shaft flexes that will give you an idea of the kick point. I have some older iron heads weighted up differently and it gives me an idea of the weight in relation to shaft flex. On the other weight point I also use triangle fishing weights too. Old School Redneck engineering at it's finest.

 

Grand STU-brah I can envision it beautifully. Those fishing weights are a good weight or load 'standard'. And yes, in addition to the raw distance the weight dropped the shaft tip, for sure you could compare the overall curvature of the shaft bend and see where the kick point is.

 

LOL how many times now am I going to say something theoretical and then you chime in with the exact practical application of it in the real world? Seriously my friend, I confess this is starting to get weird about us.

[DeNinny]

Some survival experts say you can drink it. In my opinion if you're a survival expert you should be telling me how to find Chick-Fil-A within an hour of being lost, not how to get so bass ackwards in the wood you have to survive by drinking pee.

 

That's not an expert. That's a dumbass. "It opens up over there". "I'll hit over the trees.."

 

"Bob"

 

"Bob"

 

"Bob?"

 

"Anybody seen Bob?"

 

LMAO.

 

And FYI I apologize profusely if you've been p*ssed at me for suggesting that I'm going to "mock" you face to face because you play those Evil Empire V2.0 woods. (I keed, bro. I keed...)

I may add with what I call "Twisted Sister" technology. We are all old enough on here to know what I am talking about. First time I saw one of those twisted face exaggerated displays on the counter I thought WTF?. Then I examined the club itself and used a scorecard as a straight edge. OH hell I thought another fancy Marketing 101 name for bulge and roll. Bear has one. We had the face thing going the other day. He bought his son the newest Ping driver with some kind of fancy face for his birthday. His brother Checkers hits one of Bear's old Cally "Jail Bird" faced drivers. Me I had to add my .02 worth-- I am hitting a Homna G1-X (which Bear gave me) and I tell them I have my genuine Samurai sword forged face. In fact Bear gave me the Mizuno 68s I am playing he bought them in a pawn shop for $35--- His son we call Balls was giving me hell too the other week humming the 80s song "Going Japanese" I growled at him well there is still a Macgregor putter and Vokey wedge in the bag. Come to think of it there is a Adams Super S 3 wood and a "evil empire" before it was the "evil empire" Old rescue hybrid. And yes the real 1990 Hogan sand wedge too oops the Hogan wedge was Miura forged forgot. Oh well.

 

The real motivation for all these newer driver designs (ROFLMAO "Twisted Sister" and "Jail Bird" - well played, sir, well played) is still simply to save on the raw material cost of titanium. That stuff is super expensive and so to keep cutting costs on it the manufacturers keep trying to reduce the overall mass of it in the clubhead. Replace as much titanium as possible with cheaper carbon fiber and plastic. Slap on some "forgiving" technical sham(e) excuse for marketing purposes and you have the next generation modern golf driver. It's made like crap but it is good enough to get the job done at less cost to buy and put labor into working titanium. That's why Palauan Hammer caved the face of his driver.

 

The Outlaw Golf Association theme song...

 

[dan360]

Some survival experts say you can drink it. In my opinion if you're a survival expert you should be telling me how to find Chick-Fil-A within an hour of being lost, not how to get so bass ackwards in the wood you have to survive by drinking pee.

 

That's not an expert. That's a dumbass. "It opens up over there". "I'll hit over the trees.."

 

"Bob"

 

"Bob"

 

"Bob?"

 

"Anybody seen Bob?"

 

LMAO.

 

And FYI I apologize profusely if you've been p*ssed at me for suggesting that I'm going to "mock" you face to face because you play those Evil Empire V2.0 woods. (I keed, bro. I keed...)

 

Not sure I'll ever be the same, a-gain.

 

Next time we play I'm gonna p*ss in your water bottle.

 

 

If When I beat you with PINGs you'll wish you woulda went wee wee in your own bottle.

[BIG STU]

Halebopp don't put too much stock in how flex compares across manufacturers and even across models by the same manufacturer. There is no numerical standard for flex, so it is just a relative variable based on only that shaft model.

 

I understand what you are doing with the screw counterweight, but there is another way to see how the two shafts differ in flex. If you can carefully fix both of them in a horizontal position and support them as such at the grip end, you can hang a standard weight, say 5 or 10 lbs, on the head end of each and measure how far down the weight drops the head below the horizontal line. The weaker flex shaft will always drop the head lower under a given load. And if you find this is the case with your two clubs, where one bends more under the same weight load, then this *might* be the only reason you hit one worse than the other.

That last part you are talking about is a old school deflection board which I still use. In fact I made mine. I have done enough clubs over the years with it and have compared them on a frequency counter I have it dialed in. Also when using the deflection board note where the shaft flexes that will give you an idea of the kick point. I have some older iron heads weighted up differently and it gives me an idea of the weight in relation to shaft flex. On the other weight point I also use triangle fishing weights too. Old School Redneck engineering at it's finest.

 

Grand STU-brah I can envision it beautifully. Those fishing weights are a good weight or load 'standard'. And yes, in addition to the raw distance the weight dropped the shaft tip, for sure you could compare the overall curvature of the shaft bend and see where the kick point is.

 

LOL how many times now am I going to say something theoretical and then you chime in with the exact practical application of it in the real world? Seriously my friend, I confess this is starting to get weird about us.

It is funny how we have always worked like that. I will add one thing about the fishing weights they are not exact but mine are. My neighbor across the street owns a fishing store and I took my scales up there one day and matched some weights up pretty well. A couple were standard light but I fixed it quickly with lead tape of course. Like you said that is where brains and the scientific principles meet good old practical sense and Redneck engineering.

[BIG STU]

Played the Zunos in the scramble today. Had them dialed in hit some great iron shots with them and no hook. I balanced them out (feel only) because I figured out they were tip weighted and that caused me to hook the crap out of them. The toe is wide enough I guessed by feel the heel weight and applied about 3 grams roughly to the toe. Yep balanced them out nicely. Got my little butter cut back with them. Those things hit smooth and soft too and man alive I spin the crap out of the short irons. To boot they are conforming too not that I give two hoots.

[DeNinny]

Some survival experts say you can drink it. In my opinion if you're a survival expert you should be telling me how to find Chick-Fil-A within an hour of being lost, not how to get so bass ackwards in the wood you have to survive by drinking pee.

 

That's not an expert. That's a dumbass. "It opens up over there". "I'll hit over the trees.."

 

"Bob"

 

"Bob"

 

"Bob?"

 

"Anybody seen Bob?"

 

LMAO.

 

And FYI I apologize profusely if you've been p*ssed at me for suggesting that I'm going to "mock" you face to face because you play those Evil Empire V2.0 woods. (I keed, bro. I keed...)

 

Not sure I'll ever be the same, a-gain.

 

Next time we play I'm gonna p*ss in your water bottle.

 

 

If When I beat you with PINGs you'll wish you woulda went wee wee in your own bottle.

 

Yes for sure I agree because if you beat me with those things I will KNOW you are playing at a technical disadvantage. It will mean your game is back and then I'll have to up mine.

 

You better do it soon too. Once you get your Ice Queens all fitted I seriously doubt you'll be playing anything else.

[DeNinny]

Halebopp don't put too much stock in how flex compares across manufacturers and even across models by the same manufacturer. There is no numerical standard for flex, so it is just a relative variable based on only that shaft model.

 

I understand what you are doing with the screw counterweight, but there is another way to see how the two shafts differ in flex. If you can carefully fix both of them in a horizontal position and support them as such at the grip end, you can hang a standard weight, say 5 or 10 lbs, on the head end of each and measure how far down the weight drops the head below the horizontal line. The weaker flex shaft will always drop the head lower under a given load. And if you find this is the case with your two clubs, where one bends more under the same weight load, then this *might* be the only reason you hit one worse than the other.

That last part you are talking about is a old school deflection board which I still use. In fact I made mine. I have done enough clubs over the years with it and have compared them on a frequency counter I have it dialed in. Also when using the deflection board note where the shaft flexes that will give you an idea of the kick point. I have some older iron heads weighted up differently and it gives me an idea of the weight in relation to shaft flex. On the other weight point I also use triangle fishing weights too. Old School Redneck engineering at it's finest.

 

Grand STU-brah I can envision it beautifully. Those fishing weights are a good weight or load 'standard'. And yes, in addition to the raw distance the weight dropped the shaft tip, for sure you could compare the overall curvature of the shaft bend and see where the kick point is.

 

LOL how many times now am I going to say something theoretical and then you chime in with the exact practical application of it in the real world? Seriously my friend, I confess this is starting to get weird about us.

It is funny how we have always worked like that. I will add one thing about the fishing weights they are not exact but mine are. My neighbor across the street owns a fishing store and I took my scales up there one day and matched some weights up pretty well. A couple were standard light but I fixed it quickly with lead tape of course. Like you said that is where brains and the scientific principles meet good old practical sense and Redneck engineering.

I had no doubt that you would ensure those fishing weights were calibrated to each other.

 

And I must confess that your good old Redneck engineering posts gave me so much technical confidence at times when I most needed it. And I very much appreciate it.

 

We make a good team for sure.

 

Serious question: If you knew what you know now about the physics of golf back when you just started playing for a living, would it have changed anything and the decisions you made?

[DeNinny]

Played the Zunos in the scramble today. Had them dialed in hit some great iron shots with them and no hook. I balanced them out (feel only) because I figured out they were tip weighted and that caused me to hook the crap out of them. The toe is wide enough I guessed by feel the heel weight and applied about 3 grams roughly to the toe. Yep balanced them out nicely. Got my little butter cut back with them. Those things hit smooth and soft too and man alive I spin the crap out of the short irons. To boot they are conforming too not that I give two hoots.

 

I played a match against fellow WRXer spud3 today. I lost 2 down. I battled from 3 down on #13 to square the match at #16, only to lose #17 and #18. I had the birdie of the day too. I was 210 yds out in a fairway bunker on the longest par 4 of the course. I hit a solid drive but it bled to the right and into the fairway bunkers. I didn't have the best lie but I could still get the clubface on the ball so I pulled my 3 wood. I nutted it perfectly and hit a nice baby cut and landed the ball in front of the green and it rolled to 5 feet away. Made the putt. spud3 said it was the best shot he has ever seen me hit.

 

I shot bogey but that was with two triples and two doubles because it was during a run where I lost my swing for a while. On consecutive holes I put three drives in the deep cabbage because I was snap hooking the bejeezus out of the ball off the tee with my driving 3w+. But overall I was hitting the ball fine and I was able to fix my swing after I hit that third wild drive. My putting and short game were better too. I'm gaining my confidence back which is great since it has been at an all time low lately. I improved on my balance today and made a correction to my grip and hinge at the top, and now I am squaring the clubface at impact better than ever. I hate to confess it but my swing feels awesome right now and it is because (FINALLY) I knew exactly what I was doing to cause the snap hooks and I was able to correct it. I am coming out of my slump with a better understanding of my swing and I have made two good improvements that truly corrected specific issues I was having. LOL I just wish my body would correct the issue sooner. My mind knows what to do now but my body just doesn't do what it is told right away.

[dan360]

spud is a player. Sneaky. He's got more game than he lets on.

 

So are you gonna spot me strokes to play the Eye 2s?

[DeNinny]

spud is a player. Sneaky. He's got more game than he lets on.

 

So are you gonna spot me strokes to play the Eye 2s?

 

Yeah spud3 is solid.

 

LOL you know those Eye 2s too well I bet. I say we play straight up and you bring whatever sticks that you think you play best.

[BIG STU]

Halebopp don't put too much stock in how flex compares across manufacturers and even across models by the same manufacturer. There is no numerical standard for flex, so it is just a relative variable based on only that shaft model.

 

I understand what you are doing with the screw counterweight, but there is another way to see how the two shafts differ in flex. If you can carefully fix both of them in a horizontal position and support them as such at the grip end, you can hang a standard weight, say 5 or 10 lbs, on the head end of each and measure how far down the weight drops the head below the horizontal line. The weaker flex shaft will always drop the head lower under a given load. And if you find this is the case with your two clubs, where one bends more under the same weight load, then this *might* be the only reason you hit one worse than the other.

That last part you are talking about is a old school deflection board which I still use. In fact I made mine. I have done enough clubs over the years with it and have compared them on a frequency counter I have it dialed in. Also when using the deflection board note where the shaft flexes that will give you an idea of the kick point. I have some older iron heads weighted up differently and it gives me an idea of the weight in relation to shaft flex. On the other weight point I also use triangle fishing weights too. Old School Redneck engineering at it's finest.

 

Grand STU-brah I can envision it beautifully. Those fishing weights are a good weight or load 'standard'. And yes, in addition to the raw distance the weight dropped the shaft tip, for sure you could compare the overall curvature of the shaft bend and see where the kick point is.

 

LOL how many times now am I going to say something theoretical and then you chime in with the exact practical application of it in the real world? Seriously my friend, I confess this is starting to get weird about us.

It is funny how we have always worked like that. I will add one thing about the fishing weights they are not exact but mine are. My neighbor across the street owns a fishing store and I took my scales up there one day and matched some weights up pretty well. A couple were standard light but I fixed it quickly with lead tape of course. Like you said that is where brains and the scientific principles meet good old practical sense and Redneck engineering.

I had no doubt that you would ensure those fishing weights were calibrated to each other.

 

And I must confess that your good old Redneck engineering posts gave me so much technical confidence at times when I most needed it. And I very much appreciate it.

 

We make a good team for sure.

 

Serious question: If you knew what you know now about the physics of golf back when you just started playing for a living, would it have changed anything and the decisions you made?

On your question absolutely. Back in those days I had two management problems-- One was life management itself. I had absolutely no self discipline in other words I liked to screw around too much. I would be out partying instead of practicing as I should. And if I hit balls on the range I belted them instead of being analytical and working on stuff. The other was my course management in general. I would try stuff that Phil could not pull off (before there was ever Phil the Thrill) and stayed in an aggressive mode all the time in other words Wide open Throttle. I was always blessed with a quick mind on mechanical things and liked tinkering with things. I actually liked Science and Math in school but at the time saw absolutely no practicality in either. Really it was the math before the science. I actually got the Math skills from my old man. He was a whiz in his own way on that. He was a professional gambler along with being a golf pro. He could tell you the odds on any casino game and was one of the early card counters in Black Jack. But he did not have enough practical common sense to change a flat tire on his car. I think what really got the science and math together for me was when I started racing and building my own race cars. I can remember when I was about to quit racing and move down here I had a conversation with an old guy who had worked at the race track for over 40 years. He looked at my car one day and told me " You are the last of the old breed as in I bet the farm you know every bolt ,nut and weld on your race car" it was true I was one of the last who built their own cars from the engine to the roll cage" By that time if one had enough money they could have have someone do the cage do the sheet metal and build the drive train. All they had to do was get in strap up and throw the switch. Sounds familiar don't it? I build and tune my own golf clubs. Had a guy asking yesterday about the Zunos and lead tape. I told him they were tuned and balanced. He was pretty observant and asked why the lead tape was in different amounts on different clubs ? I told him even though they had Pured Shafts that every club balances different. One guy was listening who knows me said oh I guess you checked them on that homemade board of yours? of course I did. And Bear who does not pull any punches said Yeah he did but he did take them to his friend's shop and check them on his frequency counter. And he added Do you think he is an idiot? " Besides I knew they were on because of the feel.

 

If you watched the movie Tin Cup that could have been the story of my early life except chasing the one blonde. Back in those days I chased every thing in a skirt or Daisy Dukes. Yep the scene on 18 in the fictitious US Open that was me to a tee and hell yes I would have went for that green in 2 EVERY DAY! And sadly when he broke all his clubs in the qualifier except the 7 iron that was me too and trying to hustle a bet with just the 7 iron that was me too. BTW if you look close to the movie that was a set of 70 VIP Macs he broke too. I wince everytime I see that part. But to be honest back in those days I would have been subject to break a set of 70 VIPs too. Now on the bet with Don Johnson on beating him with the one club I may have been drunk and over zealous at times but not exactly stupid. I would have been more specific on the bet to begin with. But the underlying thing in the movie was he was trying to impress the lady and thinking with the other head and not the one the Good Lord put on his shoulders either. Like I said I might have been a drunk and Pot Head then but still I have never been stupid when betting or making a bet. I was just stupid and had no management skills when actually playing.

[BIG STU]

Some survival experts say you can drink it. In my opinion if you're a survival expert you should be telling me how to find Chick-Fil-A within an hour of being lost, not how to get so bass ackwards in the wood you have to survive by drinking pee.

 

That's not an expert. That's a dumbass. "It opens up over there". "I'll hit over the trees.."

 

"Bob"

 

"Bob"

 

"Bob?"

 

"Anybody seen Bob?"

 

LMAO.

 

And FYI I apologize profusely if you've been p*ssed at me for suggesting that I'm going to "mock" you face to face because you play those Evil Empire V2.0 woods. (I keed, bro. I keed...)

I may add with what I call "Twisted Sister" technology. We are all old enough on here to know what I am talking about. First time I saw one of those twisted face exaggerated displays on the counter I thought WTF?. Then I examined the club itself and used a scorecard as a straight edge. OH hell I thought another fancy Marketing 101 name for bulge and roll. Bear has one. We had the face thing going the other day. He bought his son the newest Ping driver with some kind of fancy face for his birthday. His brother Checkers hits one of Bear's old Cally "Jail Bird" faced drivers. Me I had to add my .02 worth-- I am hitting a Homna G1-X (which Bear gave me) and I tell them I have my genuine Samurai sword forged face. In fact Bear gave me the Mizuno 68s I am playing he bought them in a pawn shop for $35--- His son we call Balls was giving me hell too the other week humming the 80s song "Going Japanese" I growled at him well there is still a Macgregor putter and Vokey wedge in the bag. Come to think of it there is a Adams Super S 3 wood and a "evil empire" before it was the "evil empire" Old rescue hybrid. And yes the real 1990 Hogan sand wedge too oops the Hogan wedge was Miura forged forgot. Oh well.

 

The real motivation for all these newer driver designs (ROFLMAO "Twisted Sister" and "Jail Bird" - well played, sir, well played) is still simply to save on the raw material cost of titanium. That stuff is super expensive and so to keep cutting costs on it the manufacturers keep trying to reduce the overall mass of it in the clubhead. Replace as much titanium as possible with cheaper carbon fiber and plastic. Slap on some "forgiving" technical sham(e) excuse for marketing purposes and you have the next generation modern golf driver. It's made like crap but it is good enough to get the job done at less cost to buy and put labor into working titanium. That's why Palauan Hammer caved the face of his driver.

 

The Outlaw Golf Association theme song...

 

[media=]

[/media]

You do know that with being in the field you are in that a Titanium head in those clubs ain't really 100% Titanium. I think it is called a proprietary blend in other words mixed. The only reason I know that is from working for a metal recycler the last 4 years. My boss is a genius on the field and my mind always seeks fresh knowledge so I listen and ask questions. Like building a house or cooking you gotta start with a good basic foundation and then work from there. but then again you gotta watch how you prepare that. That is why JDM stuff is so good they start with good steel to begin with and use proper time proven processes to get the proper hardness etc. From being around the steel Mill the last few years I have picked up some on the processes and can tell you about the different grades of steel. I have seen Hammer's swing videos before and he needs a quality JDM driver with a real face. Now he may sacrifice a little distance in the long run even though I gained about 5 yards with the Homna versus the 915 and I will be the first to tell you if you want forgiveness the Homna ain't the way to go. Kinda like Mr Macgregor it ain't gonna forgive you. I did name the Homna driver "Mr Hiro". Mis hit Mr Hiro and he will laugh at you trust me. Now that driver can be complicated to set up for most. I does not use a standard adjuster like other products. It uses what is called a concentric bushing and one other adjustment. I fully understand the bushing concept because that is what you use on truck suspension to adjust the alignment and trail on the tandems. Dan knows all about that too being a mechanic. Now the sheet that comes with it can be complicated to the average person very technical. I fully understand it and again practical engineering my protractor backs up every bit of it. They also use their own produced shafts which are really quality controlled and not massed produced. In truthfulness I tuned on that thing over a year on and off getting it right for me. even though it has it's own weight kit I could not really tune it for me so I did the redneck engineering thing and put the lightest weight in the kit in it and a small amount of lead tape on top of it about 2 grams. Got it basically in the middle weight wise. The weight and adjustment kit is the damndest thing you ever saw> It also has a hosel extension of 3/4 of an inch to lengthen the driver but it will also stiffen the tip. Actually if I ever break that driver I will keep it around to screw with the settings on because it is such a integrate piece of engineering. Bear being the club ho he is bought that thing on a smoking hot deal and could not hit it so he gave it to me. That club had been returned to PGASS 3 times. People said it was too complicated to set and it was not forgiving. Right up my alley. I know a tourist golfer saw it in my bag one day and said he had one and had traded it in. Asked bluntly "how in the hell I could hit that thing?" he did not even look in my bag and see I had the 1954 Hogan blades in there. I told him if I could hit those blades I could hit anything. He stated well those things are not forgiving either. I told him bluntly if he wanted or needed forgiveness he needed to go to church--- End of conversation right then and there!!!

[DeNinny]

On your question absolutely. Back in those days I had two management problems-- One was life management itself. I had absolutely no self discipline in other words I liked to screw around too much. I would be out partying instead of practicing as I should. And if I hit balls on the range I belted them instead of being analytical and working on stuff. The other was my course management in general. I would try stuff that Phil could not pull off (before there was ever Phil the Thrill) and stayed in an aggressive mode all the time in other words Wide open Throttle. I was always blessed with a quick mind on mechanical things and liked tinkering with things. I actually liked Science and Math in school but at the time saw absolutely no practicality in either. Really it was the math before the science. I actually got the Math skills from my old man. He was a whiz in his own way on that. He was a professional gambler along with being a golf pro. He could tell you the odds on any casino game and was one of the early card counters in Black Jack. But he did not have enough practical common sense to change a flat tire on his car. I think what really got the science and math together for me was when I started racing and building my own race cars. I can remember when I was about to quit racing and move down here I had a conversation with an old guy who had worked at the race track for over 40 years. He looked at my car one day and told me " You are the last of the old breed as in I bet the farm you know every bolt ,nut and weld on your race car" it was true I was one of the last who built their own cars from the engine to the roll cage" By that time if one had enough money they could have have someone do the cage do the sheet metal and build the drive train. All they had to do was get in strap up and throw the switch. Sounds familiar don't it? I build and tune my own golf clubs. Had a guy asking yesterday about the Zunos and lead tape. I told him they were tuned and balanced. He was pretty observant and asked why the lead tape was in different amounts on different clubs ? I told him even though they had Pured Shafts that every club balances different. One guy was listening who knows me said oh I guess you checked them on that homemade board of yours? of course I did. And Bear who does not pull any punches said Yeah he did but he did take them to his friend's shop and check them on his frequency counter. And he added Do you think he is an idiot? " Besides I knew they were on because of the feel.

 

If you watched the movie Tin Cup that could have been the story of my early life except chasing the one blonde. Back in those days I chased every thing in a skirt or Daisy Dukes. Yep the scene on 18 in the fictitious US Open that was me to a tee and hell yes I would have went for that green in 2 EVERY DAY! And sadly when he broke all his clubs in the qualifier except the 7 iron that was me too and trying to hustle a bet with just the 7 iron that was me too. BTW if you look close to the movie that was a set of 70 VIP Macs he broke too. I wince everytime I see that part. But to be honest back in those days I would have been subject to break a set of 70 VIPs too. Now on the bet with Don Johnson on beating him with the one club I may have been drunk and over zealous at times but not exactly stupid. I would have been more specific on the bet to begin with. But the underlying thing in the movie was he was trying to impress the lady and thinking with the other head and not the one the Good Lord put on his shoulders either. Like I said I might have been a drunk and Pot Head then but still I have never been stupid when betting or making a bet. I was just stupid and had no management skills when actually playing.

 

If you have to be good at one or the other to be technically smart, I say without a doubt it is better to be good at math. The science part is easy when you understand the math. Math is the language of science.

 

And it explains a lot that you have natural talent at it. It's what makes you a good Redneck engineer.

 

And this game is 100% explainable through math and science. Everything in the game is a physics cause and effect relationship which has a mathematical solution. And so to me the more you truly know those relationships to the exact mathematical detail, the better you will be at troubleshooting your game, swing, or a club issue.

[BIG STU]

On your question absolutely. Back in those days I had two management problems-- One was life management itself. I had absolutely no self discipline in other words I liked to screw around too much. I would be out partying instead of practicing as I should. And if I hit balls on the range I belted them instead of being analytical and working on stuff. The other was my course management in general. I would try stuff that Phil could not pull off (before there was ever Phil the Thrill) and stayed in an aggressive mode all the time in other words Wide open Throttle. I was always blessed with a quick mind on mechanical things and liked tinkering with things. I actually liked Science and Math in school but at the time saw absolutely no practicality in either. Really it was the math before the science. I actually got the Math skills from my old man. He was a whiz in his own way on that. He was a professional gambler along with being a golf pro. He could tell you the odds on any casino game and was one of the early card counters in Black Jack. But he did not have enough practical common sense to change a flat tire on his car. I think what really got the science and math together for me was when I started racing and building my own race cars. I can remember when I was about to quit racing and move down here I had a conversation with an old guy who had worked at the race track for over 40 years. He looked at my car one day and told me " You are the last of the old breed as in I bet the farm you know every bolt ,nut and weld on your race car" it was true I was one of the last who built their own cars from the engine to the roll cage" By that time if one had enough money they could have have someone do the cage do the sheet metal and build the drive train. All they had to do was get in strap up and throw the switch. Sounds familiar don't it? I build and tune my own golf clubs. Had a guy asking yesterday about the Zunos and lead tape. I told him they were tuned and balanced. He was pretty observant and asked why the lead tape was in different amounts on different clubs ? I told him even though they had Pured Shafts that every club balances different. One guy was listening who knows me said oh I guess you checked them on that homemade board of yours? of course I did. And Bear who does not pull any punches said Yeah he did but he did take them to his friend's shop and check them on his frequency counter. And he added Do you think he is an idiot? " Besides I knew they were on because of the feel.

 

If you watched the movie Tin Cup that could have been the story of my early life except chasing the one blonde. Back in those days I chased every thing in a skirt or Daisy Dukes. Yep the scene on 18 in the fictitious US Open that was me to a tee and hell yes I would have went for that green in 2 EVERY DAY! And sadly when he broke all his clubs in the qualifier except the 7 iron that was me too and trying to hustle a bet with just the 7 iron that was me too. BTW if you look close to the movie that was a set of 70 VIP Macs he broke too. I wince everytime I see that part. But to be honest back in those days I would have been subject to break a set of 70 VIPs too. Now on the bet with Don Johnson on beating him with the one club I may have been drunk and over zealous at times but not exactly stupid. I would have been more specific on the bet to begin with. But the underlying thing in the movie was he was trying to impress the lady and thinking with the other head and not the one the Good Lord put on his shoulders either. Like I said I might have been a drunk and Pot Head then but still I have never been stupid when betting or making a bet. I was just stupid and had no management skills when actually playing.

 

If you have to be good at one or the other to be technically smart, I say without a doubt it is better to be good at math. The science part is easy when you understand the math. Math is the language of science.

 

And it explains a lot that you have natural talent at it. It's what makes you a good Redneck engineer.

 

And this game is 100% explainable through math and science. Everything in the game is a physics cause and effect relationship which has a mathematical solution. And so to me the more you truly know those relationships to the exact mathematical detail, the better you will be at troubleshooting your game, swing, or a club issue.

It is also isometrics too on both the swing and equipment---- I can explain it easily-- Everyone's angle of attack is different and also the Apex of their swing is different on contact---- to maximize one's swing tendences the clubs must be set properly which is simple isometrics and /or trigonometry. Same in building a roll cage in a race car. You have to have the angles correct to properly hold up to absorb impact and not break especially at the welds in case of an accident. I used to examine wrecked race cars to learn. 99% of race car failures are not from bad welds but improper attachment angles at certain places. If you really look at a NASCAR safety book and specs you can see that. They learned like I did by reverse engineering cage failures and other safety and sometimes fatal issues over the years. BTW even it was not required I used gussets at all my attachment and bend points on any cage I built. I also used DOM (Drawn over Mandrel) seamless tubing in all my cages. I actually had folks say I built cages too heavy because I used gussets. I showed the idiots that all the gussets I used in the whole car weighed less than 3 lbs with weld and all. I used a manufactured gusset stamped out of .095. 3 LBS is someone's life or injury worth 3 freaking pounds? Wake up and smell the coffee idiot. To get back to golf lie adjustments are simple trigonometry for any individual player. good example take a picture of any player pro or amateur or WRXer for that matter. Lay a builders square on it and read or take a protractor and read. Or if one really wants to get technical old school take a straight edge and do the intersecting line thing and figure your angle at the hypotenuse. Now that opens up another can of worms right there. That is a static measurement there. Things change when motion is involved. Unless someone has a perfect swing every time you are going to get variance. Someone like Adam Scott I could set the lies on clubs darn near perfect from static. Most folks that is why I use a lie board and make notes in my notebook. Usually you have to go off of average for 99% of all folks. I do not go by standard published specs for clubs either as like +1 or +2 upright. I could care less about manufacturers specs. Good example is a standard PW. Most published specs are 63 to 64 *. For me I need it at 65*. I could care less is Vokey says standard is 64*--- If you go off of specs and one of these proper swing gurus/ wanna be club fitters puts one of my sets tuned for me and goes by specs they would think I flipped my lid. I may have like the wedges 1 or 2 * upright and say like the 5 iron at spec. But I do different things and swings with different clubs. I would never think of manipulating the face of the 5 iron as open as I would a PW. And I have a different angle of attack too. Now I have been questioned about that by one of those wet behind the ears PGM graduates. I told him "buddy boy you do not know jack about my swing you are just looking at the numbers on a machine that by the way you don't know jack about using. You THINK you do. You know how to use a lie board? Well lets go there and see. This all came up when I sold a guy a set of KZG ZO blades I had been experimenting with. I had them set to my lie specs. This guy that bought them I told him he needed to free of charge bring them by the shop and I wold bend them to fit him. This guy thought he could hit them because he hit the PW good. Well hell any idiot that can swing can hit a PW. He ended up taking them to his friend who was a recent PGM graduate and the fight began. His friend told him that I was screwed in the head that it was one screwed up set of irons. This kid messed them up. The guy that bought them and his buddy took them to my buddy the Miura dealer. They did not know that we were golf buddies and often collaborated on club theory etc. They got to running their yaps about me. My friend took him on the range on the lie board etc and then had him hit some balls. The kid did not hit them good. Well Stu hits them good My friend told him well you ain't Stu besides he has hit blades all his life and is one of the few people that I have seen that can flush a Baby Blade Miura. He told him the only reason I sold him those blades was because I was a Macgregor man and was just screwing around with the KZGs. The Miura dealer also stated to him "I bet he did not offer to sell you a set of Macgregors either" Told Mr PGM that if he wanted to learn he needed to hang around his shop some or go over to mine since he had ran me in the ground so bad. I learned my lesson though I never sell a set of clubs set for me. Never no Macgregors either. If I am jacking around with a set like the KZGs for now on I will look up the manufacturers specs and set them to "Standard" before they are sold. Something else on "Stu Specs" and you having the technical mind you have will understand. If you threw say my MP-68 5 iron and a Mac 5 iron in my machine you will find 2 different lie angles not by much but some. That all has to do with head design and hosel orientation at MOI and general balance of the head at impact. I know I tend to ramble some but you have inspired my mind to exercise this morning sorta like a 5 k run. But at a day's end it boils down to simple isometrics and trig any way you slice it. My buddy the Miura dealer (since retired and sold the shop) has a special talent too. One day I was in the shop and he had a Nippon shaft in a baby blade and there was a bunch hanging out. He wanted me to hit it. He said wait a minute and put it in the machine and set it for me not looking at the numbers just the hosel angle. He caught me looking at the number and said do not pay that any attention that ain't no damn Macgregor. I laughed and he knew I knew. The orientation of the hosel at the top of a Baby blade is different from a Macgregor. In other words the back top of the blade has a different angle stock from a stock Mac and the toe angle at the top is different too. Yep that hypotenuse thing again. If you measure static in reference 2 different numbers on the lie angle.

[DeNinny]

It is also isometrics too on both the swing and equipment---- I can explain it easily-- Everyone's angle of attack is different and also the Apex of their swing is different on contact---- to maximize one's swing tendences the clubs must be set properly which is simple isometrics and /or trigonometry. Same in building a roll cage in a race car. You have to have the angles correct to properly hold up to absorb impact and not break especially at the welds in case of an accident. I used to examine wrecked race cars to learn. 99% of race car failures are not from bad welds but improper attachment angles at certain places. If you really look at a NASCAR safety book and specs you can see that. They learned like I did by reverse engineering cage failures and other safety and sometimes fatal issues over the years. BTW even it was not required I used gussets at all my attachment and bend points on any cage I built. I also used DOM (Drawn over Mandrel) seamless tubing in all my cages. I actually had folks say I built cages too heavy because I used gussets. I showed the idiots that all the gussets I used in the whole car weighed less than 3 lbs with weld and all. I used a manufactured gusset stamped out of .095. 3 LBS is someone's life or injury worth 3 freaking pounds? Wake up and smell the coffee idiot. To get back to golf lie adjustments are simple trigonometry for any individual player. good example take a picture of any player pro or amateur or WRXer for that matter. Lay a builders square on it and read or take a protractor and read. Or if one really wants to get technical old school take a straight edge and do the intersecting line thing and figure your angle at the hypotenuse. Now that opens up another can of worms right there. That is a static measurement there. Things change when motion is involved. Unless someone has a perfect swing every time you are going to get variance. Someone like Adam Scott I could set the lies on clubs darn near perfect from static. Most folks that is why I use a lie board and make notes in my notebook. Usually you have to go off of average for 99% of all folks. I do not go by standard published specs for clubs either as like +1 or +2 upright. I could care less about manufacturers specs. Good example is a standard PW. Most published specs are 63 to 64 *. For me I need it at 65*. I could care less is Vokey says standard is 64*--- If you go off of specs and one of these proper swing gurus/ wanna be club fitters puts one of my sets tuned for me and goes by specs they would think I flipped my lid. I may have like the wedges 1 or 2 * upright and say like the 5 iron at spec. But I do different things and swings with different clubs. I would never think of manipulating the face of the 5 iron as open as I would a PW. And I have a different angle of attack too. Now I have been questioned about that by one of those wet behind the ears PGM graduates. I told him "buddy boy you do not know jack about my swing you are just looking at the numbers on a machine that by the way you don't know jack about using. You THINK you do. You know how to use a lie board? Well lets go there and see. This all came up when I sold a guy a set of KZG ZO blades I had been experimenting with. I had them set to my lie specs. This guy that bought them I told him he needed to free of charge bring them by the shop and I wold bend them to fit him. This guy thought he could hit them because he hit the PW good. Well hell any idiot that can swing can hit a PW. He ended up taking them to his friend who was a recent PGM graduate and the fight began. His friend told him that I was screwed in the head that it was one screwed up set of irons. This kid messed them up. The guy that bought them and his buddy took them to my buddy the Miura dealer. They did not know that we were golf buddies and often collaborated on club theory etc. They got to running their yaps about me. My friend took him on the range on the lie board etc and then had him hit some balls. The kid did not hit them good. Well Stu hits them good My friend told him well you ain't Stu besides he has hit blades all his life and is one of the few people that I have seen that can flush a Baby Blade Miura. He told him the only reason I sold him those blades was because I was a Macgregor man and was just screwing around with the KZGs. The Miura dealer also stated to him "I bet he did not offer to sell you a set of Macgregors either" Told Mr PGM that if he wanted to learn he needed to hang around his shop some or go over to mine since he had ran me in the ground so bad. I learned my lesson though I never sell a set of clubs set for me. Never no Macgregors either. If I am jacking around with a set like the KZGs for now on I will look up the manufacturers specs and set them to "Standard" before they are sold. Something else on "Stu Specs" and you having the technical mind you have will understand. If you threw say my MP-68 5 iron and a Mac 5 iron in my machine you will find 2 different lie angles not by much but some. That all has to do with head design and hosel orientation at MOI and general balance of the head at impact. I know I tend to ramble some but you have inspired my mind to exercise this morning sorta like a 5 k run. But at a day's end it boils down to simple isometrics and trig any way you slice it. My buddy the Miura dealer (since retired and sold the shop) has a special talent too. One day I was in the shop and he had a Nippon shaft in a baby blade and there was a bunch hanging out. He wanted me to hit it. He said wait a minute and put it in the machine and set it for me not looking at the numbers just the hosel angle. He caught me looking at the number and said do not pay that any attention that ain't no damn Macgregor. I laughed and he knew I knew. The orientation of the hosel at the top of a Baby blade is different from a Macgregor. In other words the back top of the blade has a different angle stock from a stock Mac and the toe angle at the top is different too. Yep that hypotenuse thing again. If you measure static in reference 2 different numbers on the lie angle.

 

LMAO by how much you just posted, now I know why you don't like to think too much about the swing - It gets your mind running on all the variables and in your head you start thinking about too many things at the same time. You get "Paralysis by Analysis". It happens when a system, like golf, has too many variables. If you study only one you realize that changing just the one still can affect numerous others which in turn affect others. Without a disciplined mind and approach to thinking about all of it, it can be overwhelming.

 

And yes absolutely gussets would be a key to building a structurally sound roll cage. And yes I like the analogy with lie angles.

 

We have both agreed in the past that all the swing mechanics don't mean diddly squat if they don't get you to impact with a square face and square path but more importantly that lie angle must be parallel to the ground. As long as you get to impact properly and consistently, it really is irrelevant HOW you got there. And so yeah it is important to get your equipment tuned to how it needs to be at impact...for your own personal swing and nobody else's. And lie angle is one of the fundamental keys. Ideal impact (for one's own personal swing) is a VERY precise point. The leading edge of the clubface has to precisely "fit" between the ball and the ground with only about 1/4" margin for error, if that! And so yeah if the lie angle isn't set such that the leading edge is parallel with the ground at impact, this reduces that margin of error. Lie angle is a very important variable to get right in my book and yeah it has to be studied dynamically to really get it right.

 

I've often thought that the best technical experts for understanding impact well would be mechanical / structural engineers that have mathematical expertise on isometrics and collisions. Impact is literally a collision between two objects, and a dynamic "balance" of various forces and momentums and those engineering disciplines have all the detailed math and formulas to explain it all to exacting detail. And I think from the way I see your mind work and how you relate golf to your other mechanical passions that you would have been an excellent mechanical or structural engineer. Because yes, the reason you can make those same analogies between roll cages and lie angles is because the fundamental math and science is the same - Pythagorean theorem, temporary materials deformation formulas, torque, Newton's laws of motion - these are all applying to both scenarios. And that you naturally "see" this and can "connect the dots" means you really do have that natural mathematical talent. Great stuff my buddy. I enjoyed reading it to understand your perspective.

[BIG STU]

You are one smart cookie man> yep the paralysis by analysis is exactly what happens to me when I THINK golf swing and mechanics over the ball. Funny that you put my thoughts into perspective---- One of the few folks that readily understands how my mind works--- LOL got the best comment today over on the equipment thread in the Dear blades thread. Some guy said my statement that I was De Ninny esque--- Even though he was a Horses A** I gave him a like and told him it was a honor to me to be referred as that. You can read my post--- I did tell him about you calling me out (in a nice way) that night when I posted the Mac wedge worn out all over the face and stating I was not a ball striker. You immediately knew what I was doing. Read the posts you will like it--- And BTW I went back to putting with an old 8802 Tommy Armour Putter simply because I can feel the thing and manipulate the ball with it. Bet the guy does not know squat about a toe putt. I am out of that thread tired of having an arguement with an idiot

[DeNinny]

You are one smart cookie man> yep the paralysis by analysis is exactly what happens to me when I THINK golf swing and mechanics over the ball. Funny that you put my thoughts into perspective---- One of the few folks that readily understands how my mind works--- LOL got the best comment today over on the equipment thread in the Dear blades thread. Some guy said my statement that I was De Ninny esque--- Even though he was a Horses A** I gave him a like and told him it was a honor to me to be referred as that. You can read my post--- I did tell him about you calling me out (in a nice way) that night when I posted the Mac wedge worn out all over the face and stating I was not a ball striker. You immediately knew what I was doing. Read the posts you will like it--- And BTW I went back to putting with an old 8802 Tommy Armour Putter simply because I can feel the thing and manipulate the ball with it. Bet the guy does not know squat about a toe putt. I am out of that thread tired of having an arguement with an idiot

 

Again I cannot tell you enough how much I have always appreciated your support for me in technical threads. In getting trolled so much for simply telling the absolute physical truth, your support has always been encouraging and helpful to me even wanting to explain the true physical reality with golf clubs to those ignorant of it. You are a true friend and I will have your back for life on WRX.

 

But as to the Dear blades thread, I'm sorry but as per my last post to it I'm not reading the thread. LOL you should know me by now and that I don't lose or back away from technical arguments, so if I go into that thread again I know I will read some idiot's reply to mine which will compel me to engage in more arguments with idiots and trolls. Best for me to not read it. Regardless again I do appreciate your support. Thanks bro.

[BIG STU]

Ninja I will give the guy credit after I admonished him. He re read the post and realized he was wrong or had took me wrong then being the horses A** he is said something about how I did my paragraphs. I did make a few responses to other civil people's posts but like you I got the point across and am outta there

[DeNinny]

Ninja I will give the guy credit after I admonished him. He re read the post and realized he was wrong or had took me wrong then being the horses A** he is said something about how I did my paragraphs. I did make a few responses to other civil people's posts but like you I got the point across and am outta there

 

BIG STU the way I see it is that the people that think they can refute what I said in my post about the detriments and carney sham(e)s of "forgiving" irons are arguing against physical reality. LOL it cannot be refuted because everything I stated adheres to all laws of physics. And I even warned people reading it in advance that they better be able to understand the science at the mathematical level because that is where I am at with it and why I am 100% positive in all of what I stated. So if some idiot is going to have the audacity to try and refute my post, to me they are trying to refute reality. And so if they are that stubborn and don't even want to learn something new, then they aren't worth the time to try and explain things in more detail.

 

Just got back from playing a round with WRXer jpdx. Shot 44-38. I did not hit one snap hook today and I was striking the ball well. And I made some putts. 'twas a good day of golf.

[Halebopp]

3 birdies today! Combined with some good one-putt pars, the counter-balanced putter is coming along very nicely. There's definitely a learning curve to it, it's difficult to hit very short putts with it and in the other end of the spectrum you really need to hit it hard get the long putts all the way to the hole, thus the both extremities can go badly wrong.

 

The ball rolls off the face beautifully and the putter feels like it's on rails, the path for you backswing is the path the putter will be coming to the ball and there's not much you can do about it. Of course, that's all good as long as you've got the line right. :)

 

I do need to confess, I did manage some disaster holes, an 8 on a par 3, a very slight shank into water followed by two consecutive double strikes on pitch and chip shots, a regular blow-up hole without a single good shot and three shanks out of the 17th tee box, none of which were found. :D

[DeNinny]

Halebopp three birdies is always a good day of golf in my book. Nice!!!

 

(LOL but three shanks is not so good but we can pretend it didn't happen.)

[Halebopp]

3 birdies is a great day every time! Today I got one and two bogies after hitting 3rd off the tee. :D

 

I spent the weekend as a rules official in a top level junior tour event at our club. While there I happened to stop and have a chat with our pro shop owner (over here pros actually teach, the club and pro shop are ran by different people) and saw a Fujikura Speeder Pro 73 Tour Spec driver shaft leaning against his desk. Someone had bought a new shaft for his driver and I got the Speeder for about 60 bucks.

 

Today I put it on a 913 head and also took a demo 917 4 wood with me to the course. The 917 was pure gold. No thin or fat shots, nice, high trajectory even off the deck off the tee it was consistently around 230 meters and off the deck pretty much 220. Of course those distances are closer to a 3 wood rather than a 4 wood but even so, maybe the 16.5º is the way to go. I do feel kind of sad and even guilty for thinking about moving on from the 650s, those heads are great but getting the shafts for those is probably too much of a hassle and there's always the risk the combination doesn't work. The cost for the shafts and work would probably be about the same as a new 917.

 

As for the driver, I didn't really like the 913 head but the shaft did make the shots straighter. Even if I pulled one, it went straight left and not even try to fade back like the 650, very much like the Bio Cell and its x-stiff Red Tie I had last year. Maybe I need the feel to force the shaft to work, I'll need to give it another go as it did start to work better on the back nine. I couldn't do a side-by-side distance comparison with the 650 though as once I started to figure out the Speeder shaft, I couldn't hit the 650 at all anymore.

 

Enough of my ramblings for now. :)

[dan360]

in a rather amusing turn of events I confess to hearing first hand that DeNinny has stated cavity backs hit the ball farther than "blades"

 

More at 11

 

 

 

[DeNinny]

Sitting here with dan360. Talking golf and listening to his rambling. There are worse lots in life (I confess).

[dan360]

Sitting here with dan360. Talking golf and listening to his rambling. There are worse lots in life (I confess).

 

This is no way to treat a guest. Yelp review will be thorough.

 

I do NOT recommend this AirBNB. Not even a little

 

#distance

[DeNinny]

in a rather amusing turn of events I confess to hearing first hand that DeNinny has stated cavity backs hit the ball farther than "blades"

 

More at 11

^ TOOC! (Taken Out Of Context)

[DeNinny]

Sitting here with dan360. Talking golf and listening to his rambling. There are worse lots in life (I confess).

 

This is no way to treat a guest. Yelp review will be thorough.

 

I do NOT recommend this AirBNB. Not even a little

 

#distance

 

The host is a Major Weiner, talks non-stop about golf, there's no breakfast to speak of, and the guest bedroom bed is lumpy. On a good note, the hostess is a sweetheart.

 

#dispersion

[dan360]

Actually got some legit seat time with baby blades yesterday.

[DeNinny]

Actually got some legit seat time with baby blades yesterday.

 

That was like a 70s swinger's party the other day. But I confess that I felt like I brought the hottest wife, and I felt like a cuckold watching you hit the $hit out of my Cal Hottie 7i.

 

At the next party you better bring these:

 

 

[Halebopp]

What sort of lady garment is there beneath the Miuras? :D

 

Funnily enough, I took my MP-4s out for the first time this year and I shot by far my season-best 81, +10. Two birdies and a third one was close rolling over the hole but bouncing out from the back of the hole.

 

I can't say it was down to the irons though as I kept hitting them slightly thin. The shafts are very different in feel (105 grams vs counter-balanced, 120 grams) and I couldn't get it exactly right yet. The ones I did get right felt so, so sweet though.

 

I had puta couple of for sale posts online about my MP-650 fairway woods but they got a chance today and boy did they deliver. Another round like that and I'm not sure if upgrading is worth it even though the 917 is better.

 

As for confessions, I confess I put a safe lay-up shot with a PW into a water hazard. :D Also, I can barely walk at the moment. I decided to go jogging on Friday evening and ended up doing a 21 km run (a half marathon but I hate the term). I could barely walk on Saturday, today was better but downhills were still a struggle. I could've not gone jogging on Friday and played even three rounds over the weekend but stupid is what stupid does. :)