Equipment ratings, do they matter?

[gmbtempe]

After a 18 month hiatus I am starting to play again.

My driver is getting pretty old so I wanted to see what people had to say about what is good out there in general terms, usually their is a "hot" piece of equipment.

One particularly popular site has their best of 13' drivers, so I clicked.

There top picks were the main line drivers from Taylor Made, Ping, Callaway, Cobra, Titleist, Nike

Very informative, so basically if I select a well advertised golf OEM driver I cant go wrong!!!

My research never ends with something like that but I thought it was funny for the golfer that does.

[ericpaul2]

www.mygolfspy.com/

Just did a big review of drivers this week. Considering the problem of varying skill sets, I think they do a great job. If you dig a little into the data (released tomorrow) you can line up with one of the testers closer to your skill set for an even better idea.

What's interesting is that for the most part, there's one or two that are quite a bit ahead in a particular category, and then the rest are kind of packed together.

Personally, I wouldn't look at the overall grades...I'd focus on whether I wanted distance or accuracy and pick from those.

[Richie3Jack]

To me, there's not a lot that can differentiate most of the technology out there and it really comes down to being properly fitted. But, I think it's dangerous to have what I call 'band-aid' fitting like making the lie angles upright in order to accommodate the player's steep shaft plane on the downswing. If the golfer is willing to play and in particular practice...I feel that Band-Aid fitting is very dangerous because the golfer will just be ingraining some of those bad mechanics.

I chose the Wishon driver because I do believe it is advantageous to have one. A while ago me and a friend wanted to test the smash factors on FlightScope of my Wishon 919THI versus several other major OEM brands since they have a fitting service on their course. We found that the Wishon 919THI consistently produced higher smash factors. We used some foot powder spray to measure the impact location. But, we weren't doing anything overly scientific. Wishon has stated this in the past mainly because his 919THI head has the highest MOI possible, but he has been able to shape it in the traditional head shape instead of a box-shape.

I also prefer the Graduated Roll technology. Those below the CoG hits don't launch so low and I can hit it really well off the deck.

But the real value is in the fitting aspects and the Quality Control. I can get the head weight I want and they measure the lofts and face angle. So if I order a driver and want it at 10* loft and 0* face angle, I can get that. But, if I want to go to an OEM club, there's a distinct possibility that a 10* stamped loft might actually be 12* loft with a closed face angle.


As far as irons go, I think it mostly comes down to shape. I think a big issue is that OEM's have ignored the bounce angle for years. And I think Edel's iron designs have that going for them for the better player that creates more shaft lean. I think Wishon's irons are as good as any OEM, but by the same token I think most OEM's are just as good as Wishon. The difference for me is that I can get the head's to the specific weight I want them. They also have a port that allows the golfer to more easily install a hosel weight. But, I just used lead tape anyway. I've been really thinking about getting some Edel irons because of their bounce angle and I know they'll make them to the weight I want. I just need to get some real practice with them to see if they are what I want.

I carry the Edel wedges because of their bounce angle and their CoG is further away from the heel along with the grooves more out towards the toe. As Kelvin's video showed, there's a reason why we hit our lobs and flops towards the toe, regardless of skill level. So it's best, IMO, to have the CoG and the scorelines further towards the toe. The only issue I had with Edel's wedges was the head weights were very heavy. I think he's changed that a little and he can make them to a weight of your liking which is what mine are.

I tend to agree with Mangum on his idea on putters. I don't think they make a large difference for the most part because there are so many different factors involved between aim, green readings, face contact, hitting it where you aimed and having the right speed/touch. I also agree with Geoff that one can develop the skill of aim if they are incorporating the right technique. But, my feeling with the Edel is that it does improve your aim and that's a safety valve for me. So again, custom fitting wins out for me.

There's really only so much one can do with equipment's spec designs. I just prefer Wishon and Edel's equipment because they take that custom fitting into account and tend to design their equipment towards the lower handicap players.








3JACK