If you thought that equipment has just to do with the quality, you might be wrong, it has to have visual appeal as well, says Jasjit Singh, Callaway Professional. Therefore, have a good look at the equipment, and only if you find it attractive enough with quality and technology quotients intact, go for it.
[Q] How do you go about selecting your equipment? [/Q]
[A] I like to first make sure that I like the look and lie of the equipment then I would try the equipment with various shaft options and zero in on the shaft options that I like and finally I would place an order for the equipment with the correct configuration of clubs with the correct lie angles which are already known to be best for me and grips that I personally like with 4 layers of build up tape which is perfect for me. [/A]
[Q] How important is it for a pro to keep their equipment up to date? [/Q]
[A] It is important to use the latest equipment as technology keeps changing and new equipment adds better playing characteristics and also sometimes breaks the monotony of equipment being used over a period of time although some pros may differ as they may not make changes that easily, I am very intrigued with new equipment and love change. [/A]
[Q] What are the keys things to watch out for while selecting the equipment. [/Q]
[A] The key things are:
1) Should look good and please your eyes
2) Should match your playing style
3) Should give you an advantage over the equipment that you may already be playing with. [/A]
[Q] Buying a new set is important? Can a newly minted pro even look at a good set of second hand clubs? [/Q]
[A] A new set is great, but yes! sometimes a club borrowed from another pro or something thing lying around can also fit the swing just perfect as this is a personal preference for many and many pros have gone on to win tournaments with clubs that maybe used by somebody else. [/A]
[Q] How should upcoming pros look at the shaft options? [/Q]
[A] Upcoming pros go to a good club fitter who may offer a variety of shaft and head options for the pro to demo and this is best done by using a launch monitor which gives you first hand accurate data on various parameters like ball speed, spin rates, smash factor, launch angles and many other parameters which help in selecting a shaft with the correct Flex, Torque & Kick Point to maximize distance, direction and trajectory of the ball. [/A]
[Q] How important is a club fitting? [/Q]
[A] Club fitting is the most important aspect for a good golfer and a beginner alike as you cannot wear clothes too small or too big the same way you cannot use clubs that are just not meant for you as there really is no one size fits all as we are all different in so many ways. [/A]
[Q] Are golf grips key to the game? How should a pro go about getting these done? [/Q]
[A] Golf Grips are the final step in fitting a club, without which obviously the fitting is not complete as there are various types of grips available in the market. The main reason for getting the grip size right is that our hand sizes vary and therefore too thin a grip or too thick a grip size may result in hitting the ball in the wrong direction and getting the right grip means getting the hand measured for grip size and then also choosing cord grips in case your hands sweat a lot or getting a normal grip without cord for players who don’t sweat too much on their palms. [/A]
[Q] Are balls an integral part of equipment selection? Why? [/Q]
[A] Balls are important as they have different compression rates and you require a fast swing speed (100mph+) to gain maximum spin and distance from softer balls whereas if you have an average swing speed of 80-100mph then a little harder ball would optimize distance and also give you a fair amount of spin. Therefore it is important to buy golf balls that suit your swing speed and not go with what the pros use. [/A]
[Q] Why is it important to have the correct length of clubs? [/Q]
[A] Very simple if you want to hit it straighter your length of clubs should be fit for your height and wrist to floor ratio or else you are going to be hitting golf balls all over the golf course and since impact is going to be affected the most which in turn means that distance is going to be cut down due to an incorrect length of clubs. [/A]
[Q] These days thanks to Mickelson and Roger Cleveland, a lot of wedges have become popular. But which ones are the ideal ones to have in the bag? [/Q]
[A] wedges are important as they help bridge the gap between the pitching wedge and the sand wedge for example a pitching wedge is generally 46 or 47 degrees in loft and a sand wedge is about 56 degrees in loft leaving about 9 to 10 degrees of a gap which you can bridge the gap by adding the gap wedge at 50 degrees or 52 degrees or even add a lob wedge which is in the range of 58 degrees to 64 degrees therefore a lob wedge is sometimes an after thought and makes a great club to have to hit from bunkers and from behind bunkers. Good wedge configurations are (50*, 54* & 58*) or (52*, 56* & 60*) or if you require less clubs then you can have a (50* & 54*) or (52* & 56*). [/A]
