"It is not the will to win that matters, everyone has that.
It is the will to prepare to win that matters." - Paul "Bear" Bryant
Tom's Featured Tip: Matching Your Metal To Your Game
Lesson Comments: What Students Have To Say
Sponsors & Affiliates:
The Divot Board
The Rypstick
SuperSpeedGolf.com
Club Champion
Batavia Country Club
Plum Creek Driving Range
Buying a sponsored product through any of my affiliate links helps support this free newsletter, and I only affiliate with excellent products that I use myself. Thanks, Tom
Click here to buy The Divot Board to drastically improve your ball-striking. Combine your Divot Board practice and putting practice with the included putting lesson drills, and watch your scoring improve!.
Use your club or hand to re-set the board after your strike
Click here to buy now for outstanding Ball-Striking practice feedback
BONUS: when you buy through my newsletter link above, you'll also receive free access to my Putting Lesson Videos ($50 value) which cover: The Elevated Aimline Drill, The Squareness Awareness Drill, The Aimline Accuracy Drill, The Stock Putting Stroke Drill, The Barrier Drill, The Short Putt Channel Drill, and more.
Train with a Rypstick to improve your swing speed and gain more distance off the tee. The versatility of three different swing weights in one club makes the Rypstick your swing speed training aid of choice.
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Click here Rypstick.com to buy now, and make sure that you enter TOMTUCKERGOLF (case sensitive) in the Discount code box when you check out to receive a 5% discount.
TourGreens & VersaCourt Click Here To Watch Our Video
If you're interested in an artificial turf outdoor or indoor putting green, bocce court, sport court, tennis court, pet grass, etc., contact me, Tom Tucker, at (716) 474 3005 or email me at TomTuckerGolf@gmail.com for details and pricing. I'm the authorized New York State sales rep for TourGreens and VersaCourt with TourGreensWNY.com. We offer top shelf quality, and even more importantly - the best installers in the Northeast.
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For photos and stories from the 2020 Junior Golf Camp at BCC, click here:
2020 BCC Junior Golf Camp
For details on the 2021 Junior Golf Camp at BCC, click here:
2021 BCC Junior Golf Camp The Junior Golf Camp sold out quickl in 2020, so get your junior golfer registered soon. Call BCC at (585) 343-7600
Matching Your Metal To Your Game
For simplicity, all advice on actual swings or drills is provided from a right handed perspective.
The Divot Board
This is the most useful ball striking development training aid that I own.
Matching Your Metal To Your Game
I've fielded a few questions lately regarding forged irons vs. cast irons.
For those of you who are unaware, these terms refer to the different types of construction and metals used for iron heads.
Here's a brief description of how each are made.
Cast golf irons are made through a molding process known as casting. In casting, a mold is made of the club head design the manufacturer is producing. The metal is then heated until it becomes a liquid and poured into the clubhead mold. Once the mold has set, the club head can be removed and finished, including adding the shaft to complete the club. Casting is a process that can be repeated quickly and easily to produce a high quantity of clubheads in a relatively short amount of time. This process is very consistent as each head comes from a pre-made mold.
Forged irons are created using a single piece, or billet, of steel. Heat still plays an important part in this process, but instead of heating the steel up until it is liquid to be poured into a mold, the billet of steel is heated up until it is malleable. Once it is hot enough, the billet is placed in a press where it is pressed out into the desired shape of the clubhead. Whereas cast irons are pretty well finished once they are set up in their mold, forged irons still have to undergo more work before they are ready to be shafted. A forged clubhead still needs to be buffed, ground, and detailed by hand to meet the exact specifications of the iron’s design. Forging is a much more personal and time-consuming process.
Cast irons are the ones you'll most commonly find on the racks at big box golf stores, although nowadays most of the major equipment manufacturers make both cast and forged models within their brand.
Forged irons generally cost more than cast irons.
Cast are made more for the mass golf population, and forged are for the more discerning golfer. There are several reasons for that, but I want to talk about something that's not often mentioned when discussing the differences in forged vs. cast: playability - matching your metal to your game and your playing philosophy.
It goes without saying that good technique also comes into play, but for the purpose of this article I'm going to assume that you are an average golfer with reasonable technique.
The issue is spin, and how it affects proximity to the hole on approach shots.
Contrary to popular belief, the spin you produce on iron shots results more from the abrasiveness of the face of the iron than the grooves.
Forged irons have a smoother face surface than cast irons, so all things being equal, a cast iron will produce more backspin.
This little tidbit of information is invaluable when you match your equipment to your playing style.
I play with a couple of good young golfers that try to fly the ball all the way to the hole on every approach shot. This means that they have to land on the green with a good amount of stop or backup spin to keep it close to the hole.
Personally, I usually allow for a little ball release on the green. Or at least I was last year, because my go-to ball of choice was a Titleist AVX which is a low spin rate ball, and I was playing forged irons. I sacrificed a little stopping power for more length off the tee.
One reason that I switched to a cast iron this year was to be able to stick with the AVX, but get a little more spin on the ball because of the cast face on the irons. I can't wait to try it out on the course. At the range my irons flight was a little higher, which can be an indication of more spin.
If you are like most of the golfing population and want more backspin or just more stopping power on your shots, try a ball with a higher spin rate, and cast irons would be a better choice than forged.
If you tend to produce too much backspin on your iron shots, the first cheapest alternative would be to find a ball with a lower spin rate that you like.
The next alternative would be try a forged iron with your go to ball, and the next alternative after that would be a forged iron with a low spin rate ball.
And the check and release properties when chipping greenside are remarkably different with forged wedges vs. cast wedges. I carry a forged 54* wedge and a cast 56*, and I select the appropriate club depending on whether I want more check or more run out on short pitch shots and greenside chips.
There's no rule in golf that says you have to suck every wedge shot back on the green. If you have a better comfort level with allowing for some release on the green, that's 100% fine too.
Just make wise iron and ball choices to help you accomplish your goals.
Try this, I know you'll like it!.
Comments: TomTuckerGolf@gmail.com
Love your practice, own your swing, own your health,
Tom
Golf Lessons
I conduct lessons at The Plum Creek Driving Range & Practice Facility
there's a link for Plum Creek info here: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/
Lessons are available for all ages and skill levels, please contact
me - Tom Tucker - at (716) 474 3005 or email me at TomTuckerGolf@gmail.com
for more information.
Outdoor Lessons Details and Rates:
http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/lessonrates.html
Indoor Lessons Details and Rates:
http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/indoor.html
Testimonials:
http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/testimonials.html
Sponsors and Affiliates
Buying a sponsored product through any of my affiliate links helps support this free newsletter, and I only affiliate with excellent products that I use myself. Thanks, Tom
Train with a Rypstick to improve your swing speed and gain more distance off the tee. If the versatility of three different swing weights in one club appeals to you, this is your swing speed training aid of choice.
Click here Rypstick.com to buy now, and make sure that you enter TOMTUCKERGOLF (case sensitive) in the Discount code box when you check out to receive a 5% discount.
Click here to buy your Divot Board to drastically improve your ball-striking. Combine your Divot Board practice and putting practice with the included putting lesson drills, and watch your scoring improve!.
Use your club or hand to re-set the board after your strike
Click here to buy now for outstanding Ball-Striking practice feedback
BONUS: when you buy through the newsletter link above, you'll also receive free access to my Putting Lesson Videos ($50 value) which cover: The Elevated Aimline Drill, The Squareness Awareness Drill, The Aimline Accuracy Drill, The Stock Putting Stroke Drill, The Barrier Drill, The Short Putt Channel Drill, and more.
Click here SuperSpeedGolf.com to buy this swing speed training aid and increase your distance off the tee.
SuperSpeedGolf.com Buy now and get to work on increasing your swing speed now.
Club Champion Don't waste another dollar on clubs until you've gone through a fitting at Club Champion, 1669 Pittsford Victor Rd., Suite 400, Victor NY 14564. Call Master Fitter & Builder Jeff St. John. PGA work: (585) 978-8513, cell: (585) 831-2292 to schedule your fitting today! Mention my name and you'll get special attention.
The Crocbox Click through for details on the exclusive TomTuckerGolf discount available only to my newsletter readers.
The perfect choice for a discreet practice net in your yard.
Pop it up in 45 seconds, fold it down and close the weatherproof box lid when you're done. Click Through for the exclusive TomTuckerGolf Crocbox Discount .
Plum Creek Driving Range and Simulator Outdoor range and play indoor golf on any of our 40 Simulator Courses. Call 585-993-0930 or email Mark at plumcreek4@rochester.rr.com to reserve time for simulator play or practice!
Batavia Country Club (585) 343-7600 www.bataviacc.com
Great rates, the best greens in WNY.
Golf Digest Four Star rating for public courses to play in New York State.
Tee times online or by phone in season.
FISH FRYS AT BCC and other delicious dinner specials with soup and salad bar - Fridays, 4pm - 9pm
All the best,
Tom Tucker
Teaching Pro, Plum Creek Driving Range & Practice Facility
WGTF ' "Top 100 Golf Teacher"
USGTF Class "A" Teaching Professional
IGPA Certified Golf Psychology Coach
Cell: (716) 474-3005
Email: TomTuckerGolf@gmail.com
http://www.TomTuckerGolf.com
"There are no substitutes in the quest for perfection!"
~ Ben Hogan