============================================================== [ TomTuckerGolf.com Tips ] Issue 3 - Date 03/07/12 ============================================================== If you like this newsletter, please forward it to a friend so that they may subscribe to receive future issues: Subscribe - http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/contact.html To Unsubscribe click here: To view this newsletter on the Internet please click here: For a brief bio with my credentials please click here: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/ If you wish to comment, respond, or ask a golf related question, please email me - Tom Tucker - directly at ttucker@rochester.rr.com IN THIS ISSUE: - Tom's Quick Tip: Confidence in Putting - Tom's Featured Tip: Golf Ball Thoughts - Golf Lessons - Sponsors ============================================================== Tom's Quick Tip - Confidence in Putting ============================================================== I'm a big fan of Tiger Woods' golf game, and it was killing me to see him miss putts that he used to make with his eyes closed. Last Sunday, he looked like he was rounding into form. I'll believe he's all the way back when his misses are going the correct distance past the hole. It's a sign of a lack of confidence when your misses are always short of the hole, which happens after you miss a few three footers. If your putting misses are most often short of the hole, devote a few practice sessions to making a slew of two, three, and four foot putts. Your confidence will soar and more of your putts will get to the hole. Always finish your pre-round putting warm up with five putts in a row from two feet. It puts you in a great frame of mind for your round. And when you stride onto the green, do so with confidence and a positive attitude, it will actually help you putt confidently. ============================================================== Tom's Featured Tip - Golf Ball Thoughts ============================================================== In the not too distant past, golf ball manufacturers used to indicate the compression of their golf balls on their packaging, and sometimes on their golf balls. Compression used to be a main consideration on the ball a player would use - a lower compression for slow swing speeds (80 - 85 compression), medium compression for medium to fast swing speeds (90 compression) and a high compression for higher swing speeds, (100 compression). The compression used generally matched a range of swing speeds: 80 - 85 compression - 80 to 90 mph swing speed 90 compression - 90 to 100 mph swing speed 100 compression - 100+ mph swing speed I used to love a ball Titleist produced called the Tour Distance 90; they also made a higher compression ball called the Tour Distance 100. I thought that they were the best balls on the market at the time, and it broke my heart when they discontinued the line. In fact, when I found out that they were going out of production I bought twenty dozen of them. I suppose that's a golf version of "hoarding". In this day and age, it's a chore to find out the compression of a golf ball. It's not generally available on the packaging or ball, and it usually takes some digging to find it on a manufacturer site. It may even require a call to the company if you are intent on getting an answer. Nowadays, more characteristics come into play than compression, such as layers, core construction, cover material, etc. It's can be a little confusing to say the least. I am confident that most balls today are very good, and the selection of your ball should revolve around swing speed, control around the green, and what you can afford. In the end - brand to brand their isn't too much difference. Most companies produce premium balls, as well as a non premium line of balls, which actually may be more suitable and affordable for average swing speeds and casual golfers. These non premium lines are less costly, and I would recommend that route for most of the people reading this email that want to play new balls. The list of all manufacturer non premium balls is way too long for an email, so just use this as a guide: balls that are promoted as "Distance" balls are usually a little harder the balls that are promoted as "Feel" or "Control", or balls that consider play around the green as a priority. The "Distance" balls generally don't perform as well with moderately slow - under 90 mph - swing speeds. I'm personally a Pro V1 guy now. I had another major manufacturer supply me with free premium balls for a year, but in spite of that I switched back to the Pro V1. It just seems to suit my swing, and I love the feel around the greens and off my putter. If you absolutely want to play premium balls, there are a few ways to do that without breaking the bank. One way would be to play "Practice" premium balls. You can track down new Titleist Pro V1 Practice balls on the Internet for anywhere from $20 to $30 per dozen. They are a conforming product that differs only due to a cosmetic blemish such as paint, ink or registration of stamping. They don't have any construction or performance deficiencies. They may be used in a casual round of golf, including those with scores posted for handicaps, and most competitions, with the possible exception of high level competitions invoking the Local Rule requiring balls to be on the List of Conforming Golf Balls. This List is in operation as a Condition of Competition for professional events, as well as all USGA Championships, and only golf balls appearing on the current List may be used during those competitions. You can download a current list of USGA Conforming Golf Balls here: http://www.usga.org/ConformingGolfBall/conforming_golf_ball.asp it's updated the first Wednesday of each month. Another option for playing premium balls is to play used ones. The only thing that I have against this option is that the ball has developed a bad habit, ie: getting lost or enjoying the water. :-) Seriously though, I recently read a newsletter that indicated that a ball that has been in water for a long time severely hampered it's performance ability. The research I found disputed that point of view. In fact, most used golf balls perform just as well as brand new golf balls. And in all honesty, when's the last time you played a full round with a new golf ball without losing it? Very few amateurs end up with the same ball they started with. Thus, most balls you find aren't even 1 round old. The Golf Ball Testing company, GolfBallTest.org, conducted some very thorough tests on "high quality" second hand golf balls found in water, and found: 1. NO significant difference in compression, weight, roundness or cover hardness, all were tested with equipment similar to what the USGA uses. 2. NO significant difference in distance and amount of backspin, all tested with a robot launcher. Golfers involved in the testing did comment that the balls were not as shiny as a new ball, but that's not a performance factor for most of us. Golf Digest did a study in 2005 where Golf Laboratories tested several new and used balls with their launch monitor and computer-controlled robot using a 10-degree Callaway driver and Titleist NXT golf balls. The balls varied in condition. The long and short of the Golf Digest test is that no one ball (brand new or used and scuffed) was significantly longer than the other. Their definition of significance was a 3% loss of distance with the driver. If there was any significant difference, it was between the amounts of dispersion. The "Grass" and "Mud" balls tended to have significantly more dispersion than the others. Balls that have significant grass or mud on them would have non-symmetric dimple patterns and weightings (one side of the ball is slightly heavier than the other). Such asymmetry would cause the ball to "wobble" and go offline more than a clean ball. You can track down plenty of used ball retailers on the net, and if you decide to give one a try I'd stick with the highest grade used balls - they are nicer cosmetically - which is how they are graded in the first place. This is important - whatever brand and model ball you settle on, stick with it. A key to any success at golf is dialing in distance with your scoring clubs, and sticking with the same ball absolutely will be helpful. Enjoy, Tom ============================================================== Golf Lessons ============================================================== I conduct lessons at The Plum Creek Driving Range & Practice Facility there's a link with 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 at ttucker@rochester.rr.com for more information. Lesson rates are here: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/lessonrates.html ============================================================== Sponsors ============================================================== Batavia Country Club - check out their spring rates http://www.bataviacc.com/rates.html Chestnut Hill CC - opening Sunday 03/11/12 - 18 holes $23 includes cart http://www.chestnuthillcc.com/ ============================================================== All the best, and remember: Victory Loves Preparation ~ Anonymous Tom Tucker Teaching Pro, Plum Creek Driving Range & Practice Facility WGTF "Top 100 Golf Teacher" USGTF Class "A" Teaching Professional Cell: (716) 474-3005 Email: ttucker@rochester.rr.com http://www.TomTuckerGolf.com http://www.usgtf.com/top_100_wgtf.html