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TomTuckerGolf.com |
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Prepare to play your best golf by doing something now! To comment or respond to this newsletter, please click here ttucker@rochester.rr.com In This Issue Tom's Featured Tip: Part 2 - Putterface Inserts Tour Greens: Tour Quality Synthetic Greens Tom's Bonus Tip: Toe Up Putter Lesson Comments: What Students Have To Say Sponsors: Plum Creek Driving Range Batavia Country Club Tour Greens Western New York Genesee Community College Golf Management Program Click here: INDOOR GOLF LESSONS for details on how to improve your game over the winter. PLUM CREEK DRIVING RANGE IN BATAVIA, NY, IS OPEN ALL YEAR Check out Plum Creek's Simulator Course Play Specials: http://www.plumcreekdrivingrange.com Call 585-993-0930 or email Mark at plumcreek4@rochester.rr.com to reserve your simulator time! Buy Gift Certificates for Lessons Sample Gift Certificate Golf lessons - Outdoor and Indoor - are available at Plum Creek, please call me at 716 474 3005, email me at ttucker@rochester.rr.com, or visit my website at http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/lessonrates.html for details. Subscribe - http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/signup.html If you like this newsletter, please do me a favor and forward it to your friends so that they may subscribe, thanks! The Unsubscribe link is at the bottom of this newsletter. Tom's Featured Tip: Part 2 - Putterface Inserts For simplicity, all advice on actual swings or drills is provided from a right handed perspective. For this weeks' featured tip, I did a lot of research on subjects ranging from the dwell time of the ball on putterface inserts, different types of inserts, impact variations with different putterface - ball combinations, and the rules of golf. After reviewing my first draft, I felt that I was getting too technical for most of my readers. So I edited this article to what I have discovered armed with some new technical knowledge on the subject, and how it related to my own trial and error (golf is a game of discovery). If you have a burning desire for more detail, google these keywords and you'll find them: "putter insert dwell time", "putterface inserts", "putterface insert hardness", "putterface inserts and percussion" There is one technical detail that I did want to mention. After I read an old article that stated that an insert on a putter is not allowed to be softer than a ball cover (probably due to some older putters with balata-like inserts) I checked on the rule. The hardness rule is particularly relevant to putters which have a urethane or other soft material inserted into the face. The measure for hardness is made using a durometer. A putter face must have a hardness of no less than 85 on a Shore A scale durometer. A simple test for hardness in the field would be to use a fingernail. If pressing a fingernail leaves a significant imprint in the face of a club, it may well be illegal. The bottom line is that your putterface insert can affect your putting "feel" dramatically. Providing that you have a reliable putting stroke, your insert choice will greatly influence the feel and roll of your putt. When it comes to putting, feel is real. I own many putters but have yet to find one that can outperform my trusty Odyssey Two Ball with the stock black DFX face insert - a hard insert. The reason is partially due to the feel that I get with the combination of my ball of choice, a Titelist ProV1 with the relatively hard insert on my putter (hard insert, soft ball) . As an experiment, I tried my putter with a harder ball, a Titleist ProV1x (hard insert, hard ball). It produced a loud clicking noise at impact (definitely not music to my ears), and it seemed to roll out way too far for my stroke. It felt more like a "hit" than a "stroke". I also tried a different Odyssey Two Ball putter with a softer insert and a ProV1, (soft insert, soft ball). The ball seemed to be dead coming off the face. I had to adjust the length of my natural stroke to produce the power necessary to get the ball to travel the desired distance. To further the experiment, I tried the putter with the softer insert with a ProV1x ball (soft insert, hard ball). I got the desired distance from my natural stroke, but the ball felt really hard and I felt like it took longer to get into pure role than the ProV1. The bottom line is that you need to match your putterface insert to your ball choice to get the best feel and roll for your stroke. I recommend either using a hard insert with a soft ball, or a soft insert with a hard ball. You may find that you like a different combination. More power to you if you do. It means that you did the work to find out what fits your stroke and feel best, and that's a very important part of getting better at your game (discovery). So the next time you go putter shopping, take a couple of the type of balls you play with you and use them to test different putters. And make sure you mark the balls ahead of time so that you don't get accused of stealing balls when you are done :-) Comments: ttucker@rochester.rr.com Love your practice, own your swing, own your health, Tom Tour Greens: Tour Quality Synthetic Greens For Superb Short Game Practice Would you like to be able to practice with purpose in your own back yard? Would you like your short game to progress from bad to good, or from good to great? Would you like to get the ball up & down with more frequency? Would you like to have a short game practice area in the privacy of your yard for practice and for friendly competition with your kids, your wife, and your friends? Click here TourGreensWNY.com for photo galleries and more information. If the thought of having a beautiful tour quality practice green in your yard appeals to you, you're in luck. In addition to my golf instruction business, I am also the exclusive Western New York sales associate for Tour Greens Western New York. With Tour Greens you can experience the ultimate home short game practice solution. Click here to read what Tour Pro's Fred Couples, Rich Beem, Boo Weekly, Blake Adams, and Chris DiMarco have to say about their Tour Greens. You all know me well enough to know that I don't affiliate with any product that I don't have a passionate belief in. These greens are the real deal. They are extremely durable - and they LOVE Western New York weather! For more information please click here: TourGreensWNY.com, or feel free to call, text, or email me to discuss your needs. Comments: ttucker@rochester.rr.com Love your practice, own your swing, own your health, Tom Tom's Bonus Tip: Toe Up Putter For simplicity, all advice on actual swings or drills is provided from a right handed perspective. I'm pretty excited about a new putter that's hitting the market soon. I've been waiting for a major company to produce a putter like this and it looks like it's finally happened. Callaway Golf unveiled their new Odyssey Toe Up putter at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, and here's why I'm excited. It's a positive balanced putter. It does not fit into either of the two common categories for putter balance: face-balanced or toe down. I currently own an old "Positive Putter" but it didn't fit my eye because it was center shafted and had the head size of an old Bulls Eye putter, which had a very small sweet spot. The new Odyssey model is heel shafted and comes in a medium sized blade or mallet head type. Because of it's balance, this type of putter has the best chance of executing a pure pendulum type stroke with a square face, regardless of if you have an arcing stroke or a straight back - straight through stroke. With an arc stroke, it returns easier to a square position at impact. With a straight-back and straight-through stroke, it stays straighter. With a toe up balanced putter, the putter points straight up into the air when balanced on a single finger. This was accomplished by moving as much weight as possible to the area around the neck of the putter. Phil Mickelson was actually involved in the development of the new Toe Up putter, although he has yet to use it in competition. I'm definitely going to try out this putter - with a ProV1 ball of course. I think the Metal-X face will be sufficiently hard for my feel requirements. They only showed the blade style in the promo I saw, but they also offer a mallet. I can't wait to see it! Actually, who am I kidding - I can't wait to own one :-) Comments: ttucker@rochester.rr.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 ttucker@rochester.rr.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 Driver Fitting Rates: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/indoor.html Testimonials: http://www.tomtuckergolf.com/testimonials.html Sponsors 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 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. Early deep discount membership deadline has expired, but great discounts are still available until April 1st. The earlier you pay the larger the discount. Check website for specific rates then call or stop in to purchase your 2016 membership. www.bataviacc.com (585) 343-7600 Tour Greens Western New York Practice with purpose in your own back yard on your own synthetic practice green. Our greens LOVE Western New York weather! Genesee Community College Golf Management Program Click on link for more information if you or anyone you know is interested in a dynamic career in the golf industry, or in teaching golf. All the best, 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 "There are no substitutes in the quest for perfection!" ~ Ben Hogan |
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