Crosshair Golf Blog
August 19, 2010
Custom Golf Club Sets – Why Settle for Generic when you can Customize?
Ever go to the big box stores, or even a medium box golf outlet store, perhaps a golf discount store? What do all of these stores have in common? They do not allow you to customize your clubs.
Most stores have pre-made sets and are usually standard length, regular flex, 3 woods, 8-irons, a putter, and a bag. Happy days are here again. I only use 2 woods, a Golf Driver and a 3 iron. What should I do, throw the #5 wood away?
We are all not standard and regular, we are different and our golf club sets should be different too. Think about the clubs you have and what you would like. I customized my set to suit my needs, not the needs of some big box store.
My Custom Golf set contains a Golf Driver, #3 Wood, #1 Hybrid Iron, 3 thru 9 Iron set, Pitching Wedge, a 45 degree wedge and a putter. My irons and wedges have steel shafts, my woods have graphite shafts and my hybrid iron has a graphite shaft. My driver has a stiff flex shaft while the rest of my clubs have regular flex. I added 1″ to my putter length and got a large soft grip for it.
If all this sounds like the nightmare customer at the late-night Burger King drive thru, you are wrong.
At www.crosshairgolf.com all clubs are custom tailored to, you. And all it takes is a few clicks with your mouse and everything is as you want it. And, if it is not, then just send an email, we can do most any customization you need.
Crosshair Golf, it’ll git in your bag.
July 2, 2010
There Is More To Life Than Playing Golf
Or is there? Lets take a serious look at the question “Is there more to life than playing Golf?”
First, we have to eat and drink. I have yet to go to a golf club that does not have a restaurant or at least a vending machine. We can fulfill all our nutritional requirements at most golf courses.
Second, we need sleep. Have you ever tried, or know someone who has tried to get onto Bethpage Black Course. Where do they sleep, in their cars, that’s where. So let me ask you this. Why can’t you sleep in your car at any golf course in the country.
Third, we have family obligations. Well, this is easy. Most golf courses are closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas anyway. And, if you have the resources a private country club has some great amenities that can keep the family entertained for a few hours.
Fourth, we have to work. Have you ever heard of vacation and sick time. Also, you will have to “entertain” clients from time to time. It is not written anywhere that your golf buddies can not also be clients. Use your head.
Like I said, there is more to life than playing golf. There is planning, a couple of holidays, and you might even be down for 3 days while your clubs get re-gripped.
Remember. Golf is Serious, life is a game.
Clone Golf Clubs, What are they
Clone Golf Clubs emerged on the Golf Club scene back in the 1980’s. When they first appeared they tended to be blatant copies of the more popular brand name clubs. More than a few of these copy-cat companies ended up in litigation due to copyright violations. These lawsuits, while detrimental to this emerging industry, had some positive effects. The more reputable manufacturers of “Clone Golf Clubs” rose to the top and the unscrupulous ones went by the wayside. Today you will find that the term Clone Golf Clubs is a term that has stuck with our industry, but our golf clubs are far from clones. Our clubs stand on their own merits. We use the same technologies and talented designers as the brand name manufacturers. We do not seek to copy we seek inspiration.
Today, Clone Golf Clubs is just a moniker that our industry has adopted. Our products are not clones of anything, they stand on their own merits. When you look at Clone Golf Clubs what you are looking at are Golf Clubs that meet the same stringent standards as a Brand Named Club.
A fine line separates a brand name golf club and a Clone Golf Club. The difference has nothing to do with craftsmanship, design, quality, or any of the other features that make you go “WOW” when you see that new Golf Driver. The only differences are cost and why the costs are so high for brand name clubs.
Brand name golf clubs have huge advertising budgets along with huge endorsement contracts with golf pro’s. How much do you think Tiger Woods gets paid from Nike or Phil Mickelson and his Callaway deal. I would venture a guess that these deals alone are worth Millions of dollars. Take a look in any golf magazine and you will see ads with Pro after Pro hawking their “Favorite” Golf Clubs.
Clone Golf Club companies do not have to worry about those costs and can therefore, pass those savings onto you the consumer.
One final thought. Just do the math. A Brand Name Golf Driver costs upwards of $500.00 and a Clone Golf Driver costs around $89.00 at about $35.00 for a round of golf you save 12 rounds of golf. Clone Golf Clubs, Heavy on Style, Heavy on Quality, Light on the wallet.
June 30, 2010
Favorite Time to Play Golf
What is your Favorite time to play a round of golf.
My friend likes to get up early on a Saturday or Sunday with a tee time around 6:30. He can play golf and be home before noon so he can “Work” around the house. I personally think it is the only time he can sneak out of the house.
I, on the other hand, like to play late in the afternoon on Sunday. My wife and I get to the course around 4pm, no crowds, no waiting. We can have a nice walk in a beautiful setting and not feel rushed. Early in the summer it is OK because we have daylight until 8:30, but as the summer wears on we finish earlier and earlier.
We all have different times we like to play a game of golf. I told you my “favorite” time. But, as long as I am with good friends anytime is a good time to play golf
June 28, 2010
How Many Drivers Do You Have In Your Closet
This post is for all you multiple golf driver owners. How many of you purchase a new driver, or know someone who purchases a new driver, every year? Does it make your game any better?
I am personally acquainted with someone who, every year, needs to have a new driver. Just to make his game better. His game never gets better, he refuses to take a lesson, and he blames it all on his clubs with the driver being the ringleader.
If you are one of these people…STOP. You are not helping your game and your friends do not look forward to playing with you. You need to stop buying Drivers. What you need to do is improve your game in 3 easy steps.
1. Get properly fit. 2. Take a lesson or 2 with your new clubs. 3. Relax and gain your confidence on the course.
If you have confidence in your golf clubs you will probably only get new clubs when you need them not when you “think” you need them. As a purveyor of custom fit golf clubs I would love for everyone reading this to buy a new driver every year, need it or not. But, as a person who loves the game of golf, and loves to talk about the game of golf, I would rather have you buying a new driver or set of golf clubs every three years because you have worn your old set out.
If you are going to purchase your new clubs online, most golf club companies have some sort of “Get Fit” guide to follow. We have a module in which you input a few measurements and you will be able to get the clubs that fit you. I would suggest you get professionally fit for your clubs if you are a scratch golfer. You can do this at any pro shop, usually for no charge. You can then use these measurements to order from us or any online golf shop. If you have not established your swing yet, I would not suggest newer golfers get a full professional fitting. If you get fit for clubs and then take lessons and your swing changes your clubs might not fit you anymore.
Our custom club fitting module is a great way to get fit for a custom set of golf clubs
One set of properly sized, quality golf clubs should give you quite a few years of top notch performance and fun on the golf course. Clean your closet and sell all the clubs you do not use, Find a set of golf clubs that you feel comfortable with, have them custom fit to your specifications. Then, go take a few lessons, practice and enjoy years of fun on the golf course.
June 25, 2010
How far do you hit your 5 iron
How far do you hit your 5 Iron?
You will here this question or “what club do you use to hit 150 yards?” Either way, you should have a answer. Why, because if you are wanting to score better, then this is good information to have.
If you walk up to any Pro Golfer and ask “How far do you hit your 6 iron?” Their answer will be something like “163 Yards” not 160 yards or 165 yards, it will be 163 yards, they will know exactly how far they hit each club. The better Pro’s will know how far they hit all their clubs in different weather conditions, different altitudes, etc. You give them a situation or climate and they will know how far they hit the clubs in their bag.
For us weekend warriors we do not need to know exactly how far we hit each club, but we should have a good idea. We need to be close, 5 yard increments is probably fine for us. This information is good for scoring and for safety. For instance, A new golfer is out on the course. He is 150 yards to center of green. He does not know what club he uses for 150 yards so he grabs his 3 wood. He sends his ball through the windshield of a brand new Caddy in the parking lot, Loses $5.00 skin, and worst of all he got a quadruple bogey. But worse than that, he could have actually hurt someone.
OK, what do you do? After you have had a few lessons, get out to a driving range, preferably a driving range that allows you to hit off the grass. You might want to take several trips to the driving range. Each time you go try to hit 10 to 15 balls with each club and make notes as to distance. Once you know these numbers, you will see your scores drop and your enthusiasm for the game rise.
If you do not have the time to measure each and every club, then just take your 5 Iron. Lets say that after a few trips to the range, you have determined that you hit your 5 iron 160 yards. You can now estimate 10 yards per club in either direction. Your 6 iron 150 yards and your 4 iron 170 yards, etc.
Now you are ready to see a yardage marker, pace off your ball and put it in the center of the green.
So I will ask you again. How far do you hit your 5 iron?
June 23, 2010
June 4, 2010
Try the Putting Green for a change
How many times do we show up early for a round of golf, grab a bucket of balls, and head out to the driving range and hit all the balls with our golf driver? Too many times if you ask me.
I think it is time we start hitting the putting green and improving our scores instead of always taking out the driver and trying to improve our sexiness. Let me ask you this. What is so sexy about a 300+ yard drive followed up by a 4-putt?
A par 72 golf course has probably four par 5’s and some of those are probably dog legs that require a lay up. You might have some long par 4’s that you can get away with the driver, even though you should probably lay up.
All golf courses, regardless of length and number of holes, have one thing in common. To finish every hole, you must putt. That’s right, you have to take the putter out and use it at least once, probably twice, and all too often three times on every single hole you play.
So, don’t buy that bucket of balls and try to be the long drive winner. Instead, grab a handful of the balls you use every day, hit the putting green, and win the round, time and time again.
June 3, 2010
The Golf Frustration Blues
I am in the middle of the fairway, 150 yards out, no wind, no shadows. I take my 8-Iron and go through my routine. I address the ball, keep my head down and wham……Worm Burner. You guessed it, I topped the ball.
Simple 94 yard par 3. You can do this every day. Except some masochistic course designer thought the fairway between you and the hole is a great place to put a pond, maybe he likes fishing. But I digress, my ball is in the water. I do not know why, this is a shot I make all the time when there is no pond in my way.
They say that golf is a “Mind” game, or golf is a “Mental” game. Well, I am here to tell you “They” are wrong. Golf is a head game. It gets in your head and torments you. It beats you down. It makes you do crazy things like pay $500.00 for the newest, latest, greatest, driver. A driver that will send the ball farther and straighter than any club before. That is, until you get it in your hands and slice the ball onto interstate 90 that runs along the par 5 5th.
So, why do we do it? Why do we keep going to the course, weekend after weekend? I will tell you why. Sometimes that Golf Bug that has gotten in our heads is asleep. We step up to the first tee and take out our Driver and hit it straight and true. Then, hole after hole we make sweet shots and finish, maybe not with a pro tour score, but we break 100 or even 90.
We beat the demon in our heads.
May 10, 2010
The Rhythm of the Game
I never really thought about how the Rhythm of the Game of golf could affect my score until I read an article about Skeet and Trap Shooting that involves the rhythm of the match.
When I talk about rhythm I am not talking about waiting, we wait for everything. Think about waiting for a moment. If you come to a four-way intersection and you are 20 cars back, you have to wait your turn. If all goes the way it should, one car at a time from each road goes in turn, you have rhythm. When this occurs you do not feel the wait, but let one person jump the gun and throw off the rhythm of traffic and you are now frustrated. These waiting/rhythm situations occur time and time again in daily life.
What about the rhythm in a game of golf. Here is an example. I was playing a round with some friends. We were waiting to tee off. Groups were teeing off at regular intervals, we were all behind schedule a few minutes but it did not matter as there was a steady flow, there was rhythm. Then behind us came a group, and one woman was complaining so much we let them tee off ahead of us, the first miss-beat in our rhythm. Then, this same woman on the second hole, parked the cart on the cart path, walked across the fairway to her ball walked back to the cart to get her golf club, then walked back across the fairway to play her ball. This totally threw off the rhythm of the game and our scores were not for the record books.
So remember, it is not the waiting, it is the rhythm. As long as you keep a steady rhythm to your game your scores will reflect it. Rhythm is not a fast game or a slow game, it is a steady flowing game of golf.
