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There are no miracle clubs

SuperStroke
InTheRough

InTheRough

Course Botanist
Joined
Apr 17, 2015
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Location
Tacoma WA
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GHIN 16.2
I don't know if this is the right place. I'll leave it to the mods.

My short game took a vacation, so I've been working on it. I bought a Tour Edge chipper but found that ran out too much. And it wasn't helping at the distance I usually miss the green from. So I thought I'd try the Cleveland Smart Sole.... Golf Sidekick Youtube channel had a beginner golfer on it who was using the C version. Matt recommended that if you get one that you get the S version because the C version won't check up on the green. So a local golf shop had them on sale and I bought one in S.... turns out it's 58 degrees.

Well, lo and behold it's no miracle club. You still have to learn how to use it. If you decelerate, you will still have a chili dip but the ball will at least go a little distance. Off a tight lie, the over 1" wide variable bounce sole will just glide under the ball. So I spent the past two sessions learning how to hit this thing. And... it's working. It is more forgiving than say my lob wedge which gets hung up in the grass if I decelerate. But I'm learning not to do that. It takes time. Still I wouldn't try to hit a flop shot with it. And I have no business hitting one at this time anyway.

Then I have to learn to trust my swing through the ball. But yes, the club does seem to help. Just off the fringe with a little rough I can bump and run, but more than that I have to fly it and I have to trust that. It hasn't been easy. But there aren't any miracle clubs. You still have to learn how to use them whether it's a wedge or a chipper. It's still technique and confidence.
 
I think for any club , even those that may be somewhat gimmicky (for lack of a better term) or considered the fixer club for whatever the specific scenario or whatyever our deficiencies would have a negative for every positive and still requires the proper input from the player.
I mean whether it's a chipper/chutter, special wedges, driving irons, special fw woods and drivers, hybrids vs irons, etc,etc,.... in the end even with the assistance its still always the Indian more than his arrow.

At least as for staying with the rules. I mean tech (especially nowadays) were it not for conforming restrictions would likely make the game a whole lot easier. But even then we would still have to place the good correct play onto the balls. I dont think there can ever be a true replacement for that. We still have to play the game and make the shots. And honestly if there was place and time of such a thing as "never do no wrong" clubs , then imo the game itself wouldn't offer the same challenges and wouldnt be so addicting. There would be imo little to no integrity kind of like playing short and very forgiving par4's that offer nothing in the way of much challenge. The game imo would become boring even though we would all be better at it. But its not the same kind of better imo.
 
I tend to ignore the "We can change your game" clubs. I easily can slice a club MADE TO HOOK DRAW. So, it's not the club.... it's me. There are drivers I hit futher than others... depending on the shaft and degrees. I am partial to Taylormade 9.5 R, but that doesn't mean I can't hit my NIKE just as far. To me chipping is not about a gimmick club. It's about the lie and how I address and swing whether it's in the sand or the rough. So... I see those commercials and think... Hello?!
 
InTheRough said:
I don't know if this is the right place. I'll leave it to the mods.

My short game took a vacation, so I've been working on it. I bought a Tour Edge chipper but found that ran out too much. And it wasn't helping at the distance I usually miss the green from. So I thought I'd try the Cleveland Smart Sole.... Golf Sidekick Youtube channel had a beginner golfer on it who was using the C version. Matt recommended that if you get one that you get the S version because the C version won't check up on the green. So a local golf shop had them on sale and I bought one in S.... turns out it's 58 degrees.

Well, lo and behold it's no miracle club. You still have to learn how to use it. If you decelerate, you will still have a chili dip but the ball will at least go a little distance. Off a tight lie, the over 1" wide variable bounce sole will just glide under the ball. So I spent the past two sessions learning how to hit this thing. And... it's working. It is more forgiving than say my lob wedge which gets hung up in the grass if I decelerate. But I'm learning not to do that. It takes time. Still I wouldn't try to hit a flop shot with it. And I have no business hitting one at this time anyway.

Then I have to learn to trust my swing through the ball. But yes, the club does seem to help. Just off the fringe with a little rough I can bump and run, but more than that I have to fly it and I have to trust that. It hasn't been easy. But there aren't any miracle clubs. You still have to learn how to use them whether it's a wedge or a chipper. It's still technique and confidence.
Click to expand...

I had the C wedge, and liked it, ended up selling to a buddy who couldn’t chip with an iron to save his life. It was a God-send for his game.

My brother currently uses the s wedge and loves it.its all about what you feel good playing.
 
InTheRough said:
I don't know if this is the right place. I'll leave it to the mods.

My short game took a vacation, so I've been working on it. I bought a Tour Edge chipper but found that ran out too much. And it wasn't helping at the distance I usually miss the green from. So I thought I'd try the Cleveland Smart Sole.... Golf Sidekick Youtube channel had a beginner golfer on it who was using the C version. Matt recommended that if you get one that you get the S version because the C version won't check up on the green. So a local golf shop had them on sale and I bought one in S.... turns out it's 58 degrees.

Well, lo and behold it's no miracle club. You still have to learn how to use it. If you decelerate, you will still have a chili dip but the ball will at least go a little distance. Off a tight lie, the over 1" wide variable bounce sole will just glide under the ball. So I spent the past two sessions learning how to hit this thing. And... it's working. It is more forgiving than say my lob wedge which gets hung up in the grass if I decelerate. But I'm learning not to do that. It takes time. Still I wouldn't try to hit a flop shot with it. And I have no business hitting one at this time anyway.

Then I have to learn to trust my swing through the ball. But yes, the club does seem to help. Just off the fringe with a little rough I can bump and run, but more than that I have to fly it and I have to trust that. It hasn't been easy. But there aren't any miracle clubs. You still have to learn how to use them whether it's a wedge or a chipper. It's still technique and confidence.
Click to expand...


Smart Sole S is a good design and so is the Smart Sole C. Two separate clubs designed to play different shots. I believe having both the S and C in the bag makes good sense, the S for relatively high trajectory shots and the C for running shots.
 
DG_1234 said:
Smart Sole S is a good design and so is the Smart Sole C. Two separate clubs designed to play different shots. I believe having both the S and C in the bag makes good sense, the S for relatively high trajectory shots and the C for running shots.
Click to expand...

The sole on the Smart Sole S wedge doesn't get snagged like the sole on my lob wedge. It's heavy. I can see maybe I'll pick up a C for the running shots. The S can replace my lob wedge. These clubs have a purpose in making the game easier. But they're not miracles. The short game is still very much a feel part of the game. I used to be really good at it, but I lost confidence. My spread pattern is about 12 feet with the S.

There was a guy hitting the exact same type of shots I was who was within 3' of the flag with about 24 balls. So yeah, takes practice. He says I have the proper stroke, just need to get the touch. I tend to tighten my left shoulder and it throws off my shot. If I'm relaxed they go where they're supposed to. It's not the arrow.
 
I only really use 'normal' clubs. I also like to have clubs with less loft around the green as opening up the face to me just looks nicer.
 
My swing coach and I was having this same discussion on the range last week. There are guys at the course that spend hundreds of dollars on these gimmick clubs and of course they never work. But they won’t spend a couple hundred on a lesson package that will really fix their issue.




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wubears71 said:
My swing coach and I was having this same discussion on the range last week. There are guys at the course that spend hundreds of dollars on these gimmick clubs and of course they never work. But they won’t spend a couple hundred on a lesson package that will really fix their issue.




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

To be honest, I would't lump the Cleveland designs in with any of the gimmicky clubs that are out there. They are quality clubs with solid design behind them.

That said, I also agree that money for clubs, especially for high-caps such as yours truly, would indeed be better on lessons. However, I choose to ignore myself, lol.
 
wubears71 said:
My swing coach and I was having this same discussion on the range last week. There are guys at the course that spend hundreds of dollars on these gimmick clubs and of course they never work. But they won’t spend a couple hundred on a lesson package that will really fix their issue.




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

I was going to say the exact same thing. There’s a guy in one of my leagues who has almost his entire bag made up of the clubs you see advertised on TV and he’s about a double-bogey golfer. He’s never had a lesson or recorded his own swing or anything, just keeps buying more clubs that are supposed to magically fix every swing flaw.
 
It is true that there is no magic club. The magic is in YOU, not the club. At the same time though, there certainly are clubs which make the magic come a bit easier. As much as I love certain club designs, Ive learned over the years that sometimes you need to take your medicine and choose clubs that are friendly, even if they arent the prettiest clubs in the world.
As much as Ive hated mallet putters over the years, Ive convinced myself that while they dont have the best feel, the advantages they have in aiming aids and forgivness make up for that lack of feel. The same goes for SGI irons for me. As much as I want blades, I dont have the swing for them.
While they still arent magic clubs and I need to put a good swing on them to get a good result, they allow me to post decent scores when I dont have my best game.
 
Hamfist said:
To be honest, I would't lump the Cleveland designs in with any of the gimmicky clubs that are out there. They are quality clubs with solid design behind them.

That said, I also agree that money for clubs, especially for high-caps such as yours truly, would indeed be better on lessons. However, I choose to ignore myself, lol.
Click to expand...

Agreed. The Cleveland clubs and the sure out are not gimmicks at all but something that more golfers should play. We were looking at one guy in particular that was using a square strike and had some contraption on his arm that looked like a mad max starter kit.




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After reading tHP all winter and watching a million youtube videos, I was convinced I needed a new driver. Its always been my nemesis club. I hit it well one round and then suck for three. I went for a fitting at club champion and it was one of my off days. There was absolutely no combination of driver and shaft that worked for me. Not even a little. A few weeks, and some practice time, later I had one of my best driving days with my old M1.

It really is the indian and not the arrow. The year over year improvements in clubs are far smaller than the natural variation in most amateur's swings.

I did change out near 20 year old irons a few years ago and the improvement was undeniable. Once you go long enough the clubs really do make a difference.
 
I think the Cleveland HB3 irons has truly helped my game. I still suck. I just suck less.
 
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