ryebread
New member
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2012
- Messages
- 2,556
- Reaction score
- 2
- Location
- Sasquatching for lost balls...
- Handicap
- Googolplex
I've been lurking at THP for a while, but decided to register and start giving back to the community. I've learned a ton about equipment (and even a few swing tips) from THP over the past year.
I've always been a believer that a good carpenter doesn't complain about his tools. My inability to run a four minute mile had absolutely nothing to do with the shoes I was wearing. In my mind, golf should have been no different. I wanted to share a story about me though that really changed my thinking (and how I will start my child in golf) and also reignited my passion for the game.
I can honestly say that bad clubs absolutely killed my love of the game of golf. At about the age of 14, I started playing golf. I used a hand me down set of "Eisenhowers" which were nicknamed that because they had to be from the Eisenhower era. They were obviously terrible, but it was hard to argue with free. I think they were Al Geiberger blades and persimmon headed woods with aluminum shafts. I had two of the wooden heads break upon impact on drives and the irons needed regripping badly, so it was time to get something new.
I worked, saved up some money and bought a set of clubs out of the back of a magazine. This was in the early 1990s, when Golfsmith was still just a magazine for building custom clubs, when Callaway only made drivers, when there was no internet, when the only classifieds were the ones people paid for in the newspaper and when most people could really only try out clubs at a country club. Golf just wasn't a game for the masses and I didn't have much cash (which meant purchasing from a country club was out). I played with these dud magazine clubs for about 7 years, and they were just awful. I took lessons multiple times. Regardless, every shot was just a terrible, demoralizing banana slice. I could literally line up 45 degrees to the left and still hit to the right side of the fairway. Unfortunately, about every 7th shot or so, I'd actually hit one straight -- and it would end up two fairways over to the left. My scores were atrocious. I lost golf balls at an amazing pace. The only shot I was actually good at besides putting was the recovery from behind a tree. I finally just quit golf in my early 20s because I was so frustrated. I can thank the Tom Winsow brand clubs for that. They had graphite shafts with the stiffness of a wet noodle and were about 2 inches shorter in length than anything else I've ever seen (but they weren't junior or women's clubs).
That actually changed about one year ago. I played in a family best ball tournament while on vacation and did so only for the fellowship aspect. I had always been a pretty decent putter, so I figured that I could hang out, drink a couple of beers, chat with my father and brother-in-law and we'd use some of my putts. I played out of my dad's bag and his Nickent 4DX driver actually got me back into the game. There was something alluring about that big 460cc head that inspired confidence at address, solid feel at impact, bright yellow shaft and (shockingly) high and actually playable drives. We finished dead last in the tournament, but I was on Craigslist that night looking for some cheap, used clubs.
Since then, I've become a self diagnosed club ho. Yes, I will admit that I now have a problem.
I've owned a half dozen drivers just in the past year, several sets of irons, several sets of hybrids, multiple fairway woods and a handful of putters.
I am now practicing weekly, my mechanics have improved considerably and I can now hit a fairly consistent draw with my irons and fades with my woods and driver. I don't play full rounds very often because I don't have the time and a playing partner (my wife and I moved out of state about a year ago), but I have already scored better than I ever historically have (and that's without the strong putting that I used to have). I'm enjoying the game again and really see it as a lifetime sport.
For me now, I can no longer use equipment as a crutch. My inability to shoot good scores is due to my lack of ability. At the same time, it was equipment that killed my love of the game, and equipment that brought me back into it. I now enjoy reading about equipment as much as I do actually playing. Like most on this forum, I'm constantly looking for that perfect combo.
I don't currently bag anything from Nickent, but on some level I almost feel like I should. Their product actually got me back into golf, and for that, I am very grateful.
I've always been a believer that a good carpenter doesn't complain about his tools. My inability to run a four minute mile had absolutely nothing to do with the shoes I was wearing. In my mind, golf should have been no different. I wanted to share a story about me though that really changed my thinking (and how I will start my child in golf) and also reignited my passion for the game.
I can honestly say that bad clubs absolutely killed my love of the game of golf. At about the age of 14, I started playing golf. I used a hand me down set of "Eisenhowers" which were nicknamed that because they had to be from the Eisenhower era. They were obviously terrible, but it was hard to argue with free. I think they were Al Geiberger blades and persimmon headed woods with aluminum shafts. I had two of the wooden heads break upon impact on drives and the irons needed regripping badly, so it was time to get something new.
I worked, saved up some money and bought a set of clubs out of the back of a magazine. This was in the early 1990s, when Golfsmith was still just a magazine for building custom clubs, when Callaway only made drivers, when there was no internet, when the only classifieds were the ones people paid for in the newspaper and when most people could really only try out clubs at a country club. Golf just wasn't a game for the masses and I didn't have much cash (which meant purchasing from a country club was out). I played with these dud magazine clubs for about 7 years, and they were just awful. I took lessons multiple times. Regardless, every shot was just a terrible, demoralizing banana slice. I could literally line up 45 degrees to the left and still hit to the right side of the fairway. Unfortunately, about every 7th shot or so, I'd actually hit one straight -- and it would end up two fairways over to the left. My scores were atrocious. I lost golf balls at an amazing pace. The only shot I was actually good at besides putting was the recovery from behind a tree. I finally just quit golf in my early 20s because I was so frustrated. I can thank the Tom Winsow brand clubs for that. They had graphite shafts with the stiffness of a wet noodle and were about 2 inches shorter in length than anything else I've ever seen (but they weren't junior or women's clubs).
That actually changed about one year ago. I played in a family best ball tournament while on vacation and did so only for the fellowship aspect. I had always been a pretty decent putter, so I figured that I could hang out, drink a couple of beers, chat with my father and brother-in-law and we'd use some of my putts. I played out of my dad's bag and his Nickent 4DX driver actually got me back into the game. There was something alluring about that big 460cc head that inspired confidence at address, solid feel at impact, bright yellow shaft and (shockingly) high and actually playable drives. We finished dead last in the tournament, but I was on Craigslist that night looking for some cheap, used clubs.
Since then, I've become a self diagnosed club ho. Yes, I will admit that I now have a problem.
I've owned a half dozen drivers just in the past year, several sets of irons, several sets of hybrids, multiple fairway woods and a handful of putters. I am now practicing weekly, my mechanics have improved considerably and I can now hit a fairly consistent draw with my irons and fades with my woods and driver. I don't play full rounds very often because I don't have the time and a playing partner (my wife and I moved out of state about a year ago), but I have already scored better than I ever historically have (and that's without the strong putting that I used to have). I'm enjoying the game again and really see it as a lifetime sport.
For me now, I can no longer use equipment as a crutch. My inability to shoot good scores is due to my lack of ability. At the same time, it was equipment that killed my love of the game, and equipment that brought me back into it. I now enjoy reading about equipment as much as I do actually playing. Like most on this forum, I'm constantly looking for that perfect combo.
I don't currently bag anything from Nickent, but on some level I almost feel like I should. Their product actually got me back into golf, and for that, I am very grateful.
