First off… thanks to all of you that wrote in and said that you enjoyed the “Wheeling And Dealing” piece yesterday. It was something that I had wanted to write about for a long time and I hope it helps you get the best deal. Stay tuned for more Buying Guide entries soon… and don’t forget about our “24 in 24″ golf club reviews coming up at the end of the month.
We get questions about shafts everyday. I’m seriously considering creating a shaft section to help our readers out. Today’s email deals with cutting a putter down and how it might change the feel of the club. Simple answer… it does change the feel. I cut putters down all the time for my customers… most times I don’t worry about a change in feel because a higher handicapper doesn’t care. They are more worried about getting a club that fits them. It all comes down to how much you cut off… you can usually cut off 1/2″ without really throwing the putter out of whack. If someone comes in and wants to cut a putter down a lot, I will suggest weighing the current club, reshafting it with a new shaft at the right length and then weighing it out to get it close to it’s original weight. Cutting a club down lots will make it feel head heavy… less shaft to offset the weight of the head. Try adding some lead tape under the grip to help balance out a cut down. Hope this helps and thanks for the email!
Let’s talk about the Mizuno MX-17 irons. We had a reader asking about these and there seems to be a shortage of information on them. The MX-17 irons are great. They are a good combination of forgiveness and looks. I have a few customers that just swear by them. So what’s the problem with them? They just don’t fit into the current Mizuno line. Someone that wants a forgiving Mizuno iron leans towards the MX-23 (an awesome iron). Someone that wants more of a “players” Mizuno club with a cavity looks at the MX-30. The MX-17 is a great iron (It won an award in Golf World U.K.) but there aren’t enough people playing it to make a real splash. It is a solid price point club but the other Mizuno irons are close enough in price to hurt it there too. Try the MX-17… you’ll like it!
Next up… Tour Edge and their “Exotics” line. Tour Edge makes awesome stuff but none of my customers ask for it. We would love to bring some of it in but it would just sit on the shelves. I emailed a friend of mine that plays Tour Edge stuff and he has been very impressed with his Exotics fairway woods. He says that they are very, very hot and he loves the extra distance that he is getting. He likes the stock Fujikura shaft even though it hits the ball very high. Show Tour Edge Golf some love folks! Ask for it at your local shop and visit their website too… www.touredgegolf.com .
A reader wants to lose his Cleveland TA5 irons and move on to something a little less “game improvementy”… ya I know it’s not a word but it sounds so neat! He would like to stay with Cleveland and wants to know what his options are. Well… let’s go through the Cleveland line and see what we can find! The Launcher… nope… they make your TA5’s look like a blade. CG1… well no because they are a blade! CG2… this is the one that I would pick. Great feel, great look and they are actually fairly forgiving. CG4 and TA6… too close to what you already have. If you came in my store right now and wanted to get away from a lot of game improvement and get into a bit more of a “players” club… I’d get you hitting the CG2 irons and would probably lean towards a HALO or two to replace your 3 and 4 irons. There is a big difference between the TA5 3 iron and the CG2 3iron… the HALO clubs would provide more forgiveness. Don’t make the game too hard!
I think that’s all for tonight. Thanks again for all the email and support! I thought I would leave you with a site that I found the other day. Check out www.johnnybackshop.com … it’s a pretty funny site created by a guy that works in the business and makes light of golf and golfers. Nothing too serious but a lot of fun! See you tomorrow…