We're Just at a Disadvantage

Golf has gotten to a point with technology that you really need to be a trust fund baby to figure out what equipment suits your game.

I'm only going to rant for a bit on this one but in last months Golf Digest they did an article on Phil Mickelson expanding his golf bag by being able to hit different shots with the same club. I think that's a great skill to be versatile with your clubs but there was one part that got to me once again.

Mickelson was talking about the new Callaway drivers and how he can just change the heads with a simple wrench and have a different shot in the bag. Use one club head and hit a fade, simply change the club head, make the same swing and hit a draw. He changes depending on what course he's playing. Well where's the skill in that? The skill in golf was to be able to work the ball with the same club. Again, I don't have the luxury of affording 3 different club heads so I'm a bit jealous and that's where my rant comes from. Shouldn't you have to fade and draw the ball with the same club?

So what Phil is telling us is that we're only as good as our equipment matches up with us. While that's somewhat true he's taking the element of 'golfing' his ball out of the equation. Not all of us can be fitted for clubs, have our swing measured, and have a launch monitor at our disposal. The hole point of golf was to have a square club face at impact with the ball, thus hitting it straight and into the hole in the least amount of strokes. Now it's finding the equipment that matches the course you're playing.

Basically they're taking an already impossible game and making it harder for us amateurs. We're the very people that need the game to be easier.

What really bugs me is Mickelson ho hums it about changing the club heads. Dude, does he really think we all have that luxury? Once again, it's how out of touch with reality these people really are. Hell, I spend about $4o a year in golf magazines and I already know that's worth a round of golf because I'm on a golf budget due to the costs being so high.

I understand that golf technology has made it easier for amateurs like me to hit the ball longer and straighter but now with all these different options, how in the world are we supposed to know if we're even using the correct equipment? We don't get to do testing like the pro's do. Our test is going out to the course and seeing if we hit the ball better than with the club it's intended to replace. Even that is probably a total of 8 swings. And don't give me this b/s about going to the driving range and testing it out. Every club is a winner on the driving range and one of these years I will prove that as a scientific fact (just need some government funding for the test). The only real test is playing conditions on the course and that's just a luxury we don't have.

As I wrap up this jealous rant it ends with a few simple questions. Should we feel better about our game knowing we're using equipment not suited for us? Should that discourage us from practicing with our current equipment knowing there's a strong possibility that a couple clubs in our bag are never gonna agree with us due to our swing?

I ask this because right now I'm fighting my driver and 3 wood off the tee. These are clubs I've hit well in the past and still do so on occasion (won the long drive in an outing just yesterday). Unfortunately I have no clue where the ball's gonna go each time I swing these clubs. Are they just not suited for me? Am I just getting lucky when I do hit them good or did my swing click those times?

Ah yes, the life of an amateur golfer. Let's read what you guys have to say about this topic!!