Monday, March 9, 2009

Nickent 3DX IronWood DC Club

Nickent has used this new weight scheme to create a club that is perfectly weighted to the extreme heel and toe for the straightest and most forgiving setup. This unique feature gives Nickent the ability to make the DC Ironwood the same shape as the Tour favorite 3DX ironwood, while increasing the MOI by 25%. The XW Inserts are a fusion ofpolymer and tungsten. By using polymer around the outside of the insert, Nickent has the ability to vary the mass of the insert without being bulky and taking away from proper clubhead design. XW Inserts are also used to move the center of gravity of the head to insure proper weight distribution and eliminate the pull hooks produced by many of the leading hybrid designs. The 3DX DC Ironwood has 14 hybrid lofts, one club every 1.5 degrees from 14* to 26*. This hybrid system allows the golfer to attain the optimum distance control and trajectory. With this new system, there will be no distance gaps in your bag and no confusion on what club your hybrid actually replaces.




Every golfer would like to hit a golf ball straighter. Actually every golfer would probably prefer to hit a golf ball further. There is something extremely satisfying about hitting a ball far. However for the purpose of this article I will stick with what you could do to hit a golf ball straighter. There really is no point in hitting it far if it is way off line.

When we talk about hitting a golf ball straighter we mean at the target. The result can be achieved by means of a draw, a fade or a straight shot. All the same to us as long as we agree that straight means towards the intended target.

It is interesting to watch children pick up the game of golf. Initially they are given a club and a ball and told to use one to get the other into a hole. Kids do not complicate things and they generally pick up the game quite quickly. It is only after we have played a while that we start getting all technical and complicating our brain.

As a qualified coach I am often amazed, and secretly humored, by some of the tips I hear well intentioned golfers giving each other. No wonder we get confused because everyone has a different interpretation of the same problem!

To learn to hit a golf ball straighter you need to get a few fundamentals right before you even hit the ball.

The first of these is the grip. Now the grip itself can be complicated because there are three generally accepted grips: the overlapping grip, the interlocking grip and the hammer or ten finger grip. Which one is right for you?

Other elements of the grip are what I call the four P's. Placement, Positioning, Pressure and Precision. Each of these elements needs to be the same every time you grip a club so they need to be practiced until they become second nature.

After the grip the "set-up" is the most important part of ensuring that you hit the ball straighter. I find the easiest way to remember all this is to have a little phrase or word that triggers my memory.

For example I use GAASP to remind me of my set up.

This stands for:

G - Grip

A - Aim

A - Alignment

S - Stance

P - Posture

If you have the 5 GAASP elements correct you are well on your way to hitting the ball straighter. The beauty is that when each of these elements is correct you can actually forget about them for the rest of the swing as they do not change.

You can therefore concentrate fully on the actual swing itself knowing that you are gripping the club correctly, have aimed and aligned yourself with the target and that your stance and posture are such that the club will meet the ball at the correct position in the swing path.

I would seriously recommend that you spend some time practicing GAASP until it becomes almost second nature and is embedded in your subconscious mind. Without a solid set up you will never hit a golf ball straighter on a regular basis.

My advice to anyone who wants to learn how to set up correctly is to either go for a lesson or get a good tutorial and spend a few weeks practicing it without even hitting a ball. And there is the challenge because there really isn't much glamour in gripping a club, lining it up to an imaginary target, getting your stance and posture correct and then doing it all over and over again without hitting a ball.

If you want to hit the ball straighter (and eventually farther as well) you need to have the correct basics. Grab yourself a good video tutorial or a book with pictures that show you exactly what is required and duplicate it till you look the part. Then and only then go out and hit that golf ball straighter - you've earned it and you deserve it. Happy golfing.

As a golf coach I really enjoy helping people improve their game.
If you found this article interesting (and I hope you did) and if straight driving is one of the areas you would like to improve in take a look at my website for more information on how to hit straight drives and lower your scores?
But please remember no amount of coaching will help if you aren't prepared to put in a little practice.

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