Hybrid Golf Clubs and the Distance Gap

Hybrid golf clubs have many, many benefits, but there is one problem that golfers switching over will face. That problem relates to the distance gap. What is the distance gap? How can the distance gap be avoided? Should the distance gap issue impact my decision to buy hybrid golf clubs?

One of the most immediate benefits I noticed right after I switched to a hybrid 3 and 4 related to increased distance. I normally would hit my 3-iron between 190-200 yards, that is when I could hit it at all. My 4-iron would be in the 180-190.

Now, that has changed with the hybrids. I hit my hybrid 3 between 200-220, I've even caught one that went 245. Of course that was a little downwind. I also hit the hybrid 4 190-200 max. I hit my regular 5 iron about 170-175 max. Hence the problem that many hybrid golf club owners face. What do I hit when I'm between 175 & 190 yards out?

Switching to the hybrid golf clubs caused a 15 yard gap in my game that I no longer have a full club to hit.

These are your options you have available to bridge that gap:

Better course management. This is probably the worst suggestion, but it's also the only option that won't cost you any money. You simply play your round with the conscious effort of not putting yourself in the gap range. For example, my gap is between 175-190. That means I don't leave myself with an approach shot in the range. I have to position my drives and layup shots better to give myself a full swing into the green. If I get in this gap zone, I either under-swing or over-swing. This option will likely cost you a stroke per round.

Buy a club to fill the gap. In my case, I just needed to buy a hybrid 5 to cancel out my 175-190 yard gap. This means that I carry a hybrid 5 for the 175-190 and a regular 5 for the 175 and below. This also means that I am 1 club over my 14 club limit. For me, it's a course by course decision and it all depends on the length of the course. If it's a short course, I'll leave out the regular 5 iron in favor of that extra wedge. If it is a long course, I'll pull a wedge in favor of both 5's. You have to figure out what works for you in that situation.

Buy a full hybrid and game improving set. Callaway, Cleveland, Adams and all the other major manufacturers are producing full sets now that have hybrid long irons and game improving short irons. These clubs are manufactured to eliminate the distance gap and give you a more normal distance progression.

For me, it is adding the extra club. I really like my scoring irons to be traditional. However, I have a friend that just bought the Cleveland HiBore's and he has knocked off about 8 strokes off his game. Again, that's golf for you. It's all about what you want and what you are comfortable with.

Brian Kroll is the author of Hybrid Golf Clubs Online and is an avid golfer and expert on hybrid golf clubs.

Golf Channel and Equipment Reviews

Golf Shafts - Is Your Set Really Matched - As in Frequency Matched?

As I continue to help Golfers improve their Golf Game in the Off-Season - I often help them learn what really constitutes the Golf Clubs they have in their bag. Many Tour Players have never gotten to see what these Players see - when we do this.

During a Golf Equipment Lesson - we often determine the actual FREQUENCY of each club in their bag. We use a device called a 'Frequency Analyzer' from Mitchell Golf Company. We also determine the Swing Weight and Total Weight of each Club.

Golf Shaft FREQUENCY is a function of two variables: the 'Cycles Per Minute' of the finished Golf Club and the 'Length' of the finished Golf Club.

SHAFT FLEX is simply a general measure of the club's bend in the shaft. FREQUENCY is much more precise.

For example: Most Manufacturers consider a Stiff FLEX to be around 5.5 to 7.0 on the FREQUENCY scale. Regular FLEX to be around 4.0 to 5.5 on the FREQUENCY scale ... a Senior/Amateur FLEX to be around 2.0 to 4.0 ... a Ladies FLEX to be around 0.5 to 2.0. Junior Clubs will be even lower on the FREQUENCY scale.

Observation and Evaluation of this aspect of a Golf Club - was first developed by Precision Shaft Company around 1970. Despite the vast majority of good Players and Instructors fully embracing this 'measurement' - many of the Golf Club Manufacturers refuse to gather this variable - about a Golf Club's material and playability.

Often a student has a favorite club or two - or a very 'un-favorite' club or two. Many times the Player and I learn - that the actual/precise FREQUENCY of those clubs vary greatly - from the other Clubs in their Set. Thus the clubs 'feel' and 'play' very differently.

This 'Equipment Lesson' might be exactly - one of the Off-Season things you need to do - to improve your Ball-Striking 'Consistency'. Inconsistent Clubs - can definitely lead to Inconsistent Ball-Flights.

Very few Teaching Professionals in the Nation - have access to a FREQUENCY ANALYZER - in any Golf Lesson. Find a Caring PGA Golf Professional in your area - and ask them, 'Do you have a Frequency Analyzer?' - and learn - Is My Set Really 'Matched'?

And now I invite you to learn much more - about the many other 'under-publicized' and 'under-discussed' aspects of what it really takes - to experience your own/unique GOLF... SUCCESS at my Blog, linked below.
Joel C. Suggs, "Top 50" PGA Master Teaching Professional
http://www.JoelSuggs.com

Golf Channel and Equipment Reviews

Nickent Goddess Collection Fairway 3-Wood (Women's, Right-Handed)

The Nickent Golf Goddess Collection Fairway Wood combines every aspect of Nickent's next-generation innovation into a single club specifically made with the women golfers in mind. Every aspect of club design was altered to make sure that the female golfer has every advantage and that every club is used to its full potential.

Based on extensive research, the club head's loft and lie was altered and the size was custom made to match the average female swing. The shaft flex, overall weight, and kick point were all made specifically for the swing speed and range of motion most commonly seen in female golfers. Even the grip is made with special attention to the detail of a woman's hand.

The Goddess Collection fairway wood is a three-wood that features a 19-degree loft with a 60.5-degree lie and 165 CC club head volume. This fairway wood comes equipped with the WINN Ladies' Gray Excel grip and is specially made with a UST Double LL graphite shaft.

This is not men's fairway wood that has been modified to fit a woman. This is a female fairway wood designed for women who want to experience the full enjoyment of the game of golf.

What's in the Box?
Nickent Goddess Fairway 3-Wood

The game Golf is played with many clubs of various types, functions and sizes. There are four major categories of clubs they fall into, woods, hybrids, irons, and putters. Golfers are usually allowed to carry up to fourteen clubs during a round of golf. Even though you can play a large range of shots using only one club, this is not a very successfull process. To facilitate the choice of a club for any particular situation, all irons come in sets of likened clubs graded by loft (the height), shaft length, and weight of that particullar club. Many golf clubs are created with the face having differing lofts.

A basic set of clubs mainly comprise of 3 woods, 2 wedges, a putter, and 8 irons, numbered 3-9, and a pitching wedge. Originally the wood club heads were created of maple wood, but these days club heads are mostly made of hollow titanium. The shaft of the club enters the head (of the club) at the top corner nearest the player.

In Brief, the shaft flex of the club is the amount that the shaft will bend when put under imense pressure. This had the bad effect, it easily weakening the joining between the shaft and golf club head. Hybrid golf clubs are also played with by keen golfers who have a hard time hitting the ball high in the air with low numbered irons. Pitching wedges are rather similar to other irons, Sand wedges have specially designed undersides, creating more height, that make them perfect for bunker or rough shots. Lob Wedges have a very high loft and are used for shots approaching the green of from sand traps.

Golf Clubs

Golf Channel and Equipment Reviews

Nickent 3DX Ironwood DC w/ Steel Shaft

How do you make the # 1 hybrid model on the Nationwide Tour and # 3 on the PGA Tour even better? Introducing the 3DX DC Ironwood. The first week the DC Ironwood was introduced to the PGA Tour, at the last full field event of the 2005 season, it helped catapult the family of 3DX hybrids to # 1 on the PGA Tour. Even the 2004 British Open champion who helped make hybrids famous with his hybrid play switched over to the new 3DX DC after just two days of testing. To create an even hotter and more forgiving hybrid, Nickent thinned the face of the 3DX DC, creating a much higher COR than the original 3DX Ironwood. A special plasma welding process was used to help redistribute the weight to the extreme perimeters of the clubhead. Forty grams of weight were moved down and back in the head using two tungsten-polymer fused inserts (XW Inserts). That’s almost 60% more adjustable weight in the clubhead than in the leading adjustable weight hybrid! 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 of polymer 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

SkyCaddie are one of the bigger players in the Golf GPS market with a number of offerings to choose from. Here we review the SG5 model which promises to be a great little GPS system from looking at its specifications and features.

The SkyCaddie SG5 comes with a clear, simple to read color display that has easy viewing in all light conditions due to its automatically adjusting back lighting system. The unit is small enough to clip on to the users belt and not get in the way while playing a round of Golf. With it's simple to operate one touch controls and clear color display it makes a handy sized easy to use GPS.

One of the biggest claims that SkyCaddie make about their Golf GPS range is that it has the best accuracy of its competitors. The reason they make this claim is that each course they include for use in their systems are mapped by "certified" experts. These people are properly trained in the use of the SkyCaddie system walking each course marking and measuring each hole for hazards and the green. They go through this process three times to recheck everything. This they claim makes their information more accurate than the satellite systems that most of its competitors use.

Another great feature of this unit is SkyCaddie's patented Intelligreen software. This allows you to measure the green from absolutely any angle of approach.

As you can see the SkyCaddie SG5 has many great features although it is lacking some of the features of its competitors. Features like shot storage and round storage. The above features are available on many of its competitors units, these are nice things to have so you can get home and review you days round and compare it to your previous rounds.

While researching the information for this SkyCaddie SG5 golf GPS review we did find some user feedback that hinted that the software and setup of the unit was not the easiest task. With many of these stating that customer support was not that helpful leaving the new customer very frustrated.

In conclusion the SkyCaddie SG5 is not the best value for dollar on the golf GPS market. The only reason we can see why this unit would be your preferred choice would be if you valued the fact that the courses are mapped by humans and therefore should in theory be more accurate.

You'll find more honest user feedback based SkyCaddie SG5 golf GPS reviews, as well as full consumer ratings for all the major golf GPS units and rangefinders at http://www.YardageRangefinder.com

Golf Channel and Equipment Reviews

Nickent Golf- 3DX Red Hybrid 3-PW Irons Stiff Graphite

For many golf instructors, the first lesson they teach their students is how to grip a golf club correctly. Why? Because if you do not grip the golf club correctly, it may cause you to slice the golf ball. Some amateur golfers who often slice the ball badly have reported that their slice "magically" fixed itself when they fixed their grip. Imagine that, instantly improve your golf swing just by learning the correct golf club grip.

There are actually three main ways of gripping the golf club correctly - the overlapping grip, the baseball bat grip and the interlocking grip. The overlapping grip is also called the Vardon grip - this is the grip which many golf instructors teach. In this grip, you place the little finger of your trailing hand (right hand if you are right-handed, left hand if you are a lefty) between the index and middle finger of your lead hand. Both thumbs should point towards the club head. This grip is great if you have large hands.

If you find that you have trouble with the overlapping grip, maybe you can try the baseball grip. This is also called the ten finger grip. You basically place both hands side by side, with the index finger of your lead hand right up against the little finger of your trailing hand. Remember that the trailing hand is the right hand for most people. This is usually considered the easiest way to grip the golf club, and if you have arthritis, joint pain or small and weak hands this is probably the best grip for you. A common mistake made by golfers using the baseball grip is that they separate their hands. When you do this, you may lose control of your club. It becomes harder for your hands to swing the golf club together as one unit.

The interlocking grip is widely used by many professional golfers like Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus. When you grip your golf club this way, it definitely ensures that both hands will swing the club together. In the interlocking grip, you intertwine the little finger of the trailing hand with the index finger of the lead hand. In other words, you literally lock your hands together.

Regardless of how you grip your golf club, do not grip the club too tightly. This is one of the most common causes of slicing the ball. For a start, just grip with a medium force. One way of doing this is to grip the club as tightly as you can. Rate this as a 10. Then grip your club lightly - this is a 1. What you want is in between - a 4 or a 5. You should feel relaxed and free from tension in your hands and forearms. This gives you the best blend of power and control.

Something which can affect the way you grip your golf club is the size of your golf club's handle. When you buy a new club, the golf shop should measure your grip for you. However, if you bought second-hand clubs or are using hand-me-downs, then you may need to re-size the handle of your golf clubs. This can really do wonders to improve your golf swing. In fact, one thing you can do after your beginner's golf lessons end is to buy a number of cheap drivers (same brand and model), put different sized grips on them and just swing away at the golf ball. This will help you to figure out the best grip size to use. Then you can replace the grips of all your other clubs. A good, quick way of knocking some strokes off your handicap.

Do you have these 3 problems with your golf swing: 1) inconsistency; 2) slice; 3) distance? Click here to find out how to improve your golf swing.

Golf Channel and Equipment Reviews

Nickent 3DX DC HYB SET GRPH/STL

Nickent 3DXDC 3 and 4 Utility w/ SR2 Shaft, 3DX Hybrid Irons 5-PW w/ Steel Shaft: Is it the longest iron in the history of golf? One magazine has already called the Nickent 3DX Hybrid Iron the "longest 5 iron in the world." Others have been calling this amazing new innovation in irons the "Fountain of Youth." The idea was to make an efficient, integrated hybrid iron set that would get rid of the large gap between the 4-hybrid and the 5-iron. The result is a ball flight that matches your current long iron, but that soars 20-25 yards further. Developed by master designer John Hoeflich, the Nickent 3DX Hybrid Iron is ready to change your game forever. By attaching a 5-gram carbon composite cap on the back of the clubhead and shifting this extra 35 grams into two steel plugs at the bottom and back of the hollow iron, Nickent created a low CG on this hollow iron to produce an extremely high launch characteristi. This gives the ability to strengthen the lofts, while giving the golfer the same exact launch as their normal long iron. Efficient thinking at its best! It's time to rethink the way your bag is setup! It's time for the Longest Iron in the History of Golf! GRAPHITE MODEL SWING WEIGHT LENGTH UST SPEEDRATED 2 #5 D2 38" S, R, R-Light #6 D2

Malaga has its fair share of the famed and beautiful golf courses of the 'Costa Del Golf'. There is a range of quality golf courses throughout the city. There are courses everywhere- right in the heart of urbanization, on the coasts, as well as on mountainous slopes. The plentiful sunshine, clear air, and the soothing breezes from the Ocean combine to give an unparalleled experience. There are golf courses for low handicappers as well as beginners and some courses also offer classes to train those new to the sport. The facilities at the courses are par excellence; and people from all over the world arrive here on exclusive golf vacations.

Here we offer you some of the best golf courses in Marbella- the small resort town of Malaga.

La Reserva de Sotogrande Golf Club
La Reserva Golf is an excellent 18 hole golf course with facilities to match. Cabell Robinson is the designer and a splendid Club House. The golf course opened in August 2003 and has already made a reputation as one of the best in Spain. It is a long course with wide, undulating fairways and well guarded greens. The greens are often multi-level with slopes and speed to deal with. Great views from many holes, especially the 15th. Tee times are every 12 minutes. Visitors allowed between 11.30 and 13.30h.

San Roque (Old)
The San Roque Club is well known for its very high standards and immaculate grooming. The par 72 course offers spectacular mountain views to the north and occasional glimpses of Gibraltar. This attractively landscaped course is both challenging and fair, and fairways are lined with mature trees. Host of Spanish Open 2005(European PGA)

San Roque (New)
The new course was opened in 2003. two designers have come together to create this beautiful course- Perry Dye and Seve Ballesteros. It is a 18 hole and 72 par course which has been host to two prestigious events already: European School Qualifying School, 1-7 Nov 2005 and Spanish Open 2006 (European PGA), 1-7 May 2006

Sotogrande
The grand old golf club of Andalucia, Sotogrande has only improved over the years. The course is in great condition and affords a wonderful golfing experience. Sotogrande opened in 1964 and is still voted amongst the top ten courses in Europe. It has well established vegetation with pine, cork oaks, eucalyptus and palm trees. Water hazards play an important role here, affecting holes 12, 13 and 14 and 16, 17 and 18.

Valderrama
Valderrama is a 6356 metres par 71 with no hole of less than championship quality but it can be fully enjoyed by players of all handicaps, thanks to the genius of Robert Trent Jones, Senior. Valderrama hosted the first nine editions of the Volvo Masters (1988-1996.) It hosted the Ryder Cup in 1997 and has hosted the first World Golf Championships - American Express Championship in 1999 and the second in 2000.
Golf holiday tour operators operating in the area will organise your golf holiday very efficiently and professionally. Their services take care of all your requirements when on a golf holiday in the Marbella

We suggest you always your tee times in advance in the peak seasons to avoid disappointment and to avail of discounts. All the golf courses are fully booked through the whole season here; so are the hotels and car hire. Look for companies who offer golf booking, hotel reservations and car hire- all three under one roof. All your holiday requirements should be well planned before you arrive for your vacation. It is much more convenient to let one company manage your holiday; they have a lot many package offers for individual as well as group bookings.

Confirm what all services they cover in their all-inclusive charges. A well-known and established company gives all their clients an insurance coverage and you should choose only such a company. You should not have to end up paying any hidden charges- choose a company that clearly states its charges against services.

golf Marbella
Offering an all inclusive golf holiday package including tee times, accommodation, car hire and full time service for the Costa del Sol golf courses in Marbella Spain.

Golf Channel and Equipment Reviews

Nickent 3DX Pro Iron Set (Right-Handed, 3-PW)

Over the last 20 years, John Hoeflich has designed many of the game's best-selling irons. Million of golfers, including many of the world's best players, have benefited from his iron design philosophy of mixing art with technology, and looks with performance. With the 3DX Pro Eight-Piece Iron Set (3-PW), Hoeflich has designed an iron that combines the classic good lucks of a blade iron with the forgiving features of a perimeter-weighted iron. The chrome-plated 3DX Pro is made with a very special alloy, a revolutionary stainless steel that provides a soft and responsive feel. Just like the 3DX Iron, the 3DX Pro features a tungsten-polymer insert (XW Insert). The insert takes the vibration out from impact, and reduces shock and vibration to give this cavity-back iron a "muscle-back forged" feel.

The 3DX Pro has one XW Insert which is concentrated directly behind the face for greater workability of the golf ball. Buy using polymer around the outside of the insert, Nickent controls the amount of tungsten in the insert without being bulk and taking away from the club's eye-catching design. Using the XW Insert plug versus a metal plug gives Nickent the flexibility to move around significant amounts of weight without losing feel. That's the biggest improvement in this iron design--it just feels more solid.

Another special feature of the 3DX Pro is its customization capabilities. With this iron set you perfectly match swing weight with the shaft length. Because Nickent can easily control the weight of the XW Insert, any club length can be matched with a normal swing weight. The 3DX Pro has a thin top line and straight leading edge that tour players look for in irons, and this club set is available with graphite or steel shafts.

3DX Pro Irons

• Three Iron: 21-degree loft; 60-degree lie
• Four Iron: 22-degree loft; 60-degree lie
• Five Iron: 25-degree loft; 61-degree lie
• Six Iron: 29-degree loft; 62-degree lie
• Seven Iron: 33-degree loft; 62.5-degree lie
• Eight Iron: 37-degree loft; 63-degree lie
• Nine Iron: 41-degree loft; 63.5-degree lie
• Pitching Wedge: 46-degree loft; 64-degree lie

Watching a game of golf, whether it is professional or otherwise, may not be enough for a person to understand just how important and complex a proper golf swing really is. The game of golf is all about how you swing your club and how you apply the proper physics to that club to make it and the ball do and go where you want them to. Amateurs can become easily frustrated when working on perfecting their own golf swing, but there are plenty of tips and strategies to help a person get pointed in the right direction, so to speak. To improve your golf swing the best thing to do other than taking advice from the professionals is to get out on the golf course and start practicing.

To improve your golf swing, the professionals suggest that the first thing you do is start paying attention to what your hands and forearms are doing at the moment of impact with the ball. This may initially sound silly or trivial to some, but this is one of the most important parts of the golf swing. Every movement your hands, wrists, and forearms make during the swing is vital to the effectiveness of a golf swing.

One of the most common mistakes for a beginner to make is to do what is known as a wrist break during the swing. A wrist break can be best described as trying to flip one's hands through the ball at impact. So, if you are full throttle at the top of your swing and when you finally make contact with the ball you lose your grip, you are improperly wrist breaking at this time. This is one of the most common mistakes for an amateur to make, so it should be corrected immediately to improve your golf swing.

When you finally have your upper body working with you, it is time to move on to the lower body at this point. If you are right handed, your left knee will be the most important one during the golf swing and if you are left handed it will be the right knee that you will want to focus on. There are many golfers that let the left knee fall in towards the right on their backswing. This will cause the golfer's shoulder to drop and in turn causes the hips to sway and overturn. On the backswing, a golfer should be able to feel both tension and stability in both of their knees.

The professionals suggest using a basketball between your knees if you can't quite get the feel of this part of the swing. Another important factor of your swing to take into account is the speed of the swing. Swinging the club too quickly is another very common mistake that can be easily worked on and corrected. You want to swing with power and acceleration, but you also want to maintain a good rhythm with your swing. The easiest way to correct this common mistake is to imagine a short pause at the top of your backswing before changing the direction of the swing.

These Amazing Secrets Discovered By Golf Guru Turns Bogey Golfers Into Scratch Golfers By Immediately Slashing 7-12 Strokes. Improve Your Driver Golf Swing and Straighten Out Your Iron Play.

Learn Golf Swing Essentials to improve your scores today.

Golf Channel and Equipment Reviews