Tonight's show may deal with equipment, but it's actually about much more than that.You see, a couple of weeks ago I happened to be artfully procrastinating diligently networking on Twitter and caught a conversational snippet that intrigued me. It went something like this:
Random gentleman asks popular professional golfer (male) for advice on buying women's clubs for his 17 year-old daughter.
Popular professional golfer then refers the question to several of his female friends, who are themselves, either professional golfers or competitive, low-cappers.
The response that comes back is distinctly dismissive of women's clubs. As in: Does anyone actually use women's clubs?
I'm paraphrasing here, but it got me to thinking. I realized it wasn't the first time I'd heard a female disrespecting women's golf equipment.
Early this summer I played with a diminutive twenty something grad student I met on the internet (yes, I frequently hook up with golfers online - but that's another show).
Anyway this girl woman, who I'll call Aimee, had only been playing golf for a few months, but was the proud owner of a set of cut down men's clubs. She loved her long irons and wanted nothing to do with L-flex shafts... especially if they were pink.The smack talk started in the parking lot the moment I took my whimsically awesome rose-colored golf bag out of the trunk. "Did you borrow that from Barbie?" she asked, as she slung a navy blue Callaway Warbird bag over her shoulder.
Initially, I found her rhetorical machismo off-putting, and anticipated a tortuous round animated by an endless display of bombastic bravado, but by the time we reached the second green I'd discovered that Aimee laughed easily.. at herself, for the most part.
It actually turned out to be lots of fun... and my short game happened to be on so we were quite evenly matched. Stylistically however, we couldn't have been further apart; in the way we played and in the gear we chose to play with.
Which brings us to our topic: women's golf equipment.More specifically: do golf manufacturers get it? Are women golfers being served well these days with women specific club choices or are they just being inundated with pink? Are there enough choices in club styles, shaft flex, swing weights and lofts? And... is there a dismissiveness among competitive women golfers about equipment that's specifically tailored to females?
That's what we'll be talking about tonight on "Only Two Things". We'll be broadcasting from 9:30 - 10:30PM ET. And you can weigh in on-air by using call-in number 917-889-9592. Or join the conversation in the chat room or on Twitter... or just listen at BlogTalkRadio. Talk to you tonight.
I started with women's clubs, good ones. And I now play with men's clubs. Regular irons, light steel shafts, and senior flexed fairway woods. I don't care for all that pink nonsense, but that's just because I don't like pink. Frankly I think it makes VERY little difference what most of use. Our bad shots aren't about the clubs. :) And ball fitting... that's even more ridiculous. Stephanie
ReplyDeleteSo true what Stephanie says about the bad shots! And it's the same with the good ones, unfortunately. If we could only buy consistancy. :\
ReplyDelete.
ReplyDeletei always thought the most democratic, non-denominational, gender-neutral, UNISEX fitting was for golf clubs
there are so many combination varieties, weights, flex, component materials, etc - that you could literally have any club you want, made to your own individual requirements (and particular color) for the recreational golfer
the most important fitting is the SHAFT LENGHT followed by the GRIP - if those two components are to your specific correct size, then IMHO most all else is similar, if not identical
the club bounce, the club angle, the club weight, the club grooves, the degree of loft - ALL are the same - physics is the same for men and women
for the professional golfers - the U S G A rules on golf equipment does NOT differentiate between men and women - only between allowed technical measurements and allowed materials and a basic definition of what is an allowable golf club is - NO difference between mens clubs and womens clubs to the U S G A
anyway have a good show
frankD
ft liquordale
Definitely try before you buy... and don't judge a club by its color. ;)
ReplyDeleteI did exactely the same thing than Stephanie : started with women's club and now ending with men's. For a single reason (same as her I guess) : my swing needs a less flexible shaft. When you choose your club you can find A, R, Stiff, X Stiff shafts and the most flexible are called "Ladies", that's it, but they could have named them differently.
ReplyDeleteThere's so many different clubs that fit for every player, I think it's enough. I'm playing Titleist now and it's not pink (my TM wasn't pink neither...) I like that colour on my bag, my gloves perharps, but it doesn't have to be everywhere. Paula Creamer has pink shaft for her woods, so another pink lady can have them if she wants. I think women's club is not an issue. I have more problems finding a cute rain pant !
I have women's clubs - in burgundy and tan. You wouldn't know they were ladies' unless you swung them as they do have the more flexible shaft. My driver is also a Ladies' Callaway Big Bertha - in blue and a higher loft. And my golf ball - pink.
ReplyDeleteIt's SO important to try before you buy and be fitted properly-IMHO.
ReplyDeleteI think Callaway is the strongest in the field when it comes to women's clubs. I play their Diablo Edge irons/hybrids in a graphite shaft and LOVE them.
However, there are some new manufacturers out there who have created some clubs that have fun with style, but are also high quality.
My daughter, who is as tall as I am, plays with the Sweet Spot Think Pink driver and KILLS the ball. It has a higher loft which helps her get the ball higher in the air. It's pink—in a very cool way.
Fundamentally women's clubs are designed to help the ball get up into the air easier - much the same as men's super game improvement clubs but in some cases with less weight to help with swing speed. Better female players won't need this assistance and so it makes sense for them to opt to men's clubs with the right shafts.
ReplyDeleteAs for colours, I think it's great that women can have a bit of variety. Personally, I detest the green that accompanies my Nickent Hybrids!
Looks like you pretty much have the answer, Patricia. Most...at least many women these days aren't going to buy a set of clubs just because they have pink paint fill anymore. More women are going for quality clubs from reputable companies and having them fitted for their own games.
ReplyDelete15 years ago when I worked in a golf shop, a couple of "women's club companies" made some of the worst clubs I had ever seen. Weights were all over the place and they were "balanced" by putting sand down the shafts. Not good.
Technology has made clubs so much easier to hit that women with slow swing speeds can find a mixed set of irons and hybrids to help get the ball in the air, combined with shafts that fit their abilities.
A much better solution than buying the cute, pink clubs.
("did you borrow your clubs from Barbie" - too funny !)
ReplyDelete"did you borrow your clubs from Barbie"
ReplyDelete"No. Got them from Ken."