Club Corner

A Sneak Peek at the New 2013 PING Product Lineup Doug Rikkers, GolfTEC Director of Club Fitting & Merchandise Services, PGA Member

As the month of September rolls around, I always find myself looking forward to getting my hands on PING’s new product lines. Having recently seen a preview of the new lines, I can confidently say that we’re all in for a treat. New for 2013 is their first version of adjustable drivers and fairway woods, a completely new line of women’s clubs and a phenomenal adjustable length putter.

Adjustable drivers have been around for several years now, so there’s nothing new about the concept. However, what PING did with the new Anser driver and fairway woods is no small task. By using a small aluminum hosel sleeve and titanium tightening screw, the Anser driver maintains the same look, diameter and mass as traditional fixed hosels without sacrificing the performance often lost with larger, bulkier designs. The Anser driver lets you adjust the loft up or down a ½-degree and comes in standard lofts of 8.5, 9.5, 10.5, & 12-degrees. The ½-degree may not sound like much, but with four standard loft options to choose from, you’re able to create any loft between eight and 12.5-degrees. The four shaft options, ranging in weight from 46 to 69 grams, let you create the perfect fit based on your timing, swing speed and how you load the shaft. The same adjustable features are found in the Anser fairway woods, which are available in 3, 4, and 5-woods lofts.

The new Serene Ladies line covers everything from the driver to the putter. One of the key benefits of the Serene driver is the available lofts of 10.5, 12, & 14-degrees. For those of you with slower swing speeds, the 14-degree driver will definitely help you get the ball up in the air for more distance. PING also offers two shaft options – lite & ultra-lite – with the ultra-lite being suited for particularly slow swing speeds. There are also three fairway wood lofts to choose from, and you can get hybrids up to the 6-hybrid. In addition, there are four putter model options that all incorporate PING’s Variable Depth Groove technology, which research has shown to improve ball speed consistency by 40% across the face. For players who struggle with distance control this can be a huge improvement!

Finally, PING is first to the game with adjustable length putters in both Long and Belly version of the Nome model. The simple-to-use adjustment screw lets you easily tinker with the length until you find the one that works best for you. You can adjust the Long (Nome 500) from 44.5 to 54.5-inches and the Belly (Nome 405) from 37.5 to 46.5-inches.

If you’re interested in any of these products, check with your Certified Personal Coach and, as always, make sure you get fitted for any new club purchase.

No Post-Shot Routine? It’s Preventing You From Your Personal Golf Goals

Erin Menath, GolfTEC Certified Personal Coach and LPGA Member, GolfTEC Bellevue

Every golfer knows the importance of developing a proper pre-shot routine, but the value of a post-shot routine is equally important. Often individuals play fabulous golf, yet don’t quite understand why they “blow up” for two consecutive holes. If you as a player cannot learn how to shake off a poor shot before moving onto the next, it will be difficult to consistently play your best golf by reducing the number of “blow-up” holes.

Promptly after each shot, you should conduct a quick self-debrief. If your shot was good, then replay it in your mind. Build as much emotion as possible into the visualization so that you take ownership of it. You could add a specific action (e.g. fist pump) to anchor the emotion to that action for future reference. In essence, you want to create an emotional library of success to draw upon on the next shot. Look back on Tiger Woods’ successful rounds; did he ever miss a fist pump after an incredible putt?

If you hit a poor shot, realize that every shot is a perfect reflection of the actions that preceded it. Ask yourself, “What happened…did I commit to the shot…was contact poor…did I lack focus?” Logically, you want to learn from it. If we truly look hard enough, almost every disaster contains elements of a blessing. Next, play that shot backwards in your mind – then scrub it out. The point is: learn something from each shot, make way for positive energy and focus on the next shot.

Two of golf’s greatest players, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, use post-shot routines. Woods uses the “10-pace rule.” For the poor manners and anger he sometimes displays, if you watch him carefully, you will observe that he purges himself once he moves roughly ten paces beyond the shot. He understands that you cannot continue to embrace your anger and disappointment, and you must return to an optimistic, positive state of being.

Nicklaus has commented that he has never three-putted the 18th green in a tournament. However, the facts would prove him wrong. He replaced the negative feelings and replayed it as a successful outcome to ensure he always had confidence when approaching the final putt in a tournament situation.

Although the steps described above may seem like a lot of work, in truth, they only take seconds. Remember that poor swings will produce poor results, but at a deeper level, a poor swing could be the result of fear, bad memories and/or timidness. A post-shot routine is every bit as important as the pre-shot routine and incorporating one into your game will not only help you build mental toughness and golfing self-forgiveness, it will help you excel at the game.

As a coach I ask, “Why stop yourself from excelling?”

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