MYTH. You need a longer shaft on your driver to get more club head speed. OUCH! This one is a killer! Too many guys have 45 and even 46 inch shafts. You can’t imagine how much farther and straighter you will hit the ball with a shorter shaft. Again, please read my article about the Redhead, I’ve explained this lie in detail there. Let me just say here that Tiger shortened his shaft to 43½ inch to gain more control. Should your shaft really be longer than Tiger’s?

FACT. Most men will gain distance with a lady’s ball. Absolutely true. But we’ll never use them because of the pink lettering or the word “Lady” or “Miss” or some such on the ball. The only difference is that a “lady’s” ball is lower in compression. Now that it has been “discovered” in the golf magazines that unless you have a 100+ mph swing speed men too will benefit from a ball with a compression of 75-85. Only to get men to use them they had to rename the balls and call them soft, super feel soft feel super touch or anything else to get us to use them. A lot of men are trying lower compression balls. In fact, the Precept LADY ball is one of the fastest growing balls ever – and 95% of them are sold to men! Try a lower compression ball – you will be surprised at the extra five to fifteen yards on your drives!

FACT AND MYTH. Women’s clubs are lighter than men’s clubs. The only difference between the head on a woman’s club and the head on a man’s club is the color of the paint the manufacturer used for the wording. The heads are identical in every other way. They weigh exactly the same! They are molecule for molecule – identical! Here is where the difference comes in: the shaft on a lady’s club is usually shorter – by about an inch. That shorter shaft results in a lighter swingweight. Swingweight is a measure of how heavy the club feels in your hands. That is the real difference in men’s and women’s clubs. Yes indeed, sometimes you can pick up a tremendous bargain in women’s clubs. Do it if you can use a more flexible shaft (ladies’ clubs usually have a much more flexible shaft). Take them to a club maker and have shaft extenders inserted (yes, there are such things), re-gripped and presto – great clubs at a rock bottom price. I know a man who bought a used ladies’ Callaway driver had it re-shafted with a stiffer shaft and ended up with a great club for not much!

FACT. You still can golf for pennies on the dollar. Here is a best kept secret. I don’t remember how I stumbled across this one but it is terrific. It is what we call “Army Base Golf” BUT it is not limited to just Army Bases. Where we are located, we are surrounded by Defense installations. Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard – the works. Many of these bases have golf courses. THOSE COURSES ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC! And best of all – the price unbelievably low! We can play on a Navy course near here for 18.00 weekdays and 22.00 weekends – AND that includes an electric cart! That is not some promotional price, that is the published every day rate. The Army base nearby has a truly wonderfully manicured course – only 20.00 weekends! Wherever you live – if you have any government base nearby, call to see if there is s golf course. It is a phenomenal bargain!

FACT. Put all of your 2 ¼ inch tees in a coffee can and save them. They will soon be rare collectors items and worth a bundle! The truth is if you are using an oversize driver, you absolutely must us a higher tee. Your tee shot with a driver is meant to be hit slightly on the upswing, so in order to get the benefit use a higher tee. Your ball should be properly teed so that the equator of the ball is at the top of your driver head – no lower than that! If you are teeing your ball any lower, you definitely are not getting the benefit of your driver’s larger head. Sure, longer tees – 2 ¾ cost about a nickel each versus maybe 3 cents each for the shorter tees. That’s two for a dime for the longer tees! Five cents will get you an extra 10-15 yards! What a bargain!

FACT. I just could not bring myself to sell you this swing trainer for ninety bucks like some companies will. You have seen the weighted club. Make one! It is easy and costs 7.00! Take an old club – I prefer an 8 iron but any will do – remove grip (or have a club maker remove it) fill the hollow shaft with lead powder (if you can’t find lead powder BB’s will do just fine). Re-grip it making sure the grip tape extents over the edge and fully covers the shaft opening – which it should do even without considering lead powder. Presto, you now have exactly the swing trainer you ought to have. Harvey Penick, famous golf teacher, said this is what you need. Now, repeatedly practice your swing in super slow motion – super slow motion. Do that a few months and your swing will show phenomenal results!