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Part 3 of 3 in our Series: “Which Helps Improve Your Game More: Good Instruction or the Newest Golf Equipment”

Technological advances have been made in all 3 of the main components of a golf club: grip, shaft and head. These advances are moving quickly; and leading some golfers to attempt to “buy a better game” rather than “digging it out of the ground” with hard work.

Part 2 of 3 in our Series: “Which Helps Improve Your Game More: Good Instruction or the Newest Golf Equipment”

In Part 1 of this series I briefly touched on the subject of “What is Good Golf Instruction?” by mentioning many teaching techniques available to today's instructors. I would like to expand on these techniques.

The answer to the question of whether good instruction or the newest equipment will improve your golf game the most, depends on each golfer’s personal experience and current skilllevel. An instructor like myself, who does not have a golf equipment retail business, will be tempted to answer that good instruction is more important. A golf retailer with no lesson income would likely say new equipment would help more. And your answer may depend on where you are in your golf learning curve.

My first years in the pro shop bag room began in 1961. We had about 350 sets of members clubs stored. About a dozen sets had wooden shafts. These elderly members seldom played but I had a chance to study the equipment. Iron heads were larger and thinner because they were easier to forge. Wooden shafts were thicker than steel from end to end in order to make them stiffer and less prone to twist or torque. The thick wooden shafts required thin leather grips.

For the third consecutive year, Aldila is the number one graphite golf shaft manufacturer at the PGA Tour Playoffs for the FedEx Cup, according to the Darrell Survey.  “The Hottest Shafts In Golf” clearly dominated the competition by having 75 more driver golf shafts in play than the next leading shaft manufacturer throughout the four-event playoff; and nearly twice as many hybrid golf shafts in play than the closest competitor.

A piece of equipment often overlooked by golfers is the golf shaft, an integral part of the club that can greatly make a difference, positive or negative.  It is standard these days for drivers, woods and rescue clubs to be fitted with graphite shafts directly from the factory.  As compared to steel golf shafts, the lighter weight of a graphite shaft offers golfers the ability to generate greater club head speed for more distance.  Graphite shafts also transmit fewer vibrations when the ball is struck, providing better feel.  When looking for a new shaft, it is important to remember the main performance characterstics:

Aldila Golf will be among 1000+ vendors representing the golf industry at the 2011 PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, FL this week.  In addition, Aldila will again sponsor  Demo Day on Wednesday, January 26^th.  Show attendees, the press, and fans will find the friendly Aldila Golf team at Booth #1729, where they will present their newest innovative golf shafts.