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Short game and putting – the key to lower scores

Whether you are an amateur golfer seeking a cut in your handicap or a tour pro keen to  win more money, there is only one method of achieving this ……namely to shoot lower scores.

The majority of players who use the Golf Practice Centre at St Andrews spend most of the time trying to improve their driving, their iron play or their general golf swing in the hope that this might lead to lower scores. Rarely do we see anybody working hard on their short game or putting, yet this is the area of your game which potentially offers most rewards.

Kevin Craggs, one of Scotland’s top coaches, told us recently that based upon stats he keeps on some of Scotland’s best amateur players, 53% of the total shots played are within 28 yards of the pin. Gary Player reminded us at this year’s Masters that the winner would come from those playing exceptionally well from 100 yards in to the hole. Lee Westwood would no doubt agree with that, having failed to win the tournament in spite of playing superbly well from tee to green

During his putting clinic at the recent Scottish Golf Show, Kevin asked around 500 players how many had been fitted for a putter, something he considers to be fundamental to success on the greens. He was amazed to discover that nobody out of the 500 onlookers had been fitted for their putter. Is it little wonder then that golfers lose so many shots on or around the greens?

Kevin and ourselves agree that for a marked improvement in short game it requires careful selection and customisation of your equipment, learning correct technique and devoting adequate time for quality practice … in that order. Step one means customising your putter and wedges for optimum performance. We’ve been offering putter and wedge optimisation for some time but this year we have really focussed on the short game in order to update our range of products and services which can help you shoot lower scores.

Our key task at this year’s PGA Show in Orlando was to seek out a range of putters and wedges which could help any player’s short game. SeeMore putters and Scor4161 wedges ticked all the boxes.

 

SeeMore DB4 putter 100% milled gun metal finish

The guys at SeeMore and ScorGolf are passionate about their products. This is shown by the amount of information and advice posted on the SeeMore and ScorGolf websites and their outstanding level of customer service.

Scor4161 wedges with V-Sole technology

At AGT we provide the fitting expertise for each product, namely the careful selection and customisation of each club to the personal requirements of the player. We’ll take you through the SeeMore system of putting and we’ll optimise your Scor wedges for accuracy and exact yardages on Trackman.

Most players would love to save 3 or 4 shots a round and that is certainly achievable if you take our advice and focus on your short game instead of just hitting shot after shot on the driving range.

Give us a call at 01334 466728 to arange a visit and we’ll talk you through the products, after which you can test them for yourself on our short game area. We’re sure you will be impressed with their performance.

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What makes Scor4161 wedges so unique?

The new Scor4161 wedges were one of the highlights of this year’s PGA Show in Orlando. At a time when companies are finding it hard to differentiate their products, Terry Koehler at Scor Golf has designed a range of wedges to challenge established brands such as Vokey and Cleveland. New and innovative technology has been introduced into the Scor range to address well known short game challenges such as playing shots from a wide variety of lies, controlling ball flight, and improving feel. Read on to find out how this has been achieved.

Great looking wedges with a performance to match

Choosing your weapons
For most players their choice of wedges is rather haphazard. Some players cherish their favourite wedges for years on end, not realising that the grooves have long since worn down. Some will have  an ad hoc collection of various wedges from impulse buys or cast off’s from their friends. Some will look to E-Bay for a well known brand at the cheapest possible price. Very few will have given any real thought to the careful selection and customisation of what are arguably the most important scoring clubs in the bag. Little wonder then that most players suffer from a poor short game.

Progressive weighting ensures optimum ball flight

Controlling yardages
The key to consistent yardages is loft selection and the ability to control ball flight and trajectory. Scor’s unique range of lofts from 41 to 61 degrees has been designed with progressive heel-toe and COG weighting. The higher COG in the lower lofts results in a flatter and more driving trajectory as required for full shots. SG3 weighting and Scor’s attention to head size offers the player a seamless transition from irons to wedges, rarely seen in other brands.

The secret of Scor's playability from any lie

Playability from any type of lie
How often have you fluffed wedges from a soft lie, or thinned a wedge shot from a tight lie. Standard bounce angles on wedges often do little to help. Some companies offer a variety of bounce angles for various turf conditions but wouldn’t it be nice to use a wedge which performs well off any type of lie?  Scor achieves this with their patented V-sole technology. This combines two extreme bounce angles, carefully matched to the loft of the club. The high bounce angle on the leading edge of the sole ensures quality strikes from soft lies and sand, whilst the shallower bounce on the rest of the sole enables you to play shots from the tightest of lies. For shot versatility Scor’s V-sole is certainly hard to beat.

Control your yardages with the Scor wedge grip

Wedge optimisation
Your wedges should be thought of as a set within a set. Each should therefore complement the other in terms of feel, accuracy and distance control.

Feel
Score4161 heads are precision cast from mild 8620 carbon steel then heated to 1200 deg. C and forged for a soft responsive feel. The choice of shaft also contributes towards feel. With this in mind, Terry Koehler has worked closely with Kim Braly to design the Genius 12 KBS steel shaft, which can be frequency matched to the player. This together with the Genius 7 and Genius 9 graphite shafts ensure the player will be properly fitted for shaft weight. You still have the option of matching your wedge shaft to that of your irons if desired.

Accuracy
The key to wedge accuracy is correct club length and lie angle. These are set to the player’s requirements as part of AGT’s custom fit process. Shaft alignment is also included in the price.

Distance control
The final step in optimising your Scor wedges is to determine your yardages on Trackman. Fine adjustments can then be made to lofts to ensure optimum yardage gaps. The Score wedge grip manufactured by Lamkin is one inch longer than standard with minimal taper so that the player can choke down without feeling the grip too thin. Two circular reference points on the grip allow you to  choke down and hit a range of yardages with each club.

AGT’s price for improving your short game with Scor4161 wedges
The more you buy the cheaper they are. Prices shown are for the Genius 12 steel shaft.

£135 for 1 wedge
£130 each for 2 wedges
£125 each for 3 or more wedges

Genius 7 or Genius 9 graphite shafts incur an upcharge price of £10 per club. We are happy to quote you for an alternative shaft of your choice.

A 30 min. session on Trackman to determine your exact yardages with your new Scor wedges will be charged at £20 (discounted £15 from usual price) but this will be provided FOC to customers who purchase 4 or more Scor wedges.

To fully appreciate the feel and performance of Scor wedges you can arrange to test hit a demo club on our short game area. Just call 01334 466728 to make an appointment.

 

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Hide the red dot and sink more putts the SeeMore way

We are delighted to announce that AGT is now officially an authorised Scottish dealer for SeeMore putters. It’s great to be associated with such a prestigious brand whose management team are so passionate about product quality and customer support. The SeeMore system with its RifleScope Technology (RST) is a tour-tested method of improving anyone’s putting.

When you think of SeeMore putters you immediately think of the late and great Payne Stewart sinking that marvellous putt on the last green of the 1999 US Open.

Payne Stewart and SeeMore winning the US Open

Re-live the moment.

Hard to believe he would be killed in a tragic air accident only 4 month’s later.

When I first saw a SeeMore putter back then I remember thinking ” What a clever idea”. Hiding the red dot seemed such a simple but effective method of aligning the putter face to the target. My only criticism was that the FGP Original didn’t look very stylish. This lack of bling seemed to limit its popularity. That is until Jim Grundberg and Jason Pouilot bought and re-launched the company in 2006. Their philosophy was to build a range of premium quality putters incorporating RST which would appeal to any golfer irrespective of personal preference or budget. Zach Johnson has won many a tournament using his SeeMore putter, including the 2007 Masters where he putted like a man possessed.

The current range of SeeMore standard length, belly and broom handle putters is now second to none.

The SeeMore One CS with a superb gunmetal finish

The One CS is unique in that it is face balanced in the conventional sense as well as being face balanced at impact. This means that with a natural putting stroke and no manipulation of the head, the putter is designed to be square to the target at impact.

So why is the SeeMore system so successful?

When you purchase a SeeMore putter and learn how to use it properly then your putting set up will be the same every time. Your eyes, shoulders and hips will be perfectly parallel to the target line and the putter face will be perfectly aligned to the target. This promotes a repetitive natural putting stroke where the clubface returns square to the target without any need for manipulation.  More consistent centre strikes means solid putts with better distance control.

When you purchase a fitted SeeMore putter from AGT you will be shown how all of this can be achieved.

Not everybody can smash a driver 300 yards off the tee but every player has the potential of improving their short game and putting. So why not start by testing a Seemore putter? We  have some demo SeeMore putters which you can take out onto our practice putting green. Just give us a call to fix up a suitable time. Then when you see how the SeeMore system improves your putting we’ll be happy to fit you for probably the last putter you will ever need to buy.

Learn how to hide the red dot

Give us a call at 01334 466728 if you would like to find out more about SeeMore putters or if you would like to try one out for yourself. You will not be disappointed!

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The Power Transfer from Balance Certified ….Impressive !

Balance Certified (BC) generally launch at least one new product at the PGA Show. This year they had two to show us, one of which is the Power Transfer shaft insert, designed to fit into the butt end of a driver shaft. Their claims are that it significantly improves driving distance and accuracy by stabilizing the butt of the shaft in the hands of the player.

The Power Transfer insert from Balance Certified

Robotic testing of the Power Transfer insert from Balance Certified

BC’s robotic testing has certainly shown this to be the case. However robotic testing is one thing. The acid test is whether or not they work in the hands of a golfer.

An opportunity arose last week when one of our Tour Van Gold members, Bob Chalmers, remarked that he would like to improve his driving accuracy and consistency. Martin thought this would be a good test for The Harrison Shotmaker and  the Power Transfer. Unfortunately the Shotmaker wouldn’t fit into his Aldila Voodoo because of the shaft’s S-Core technology but we did manage to test him hitting his driver on Trackman with and without the Power Transfer insert installed.

Power Transfer testing - Trackman display

To say the results were amazing is an understatement. The orange shots in the above display are Bob’s drives with no insert, whilst the purple shots are Bob’s drives with the Power Transfer installed. The improvement in accuracy and the consistency of the ball flight are obvious, with no loss of distance. Bob left with the Power Transfer installed in his driver so that he can do some testing for us out on the golf course. He promised to give us some feedback in due course.

As discussed in our last post, Shotmaker looks promising. However these results show that the Power Transfer also has great potential. We’ll keep you posted after we do a bit more testing. For those of us who dream about straighter driving, these shaft inserts could be the answer. Big advantage is that they can be tested in your current driver. This is something we’ll be offering from now on as part of our driver optimisation sessions.

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The Harrison Shotmaker – Driving accuracy in a tube !

In the first of a series of posts highlighting significant new technology at this years PGA Merchandising Show we focus on the Harrison Shotmaker, the subject of much forum discussion on the web and a product which MyGolfspy labs recently described as the “most impressive golf technology in the past 5 years”.

The Harrison Shotmaker

At first glance it doesn’t look like much. A 12 inch tapered graphite tube, 4 grams in weight, designed to slip inside a golf shaft to a point around 6 inches from the top of the clubhead hosel. It is locked into place at the top end with a special tool. Being so light it only increases the swingweight of the driver by around 1 point eg. D1 becomes D2, which for most players is insignificant. Shotmaker is designated conforming by the R&A and the USGA.

The theory behind the Shotmaker is that it eliminates shaft distortion and minimises unwanted impact vibration during the downswing. This shaft deformation has been demonstrated with high speed photography and is inherent in virtually all golf shafts, depending on the stress placed on them by the golfer. In theory by eliminating this shaft distortion it should result in improved accuracy off the tee, and by minimising unwanted impact vibration it should improve feel.

Ed tested this for himself at the PGA Demo day and found that with the Shotmaker installed, shots felt more solid and it was more difficult to shape shots left or right. They come in different levels of stiffness so it is important to get fitted for one in order to find out which one works best. Ed brought a Shotmaker fitting kit back from the show and initial testing looks very promising.

Pat Kinsley testing Shotmaker on Trackman

Pat is having a tough time recently with his driver, suffering from too many wayward shots high right, as a result of an open clubface at impact.  This is evident from the purple shots in the Trackman display.  The initial Shotmaker flex F didn’t help much as shown by the green shots. However Shotmaker flex G (orange shots) gave a marked improvement in shot direction and dispersion. Pat felt that the shaft was much more stable and the hits much more solid. That was until we took the Shotmaker out of his club when the wild shots right returned with a vengeance. After re-installation the improved accuracy and dispersion returned. One of us had to hold him down whilst we recovered our Shotmaker from his club.  Pat can’t wait for his own one to arrive.

In the meantime we tested Pat’s son Ben to see what effect Shotmaker had on his driving performance.  Ben is one of Scotland’s best young players and already hits the ball a long way off the tee with pretty good accuracy.

Ben Kinsley testing Shotmaker on Trackman

We used Shotmaker flex LD, for Ben as he is a big hitter. The surprise this time was the fact that Ben gained around 10 yards in carry and total distance with Shotmaker installed, as shown by the blue shots on the Trackman display. The white shots are from his driver with no Shotmaker installed. Again Ben felt that the club was more stable and the impacts more solid with Shotmaker inside the shaft.

This just confirms what others have found so far. One of the most respected and reliable independent test sites on the internet, MyGolfspy Labs, claimed that Shotmaker improved driving accuracy by up to 45%. You can read their full report at http://www.mygolfspy.com/harrison-shotmaker-review/

If our testing continues with similar success stories, we will soon be offering Shotmaker fitting as part of our driver optimisation service.  Look out for more details in future news/blog posts and on our Facebook page.

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