Flex in Golfing: What This Is and How You Could Use It

Veterans in the game of golf will immediately tell any green horn that golfing is more than just whacking a ball till it flies to a hole. The Tristate Golfer Magazine understands that there are quite a lot of factors that will play a part in your performance in golf; one of them being shaft flex. To make most out of this phenomenon, it is imperative that you understand how it takes effect and what it brings to your game.

What is Flex?

Flex is the phenomenon in which the shaft seemingly bends itself as it bears down on a ball and then re-corrects itself once the swing is delivered. Depending on the way you swing a driver, the shaft may show no signs of bending or flex too much that it seems that something is bending it forcefully.

How does the flex exactly play in a game? It truly depends on the flexibility of a shaft. Shafts with little to no flex tend to make the ball fly lower than average. Depending on the player’s dominant hand, the ball might also fly right or fade sideward even if the trajectory begins straight. The shot might even feel like a miss even if you are certain that you have made contact with the ball.

For shafts with considerable flex, the ball might fly higher than intended and would always veer of left. High levels of flex will also make the shot feel solid or strong even though they are not. Golfers looking for accuracy and ball control might find flex to be problematic in their game.

Taking Advantage

Even if you cannot control the way a shaft flexes, there is way to make the full use of this phenomenon. If the target is 250 yards and more, it is best to look for a shaft that has little to no flex to ensure a straight trajectory. For shorter distances, you should for a flexible shaft. This will give you enough room to correct your shot if they tend to miss the target.

The next thing to consider is your swinging motion. A soft flex shaft is ideal for a swing that is smooth and flowing while a stiff shaft is best for erratic swings. Any Tristate golfer magazine also recommends using a flexible shaft for trajectories that go left and stiff shafts for trajectories that go right.

Improving Your Performance in Any Golfing Course in Tristate

 

Though it does look simple and easy on the outside, any experienced golfer will tell you golf is exactly the opposite of those. Requiring a steady hand and a keen eye, golf is best experienced whenever you let the ball fly to its intended target at all times. The question is: how can you improve on your performance in the fields? Below are a few tips to remember.

Body Position

The right posture can determine whether the shot you will take will be an on-target hit or a very frustrating miss. The key to a right posture lies in putting the body in a position where it moves with every shot. Make sure that your legs are wide apart and parallel to your shoulders to give your entire body the stability it needs. Next, keep your knees slightly bent and your back straight. This will help the body shift its weight forward as the club makes contact with the ball, resulting in an accurate shot.

Grip

Once you practiced on your stance, the next thing to focus on is the way you hold your club. For beginners, the best grip is always a neutral position wherein the arms hang loose in front of your body and their dominant hand holding the club’s handle. This position allows for near-perfect accuracy while also letting them build on their strength for more challenging tourneys.

When holding the club, make sure that your thumb firmly closes on the index finger and its tip reaching half of the middle finger. Also, you should hold the club firmly until you slightly see the knuckles in your index and middle fingers. Once you have gripped the club firmly, let your non-dominant hand rest over the dominant hand and make sure that it follows the club in every shot.

Temper

The key to a successful day in any golfing course in Tristate lies in your ability to controlling your temper. As such, golfers with hot heads tend to get progressively worse in every shot they miss due to the buildup of rage and frustration. By keeping yourself calm and cool, you are able to retain your focus and recover. 

Always remember that perfecting your golfing performance will take time and practice. By controlling the way you react to any mistake at the field, you are able to optimize your training and become a dependable golfer as soon as possible.

Remember…The Haig’s First Open Win

A cocky young professional begged a few days off from his club job so he could play in the U.S. Open and though not a “name” player the 20-year old was full of confidence. He was playing well and even dressed-the-game in a pure silk striped shirt, white flannel pants with a red bandanna casually knotted around his neck and white buckskin shoes that set him back ten whole dollars.

The year was 1913 and the stylishly garbed pro was Walter Hagen in his first venture on to the national stage where he displayed his high self-opinion while introducing himself to defending champion, “You’re Johnny McDermott, aren’t you? Well, I’m glad to know you. I’m W.C. Hagen from Rochester and I’ve come over to help you boys take care of Vardon and Ray.”

Certainly quite a beginning for Hagen in championship competition, especially against a future member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, Ted Ray, but more impressively in the same field was Harry Vardon, inarguably the best golfer in the world.

Everyone knows the story of the 1913 Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass. when unknown American amateur Francis Ouimet soundly beat the English superstars Vardon and Ray in an 18-hole playoff. Most people though don’t know the brash future superstar Hagen finished three strokes out of the playoff after a triple bogey on the 14th hole in the final round.

The next year the Haig, after declining a contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, made the trip to Chicago for the Open being staged at Midlothian Country Club. All was not to smooth sailing however as the night before play began Hagen and a friend decided to try lobster and oysters for the first time…a lot of lobster and oysters. Horribly sick (Hagen believed it was ptomaine poisoning) and with no sleep, he could barely walk. However he managed to tee off in the first round, posting a course record 68 that was followed closely Ouimet with a 69.

After four rounds and battling his gastronomic problems the entire time Hagen prevailed with a score of 290 which tied the lowest 72-hole Open score to that point and won him all of $300.

Hagen’s first U.S. Open triumph was life changing. It gave him the “name” and fame (he already had the personality!) to build a lucrative career playing exhibitions in addition to competing in the sparse schedule of tournaments that would eventually become the PGA Tour. By forsaking his club position at the exclusive Country Club of Rochester he became the first of the modern golf professionals, banking instead on his money making ability on the course.

Ultimately Hagen had 45 tour wins including two U.S. Opens (1914 and 1919), four British Opens, (1922, 1924, 1928, and 1929) and five PGA Championships with an amazing run of four in a row plus he played for America on the first five Ryder Cups teams and captained the sixth.

The Haig’s was a superb competitor perhaps best reflected in in one of his most famous quotes, “Nobody remembers who came in second.”

ED TRAVIS | Golf Opinion & Commentary

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“It’s So Easy Being Green”

Chrome, shiny, white, black, brass are just some of the finishes putter makers use on their flat sticks but they all have something in common, they are in contrast (sometimes vivid contrast) to the green grass of putting surfaces.

Mantis Golf however believes that’s the wrong approach.

They think the proper way is not high contrast with greens but to be green. First they introduced a mid-sized mallet model and this year have a ‘B’ Blade that like the mallet has a green finish because, as the company says, and along with the design, “…combine to instill greater putting confidence by increasing a golfer’s ability to watch the ball, not the putter.”

At 355 grams the ‘B’ Blade is right in the middle of modern putter weights and heel and tow weighting is engineered for a higher than average resistance to twisting which is a big help to those of us that don’t hit every putt dead in the center of the face. The face insert is white polyurethane and gives a soft feel at impact, a feel that is certainly confidence producing. There are two alignment aids, a white line perpendicular to the face on the top edge and a second on the head that standout nicely against the green of the head.

I tested the Mantis ‘B’ Blade thoroughly, for 10 rounds and found it very well suited to my shoulder-and-arm stroke plus there’s no question the weighting really helped when I happen to miss the sweet spot. The matte green color did seem to help my focus, more on the ball and less on the putter head though it took a little time to adjust to the different look.

Bottom line, if you are in the market for a new putter you should add the Mantis ‘B’ Blade to your short list of possibilities. The ‘B’ Blade is available on MantisGolfCo.com for $159.99 and there’s a 30-day money back guarantee.

ED TRAVIS | Golf Opinion & Commentary

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