Question:

Watching a tape of the Jack Nicklaus’ win in the 1986 Masters recently and seeing the huge-headed putter he used reminded me that I’d once used a similar putter. I had been so inspired by seeing Jack make all those putts that I went out right after  that tournament and bought myself a Slotline Inertial Onset putter. The head was absolutely huge—and it was ahead of (not behind or even with) the shaft. I don’t remember what the concept was supposed to be…perhaps that the head would hit the ball before your hands could do something bad and throw your stroke offline. Anyway, it worked pretty well for a while– and then, as often happens with my putters, all the "magic" disappeared. That got me to thinking about other equipment gimmicks I’ve played over the years. They include: 1) MacGregor "featherweight" clubs–Had a full set of these back in the mid-’80’s. They had an extremely low swingweight (somewhere in the low "C" range, I think) with the idea being that it’d enable you to develop tremendous clubhead speed. Well, yes, it accomplished that– but there was almost no mass in the clubhead. You couldn’t get one of those irons to go through thick rough for anything, and as far as having any sense of where the clubhead was during your swing, forget it. Got rid of them and went happily back to my Wilson Staff FG-17’s. 2) Wilson reflex irons–Had a set of these in the early ’80’s. They featured a slot cut out behind the face, all the way from the top of the face right down to the sole. (See http://www.golf-maui.com/CLUBS/107Wilson.htm  if you want to see what I’m talking about.) I think the idea was to increase the spring effect of the clubface, but I never noticed any benefits from these. Sold them to a buddy who quickly cracked the faces on 2 of the clubs, rendering them unhittable. 3) The 1970’s version of the Wilson ProStaff ball (featuring the famous "truncated cone" dimples). Those unique dimples were supposed to give it a more stable flight and hey, Johnny Miller was doing commercials saying how much he loved it, so I played it. Then I went to a tournament where Johnny hooked one into the left rough that rolled right up to my feet. I peered down at the ball and quickly noticed the Titleist logo staring back up at me. 4) Neumann "tackified" glove–Had a couple of these back in the late ’80’s. Although you still see Neumann gloves on many receivers in the NFL, it appears they’ve departed from the golf glove business. After my experience with these, I can see why. The gloves were impregnated with some sort of tacky substance that was supposed to make your grip more secure. They acted like a magnet, though, for every speck of dirt and blade of grass. They didn’t breathe at all, so my hand was always soaked in sweat, far outweighing the ability of the tacky goo to give me any grip at all. Threw them away and went happily back to the Footjoy Sta-Sof. 5) The Spalding "Tour Edition" golf ball featuring the revolutionary Zinthane cover– I played these a lot in the late ’80’s, back when Greg Norman was supposedly playing the ball on tour. The idea was that the cover would allow you to put tremendous spin on the ball, even more than balata…and this is one gimmick that actually worked. I could back these up like no ball I’ve played before or since….it was easy (*far* too easy) to suck a wedge right back off the green. Unfortunately, though, they were very short off the tee in comparison to other balls. Worst of all, the cover had about zero durability. I was playing square-grooved Ping Eye 2’s back then and they really chewed up these balls. You’d hit down on a nice SW, walk up to the green and mark your ball, and try to gnaw off all these little shredded particles sticking up off the cover before it was your turn to putt. I wonder how much of that crap I accidentally swallowed and how much brain damage it caused….   I’m sure there are other equipment gimmicks that I’ve played and long since forgotten about, but there are some, believe it or not, that I resisted, too: remember the Orizaba Power Pod driver or the Bakaswerd (sp?) putter? So what about you guys? Any funny stories about equipment gimmicks you’ve tried? Ray Pezzi Traverse City, MI

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Watching a tape of the Jack Nicklaus’ win in the 1986 Masters recently and seeing the huge-headed putter he used reminded me that I’d once used a similar putter. I had been so inspired by seeing Jack make all those putts that I went out right after  that tournament and bought myself a Slotline Inertial Onset putter. The head was absolutely huge—and it was ahead of (not behind or even with) the shaft. I don’t remember what the concept was supposed to be…perhaps that the head would hit the ball before your hands could do something bad and throw your stroke offline. Anyway, it worked pretty well for a while– and then, as often happens with my putters, all the "magic" disappeared. That got me to thinking about other equipment gimmicks I’ve played over the years. They include: 1) MacGregor "featherweight" clubs–Had a full set of these back in the mid-’80’s. They had an extremely low swingweight (somewhere in the low "C" range, I think) with the idea being that it’d enable you to develop tremendous clubhead speed. Well, yes, it accomplished that– but there was almost no mass in the clubhead. You couldn’t get one of those irons to go through thick rough for anything, and as far as having any sense of where the clubhead was during your swing, forget it. Got rid of them and went happily back to my Wilson Staff FG-17’s. 2) Wilson reflex irons–Had a set of these in the early ’80’s. They featured a slot cut out behind the face, all the way from the top of the face right down to the sole. (See http://www.golf-maui.com/CLUBS/107Wilson.htm  if you want to see what I’m talking about.) I think the idea was to increase the spring effect of the clubface, but I never noticed any benefits from these. Sold them to a buddy who quickly cracked the faces on 2 of the clubs, rendering them unhittable. 3) The 1970’s version of the Wilson ProStaff ball (featuring the famous "truncated cone" dimples). Those unique dimples were supposed to give it a more stable flight and hey, Johnny Miller was doing commercials saying how much he loved it, so I played it. Then I went to a tournament where Johnny hooked one into the left rough that rolled right up to my feet. I peered down at the ball and quickly noticed the Titleist logo staring back up at me. 4) Neumann "tackified" glove–Had a couple of these back in the late ’80’s. Although you still see Neumann gloves on many receivers in the NFL, it appears they’ve departed from the golf glove business. After my experience with these, I can see why. The gloves were impregnated with some sort of tacky substance that was supposed to make your grip more secure. They acted like a magnet, though, for every speck of dirt and blade of grass. They didn’t breathe at all, so my hand was always soaked in sweat, far outweighing the ability of the tacky goo to give me any grip at all. Threw them away and went happily back to the Footjoy Sta-Sof. 5) The Spalding "Tour Edition" golf ball featuring the revolutionary Zinthane cover– I played these a lot in the late ’80’s, back when Greg Norman was supposedly playing the ball on tour. The idea was that the cover would allow you to put tremendous spin on the ball, even more than balata…and this is one gimmick that actually worked. I could back these up like no ball I’ve played before or since….it was easy (*far* too easy) to suck a wedge right back off the green. Unfortunately, though, they were very short off the tee in comparison to other balls. Worst of all, the cover had about zero durability. I was playing square-grooved Ping Eye 2’s back then and they really chewed up these balls. You’d hit down on a nice SW, walk up to the green and mark your ball, and try to gnaw off all these little shredded particles sticking up off the cover before it was your turn to putt. I wonder how much of that crap I accidentally swallowed and how much brain damage it caused….   I’m sure there are other equipment gimmicks that I’ve played and long since forgotten about, but there are some, believe it or not, that I resisted, too: remember the Orizaba Power Pod driver or the Bakaswerd (sp?) putter? So what about you guys? Any funny stories about equipment gimmicks you’ve tried? Ray Pezzi Traverse City, MI

RAY!!!!!  How’ve you been, man?  I haven’t seen your name pop up here for a long long time.  How are things up in Michigan?  I plan on heading up to Crystal Downs again next summer.  Are you going to be around?  We’ll chase the little while ball somewhere. I still remember the great time we had at Grand Traverse.   "Pflum, as in BOOM!"  LOL. — JVDP

Response:

Putters are no different from any other club. They continually require T L C  - if they are to remain responsive.;–) A mistake made often, is in the gripping of the putter. Try gripping with the thumb resting at the bottom edge of the grip. And with the eyes over the ball, followed with an equal swing distance of the putter; back / thru. It might work. The playing of golf is simple. The problem seems to be that there is too much read into it, more than can be handled, sometimes. The creeping of a little nostalgia into the daily happening makes one appreciate the past / present. However, I’m lost, I never fell for the gadgetry passing along the way.<s v