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The Gear Dive: Fred Couples explains why he used to play with ladies irons covered in lead tape

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6 years ago

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Fred Couples plays with a 5 hybrid, has played ladies irons, has no clue what shaft is in his 3 wood… and is still the coolest human ever.

In this episode of “The Gear Dive” Johnny Wunder chats with World Golf Hall of Fame member and arguably the most beloved player since Arnie, Freddie “Boom Boom” Couples. They go into a deep dive into Freddie’s equipment choices over the years, why he rarely changes gear and we discover that the famous 3 wood he borrowed from Tom Watson’s wife wasn’t his first experience with ladies clubs.

(Yes, the interview was recorded on a phone. Transcriptions coming soon)

Check out the full podcast on SoundCloud below, or click here to listen on iTunes!

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24 Comments

24 Comments

  1. Fred Clark

    Jul 18, 2018 at 10:36 am

    I’ve always loved Freddie myself.. having his 1st name probably influenced this when I was a kid. I have seen him upclose , one time at the Honda when he won using those Lynx irons.We saw him from 1 to 18 hit every shot and he pured it at the pin all day long. It was amazing. Interesting to hear about him playing Lady irons and a Suggs driver, it really doesn’t surprise me. I got a great selfie with Fred last year at the US Senior Open. He is an interesting dude.. This interview is epic by the way, great job…. I watched Freddie play with Watson (9 holes) June of 2017 at the Sr. Open, he was hitting it great.

    Reply Report comment

  2. Josh

    Jun 7, 2018 at 2:44 pm

    So the one question we all wanted to know – when he is going to play again – you don’t even ask. Wow

    Reply Report comment

  3. Raj

    Jun 7, 2018 at 12:58 pm

    What are popup greens? Fred mentions greens in the northwest having them.

    Reply Report comment

    • Nigel Kent

      Jun 12, 2018 at 3:28 pm

      Hi Raj, I think he means greens with a fall-off all the way round them .

      Reply Report comment

  4. HoustonSig

    Jun 6, 2018 at 7:16 pm

    Go Coogs. Greatest golf legacy in all of college golf.

    Reply Report comment

  5. Stan

    Jun 6, 2018 at 4:21 pm

    Twenty minutes of Fred talking about equipment and twenty minutes of the interviewing fawning about how cool Fred is. Got a little tiresome.

    Reply Report comment

  6. Brandon

    Jun 6, 2018 at 4:00 pm

    As a Mizuno fanboy I’d love to hear Chris Voshall on the pod. I think it would be very insightful.

    Please & thanks in advance ????

    Reply Report comment

  7. Thomas Murphy

    Jun 6, 2018 at 3:47 pm

    Once again, it is the Indian, not the Arrow….but the part you have to love is find what works and be confident. 5h and not a 2i? what kind of man are you? A confident one, a winning one.

    Reply Report comment

  8. Tom

    Jun 6, 2018 at 11:25 am

    I believe that it was “Tom Wishon’s wife” .

    Reply Report comment

    • Shallowface

      Jun 6, 2018 at 11:42 am

      No, it was Watson. A Ram Laser FX bore through.

      Reply Report comment

      • Dan

        Jun 6, 2018 at 9:21 pm

        My friend had that club. It was impossible to hit

        Reply Report comment

  9. Andrew

    Jun 6, 2018 at 10:56 am

    Did Freddie mention when he might be back on the Champions Tour? Senior British at St Andrews and he loves that place.

    Reply Report comment

  10. Lawton Harrison

    Jun 6, 2018 at 9:35 am

    Cincinnati Golf was started by Howard Delaney and Bob Rickey, who started Cincinnati Golf when MacGregor moved to Georgia. All of my club repair, during my years as a professional from 1973 to 1977 in Cincinnati, was done by them.
    It was an awesome experience to watch Mr. Delaney put on my leather grips while I was there. He would hand each club to me to make sure they were right before he put the collar on them.
    He showed me the stockpiles of the blue grips Hogan used and the grips that Nicklaus, Weiskopt, Venturi and others had stored at the plant. I was 22 years old and amazed that the guy who installed the grips for Hogan, when he was with MacGregor, was doing mine with the same care.
    Howard showed me the rack where Tom Weiskopt’s shafts were stored. Being before frequency matching, these shafts had been put on a shaft defection board and weighed.
    He told me that Weiskopt, second only to Nicklaus with a 1-iron, used regular shafts in his long irons and that Ken Venturi’s grips were smaller in the longer irons and larger in the shorter irons.
    He changed lie/loft by hitting the iron, laying on a big block of lead, with a big wooden mallet.
    Golf was much more a game of feel in the past. Increasingly, golf at the highest levels, is a game of precise yardages and awesome distance. While I do not begrudge the young players that hit the ball 50 or more yards further off the tee, I believe that the emphasis on distance in the air and ability to spin even shots from the rough is overrated.
    That way of playing certainly has its advantages, especially in the soft conditions that are usually present in most Majors.
    Sometimes, when the courses approach the firmness that used to be standard playing conditions, the weakness of the air game becomes apparent, especially if it is windy.
    Distance sells, period. The 15 handicapper has bought the idea that if he/she could just hit it a bit further, all would be well.
    While the ability to hit the ball further has its advantages at times, it has its costs as well.
    Graphite, titanium, aggressive grooves, rebound effect, MOI and
    balls that are way longer and more easily controlled, are a few of the changes that have transformed the game to its present state.
    Has it made the game better ? I do not think so. It has made the game more expensive in terms of keeping up with the latest equipment. It has increased the amount of grass to be cared for, as courses become longer and longer in defense against increased distances the ball can be hit.
    It would take courage for the USGA and the RNA to roll back the distances by softening the ball, using V-grooves, and taking away the trampoline effect, but in my opinion, it is warranted.
    We do not need any more courses that are 7400+ yards, like Shinnecock Hills, which is playing to a par of 70 at this year’s
    U.S. Open. Players would have struggled to break 300 if they played this year’s course with yesteryear’s equipment and balls.
    The old courses, where most of our championships are played, were not designed for hitting a drive 350+ yards. Most of the current players have no idea what it is like to hit long irons and woods into a par four or play almost all par fives as three shot holes.
    Bring feel and the ground back into the game.

    Reply Report comment

    • The dude

      Jun 6, 2018 at 5:05 pm

      …ain’t gonna happen hoss…

      Reply Report comment

      • PhilDSnuts

        Jun 6, 2018 at 6:32 pm

        Not gonna happen because people are too lazy to put the time in to learn how to actually play the game. Instead its buy these rocket blaster irons, 5 wedges because they cant hit a green, a driver the size of a football, triple x shafts because they have a strong transition at 86 mph, super soft womens balls because prov’s are expensive. All of this to shoot 46 on 9 and claim theyre a 10 handicap because they 3 putt here and there.

        Reply Report comment

    • frank cichon

      Jun 7, 2018 at 1:14 pm

      Very good…I enjoyed your comments…speed of play as well…I asked online how how long it took to play the final round of say the US Open in 1978, but did not get an answer. Most likely under 24 hours (if they played twosomes,maybe it could have been threesomes) Next month I will be 73 …started playing in 1956….the game has change lots, but how much for the better? Again, I enjoyed your read…nice to read something that is written by someone that knows what they are talking about.

      Reply Report comment

  11. Ron Langfus

    Jun 6, 2018 at 8:40 am

    Johnny, i met you at the Studio city driving range , we were next to each other hitting balls. Just listed to Freddie Couples podcast….it was great, now I’m going to find Charles Howell and listen. You’re really good at what you do and me being a equipment geek myself, this is nirvana. Thanks a lot, Ron

    Reply Report comment

  12. Pingmatt

    Jun 6, 2018 at 8:29 am

    These podcasts are great, but the audio is terrible.

    Reply Report comment

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Golf's Perfect Imperfections

Golf’s Perfect Imperfections: Amazing Session with Performance Coach Savannah Meyer-Clement

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5 days ago

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Apr 18, 2024

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In this week’s episode, we spent some time with performance coach Savannah Meyer-Clement who provides many useful insights that you’ll be able to implement on the golf course.

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Golf's Perfect Imperfections

Golf’s Perfect Imperfections: Live from Mexico Open + Insight on how the pros stay ready

Published

12 months ago

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May 3, 2023

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In this week’s podcast, we are catching up with Shawn on his experience at the Mexico Open and we dive into some of the techniques pros are using to stay ahead of the game.

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Golf's Perfect Imperfections

GPI: 3,000 years and no change in how we exercise our bodies…until now

Published

12 months ago

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Apr 26, 2023

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EMS (Electro Muscle Stimulation) training is a highly effective and time-efficient workout that can benefit people of all ages and fitness levels. It involves using a special suit that delivers electrical impulses to the muscles, causing them to contract and work harder than they would during traditional exercise. The Team at Wisdom in Golf has partnered with the Katalyst team, which has sought to bring EMS training at the leisure of your own home. Their ultimate goal is to help everyone develop with this technology at their own pace.

In a recent podcast, we did, with the CEO & Founder of Katalyst, Bjoern Woltermann, set the tone for what the EMS training is all about and what potential it has for every golfer out there, amateur or professional:

[Minute 02:09] “We’re talking about a new way of working out for the first time in 3000 years. Because for 3000 years, if we think about it, the Olympic Games are still the same, right? We wrestle, and we throw things, and we run, and we lift things. You know, it sure to be a rock, and now it’s a little bit more refined, but at the End of the day, we measure how much we can lift over our head. That’s literally what we measure.” – Bjoern Woltermann, CEO & Founder of Katalyst

This technology has been used for decades in physical therapy and rehabilitation settings but is now gaining popularity as a workout tool. One of the main benefits of EMS training is that it allows people to achieve maximum results in minimal time. A 20-minute EMS session can be equivalent to a two-hour traditional gym workout. This is especially beneficial for busy professionals and those with hectic schedules who struggle to find time for exercise.

Whether you want to lose weight, build muscle, or improve your overall health, EMS can help you achieve your objectives more efficiently than traditional exercise. Another advantage of EMS training is that it can be customized to suit individual needs and fitness goals. Within a month (Mid-March to Late-April) of utilizing the Katalyst Suit, the team at Wisdom in Golf claims to have seen profound gains in their golf swing, improvement with mind and body connection that is enhanced by the suit, and a better sense of well being.

Here is what Shawn said after using it for a month:

[Minute 35:09] “I did notice in the last week and a half I feel stronger over the ball, and I’m feeling more capable, and that’s, that’s a really fun feel to have for your confidence. So then I proceed to go through my practice session […] my beginning clubhead speed lately has been 102mph-104mph, and I can ramp it up to 110mph-112mph clubhead speed, and that’s pretty much where I have been staying. Last year it was at 114mph clubhead speed”, [35:53],” I haven’t been at 117mph clubhead speed since my 40s, I’m 57 years old, so I ramp it up to 114mph, Wow that’s pretty cool!”,[36:52],” Here I am at a 117mph clubhead speed at 57 years old, and I’m thinking I’m the king of the world right now, and then when I had a nice moment of gratitude, and I thought of you guys {Katalyst Team}.” – Shawn Clement

Furthermore, EMS is low impact and can be adapted to suit all fitness levels, making it an excellent option for people of all ages and abilities. It’s also ideal for those with joint or mobility issues, as the electrical stimulation can be used to target specific muscles without putting additional stress on the joints. Overall, EMS training is a highly effective and versatile workout tool that can benefit every demographic. With its time-saving and customizable approach, it’s no wonder why it’s quickly becoming a popular choice for those looking to achieve maximum results in minimal time.

Listen to the full podcast here.

Additional resources:

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