Opinion & Analysis

Getting started with basic club repair, with tips from Tom Wishon

Published

11 years ago

Jun 25, 2013

My journey into tinkering with golf clubs started small. A bottle of nail polish, nail polish remover and a simple “how-to” video on how to add new paint fill to a golf club.

Soon after, I found myself at the local hobby store purchasing a variety of model paints in every color I could find. Before I knew it, I found myself stamping, torching, applying gun blue, coffee grounds and motor oil finishes to my wedges.

As fun as it was, what I am about to share with you isn’t about custom finishes or paint fills. I am going to help you get started with the basic needs for the average player to get started re-gripping your own clubs. I am also going to share the basic needs for minor club repairs and club building at the hobbyist level.

In the past, I always had my local pro shop install new grips and shafts for me. I figured it was easier to just pay someone to do the work rather than purchase all the equipment I needed to do it myself. As time went on, I found that my grips tended to feel very different after each re-grip — one time they would feel too thin and the next they seemed too thick. It was frustrating to say the least.

The final straw for me was when I had a new grip put on a driver and requested a standard grip with seven wraps of build-up tape (I prefer a mid-size grip but with a firm feel). But when I picked up my club, it felt very thin. I asked the club tech if the grip felt like seven wraps and he agreed that there was no way it could be. He then took my club to the back, removed the grip and discovered only two wraps of tape. That was enough motivation for me to take the time and learn how to do it myself.

So who am I to give advice on what is needed for club building? After all, I can tell you that I am not a professional club builder — I don’t build clubs for a living, and I don’t work in a golf pro shop. I perform all my own work on my clubs in a small work area located in my garage. So why should you listen to what I have to share when it comes to building clubs? Because I had the pleasure of speaking with Tom Wishon on this very matter.

Wishon has decades of experience in the field designing golf clubs, and is also a master club builder and fitter. We spoke in detail on all the necessities needed to do basic club building and repair and I am going to share his wisdom with you.

Click here to see the articles Wishon has written for GolfWRX on club fitting, shaft fitting and golf club design.

Before you start you need to ask yourself:

What are the essential tools needed for club repair?

According to Wishon, the answer to the question depends on what club repair tasks the person wants to perform.

That’s why I’m going to break down the tools needed for club repair into two different sections: basic repairs and advanced repairs. At the end of the story, I share tips from Wishon that will help aspiring club builders cut through the rookie mistakes of club building.

Basic Repairs

Tools Needed:

At least a 4-to-6-foot long sturdy workbench.
Heavy duty bench vise with 4-inch jaws.
Shaft vise clamp.
Razor blade knife with a hook blade.
Heat gun.
Strong blade knife.
Two-inch-wide roll of masking tape.
Two-inch-wide two-way grip installation tape.
Calipers.
Catch pan.
Grip solvent or mineral spirits.

All operations will be performed on your work bench, seeing that this will be your primary work area. If space is ample, it is better to go with a 6-foot long work bench. Your vise will be top mounted and should have at least a 4-inch jaw — be sure to use a shaft vise clamp when using the vise to hold shafts. This will prevent the metal jaws from damaging any paint or graphics that the shaft may have.

Mount your catch pan beneath your shaft vise. The catch pan will help keep your work area clean from grip solvent drippings and will aid in recycling the solvent.

Wishon believes it is better and easier to install grips with an air compressor. However, it is something that club makers only do when they have a lot of business, because of the cost of the compressor and the special nozzle device required to attach to the air hose to blow the grips on with the compressed air. If a person already has an air compressor, buying the nozzle and installing grips that much is cleaner than using grip solvent.

I have seen and heard my share of horror stories on clubs that have been ruined due to shabby work: short cuts, carelessness and a lack of knowledge. I have also had my own experiences of sub-par work performed on my gear. I once had a 3 wood re-shafted and explained that I did not want an extension placed in the butt end of the grip.

After receiving the 3 wood, I noticed that my grip felt odd. It felt as though there was a seam in it. I cut the grip off to find that not only did the club builder place an extension in my shaft, but that he used a piece of a broken shaft to extend it rather than using a real extension. That was enough to push me toward learning how to do shaft pulls and installs.

Advanced Repairs

Tools Needed:

A reasonable quality graphite shaft puller tool.
A Lock-Tite shaft holder.
Heavy duty leather work gloves.
A 1-by-30-inch small belt sander.
A 48-inch ruler.
An abrasive shaft cut off wheel to mount to a 5- or 6-inch bench grinder.
Small butane torch.
A stiff wire brush wheel.
Bamboo skewers cut in half lengthwise.
Cut up squares from a cardboard box, at 4-by-4.
OVERNIGHT CURE Two-part shafting epoxy with a lap shear strength of at least 3,000 psi.
An assortment of ferrules for 0.335 parallel, 0.355 taper tip and 0.370 parallel shafts.
An assortment of tip weights in different weights (2 grams, 4 grams, 6 grams, 9 grams) in different sizes.
One-half-inch wide roll of lead tape.
A 14-inch fulcrum Lorythmic or Prorythmic swingweight scale.

As you venture into a more detailed roll of a club builder, you will soon learn how valuable leather work gloves are — just ask any builder who has accidentally touched a heated hosel with a bare hand.

Working with a propane torch works fine, but its flame is larger and hotter than a small butane torch, and therefore is easier to burn the paint at the base of the hosel on metal woods, or to scorch the metal surface of the hosel. Heat guns will work as well, although Wishon said using one for softening the epoxy takes much too long, and it is difficult to control where the heat goes on the hosel to prevent scorching the paint at the base of the hosel on metal woods.

For prepping the tips of shafts, Wishon recommended a small belt sander, which he said is best for roughing up all shaft tips.

“(For experienced club makers) The small belt sanders are inexpensive and do the job so much faster and more consistently,” Wishon said.

But he said that beginning club builders should rough up the tips of graphite shafts by hand using strips of 100 grit cloth back sand paper. This is better for beginning club makers to do until he or she learns the “touch” required to abrade a graphite shaft tip using the belt sander. To prevent sanding too much off a graphite shaft tip with a belt sander, the use of a TRizac belt is often better better. However, with practice the club maker can use the 100 grit sanding belt to rough up the tip of graphite shafts.

Wishon also recommends abrading the tip of steel shafts with a small belt sander with 100 grit or medium grit sanding belts, because even for beginners hand sanding steel shafts is tedious, time consuming and more difficult.

The 1-by-30 belt sander can also be used to finish ferrules to make the bottom of the ferrule flush to the top of the hosel.

“Doing this requires the belt on the small belt sander to be switched to one of the special ferrule turning belts offered by the larger component supply companies,” Wishon said. “The best ferrule turning belt is the BLUE fabric belt sold by some of the larger component repair supply companies.”

Ferrules can also be finished using narrow strips of 180 grit cloth back sandpaper, followed by wipe finishing the ferrule with a paper towel wetted with acetone. Wishon describes this simple process:

“The club is secured in the vise clamp in the vise with the club head end protruding out toward the club maker. Protective tape is wrapped around the very top of the hosel to prevent the sandpaper from scratching the top of the hosel. As like buffing shoes with a cloth, the sandpaper is used to sand the bottom of the ferrule flush to the top of the hosel, followed by steel wool rubbing the ferrule to smooth the sanding scratches, followed by an acetone wipe to restore the shine of the plastic ferrule. Thin protective gloves should be worn when using acetone.”

Abrasive cut off wheels are the best way to cut any shaft, whether steel or graphite, Wishon said.

“A rotating tubing cutter can be used to cut steel shafts, but really, they are a real pain in the a** to use, they wear out quickly and they cannot be used on graphite shafts of you will splinter and damage the graphite shaft., Wishon said. “Bench grinders are cheap.”

Also, acquiring a stiff wire brush wheel to put on the other end of the bench grinder is recommended.

“This is used to de-burr the steel shafts after they are cut with the abrasive cut off wheel that would be mounted to the other end of the bench grinder.” Wishon said.

When choosing epoxy, you want an OVERNIGHT CURE two-part shafting epoxy with a lap shear strength of at least 3,000 psi.

“It is OK to have fast cure epoxy for quick jobs, but only buy the fast cure epoxies from reputable club making suppliers and NOT, NOT, NOT from a hardware store,” Wishon said. “While there are some hardware fast cure epoxies that can work, unless you know for sure they have adequate lap shear strength, you are risking a lawsuit by using any epoxy that you do not know is made with an adequate lap shear strength.”

Tips From A Master

So what can we expect as a beginner?

According to Wishon, he said that simple mistakes can and will occur in our first few attempts and these can be and not limited to the following:

Over-sanding the tip end of graphite shafts in preparation for shaft installation. “Only a very light sanding to rough all surfaces of the tip is necessary.”
Over heating the hosel to soften the epoxy for shaft removal to the point the metal or paint or both are scorched. “With the lower temperature butane torch it is FAR easier to control the amount of heat and the location of the flame to avoid overheating.”
Not fully wetting both the inside of the grip and all surfaces of the grip tape before trying to install the grip. This lack of solvent will allow the grip to get “stuck” and does not slide fully on the shaft.”
Not being sure that the grip is fully pushed all the way on the shaft so that the butt of the shaft meets the very end of the grip.
Using too much epoxy in the hosel and on the tip end of the shaft when the shaft is installed. “Only a thin coating of epoxy is required on all surfaces of the shaft and on all surfaces of the hosel walls. If too much epoxy is used, most all of it ends up being pushed up the inside of the tip of the shaft, which presents the risk of it breaking loose later on to cause a rattle in the shaft. Also, too much epoxy adds to the weight of the head and could cause your final swing weight to be higher than what you wanted.”
Not roughing up the tip of STEEL shafts enough, and then having the head come off the shaft in play. “Steel shafts are tough as nails. The chrome plating on them is very tough and wants to resist sanding. So you can be rough with your tip sanding on steel shafts and never worry about damaging the shafts.”
Improper cutting of graphite shafts so they develop a split lengthwise. “When using an abrasive cut off wheel, as the wheel is about to cut fully through the shaft, always ROTATE the shaft a little to prevent this problem.”
Not measuring the two parts of the epoxy accurately enough or not mixing the two parts thoroughly enough and then not having the epoxy cure to proper hardness and strength.
When shaft cutting, measure TWICE and then cut only ONCE!

Practice… Practice… Practice and More Practice

If you have the time and extra money, attending one of the week-long club making and club repair schools that are offered by Golf Works and Mitchell Golf will definitely shorten the learning curve a lot and will also give the beginning club maker a good dose of confidence in the development of his skills.

When the time comes where the beginning club builder feels confident and a sense of skill have developed, “DO NOT do any club work for golfers who are not a close friends or family members until you get GOOD at all the workbench skills,” Wishon said.

“It takes 50 good jobs to overcome the damage that can be done to your reputation from one bad job done to the wrong player’s clubs,” Wishon said. “Do not allow yourself to get what we call “sophomore-itis” in your club making. What we mean is that it is VERY common for a person to get overconfident and think they are a top-quality club maker when in reality they do not know as much as they think they do.”

Taking the plunge from player to club builder can be a hesitant one. From my experience I can say this much, it’s not as hard as you think. You don’t need to spend a fortune to get started. Start small with simple re-grips.

If the time comes and you want to proceed a little further into club building, don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Mistakes are going to happen, it’s a part of the learning process. During my first shaft install, I was so excited that I forgot to place the ferule on the shaft before installing the head.

But stick with it, because after all is said and done, there is nothing more rewarding than playing with gear that YOU built.

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Kadin Mahmet

Kadin Mahmet has a passion for golf. He has coached at the collegiate level and has worked as an instructor specializing in youth athletics. You can follow Kadin on Twitter @BigKadin. "Like" Growing Up Golf on Facebook @ facebook.com/Growing.Up.Golf for more content.

19 Comments

Greg Pickett

Jan 4, 2015 at 9:17 pm

Over 40 years in club repairs and club building , even built a club with my own name. Worked for Bert Dargie company in Memphis when I was 16 years old . Had my own business doing over $500,000 books show it , closed business when times got tough in Memphis , but looking to go back in if I can find a partner , don’t want to do it all myself. Anyone interested E – mail me . [email protected] .

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Katharine Merical

Aug 21, 2014 at 9:09 pm

You already know thus drastically with regards to the following subject, created myself singularly ponder over it out of a great number of diversified aspects. Its similar to individuals are not interested with the exception of it is something to perform with Woman coo! Your own personal things superb. Constantly handle it down!

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Forsbrand

Oct 7, 2013 at 3:21 pm

Love the fact the guy heating the putter head has no safety glasses on, especially when there is another article on here talking about having the right safety equipment!

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Timanator

Sep 21, 2013 at 1:31 pm

Great article, thanks for taking your time to spell it all out.

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Joe Golfer

Jul 22, 2013 at 3:49 pm

Would definitely recommend that folks measure the amount of the two parts needed for the epoxy, the base and the activator.
20 years ago, one could almost eyeball it, as the two parts had basically the same viscosity/consistency as eachother.
Nowadays one part is much more fluid than the other with the modern epoxies. If one pours out two similar-looking size amounts on a piece of paper prior to mixing, you WILL be getting it wrong, and you’ll probably end up with a clubhead that very gradually begins slipping off your customer’s shaft over time, leaving a gap between hosel and ferrule.
Little measuring cups with graduated lines for measuring are needed to make sure you have equal amounts of Part A and Part B of your epoxy prior to mixing. Just eyeballing it won’t work nowadays.

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Lance Dahl

Jul 7, 2013 at 10:53 am

Nice write up Kadin. Thus should be very helpful for folks on here.

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Kadin Mahmet

Jun 28, 2013 at 12:01 pm

Yes, a spine finder can also be found at a decent price as well.

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Kridian

Jun 28, 2013 at 3:21 am

I think a Spline Finder should be on one of those lists.

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Andrew

Jun 27, 2013 at 12:31 pm

Great read, thouroughly enjoyed that.

I’ve done my own grips for awhile now and have been looking at doing some shaft replacements and this certainly gives me a boost of confidence that I can do them.

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Chuck

Jun 27, 2013 at 11:09 am

Very nicely done.

A comment, and a couple of questions.

First, a high-quality club ruler (Mitchell Golf’s is the one I recommend) is the first place that I’d spend a little (very little) extra money. SO much more easy than a standard 48″ ruler. Nobody thinks about it, until they have owned and used a good golfclub-specific ruler.

Second; what’s “A reasonable quality graphite shaft puller tool…”? Brands and models, please. That type of tool is fraught with a bunch of designs that are cuaght up in competing patent-violation claims. There ought to be a good, cheap shaft puller for less than $400. The best one I ever saw was the Silvestri product, which was chased out of business years ago.

Third; what are “bamboo skewers split lengthwise” used for? I was thinking of using them to spear olives for a martini. But not for golf club repair.

Also; it was GREAT advice to skip the plumbing-style rotating pipe/shaft cutters. They ARE a pain in the butt. Literally. Get a cutoff saw or a cutoff wheel for a grinder motor. Just do it.

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- Kadin Mahmet
  
  Jun 28, 2013 at 12:00 pm
  
  Thanks for taking the time to comment. Bamboo skewers are cut in half and can be used to apply epoxy to shafts and heads. The shaft puller I use,wasI purchased from Golf Works for $75 and works great.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Joe Golfer
    
    Jul 22, 2013 at 3:42 pm
    
    Thanks. I was wondering about those bamboo skewers myself.
    I generally use popsicle sticks, split in half lengthwise, but have improvised with many things in the past.
    
    Reply Report comment
tiger168

Jun 26, 2013 at 3:54 pm

Love the articles, the journey itself is the ultimate payback. I just started building my work bench last winter. One thing I told myself is the caring for the environment. Since club repair really require lots of chemicals in the old way of doing it. I am on my journey to find my own way to better club repair by not using as much chemical as possible. Such as using air to remove and install grips and who says you must use chemical to secure the grips. And heat gun is not as friendly as good old natural gas torch. Looking at all the packaging and stuff around the parts and materials for preparing and containing club repairing parts/materials, it’s really sad how wasteful they are; and unnecessary. Many GolfWRXers do minor club repair and even inventing/building their own tools/ways which are just awesome to read and share. I love this web site/forum for all of us to share and experience and setting higher goals as a golfer. Only when you start doing club repairs, then I have found myself playing golf at a different level then my buddies who do not. I now have a lie/loft adjust machine as the next step of my journey. Oh, BTW, I bought everything used, except supplies, thanks for the WRX classified sections and I hate eBay!!! LOL… Craigslist is the way to go!!! Thanks WRX…

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Kadin Mahmet

Jun 26, 2013 at 3:41 pm

Thank you all for the kind words, I really appreciate that! I’m glad you liked it. This was a fun topic to cover and speaking with Tom Wishon was a pleasure. His reputation as a Master in the industry proceeds him!

Reply Report comment
Sean Matheson

Jun 26, 2013 at 3:26 pm

Definitely a very helpful article. Up in Canada, components and service can tend to be very expensive in stores, so having the know how could pay off greatly in the long run.

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Mr. Blair M. Phillips

Jun 26, 2013 at 11:43 am

I’ve been repairing, rebuilding and restoring older persimmon woods for about 5 years now. I’ve learned so much from others. This type of article helps those who prefer todays metal woods and graphite shafts. I was taught that,” •Not roughing up the tip of STEEL shafts enough” can cause a “failure in the field” but I have been guilty of “too much epoxy is used, most it ends up being pushed up the inside of the tip of the shaft, which presents the risk of it breaking loose later on to cause a rattle in the shaft and too much epoxy adds to the weight of the head and could cause your final swing weight to be higher than what you wanted.” I’ll have to make a mental note of that and make sure that in the future, I don’t use too much epoxy.
Max
Canada

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bonneaustein

Jun 26, 2013 at 11:35 am

I love tinkering with equipment. I actually use the side of a grinding wheel to lightly abrade steel stafts while continually rotating the shaft.

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hayzooos

Jun 26, 2013 at 1:06 am

Nice article Kadin, very well put together. I used to do simple stuff a few years back, but since moving to Chicago, don’t have all the right gear. Looking forward to getting back into it soon and will certainly reference this article!

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Photo artist

Jun 25, 2013 at 9:47 pm

Excellent article. Great starting point for anyone looking to get into club repair.

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s LIV Golf Singapore betting preview: Course specialist ready to thrive once again

Published

6 days ago

Apr 30, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

After another strong showing in Australia, LIV Golf will head to Sentosa Golf Club in Singapore looking to build off of what was undoubtedly their best event to date.

Sentosa Golf Club sits on the southern tip of Singapore and is one of the most beautiful courses in the world. The course is more than just incredible scenically; it was also rated 55th in Golf Digest’s top-100 courses in 2022-2023 and has been consistently regarded as one of the best courses in Asia. Prior to being part of the LIV rotation, the course hosted the Singapore Open every year since 2005.

Sentosa Golf Club is a par 71 measuring 7,406 yards. The course will require precise ball striking and some length off the tee. It’s possible to go low due to the pristine conditions, but there are also plenty of hazards and difficult spots on the course that can bring double bogey into play in a hurry. The Bermudagrass greens are perfectly manicured, and the course has spent millions on the sub-air system to keep the greens rolling fast. I spoke to Asian Tour player, Travis Smyth, who described the greens as “the best [he’s] ever played.”

Davis Love III, who competed in a Singapore Open in 2019, also gushed over the condition of the golf course.

“I love the greens. They are fabulous,” the 21-time PGA Tour winner said.

Love III also spoke about other aspects of the golf course.

“The greens are great; the fairways are perfect. It is a wonderful course, and it’s tricky off the tee.”

“It’s a long golf course, and you get some long iron shots. It takes somebody hitting it great to hit every green even though they are big.”

As Love III said, the course can be difficult off the tee due to the length of the course and the trouble looming around every corner. It will take a terrific ball striking week to win at Sentosa Golf Club.

In his pre-tournament press conference last season, Phil Mickelson echoed many of the same sentiments.

“To play Sentosa effectively, you’re going to have a lot of shots from 160 to 210, a lot of full 6-, 7-, 8-iron shots, and you need to hit those really well and you need to drive the ball well.”

Golfers who excel from tee to green and can dial in their longer irons will have a massive advantage this week.

Stat Leaders at LIV Golf Adelaide:

Fairways Hit

1.) Louis Oosthuizen

2.) Anirban Lahiri

3.) Jon Rahm

4.) Brendan Steele

5.) Cameron Tringale

Greens in Regulation

1.) Brooks Koepka

2.) Brendan Steele

3.) Dean Burmester

4.) Cameron Tringale

5.) Anirban Lahiri

Birdies Made

1.) Brendan Steele

2.) Dean Burmester

3.) Thomas Pieters

4.) Patrick Reed

5.) Carlos Ortiz

LIV Golf Individual Standings:

1.) Joaquin Niemann

2.) Jon Rahm

3.) Dean Burmester

4.) Louis Oosthuizen

5.) Abraham Ancer

LIV Golf Team Standings:

1.) Crushers

2.) Legion XIII

3.) Torque

4.) Stinger GC

5.) Ripper GC

LIV Golf Singapore Picks

Sergio Garcia +3000 (DraftKings)

Sergio Garcia is no stranger to Sentosa Golf Club. The Spaniard won the Singapore Open in 2018 by five strokes and lost in a playoff at LIV Singapore last year to scorching hot Talor Gooch. Looking at the course setup, it’s no surprise that a player like Sergio has played incredible golf here. He’s long off the tee and is one of the better long iron players in the world when he’s in form. Garcia is also statistically a much better putter on Bermudagrass than he is on other putting surfaces. He’s putt extremely well on Sentosa’s incredibly pure green complexes.

This season, Garcia has two runner-up finishes, both of them being playoff losses. Both El Camaleon and Doral are courses he’s had success at in his career. The Spaniard is a player who plays well at his tracks, and Sentosa is one of them. I believe Sergio will get himself in the mix this week. Hopefully the third time is a charm in Singapore.

Paul Casey +3300 (FanDuel)

Paul Casey is in the midst of one of his best seasons in the five years or so. The results recently have been up and down, but he’s shown that when he’s on a golf course that suits his game, he’s amongst the contenders.

This season, Casey has finishes of T5 (LIV Las Vegas), T2 (LIV Hong Kong), and a 6th at the Singapore Classic on the DP World Tour. At his best, the Englishman is one of the best long iron players in the world, which makes him a strong fit for Sentosa. Despite being in poor form last season, he was able to fire a Sunday 63, which shows he can low here at the course.

It’s been three years since Casey has won a tournament (Omega Dubai Desert Classic in 2021), but he’s been one of the top players on LIV this season and I think he can get it done at some point this season.

Mito Pereira +5000 (Bet365)

Since Mito Pereira’s unfortunate demise at the 2022 PGA Championship, he’s been extremely inconsistent. However, over the past few months, the Chilean has played well on the International Series as well as his most recent LIV start. Mito finished 8th at LIV Adelaide, which was his best LIV finish this season.

Last year, Pereira finished 5th at LIV Singapore, shooting fantastic rounds of 67-66-66. It makes sense why Mito would like Sentosa, as preeminent ball strikers tend to rise to the challenge of the golf course. He’s a great long iron player who is long and straight off the tee.

Mito has some experience playing in Asia and is one of the most talented players on LIV who’s yet to get in the winner’s circle. I have questions about whether or not he can come through once in contention, but if he gets there, I’m happy to roll the dice.

Andy Ogletree +15000 (DraftKings)

Andy Ogletree is a player I expected to have a strong 2024 but struggled early in his first full season on LIV. After failing to crack the top-25 in any LIV event this year, the former U.S. Amateur champion finally figured things out, finished in a tie for 3rd at LIV Adelaide.

Ogletree should be incredible comfortable playing in Singapore. He won the International Series Qatar last year and finished T3 at the International Series Singapore. The 26-year-old was arguably the best player on the Asian Tour in 2023 and has been fantastic in the continent over the past 18 months.

If Ogletree has indeed found form, he looks to be an amazing value at triple-digit odds.

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Opinion & Analysis

Ryan: Lessons from the worst golf instructor in America

Published

6 days ago

Apr 30, 2024

Brendan Ryan

In Tampa, there is a golf course that boasts carts that do not work, a water range, and a group of players none of which have any chance to break 80. The course is overseen by a staff of crusty men who have succeeded at nothing in life but ending up at the worst-run course in America. However, this place is no failure. With several other local courses going out of business — and boasting outstanding greens — the place is booked full.

While I came for the great greens, I stayed to watch our resident instructor; a poor-tempered, method teacher who caters to the hopeless. At first, it was simply hilarious. However, after months of listening and watching, something clicked. I realized I had a front-row seat to the worst golf instructor in America.

Here are some of my key takeaways.

Method Teacher

It is widely accepted that there are three types of golf instructors: system teachers, non-system teachers, and method teachers. Method teachers prescribe the same antidote for each student based on a preamble which teachers can learn in a couple day certification.

Method teaching allows anyone to be certified. This process caters to the lowest caliber instructor, creating the illusion of competency. This empowers these underqualified instructors with the moniker of “certified” to prey on the innocent and uninformed.

The Cult of Stack and Jilt

The Stack and Tilt website proudly boasts, “A golfer swings his hands inward in the backswing as opposed to straight back to 1) create power, similar to a field goal kicker moving his leg in an arc and 2) to promote a swing that is in-to-out, which produces a draw (and eliminates a slice).”

Now, let me tell you something, there is this law of the universe which says “energy can either be created or destroyed,” so either these guys are defying physics or they have no idea what they are taking about. Further, the idea that the first move of the backswing determines impact is conjecture with a splash of utter fantasy.

These are the pontifications of a method — a set of prescriptions applied to everyone with the hope of some success through the placebo effect. It is one thing for a naive student to believe, for a golf instructor to drink and then dispel this Kool-Aid is malpractice.

Fooled by Randomness

In flipping a coin, or even a March Madness bet, there is a 50-50 chance of success. In golf, especially for new players, results are asymmetric. Simply put: Anything can happen. The problem is that when bad instructors work with high handicappers, each and every shot gets its own diagnosis and prescription. Soon the student is overwhelmed.

Now here’s the sinister thing: The overwhelming information is by design. In this case, the coach is not trying to make you better, they are trying to make you reliant on them for information. A quasi Stockholm syndrome of codependency.

Practice

One of the most important scientists of the 20th century was Ivan Pavlov. As you might recall, he found that animals, including humans, could be conditioned into biological responses. In golf, the idea of practice has made millions of hackers salivate that they are one lesson or practice session from “the secret.”

Sunk Cost

The idea for the worst golf instructor is to create control and dependency so that clients ignore the sunk cost of not getting better. Instead, they are held hostage by the idea that they are one lesson or tip away from unlocking their potential.

Cliches

Cliches have the effect of terminating thoughts. However, they are the weapon of choice for this instructor. Add some hyperbole and students actually get no information. As a result, these players couldn’t play golf. When they did, they had no real scheme. With no idea what they are doing, they would descend into a spiral of no idea what to do, bad results, lower confidence, and running back to the lesson tee from more cliches.

The fact is that poor instruction is about conditioning players to become reliant members of your cult. To take away autonomy. To use practice as a form of control. To sell more golf lessons not by making people better but through the guise that without the teacher, the student can never reach their full potential. All under the umbrella of being “certified” (in a 2-day course!) and a melee of cliches.

This of course is not just happening at my muni but is a systemic problem around the country and around the world, the consequences of which are giving people a great reason to stop playing golf. But hey, at least it’s selling a lot of golf balls…

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19th Hole

Vincenzi’s 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans betting preview

Published

2 weeks ago

Apr 22, 2024

Matt Vincenzi

The PGA TOUR heads to New Orleans to play the 2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. In a welcome change from the usual stroke play, the Zurich Classic is a team event. On Thursday and Saturday, the teams play best ball, and on Friday and Sunday the teams play alternate shot.

TPC Louisiana is a par 72 that measures 7,425 yards. The course features some short par 4s and plenty of water and bunkers, which makes for a lot of exciting risk/reward scenarios for competitors. Pete Dye designed the course in 2004 specifically for the Zurich Classic, although the event didn’t make its debut until 2007 because of Hurricane Katrina.

Coming off of the Masters and a signature event in consecutive weeks, the field this week is a step down, and understandably so. Many of the world’s top players will be using this time to rest after a busy stretch.

However, there are some interesting teams this season with some stars making surprise appearances in the team event. Some notable teams include Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama, Will Zalatoris and Sahith Theegala as well as a few Canadian teams, Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin and Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners.

Past Winners at TPC Louisiana

2023: Riley/Hardy (-30)
2022: Cantlay/Schauffele (-29)
2021: Leishman/Smith (-20)
2019: Palmer/Rahm (-26)
2018: Horschel/Piercy (-22)
2017: Blixt/Smith (-27)

2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans Picks

Tom Hoge/Maverick McNealy +2500 (DraftKings)

Tom Hoge is coming off of a solid T18 finish at the RBC Heritage and finished T13 at last year’s Zurich Classic alongside Harris English.

This season, Hoge is having one of his best years on Tour in terms of Strokes Gained: Approach. In his last 24 rounds, the only player to top him on the category is Scottie Scheffler. Hoge has been solid on Pete Dye designs, ranking 28th in the field over his past 36 rounds.

McNealy is also having a solid season. He’s finished T6 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and T9 at the PLAYERS Championship. He recently started working with world renowned swing coach, Butch Harmon, and its seemingly paid dividends in 2024.

Keith Mitchell/Joel Dahmen +4000 (DraftKings)

Keith Mitchell is having a fantastic season, finishing in the top-20 of five of his past seven starts on Tour. Most recently, Mitchell finished T14 at the Valero Texas Open and gained a whopping 6.0 strokes off the tee. He finished 6th at last year’s Zurich Classic.

Joel Dahmen is having a resurgent year and has been dialed in with his irons. He also has a T11 finish at the PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass which is another Pete Dye track. With Mitchell’s length and Dahmen’s ability to put it close with his short irons, the Mitchell/Dahmen combination will be dangerous this week.

Taylor Moore/Matt NeSmith +6500 (DraftKings)

Taylor Moore has quickly developed into one of the more consistent players on Tour. He’s finished in the top-20 in three of his past four starts, including a very impressive showing at The Masters, finishing T20. He’s also finished T4 at this event in consecutive seasons alongside Matt NeSmith.

NeSmith isn’t having a great 2024, but has seemed to elevate his game in this format. He finished T26 at Pete Dye’s TPC Sawgrass, which gives the 30-year-old something to build off of. NeSmith is also a great putter on Bermudagrass, which could help elevate Moore’s ball striking prowess.

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