Merry Belated Christmas!

Been rather busy. Anyway here it goes! Merry Christmas to all! God Bless and may you have a good year ahead!

Tour Sticks? Why bother.... Go Daiso!

Tour Sticks aren't cheap in Singapore. Two sticks for about $30. Not sure about the exact price. Will go check it out. But know it's about $30. It's a very useful too especially for alignment. Laying your irons down is good, however I find the iron shaft tapers and occasionally lends to parallax errors. Minute things are magnified in golf.

So the next best thing if Daiso! Go to Daiso and head to the gardening section. You can find the in the Tree Planters/Supports sections, also in a set of two, Green Tour Sticks...LOL. It's about the same length 120cm cf Tour Sticks 46" (116cm) and the thickness is the same. Tour sticks are fiberglass rods, whereas I think the Plant supports are metal centre with a Plastic Coating. Tour sticks are pointed one end (to stick in the ground) and the other end with a rubber cap. The Daiso sticks are also meant to be poked into the ground, however the other end is just a flat end. Another point about the Planter Sticks is that it is meant to blend into the plants and so is a drab green. And this might make the stick less conspicuous especially when laid on the ground for alignment. To overcome it, got some tape from Daiso and wahlah. The colour is changed. I chose yellow. Daiso also has it in green, red and blue too. So $2 for the sticks and $2 for the tape and some manpower we have a nice personalised Tour Stick. Plan to add stickers and logos to it. Ha! Ha! Enjoy! Use the spare change for Beer.

(Don't mind my many gloves, still have a ton more. :-) )

Product Endorsement - Grips!

Okie! Time to shamelessly endorse products!

The Lamkin Crossline Full Cord grips. Love these guys. Got it on all my irons both the TP MCs and Burner 2.0 and wedges. The grip is great and it lasts. I tend to sweat a lot and in Singapore with the humidity, the cord grips helps to wick away the sweat and keep the grip dry. Further the cord lends to better grip and less slippage, really important when your swing speed increases. Some people complain that the cord is rough, but not a problem for me.

My Driver is set with the Golf Pride New Decade MulitCompound WhiteOut. The lower part is made of High-Perfomance Rubber and the upper part is made up new White MultiCompound Material that is mixed with black BCT Cord which helps to control moisture and gives improved traction to the upper hand. Thus due to the mixture of compounds its considered a hybrid grip. The cord is less then the Lamkin Crossline Full Cord and thus is more comfortable, however the lower rubber part of the grip tends to wear a bit. One thing to note is that the grip is not a 360 degree grip, so if you use adjustable drivers the Logo and design will be off centred if not set to standard setting.

Haven't needed to Regrip my putter. But the Hybrids/ Fairway I use an old model Golf Pride New Decade. Full rubber and non-corded. The choice was made because I needed to find a lightweight grip to complement the light weight set up of the Cleveland Ultralite system. The weight was about 36g-37g. This is because a heavier grip will upset the balance of the club and this is quite detrimental to your swing. The little things add up in golf.

So don't forget to Regrip! And choose either of these babies!
.

Golf Pride New Decade - the light one

Lamkin Crossline - Full Cord

Golf Pride New Decade MultiCompound Whiteout.

Choosing a Golf Pro.

Here is a good short article by Dr Bob Rotella, on choosing your instructor. He's a great sports psychologist and my Pro made me read his book, the Golfer's Mind.

A few personal notes of mine on the article:

The commitment level of the coach is really important. How focused is he during the lesson. Does he answer the phone during the lesson? His he watching you all the time or also looking down range at others? That will really tell you his work ethic.

And for point 3, I agree completely that it's really important to connect with and understand your coach if not it's no point and your progress will be really slow. Last coach wasn't really good in English and had problems  articulating the problem of my swing in depth.

I really agree with point 4. Introduced a work person to my coach, didn't work out. Found out from my coach the reason was that he was stubborn and kept bringing up what his old coach tells him and stuff and couldn't accept what was being taught now. Found out from my Pro that he went onto at least 4 other coaches at the club. And they also said the same thing about him. So you have to believe your coach if not don't waste your money.

I quite disagree with the 5th point. A good coach will be able to teach both ways, both technical and by feel and visualisation. A good coach is one who can understand you and will be to figure out the best way to bring the message across to you. 'Many ways to skin a chicken'. But what I find important is the use of video. My Pro really loved to use video, and I agree cause the swing is so fast that it's impossible to check multiple aspects of the swing. With video you can check alignment, hands, hips, spin angle and so forth. And in his words, you use video to back up what you say. He's got a great compilation of swings of various golfers which he uses to compare the swing with.

Two more points I must bring up:
1. The Pro's attitude to teaching and golf. He must really love golf. My Pro loves to play golf in addition to teaching. But really love his attitude to teaching, he really wants you to play your best. "you can hit further than that" and he doesn't mind teaching the driver. A lot of coaches don't really want to teach you the longer clubs especially the driver cause they really can't rip it themselves. Played with my coach and he gets a couple of one-ons on the short par fours. Not that he doesn't focus on swing tempo and all that stuff but distance is an important part of the game now that the courses are getting longer.

2. A lot of Golf Coaches are not teaching properly. "80% of the Golf Coaches are teaching rubbish". It's not difficult to become a golf Pro. Play decent, join the SGA or PGA. Pay your fee and go for the course, then get your certificate. Took me good 11+ years to find my current coach, but he's gone back to the USA already. I am on my own for now. Under him, I have improved tremendously with him, hitting further and sharper. Short game and putting sharper too. And he teaches me everything and how to correct my swing. Relates everything to fundamentals and explains how the swing fault comes about so I can do a self correction. Now that he's gone, I understand the statement 80% of coaches are not teaching properly. Am really apprehensive about going to another coach because I don't want to spoil my swing, don't want to lose the ability to hit the back net of the driving range.

So how does one know what swing or swing theory the golf coach is teaching and even if he cuts it at all? This is something you know if your low handicap/ good player friend has taken lessons from him and can recommend you to him. Was lucky as my friend went to him for a one lesson tune up, after that he twisted my arm to go see him. No looking back after that (think I have overtaken my friend..LOL) So how many good golfers do you know who still take lessons often? And here in Singapore, don't think we have many good coaches here either who are readily available.

So as a beginner how should one go about it? Find the best coach. But how would you know? Like retrospective I felt that I should have taken more essons earlier but who? (my other coaches were no where near him)

hmmmm......... More questions then answers.

6 Days!

Just realised I have gone 6 days without golf. Not even a range session. Anyway, hope no rain tomorrow and I get some time on the course. Such is Christmas time.

It's also 6 Days to Christmas! Merry Christmas and God Bless!

1. Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
   Let earth receive her King;
   Let every heart prepare Him room,
   And heav’n and nature sing,
   And heav’n and nature sing,
   And heav’n, and heav’n, and nature sing.
2. Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!
   Let men their songs employ;
   While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
   Repeat the sounding joy,
   Repeat the sounding joy,
   Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.
3. No more let sins and sorrows grow,
   Nor thorns infest the ground;
   He comes to make His blessings flow
   Far as the curse is found,
   Far as the curse is found,
   Far as, far as, the curse is found.
4. He rules the world with truth and grace,
   And makes the nations prove
   The glories of His righteousness,
   And wonders of His love,
   And wonders of His love,
   And wonders, wonders, of His love.

Shaft Fatigue/Failure - I do believe!

There is no argument that shafts fatigue; be it graphite or steel. The main point is how soon. The expert opinion is that under usual loads the shafts shouldn't fatigue in our lifetime.

But I am of the other group, which thinks that it does so sooner not from just proper use but from other factors. I guess a lot of these test are just stress tests in one plane and don't take into consideration the human errors in the swing. We don't hit the ball on the sweet spot of the driver everytime and off centre hits causes a lot of rotational stress on the club head especially near the hosel. If you hit the ball near the heel or even on the hosel, it will definitely fatigue the club. For the driver that's where it's commonly broken. Happened to me. Mine was due to a combination of increased swing speed, swing change with the coach (slight erractic swing because I am grooving the new swing), the wrong flex and the Ultralite shaft. The Ultralite shafts are thinner/less dense and because of that I think more susceptible to failure. It is estimated that about 125000 clubs are returned a year in the USA(not including folks like me who just writes it off).My mom also broke her Big Bertha Hawk Eye Driver Shaft years ago within months of purchase.

Weather conditions aren't taken into consideration either. No long term tests of exposure to the elements. Continental cars never do well in Singapore as the humidity and heat all year round kills the car. Humidity is never good for steel shafts and if you put them away in a musty cupboard or don't use them often, it will start to rust and tarnish.Steel shafts are more resilient to the heat. The UV light and heat does nasty things to the graphite shaft. Let it cook in the sun, IR and UV, the epoxy and resin that holds the fiber together will weaken the 'glue'. The shafts are painted to protect is from UV. But over here the UV and IR are nasty.

The clinking and clunking of the shafts in golf bag also affects the shaft and chips the graphite paint. My friend uses a golf club rack for his clubs in the bag. But that mainly protects the club heads and the shafts are still rocked about. Further we are supposed to be hitting divots. And swinging the club into the hard ground especially playing of a bare hard lie or onto a worn out range mat mustn't be good for the shaft either. Think of Bobby Hull making a slapshot.

The quality of the shafts also should be taken in consideration. The manufacturing process is not 100% perfect and they still have faults, be it for steel or graphite. This would be more likely in OEM shafts rather then the high end original shafts where productions numbers are lower and less profit driven; "$400+ for a new shaft? I can buy a new driver and a wood at that price." Such is the case, that you hear people complain of shaft breaking after a few rounds on the golf course.

Also don't forget the times you drop the club on the ground after a lousy drive, banging the ground in frustration or the club dropping down after you leaned them against your golf bag.

But the grooves of the irons are more likely to wear out first and the driver head is more likely to crack or fatigue before the shaft fails.

So that's my take. So its more like manufacturing fault and golfers fault that the shaft gets affected. So you can get one bad shaft in a whole set of irons with the rest of the irons still working fine.

Golf irons conundrum

Really like the feel of the Project X shafts on my Burner 2.0. But the offset of the Burner 2.0 is giving me a higher launch and is exaggerating my hooks because of my hand action. In a way its good, because I spotted this mistake in my swing which wasn't too obvious on the TP MC.

Feel like replacing the DG S300 of the the TP MC and sticking in the Project X 6.0ss. Don't think will play with the DGs. My buddy thinks so too and additionally he feels (and I agree) that all shafts fatigue, especially with loads of range and play time. The face of the clubs/ grooves and also the sole are also showing a bit of wear because of the soft forged head.( I do diligently use club covers for my forged irons). But was thinking whether to get a new set of irons rather then reshaft. But the question is which one? And its it worth it?

It's about $75 per shaft including gripping and labour. Means $525 for 4i-P. Set of new TP MC is going for $599. Total is $1124. So far in Singapore, I have seen the Mizunos MP-59 with Project X 5.5 going for 1155 plus the usual freebies thrown in. Unless I custom order a set of Titleist AP2 (716) with the Project X (will cost about $1600).

But I am not sure about the Mizunos. Never played a Mizuno. AP2 are a bit overpriced. Have to pay a premium for the brand. Another option is to wait a while and see what Taylor Made has to offer for the TP series if they intend to come out with new ones. But definitely no Honmas for me.

Just put your comments below and let me know what you guys are thinking.

Product Review -Original Swing Setter

Today's product is a Training aid! 

It's David Leadbetter Original Swing Setter. Nothing new here. In fact he has a Swing Setter Pro that's out too.

But for me I got the Original Swing Setter. Had trouble finding it locally and shipping costs were expensive. So did the next best thing. Got my Golf Pro to bring back one for me when he got back from the states.

The Swing Setter trains a few things

1. The EZ-See Club Face which allows you to view the clubface through the back swing. However, you must know what the correct direction the clubface is for it to be useful. But nonetheless, it aids beginners faster. However, I didn't install it.

2. There is the antenna thing at the base of the club. It's extendable to sort of lengthen the club and point downwards to help you understand and check your plane. Good for beginners. Especially remembering to point at the belly during the takeaway, because a lot of beginners break the wrist too quickly in the backswing. The only thing I use the pointer is to bluff kids that my club doubles up as a Walkie Talkie.

3. It comes with a formed grip that teaches beginner's how to grip. It's really useful cause a fundamental thing like a wrong grip can kill your swing.

4. The Magnetic Balls are great for the back swing. It helps your tempo especially when you hear the click. The upper ball(nearer the grip) is meant for clicking in the back swing. Don't really practice this part with the swing setter, my  Pro recommends me to use the Orange Whip, he also recommmends me to get this next. (currently using his/shared whip when  no one is using it). Can understand the importance of this, because a lot of beginners have too flat a backswing.

5. What I mainly use the swing setter is to practice the lag and prevent early release of the wrists. It's great when you can hear the click after the ball/impact rather then before impact. Most of the average Joe's on the range release too soon, causing a loss of speed. Also good for strength training, using the swing setter one handed (left and right), and practicing the baseball swish with it. As you improve the clicking of the balls gets louder.

Verdict : I got one. Very Nice!

  

Driver Shafts - Personal feel

Enough of rants.

Was on the range the other day, trying the various permutations of the R11, RBZ and RBZ tour head with the Matrix Ozik HD6 X (TP stock shaft), Proforce V2 67g X, and the AXIVCore Tour Green 75g S. (Friend was supposed to be there but didn't turn up, if not more shafts and club heads to play with). Anyway just love the flexibility and adjustability of TM shafts. The Callaway and Titleist Adaptors aren't easily and widely available.

Nothing scientific, but just try to see what works for me and the observations that I make. (Maybe I should get the Flight Scope Xi personal edition. Heard its going to come out next year and retail at USD$3995).

In conclusion, RBZ head is not suitable for me. The head is light and slightly too high launch. Didn't hit it so well off a high tee but had better results off a low tee. Seems to me that the shallower heads are easier to hit of the low tee. And the light RBZ head somehow affected the feel of the club and the swing. The RBZ tour with HD6 was D4 swingweight. V2 and RBZ- D5 and the AXIVcore with R11 was D7.

The Matrix HD6 and the Proforce V2 performed similarly. But the V2 had a slightly lower torque compared to the HD6. The 5grams difference between the shafts was barely noticable but the 0.3 degree of torque could be easily appreciated. The V2 was slightly stiffer then the HD6. The Tour Green was definitely lower launch and lower torque. The 75 grams weight was very apparent and the flex of the shaft felt stiffer then the 

the HD6 and V2, even though the Tour green was a S flex. The HD6 was 45.75", the V2 45.25" and Tour Green 45". All not tip trimmed and only butt trimmed as per manufacturers recommendation.

The V2 and HD6 definitely went further then the Tour Green, with the confounding factors being the shaft stiffness amd shaft lengths. Tour Green did as specified lower launch, less dispersion with loss of distance due to the shaft weight. (Tour Players are really good as they are able to hit these heavy shafts with such high Swing speeds.)

R11 head was low launch with slightly higher back spin, whereas the RBZ tour head was high launch and low spin. The Aural tone of the R11 was nicer because it gave a nice crack. The RBZ Tour head was a bit too loud, but I guess its a good tool to irritate the uncles and aunties on the range.

In the end, all the shafts are great. But I will stick with the RBZ tour head / R11 head with the 75 gram shaft for the lower dispersion. Currently I need to get my fairways hit rate up. Also my swing causes a bit of a hit launch, so I prefer the lower launching shafts. ( I set the adaptor to lower loft. With the RBZ adaptor it is -1.5 degrees.) 

Golf Attire - Michael Jordan refuses to change at golf course

Michael Jordan refuses to change shorts at golf course.

This a a problem that happens all over the world. Most Golf Clubs/Courses have rules on attire especially with Private Clubs/ Courses. Even the PGA Tour has rules on clothing.

The rules are printed everywhere and there are signs everywhere about the dress code, yet people and members pretend not to see or choose to ignore. And enforcement is not consistent.

Guess basically the rules are just to maintain a level of decorum. If not you will get people dressed up like the Village People on the golf course. But it's a measure of one's consideration and respect for others and also a reflection on yourself. I don't mean you have dress with swag, but just look decent. On public ranges without any dress code, I do wear T-shirts and board shorts. But swinging in them feels totally different.

So what you do is up to you. Follow the dress code, loosely interpret the rules or clearly break the rules. No point on me judging others.

Just Ranting

Something I always read in Forums...Driver Reviews - Bought this driver, spent $X, lousy piece of S***, wasted my money, lousiest driver ever, Don't buy it, Never again.... and so forth.

What I say to these ppl- please do your research. And understand the shaft that comes with the driver you're about to buy and the club head characteristics of the driver too. This goes for all clubs too. When the Driver is crap for you, mean it doesn't suit you. If I bought the Cleveland CG Black Driver in Regular, it would do nothing for me but doesn't mean it's crap. Because the website says this "Optimized for the player that has lost swing speed and distance, the Black driver is designed to produce a higher, more draw-biased ball flight – similar to the Launcher Ultralite XL270 and SL290."

So far have been lucky fitting myself. The project x 6.0ss works for me and I knew it from knowing my swing and swing profile too. And driver shafts have performed as stated in the websites and those that I have work as expected as per manufacturers specification.In Singapore it's hard to get a good fitter. Only can think of Mark Higgs and Jeff Goh who can do a decent job.

So know yourself and your golf swing and you will know what type of equipment you'll need to help you. And don't be a douche and say stupid things because it reflects poorly on you. But in the age of anonymity and the internet, you can get away with anything.

Deep Face Drivers vs Shallow Face Drivers

Which do you like to play?

I prefer Deep Faced Drivers.

Firstly you must understand the physics behind the clubhead, then you can decide what you like.

Firstly the Driver is limited by volume 460cc. And most drivers are maxed to 460cc, unless you get some Tour /Players driver which are 440cc.

Things that we look for in a driver is back spin, side spin, forgiveness, launch angle and swing speed.

Back spin is affected by the Centre of Gravity of the club. A forward CG gives more Back Spin.

Launch angle is affected by the loft of the face and also the CG. A Higher CG gives a lower launch.

Forgiveness and Side spin are affected by Moment of inertia. Which is in turn affected by the broadness of the driver front to back, i.e. Square head drivers have higher MOI. Another factor is the parabolic club face and variable thinness. But the COR has to be limited. A lot of new technology/novelties come and go. But fundamentally a few things remained unchanged. For a deeper face, it forgives up-down mishits more than left right mishits like the shallower and broader drivers.

Swing Speed is affected by the weight of the clubhead, size of clubhead (smaller less wind resistance) and aerodynamic design of the clubhead.

What I need is mainly low back spin and low launch. Got enough swing speed so I need not worry too much about that. Newer Drivers have adequate MOI for my swing and occasionally need to work the ball.

A Deep face driver suits me, as it results in a nice lower launch due to the raised CG. But the forward CG brings the spin rate up. So what RBZ and Titleist does is to add weight to the bottom and back of the driver to bring the CG back to reduce backspin, more penetrating drives and longer distances. The weight at the back and bottom might lower the CG a bit as compared to the shallow face, so it still gives a higher launch. So I still play a 9 degrees loft and dial down and loft with the FCT.

Hope this clears things up. But there are many other things and technologies each ClubMaker has to throw things in the mix. (i.e. Crown thickness and weight, Crown design, Offset et al)

Golf and nature. Aka monkey eating durian.

Golf is a wonderful sport. You get to get to see all the wonderful flora and fauna.

You get to see the whole range, from the pretty stuff like herons, to the nasty stuff like humongous monitor lizards and snakes. Once we even saw a wild puppy who wasn't with its mum. It was sniffing around in a bunker and did a poo there (considered the ultimate hazard).

And even if you don't see them, they can see you. And get a taste of you. Gotten multiple nasty bites which swell up, itches and takes weeks to go down. Or the painful wasps stings by the hymenoptera that hurt like hell and causes the leg to swell.

And during durian season you can see the ubiquitous monkey eating the fallen durian. And in the evening you can see the rarely spotted flying lemur. Saw it once in the car park, didn't know what it was till I saw it in the papers.

Don't we all love to play golf!

More Shopping. Takashimaya additional 10%

Woohoo!

Early Christmas for me!

Got the RBZ Tour TP for Christmas (Wife paid for it)! Can open it early too and don't need to let it sit under the tree.

SGD $556. Know it's a really high price but that's the price in Singapore and South East Asia. Anyway, Taka card holders get additional 10% off. And 3% rebate in vouchers from the smart points. So it effectively works out to $486. And we get a free Players Weekend Tote thrown in, listed at SGD$123.75 and on discount at $99.On sale at the US TM website at USD99. But we know that actually, the cost price is very low because it's made in China. However, it is a good quality bag. Unlike my current bag(Callaway Diablo Octane bag) which I am using now. Also got it free, but after about 9 months of use and it's worse for wear. Previously used a Titleist Bag for 10+ years. That was money well spent.

Another buy was 2 TaylorMade Golf Caps at $8.90 each with a further 10% discount and Taka card points. Any cap under $10, I will buy. Not fussy about logo, however need to be a Golfing related logo because of Club dress code rules. One black and one white TM Tradition cap. Nice basic cap have one at home which I am using currently. Nice and comfortable too.

More on the stuff another day. Will try to hit the range this Sunday and follow up with reviews!

Golf and fitness.

Golf is a great sport. Good for muscular strength. It helps your cardio too. Especially if you carry your bag and walk, which I do when I play the executive course. No point tiring yourself out when actually playing nine or eighteen holes, cause you want to score well in golf. And all golfers know playing poorly is frustrating. I am a golf cart/buggy man. For overseas courses I am the buggy and caddy man.

My theory is get fit to play golf rather then use golf for fitness. But the by product of buckets and buckets on the range is a decent physique.

For me, one should train muscular strength and stretching in the gym. Run and swim for cardio. Play tennis too cause its one sport that's complementary to golf. Very similar swing mechanism. Hip turn, arm lag, stand up to get out of the way. Only thing you have to watch is that for tennis there's more knee flex then golf, so don't let that creep into your swing.

Get fit for golf and golf will get you fit too.

Disclaimer : results vary and must be accompanied by a sensible diet.

Ha!

Course Swing vs Range Swing

This is something that we all have. Our range swing defers from the course swing. And when you change your swing on the range, you need a couple of sessions on the golf course to groove that swing. That's why I am a strong advocate of walking your club's executive golf course and play a couple of balls and a couple of rounds between range sessions. Also not forgetting to work on your short game, especially pitching and chipping. These courses are always underutilised on weekdays and good place to focus on your swing and play off the grass. Especially, alignment, direction, different lies and ball positions.
Why do I say this? Because was on the course yesterday with my coach to see how my game is progressing and why I am hooking the ball. At the end of the day, he said to me I was doing certain things with my swing that he hasn't see me do on the range. Playing with your pro/ coach is great. You also get to experience playing with a good player and you really know where you stand. On the dog leg right Par 4,  off the front tee, he cuts the ball and it goes long over the green and near the next tee box. Well more adventures another time.
The 3 mistakes I made
1. Alignment is way off. I was standing with a close stance and that promoted a draw/hook.
2. My takeaway wasn't smooth and around enough. Too short and that lends to releasing the club head too soon that leads to grounding the club too soon, loss of lag and occasionally causes an out-to-in swing. This out-to-in causes a cut fade right or pull left. Mainly for me pull left, worsening the leftness of the shot.
3. Over supination/ external rotation of the left forearm. When at address I hinge the club up, it is square. But  after impact, returning the club back to address and hinging up the club was closed. Wasn't due to slippage of the grip, but rather the supination of the forearm. Have to resist flipping the arms and let the clubhead go through square at impact, extend the arms then let the club head go around the body and end with hands higher then the clubhead. (Not easy to visualise this)
Need to work on these 3 and my game will be coming together.

Shafts- Distance vs Control depends on the shaft weight

Hi ho everybody.
Today's topic is a simplified take on Shafts. The main factor we are talking about here is the weight.
If you have a quick tempo, spray the ball a lot with a wide dispersion or hit the ball too high, then a heavy shaft is good for you. Not talking about the flex but the weight of the shaft. But invariably a stiffer shaft tends to be heavier. (not going into torque, EI, GJ, stiffness profile). But the drawback of a heavy shaft is the distance is loss slightly. But this is only in a golfing robot. However with a human player, the heavier shaft will give you better feel and control and you will actually end up hitting further.This has happened for me. The asian specs of the clubs tend to be lighter and don't suit me.
Another point to note is how much you play. If you play often then a heavy set of clubs is ideal. I am with the school of thought of playing the stiffest flex and heaviest shaft that you can cope with. (i.e. before distance starts tapering off too much) Often you hear the sales person in the golf shop spewing nonsense, was once told to swing easy and play regular instead of stiff. That seems to be some peoples take on the game.
In contrast, if you swing with a slower tempo, have less dispersion, need help lifting the ball and don't play often, then a light shaft beckons you. (as is the case of my wife).
So for the Driver, a light weight for distance would be 50g -65g. Whereas, 70g-85g would be heavy for control, leaving the happy medium of 60g-75g for both distance and control.
For the irons, a nice and heavy shaft would be the True Temper Dynamic Gold, KBS Tour, C- Taper or the Project X. Play it stiff at 110+g. Light would be 50-70g graphite shafts.
So now you know.
But to throw a spanner in the works, Cleveland Ultralite system, uses a light shaft to gain swing speed. And this surprisingly works for me with the hybrid. It's a Miyazaki C Kua at 62g as opposed to heavier shafts which are in the 80+g range. This is how the torque and other characteristics complexifies the issue.

Latest Buy - Ping Golf Tour Umbrella

For all you golf umbrella aficionados, I recommend you the Ping Golf Tour Umbrella! 

1. It's nice and big - 68". Most umbrellas you get will be in the 60-62" diameter range.

2. The handle is nice and slim, and it can fit into the umbrella holder of your trolley.

3. The fabric is very nice and its a waterproof pongee fabric.

4,  It's a double canopy umbrella. It's a true double canopy. The inner layer is a full piece and the upper half is a mesh fabric to let the air through. Unlike some umbrellas where the fabric just overlaps a bit without any mesh or netting to the upper half of the inner sheath.

5. It's a cool square umbrella. I think it lasts longer. My Confidence Golf square umbrella(10+ years old) is still around, only that  it's a silver fabric umbrella and the silvery layer is flaking off.

Drawback

1. The point of the tip of the umbrella is rather large and looks very plasticky compared to the suave, cool, luxurious and sturdy material the rest of the umbrella is made of. So am worried it might get brittle in our climate and break off.

It's SRP is $80. Can get it at 15% off -$68. More if you arr with the shopkeep.