I was working at a store front in Las Vegas with a guy named Joey. Joey was a great guy. Tall as a building and funny as a stand up comedian, Joey was the one that introduced me to the “sexy” golf club. He was a classic let me tell you. A very good golfer, as well as a good guy. Joey pretty much put into words that which I already knew but couldn’t pinpoint. Golfers, and humans, gravitated toward what they felt “looked good.”

We were out on the golf course one-day and I was taking a beating when I asked him if I could give his driver a go. Joey was taller than I was and swung a bit harder, but our abilities were fairly similar so this driver should be just fine for me. I addressed and immediately felt “something” that was different than my normal feeling with my driver. I commented that it looked strange and immediately snap-hooked a drive out of bounds.
We laughed and Joey said something that has stuck with me since. “She just isn’t your blonde is she ha ha.” Not that I am a blonde or a brunette guy, but it made sense. It just wasn’t my brand of vodka. It worked for him and more importantly it looked “sexy” to him.

So the manufacturers design “sexy” into these things. Don’t be fooled, the colors, patterns, logo placement, even the backs of the clubs that you do not see from address, are all carefully designed with one thing in mind. Having you find them “sexy.”

Callaway has designed the back of the Ft-IQ driver to look like the rear end of a Lamborghini. Is it any wonder why so many of your friends that are “traditionalists” play or really like the look of the Titleist equipment? The design is such that it appeals to a golfer that likes a traditional pear shape with no offset. Many manufacturers are building clubs that are open at address for the “traditionalist” because that seems to be what they prefer, optically.

Then there is color. For years department stores and casinos have made no bones about the use of color in influencing us. I used to work at a books, music, and video store that had all the walls painted different colors. Can you guess what the color of the wall was where the exits were located?

Wilson used red in their, aptly named, Deep Red Driver from a few years back. Now why would a driver be red? Red seems to convey a feeling of anger or power. Typically, you will hit a red driver further than say a blue one. Yet, Mizuno uses blue on their drivers. Blue is a calming color optically. Mizuno is banking on you feeling relaxed and calm over their driver.

Confidence is the key here. You have to have confidence in your equipment from a design standpoint as well as an optical standpoint. If you do not like the way your club looks you are already behind the 8 ball.

Part 3 of this series will deal with what looks can do to your performance. Check back. Oh, and the color on the wall with the exits was red…for STOP! It was amazing how well it worked ha ha.

Here is something that bothers me. Flex vs. flex point as it relates to shafts. Here is another marketing mess that can not only confuse, but scare golfers into submission to the golf companies every whim.

Flex of the shaft is usually printed on the shaft somewhere. It will say “regular” or “stiff” or “ladies” or “lite” or…well you get the idea. This is the designation that corresponds to the type of golfer that should be playing the particular shaft. Faster swingers typically play “stiff” and slower swingers play “lite.” Pretty cut and dried here. This is typically measured by swing speed and is, of late, being measured by ball speed.

Let me side step for a minute. If you are being fitted and are not being told your ball speed, ask the fitter what is it. If he/she does not tell you, go somewhere else. Ball speed is the single most important detail in the fitting process. Ball speed tells the seasoned fitter what kind of contact you are making when looked at with the swing speed in mind. Ball speed is the “new” swing speed to most of these golf club companies when they design and match shaft to head.

But I digress…shaft flex point is very different. Flex point is the zone that a shaft actually flexes at. You will see this called “low kick or flex”, “high kick or flex” and “mid kick or flex.” Here is where it gets tricky. High flex point will deliver a lower trajectory ball flight and low flex point will deliver a higher trajectory ball flight. Mid is…well…mid.

This should help you understand why the manufacturers will offer one driver with 3 different shaft options. In most cases, the “stock” shaft will have the lowest flex point while the other 2 options will be the mid and high flex options. Here is just such a monster.  You will notice that when you select the “shaft” option, the dropdown menu gives you 3 shaft options. In this case, the stock is the mid flex point option where the Pro Launch Red is the high flex point and V2 is the low flex point. Remember, in flex point high means low trajectory and low means high trajectory.

So what should I get? Well that is a great question. I would urge you to take loft into account with all of this. I play a 9.5* driver with a “mid to high” flex point. That produces a 9.5* driver that tries to play like a 9*. Why not just buy a 9* you ask? Because they didn’t make one ha ha. I would also say that if you need some forgiveness, play a lower flex point shaft. It will produce a higher trajectory which is typically easier to control.

Here is the noose though. What if I want a stiff shaft with a low flex point? Well I am out of luck for the most part. The reason for this is that the kind of shaft I would be asking for caters to such a small population of golfers that it makes no sense, financially, for many of the shaft makers to produce that combination of shaft. The same can be said for a high flex point, senior shaft. Why make it when it is so counter productive to what the golfer at that speed or ability is actually going to do.

Next time your golf buddy tells you that you should get a high flex point shaft put in your driver, ask him why and see what he says. If he doesn’t say “So that you can hit the ball lower,” he is just trying to get in your head, or your pocket.

HIT EM WELL!