First Impression: Directed force ...OR... "Is there actually any innovation left in golf?"

I've posted before about new technology. Ins and outs, innovations and old hack ideas. I lie awake at night - after coming in from the shop - and think about golf. Late night and early morning TV are filled with infomercials... Hundreds of them. Everything from training aids, to the next big "technology" in clubs. Guys yelling BOOM and POW and hitting the ball 400 yards, promises of clubs "so easy to hit it's like cheating".

It hurts me to watch these things. They prey on golfers and their desire to play better golf by making promises that sound legit but are in fact nothing but snake oil meant to separate golfers from money they could use as greens fees or lessons - further diluting the equipment business and depressing the golf market more.  Even leaving the television for the Internet I find little but "reviews" of how great things are. This and that - more distance - everything that's great about the products and no reasons why other than "it helps your game'.  There is absolutely no shortage of miracle clubs with any combination of letters and numbers that boast "innovative" technology and while some of them may deliver a few gains - they're not for the majority of golfers. How much of that really CAN BE real? How much is bunk?

So a number of months ago, I came across "Directed Force Putters".   A small company with a big idea - make a better putter.  Simple. No infomercials yet, nothing blowing up my email and Facebook, just saw one out at a tournament and heard loads of people saying they love their DFP.  What the hell, man?

A gentleman by the name of Bill Presse heading up the team, and coming out of the USA, Directed Force pushes it's business based on "lie angle balancing".   Whatever dude, just another kitsch phrase... or is it? I was duly skeptical. Nevertheless, I decided to do some digging. I searched and searched online for a used putter that I could at least test and didn't find one. Are they really that good that nobody wants to get rid of one?  Everyone that I found that owned one of these franken-putters just did not want to part with it. Literally every single one I contacted. Want to sell it? "NO". ...Please?  "Get off my lawn, dude!"..... You had my interest, now you have my attention. This is something I want to get into - a club people want to play until it wears out....

Flash forward, I FINALLY got my hands on one. One of these guys walks into the shop and wants some changes to his.  Knowing there's some weird arcane magic stuff going on here, I contact DF to make sure we don't ruin his flatstick. After researching and talking the man himself, Mr. Presse, we're going to get it done, but first - "let me test it huh?" Score! I took a few putts on my carpet downstairs and immediately know this club is different from anything else I've used before.

Background:  I've used and/or tested just about every putter out there. Especially recently with some new-found putting woes. My list includes but is not limited to: (BREATH) Cure, Brainstorm, Scotty, All the Major brands, wooden putters, long putters, belly putters, extra short putters, long putters, heavy putters, ultra light putters and even mini-golf putters. Face on, face balanced, toe hang, toe up, high moi, center shafted, plumbers neck, single and double bend - every.....fucking.... putter. I can honestly say that NOTHING that has come before it is anything like what the Directed Force putter is. DEFINITELY nothing looks like it - which is what i found to be the biggest hurdle...albeit a pretty low one.

Looking down, I couldn't even totally describe it without a picture. A branding iron maybe? Metal detector? (Find me a fortune!!) Large hitting face, ample reflective sight lines with a center mounted/center BODY shaft, and a large trailing weighted head.  The shaft sets in at an angle, and the grip is drilled such that it mounts vertically on the shaft. Essentially it's something between the recent Backstryke putters and the high moi Spiders you see now yet still TOTALLY different.  It's just the strangest gosh darn thing.....and I really started to fall in love with it.

For all it's quirks and idiosyncrasies, it sets up PERFECT. I mean, spot on balls perfect. I know exactly where that ball is going when i put the head down. This is great because it's like my older Ghost Spider in that respect: Very easy to line up and once you have the line, that part of the equation is out of the picture. It's all speed and roll after that.


 The grip fits very well in my hands - and rumor has it they have a larger version - but i don't have that one to test. It's not really needed though at this point- the "Press grip" is just the right size.  The shaft lean is unobtrusive to the eye, and the sight line just makes a great shape in relation to the trailing ball-catch. One thing I'm a little put off by is the shiny nature of the aim T. Shiny. Real shiny. It seems to just glow at address which is nice, but man when the sun hits that thing directly, look out! Good news is that I spoke to the creator and this issue is solved - They're now laser etched on all the new putters  - but you can still get the milled version if you're a paint fill kinda person.


The swing. The swing is effortless. The technology they're touting actually seems to be on display.  I know that with my Spider, and pretty much most putters it's very easy to leave the face open on a putt or put a little too much oomph into releasing the putter and close it.  Even if you're stroking it perfectly by the shoulders, the putter fights you a little. The stroke has to be perfect, and there's weight that needs to be compensated for in the head. You can feel it, no matter the putter. That being said...there is zero effort needed when making a stroke with this putter. It seems to know what to do and when to do it. Literally take a neutral grip and rock your shoulders and the ball starts on line every.....single....time. One handed, either hand, as long as the club started soled flat on the lie angle, the ball started right on the intended line.  I nearly soiled my pants to be honest. Now..... does that mean you can't miss? No, not in the slightest. It's not a gyroscope. You can almost feel it fighting you though in the back swing and through swing trying to stay on line and not have your nasty meathooks ruin your chance at birdie. The club WANTS to be square to your stroke. It's like a physical being. After about 10 "getting used to it" putts, there was no part of me that felt i had to do anything to get the putt rolling... and roll it did. It was a mental block to come to terms that i had to do NOTHING to make this putter work other than set up and rock my shoulders.

Roll and feel.  The strike is hard to qualify.  It's solid but soft.  If you're a fan of urethane inserts, you're going to have a period of time to become familiar with the new non-insert feel. In addition, it takes cues from the type of ball you're using. If it's a harder cover ball - the sound is going to be more of a pronounced and harder feel. If it's a softer players ball, you'll have a more muted feel and with either type you can really hear a light "tink" type of sound resonating through the head. It's actually rather pleasant any way you hit it, but coming off of soft insert putters, it does take a little getting used to - but no more than any other putter out there.  It's a confidence building sound in my ears.

Even if you put ear plugs in and wear oven mitts, there's no denying the roll. Pure, unadulterated Velcro on the green. No bounce. The ball just tumbles and tumbles and tumbles. Over marks, across hills, just tumbles. Full disclosure, I skidded a couple in the beginning because I used the same stroke i needed on my old putter to make it roll.   Newsflash.... This is as close to a "point and shoot" putter as we've got to date. The grooves on the face are apparently a roll machine.  Set up, rock shoulders, collect winnings. *drops mic*

Credit; "Back to the Future" - Universal Pictures 1985
If you haven't seen it..... what's the matter with you?

*picks mic back up*  So what does all this mean.. Well, to me, it means that there's at least a little bit of morality left in the golf equipment business other than yours truly. There's some real thought and real innovation in this putter and from first use - it's not a smoke and mirrors marketing speak type of campaign slapped on the same old thing. You're certainly not paying for a name, but I honestly think you're going to be hearing  a LOT more of the Directed Force name in the next year or so. With a silver metal on the Golf Digest Hot List already and momentum starting to build, for the first time since metal woods initially came on the scene - to quote Doc Brown - we're about to see some serious shit....Look out, big OEMs.

 There will be a  part 2.  This is not over. A putter's true self is not brought out until you get in the pressure of a real match. Since I have this for quite some time, I'll be using it in the match play this weekend and really giving it a test. Let's see how you handle it when the cheddar's on the line Mr. Force......

Getting the shaft - part 2-ish or "Giving the Indian a crooked arrow"

I posted a couple weeks ago about OEMs and their shaft offerings when getting fit for a club. With all the shafts out there and most of them for no upgrade charge "I'll just get the most expensive because it's the best, right?"  Seems to be a common occurrence.  Well, yes - and no.  Recently, a client of mine - we'll call him Smashy -  was having troubles with his driver. He bought it, and hits it good sometimes but remains very inconsistent so he gave me a ring to see if there was something in the equipment. "Chris, it's not the arrow, it's the Indian"  ----- Native American, please Dude. Still, i don't care if you're Robin Hood:  If your arrow isn't right, you're not hitting a damn thing.

Well, Smashy is kind of a big dude. The kind I wouldn't like to meet in any sort of alley, let alone a dark one. Big hands, oversize grips, taller than me (not hard to do, but still), and when he takes a cut at the ball he can exceed 121 mph.  Smashy is currently gaming a Stiff flex in his driver.  But Chris, you said flex isn't standard over all manufacturers, that could be ok right?  Yes, thanks for paying attention!! Still, when something is very very wrong, it's good to check it out to pinpoint the issue.

Well, we put Smashy on the Flightscope and found out some things about his swing. Overall, it's very repeatable and VERY hard. Gosh it makes my back hurt thinking about it.  So we warmed him up, and put some good swings on his current driver to get the numbers. Spin was high at 3100+, launch was OK, but AOA at -3 and AOD at 56 degrees was a real issue.  I checked out the flex profile and saw that he was FAR out-swinging the current shaft and the tip was way too active.



Note the squiggly lines on the left side. Layman's terms, this is how the shaft is loading and accelerating the head before impact (0). Orange is the current shot at screen grab, but all the shots are represented in gray. Take note at how some of the lines start high and then decelerate, then accelerate again. This is common in every shaft. It doesn't just bow and unload at one point. The bad news here is that while it kicks HARD, it can't handle the energy store for his particular swing and while it was kicking hard relative to the flex, it wasn't hard enough - note 107mph swing. In addition, the lines are not relatively close to each other or at the same shape - indicating that it's loading faster or slower by quite a bit, and sometimes it even decelerates before impact because of how aggressively loaded the shaft is.  Not a terrible shaft - but not at all a good fit. We want everything going in the same direction and consistently.  Smashy - being a fade/slice player - needed something that would accelerate quickly and help close the face, but be able to handle his aggressive transition and even give him a little bit better of an attack angle.  So, we put him in the budget-friendly Vista Pro 75  X flex.

A little about the Vista Pro - it's the basic end of Fujikura's offerings. It was originally released about 3 decades ago (?) and dominated then - so they re-engineered the materials and tech to re-release this year, replacing their EXS line of shafts.  FYI it has the same bend profile as the Tour AD DI shaft - for $280 less....



10 shots with the Vpro shaft, and notice how much more evenly the lines mirror each other. A few outliers on awkward swings, but the shaft helps out and loads/ unloads much more consistently for Smashy than his original shaft. This X flex and lower torque rating is much more able to handle his aggressive nature and perform consistently so that he can hit drives in a repeatable fashion.  Only one swing failed to produce good acceleration in this instance.  Taking this information - there was nothing else at this pricepoint that could take the kind of swing he had, so for fun I pulled out the HZRDUS black 6.0 (6.5) which active flex rates between stiff and X... Just for fun, to see if we could squeeze a little more consistency... Remember, this shaft is rated LESS flex than this X.....



As you can see - experiment failed.  While he could load the shaft well sometimes and it performed fairly consistently for him - it was just not a good fit for the swing. HZRDUS is TOO aggressive and TOO STIFF for the way Smashy swings, so could not effectively load and unload for him consistently..... We even hit the LZ, with the same results.... just not as good as the Vpro for Smashy Smashworth. Two high-end shafts knocked out due to fit. Now he has a great fit and saved a boatload to spend on lessons if he needs!!

But wait --- H Black is more expensive than the Vpro!!! It should be better!  Truth is that yes, it is "better" in it's numbers - lowering spin and launch - but it is not better for this player because it doesn't fit his swing. When he hit it, he bombed it but the consistency is not there and we all know in golf it's less about how good your good shots are and more about how bad your bad shots are. I've had fittings already where this scenario was 100% reversed! Fitting needs to happen properly!

The moral of this story - don't buy something because it's expensive or "included". Pros use stuff because they have a team of people that sit and stare at every ball hit, analyze it and build them a new golf club in between each bucket. The shaft they have fits them, and know what --- manufacturers will paint whatever they want on it for them. There is nothing "stock" about a club if you see a pro playing what you see on the rack, trust me.

This is what a competent fitter brings to the table. Find your local guy - NOT someone on a sim at a box store but someone who does building and fitting. Someone who has no one else besides you at your appointment and isn't going to leave you or hurry you so he can go sell some girl a new golf skirt in the next department over. There are plenty of small shops and guys squinting at fulcrum scales, agonizing over the last few grains of lead to put into a club head to make it exactly what they need for their client. Sit down, have a beer, and discuss - you'll make a friend and have a great guy just like the pros do, and lift your game up another level.

Magazine advice, social media and bad tips...

I spend a lot of time on social media. I enjoy helping people, it's what I do. When i'm asked about a shaft or a swing or a thought, generally speaking i don't offer advice. I offer information.  Information as to what should be happening to get the best out of the equipment or make the ball do what you want, NOT what they're doing or not doing in their swing.  I offer ball flight laws and the effect shafts have on different swings. Why? Because 99.99999% of the time there is little to no information about what is going on with that golfer and I have little to no time to have an at length conversation with the subject to gain the information needed. 

Watch this video:

What's wrong with this swing? It's very flat, the club is in a decent position, but not perfect at address, head dips a little low on the swing, and the hips clear pretty fast.  Far from picture perfect. Probably most of what i wrote above would be exactly what you would see written or would write yourself if this was posted and said "any help, i would be grateful".   Heres the thing.. what you don't know is that this person has no L5/S1 disk in their spine. Their shoulder locks on a spur if it goes higher or any different position farther forward than what you see here, and the grass is wet, and they aren't wearing spikes. They also average 10/14 fairways per round and hit the ball over 250 yards consistently.  All those things considered - i think it's a pretty darn good swing.  Mostly because it's mine - at an impromptu demo day for Ping where i wanted to try the new offerings they had.  Still, that didn't stop the advice on ball position and where to get my hands and how to angle the club and how i was wrong wrong wrong wrong.  Some of them were even Local Pros in different states!  Here's my advice to you - the only real advice i give.... Be very very very VERY wary of what you read and post online. Especially coming from "Pros" or "Teachers". They're very often the real deal, but no coach worth the dirt in your divot will give you any advice based on your description or a single video. They would want at least 2 different angles, head on and Down the line of the same swing, and to have a lengthy conversation about what you do and don't do.  

Still, every day I read comments from Pros and hacks alike - stuff they read in a golfing magazine once. Something that works for Adam Scott - former #1 player in the world - is a crapshoot for a middle aged bogey shooter who has trouble walking 18 holes. It's just the way it is.  Looking for advice online from forums and social media is only going to hurt your game and maybe even your body - trying to do something that it's physically unable to do. While you may be able to glean some moves off it, remember to sort out the information from the advice. There will be different and opposing opinions and as we know on the internet - everyone has to be right.  

In my area, you can get a great swing evaluation from a real teaching professional for less than the cost of a round of golf. That is absolutely invaluable. When  you decide to change equipment or swing characteristics without factual information about what you're already doing, you're throwing money away or chancing that you're going to make your game even worse - and with no way of going back. Practice makes PERMANENT, only perfect practice makes perfect. If you practice something that is incorrect, it's going to stick with you and will be harder to get rid of. Good advice CAN be found in a magazine, but figuring out if it applies to you is not your job. Go to your local PGA or LPGA pro and start a conversation. One lesson can go a long long way. 

Take things with a grain of salt - especially things written on social media. It's a forum where any keyboard warrior feels invincible and will waste no time in ruining others just because they can. 

My time with the M2 6iron - Part 1

I was recently chosen - along with about 5000 others -  to try out the new Taylormade M2 iron. They shipped me a 6 iron, via fedex and it arrived today. The claim is that this 6 iron will go higher, and farther than my current 6 iron. I immediately put to task getting all the vitals on the new M2 iron and came up with some really disturbing things:

1.  The specs on the site say that the 6 iron is 37.625" long, D2 swingweight, and 25 degrees of loft. The 6 iron I received is 38.25" long, D3 swingweight and 26 degrees of loft. This is really disheartening for a company that is as large as TMAG. I refuse to believe that this iron is not INTENTIONALLY built like that. I'm not sure that is such a good thing over being a crappy build.  Being 1 degree off, or one swingweight off isn't a big deal. Well - maybe the swingweight, but I digress, 3/4 of an inch longer than it should be is a little much to be a mistake. Count that it's also a full inch longer than what a 6 iron should be - or 1/2 an inch+ if it's to spec'd length - sounds like someone isn't playing fair.

2.  I requested a regular flex. I'm not the man I used to be - or rather my back isn't the back it used to be - so I need something that doesn't have a lot on it. I put it on the deflection board and it comes out at a regular. The problem with this is that it's STIFF marked on the shaft - so it stands to reason that these club flexes are a full flex off of what the shaft is specified at. It also doesn't appear to be a high launch shaft. Mid to high at best, in my opinion, judging by the flex profile under load.




3.  The grip has a rib in it... which is fine. However, it's set so the face is at a closed position. This is presumably to be a reminder to press the hands forward, as it lines up nicely square for me when this is done. Still, when you look down the shaft - the grip is actually on crooked. The butt graphics line up with face square, and the bottom hand end of the grip is twisted strong, causing the hood. As a fitter and builder, putting the rib in a different position to promote face angle is fine, but for God's sake put the damn thing on straight. IT's ok to twist it, but  this is standard from the factory, come on! They're either trying to stack the deck with this length, or dare I say inept at putting a golf club together. It's nice to get something free, but how about something that's right?

Already Three strikes against this new iron from Taylormade. Overall it's kind of a sharp looking iron. I like the nickel black, I don't mind the thick topline as I play one myself, and it feels kind of nice at D3.  I chipped a few balls around the basement and I don't like the clickey sound I get from it. It also feels sort of hollow, like if I swung really hard I could cave the face in or break it.  The range time will tell there. I will put it up against my current 6 iron and see if it truly lives up to what TMAG says. Higher and Longer than my current 6. We'll see. The Flightscope will tell the tale - even though it's a fixed fight. 4 iron length, 5 iron loft - should go further.  My 6 iron is strong as well at 28 degrees, but it's the standard length for a 6 iron - a full inch under what this tester club is. All I can say is that this club better beat me by a LOT if it beats me at all.

Part 2 will be at the range with the flightscope.

How much time do you put into your grips?

Grips are an overlooked item in golf. Most players basically let them go because they're buying new equipment every other year and just trading them in. the problem with this is that standard isn't always standard.  Most clubs come with a branded version of the Tour velvet grip. It's a great grip, don't get me wrong, but there are so many other options out there. You're only a quick shopping trip from getting the best grip from you and being the most comfortable in your game.

There are so many options out there for different shapes, sizes, colors, textures and even weights. Don't get sucked in by the one size fits all.. Why do companies put the same grip on? Because they're cheap and a decent all around grip. Remember:  Retail sales are about what fits most people and what they can sell the most of. One size fits most is never going to get you the game you want. Take a watch below if you're new to the golf gripping game or even if you have some years under your belt. Maybe you've never thought about your grips.