The Golf Lab
August 2007 
 Golf Lab "Members Only" Newsletter
 Best Golf Websites, etc.
In This Issue


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Greetings!

OK, we're getting down to the very day when your game should PEAK. Spring to get motivated, early summer to get ready, the time is NOW. Season-ending championships are looming.

How's that for an aggressive opening?

But what if you're like me and not quite ready for the BIG TEST?

Let's turn philosophical. We're all players in a game that we love - most of the time. Some of the time we're worried about how much time it takes, how much money it costs and why we're not really getting better. Let's just focus on having a little more fun.

For us, that means "how can we get a little more business?" (Honesty is a virtue.) But, we're willing to earn it. (The "American Way" is so tough!)

Here's a deal: I'm going to give you some tips on the best Internet web sites that I rely on for my golf equipment and industry news. I'll also link you to some articles that are pretty good. Overall, several hours of golf-oriented amusement. Plus, I'll include a few "product spotlights and specials" - hopefully, to motivate you to pay a visit to the Golf Lab before Labor Day. It's never too late in the season for one more "tweak" to the bag.

What I'm hoping is that you will help us - me, Bob and Clint - and the rest of the Golf Lab Gang by forwarding this email to at least two of your best "golf buddies". Let them know that you patronize a great little golf shop in Palo Alto that's doing its best to provide state-of-the- art custom fitting and clubmaking services. If they would like to join the "Gang" there's a simple registration on the home page of the Golf Lab website: www.calgolft ech.com. Our goal is to accelerate the growth of our customer list. As a special favor, if you have knowledge of a club or group that might be interested in receiving Golf Lab emails and you could help us acquire the roster, we would be eternally grateful.

At the end of this message is an offer that will make your golf buddies happy to get email from you.

 Internet Golf Web Sites
 

My longest Internet forum membership is the "Golf Aficionados" website: www.4gea.com. Years ago, it "went private" to control the "flamers". A curious phenomenon about golf websites is that the ones that are "public" die because of ill-tempered, insulting posts. Today, most of the golf-oriented websites are private businesses and operate under rules that would make a stuffy country club proud. Tuck in your shirt; tie your shoes, etc.

The Golf Equipment Aficionados (GEA) is a very interesting assortment of individuals. The profile is basically "do it yourselfer". There is a tendency to favor home built golf clubs and - must I say - conservative "Red State" political views. But the conversation is usually interesting - the site gets a lot of traffic. It's not boring to log in two or three times a day - there's enough new to read to make it worthwhile. You get categories like "golf equipment", "reviews" and "clubmaking and repair" in addition to the usual commentaries on golf in general - a little too much Tiger and Michelle. As an added bonus, there's a "swap shop" that is a person to person connection where the prices are cheaper than eBay and shipping is always included. Highly recommended.

Bombsquadgolf.com (BSG). This is a "love it or hate it" website. It is purely commercial, aimed at selling expensive and exotic golf clubs, owned an operated by a promoter who bans members for life if they question his knowledge, methods or ethics. If you read between the lines, you will detect an undercurrent of idolatry from the surviving members who try to curry favor with the "Bighitter".

The core of the site is the "Tour Equipment" section. BSG has found a way to get their hands on prototype and early release products that are reputed to be "Tour Only". There is a suggestion of insider connections. Where do these products come from? BSG, for its part tends to move from vendor to vendor, depending on which one is "playing ball". Why put up with all of the drama? This is the only website in the world where you can get detailed pictures and descriptions of a set of clubs that a BSG customer bought for $25,000. That's an all-time American record. How about a customized Callaway driver for $3,000? If you want to get your high-end golf equipment knowledge updated before the next Member-guest, log into www.bo mbsquadgolf.com. BSG will give you plenty of stories for the grill room.

The current favorite shafts on BSG are Matrix Composite (formerly Apache) - which we have fitted for years at the Golf Lab. Last month BSG sponsored a "shootout" conducted by the highly-regarded Golf Labs (San Diego). The top performer was the Matrix XCon 5 - credited with testing 5 MPH higher in initial ball speed than the lowest performer. That's a big difference. We immediately ordered a few for our Demo drivers. The Golf Lab is the only shop in the Bay Area where you can test a $450 XCon 5, SST PUREd, with your swing and see how it performs. We also brought in a selection of the other Matrix models that are in use on the PGA Tour.



www.probablegolfinstruction.com is a great home-built website by Ken Tannar. If you like the Golf Equipment Chronicles and the Golf Lab periodic emails, you'll like Probable Golf. This is one of the new generation of websites that is trying to make a little money instead of giving all of the knowledge away for free. You can buy individual reports on certain topics. When I was doing research on golf balls, I spent $12 for Ken's research. The reports focus on all sorts of "tips and tricks" that even serious golfers may not know. Highly recommended.

In the Bay Area, there's a home-grown golf website: www.golfwrx.com . I like this site because it is the home of one of the most widely respected clubmakers, Joe Kwok. For me, it's a way to stay on top of what he's doing. He describes his methods well with words and pictures. The rest of the site is pretty conventional. It doesn't get as much traffic as GEA and BSG so daily log ins can be a little disappointing if you're looking for news but the quality of the posts is high.

Here's an oddball pick that will get you thinking. I've been talking off and on with David Lake - the founder and proprietor of 1 Iron Golf. www.1irongolf. com. What "1 Iron" stands for is all irons are the same length, same weight, same grip, same lie angle and same flex. The underlying idea is that the player only has to have one swing. David made me a set and I've played them off and on with "interesting results". I'm not a convert (yet), but one of the Golf Lab Gang - the Pilot - has had good results with a set we cobbled together. We're thinking about becoming a 1 Iron Golf "fitting center". This is obviously not for everyone. I'm still arguing back and forth with David about the perfect specifications, but I think that there could be something there for players who are beginning or who don't play enough to groove a swing for every different club in the bag. If you want to hear a good sales pitch, give David a call. If the "story" is interesting and you'd like to try 1 Irons, let us know and we'll work it out.

One more tip, especially if you're looking for golf news - especially from the various Tours and top industry journalists. www.golfob server.com is updated almost daily with in- depth stories. "Golfersal" - Sal Johnson - is the energy behind the site and is tireless in tracking down his information. If you're looking for current Tour news, Golfobserver.com is the best site I've found for that. I even found an article on Golfobserver that made sense out of the Fedex Cup race. That was a first.

 


 Try Before You Buy
 

It has long been amazing to us that golfers are so willing to suffer disappointment with their equipment. The problem is the selection process. Buying golf clubs is too frequently a "do it yourself" activity. You read the magazines, you visit the websites, you attend Demo Days and then you place an order. When the clubs show up, you hope they'll be close to what you expected. If they're not, they go to the garage. Garages are frequently littered with golf club mistakes.

Compare that process with a skier who is looking for high performance skis. Skiers would never think of buying a new pair of skis without trying them out first - on the mountain. It's easier for skiers. High performance skis are always available for rental. Why is golf different?

At the Golf Lab, we're building dozens of high performance, complete sets of irons that are available for our customers to rent for extended periods of time - just like "high performance skis". There is no substitute for playing a set of clubs that you are thinking about buying, on your course with the ball you play. You CAN know for sure if your new clubs will make a difference in your game. We have Miuras shafted with high performance Aerotech shafts. We have Mizuno, Bridgestone and KZG in our demo sets. Shafts are nothing but premium Aerotech, Nippon and Fujikura. If you're thinking about spending over $1000 for a set of irons, why take chances? A proper fitting and a couple of trials on you're course and you'll be assured of getting a set of clubs that will help you improve your game.

 


 Pick of the Season
 

Most golfers look for their driver to make the biggest difference in their game. It just might be that your most important club is the one you need to hit long par 4's and par 5's in two. If you've been on vacation in Antarctica, you won't know that there is such a thing as a "high performance" fairway metal. USGA restrictions do not apply to limit "hot faces" for clubs that are 15* or more in loft. That opened the way for Tour Edge to make their Exotic fairway series last year. They were good, but at $399 were not priced for the average player. There's now a "component" fairway metal out that delivers fabulous performance. It's the Wishon 949. We favor the 16.5* loft. Player after player has checked out a demo and refused to give it back. That's OK with us. Prices start at $249 each including precise swing weighting, a premium shaft set to perfect flex and SST PUREing. You can't get a better value in fairway clubs. And, we give an absolute, money back guarantee that your distance will improve. Try to top that anywhere else.



 


 Hybrids and Wedges
 

We have specialized in hybrids all season, focusing on the Tour-proven Adams and Nickent models. Players usually start with a 21* as a three iron replacement and move to 19* and 24* models once they find a head shape and shaft choice that they like.

The key to hybrids is the shaft. Performance for any given player is highly shaft-specific. Some like the Fujikura Banzai - our number one best-seller. But, the Aerotech was good enough to get into Jack Nicklaus' bag. We've also used an assortment of iron shafts to supplement all of the logical choices: the NV, the IROD, etc. Only at the Golf Lab can you demo EVERY popular shaft made for hybrids. If you want to know for sure, the only way is to go hit balls, OK at the range but better on your course with the ball you play.

While we're on the subject of shafts, don't overlook your wedges. Aerotech has a new 125 gram shaft out, specifically designed for wedges. The wedge specialists at Scratch have standardized on the Aerotech shaft as their only graphite offering. That tells you something. You can demo a Scratch wedge with an Aerotech shaft from the Golf Lab. Reshaft your wedge? $85, SST PUREd.

 


 Choosing the Right Ball
 

For the last couple of months, we've been providing "ball fitting" recommendations with our driver fittings. I mentioned a small company, Advanced Golf Solutions (AGS) that pioneered ballistic testing of golf balls for ball fittings. We've been using their software which requires ball speed, launch angle and spin rate input that comes from launch monitor fittings. Now, there's another website that focuses on ball fitting. Go to www.golf ballselector.com. You will answer a series of questions that will culminate in a ball recommendation that balances distance, control and feel. There is a $29.95 annual subscription fee.

For an in-depth discussion of ball fitting with lots of detail on both AGS and golfballselector.com and a preview of my September article for Golf Today Magazine, click on this link.

 


 Special Offer Ball Fitting
 

We have been very successful in helping players find a better ball for their game, utilizing the AGS software and golfballselector.com. For a limited time, any reader who mentions this newsletter will receive a free ball fitting. Just call the Golf Lab for an appointment (20 minutes). To increase your motivation, we will also offer a special price on a complete driver fitting ($95 takes 1.5 hours - $30 "saving"). If you take advantage of the combination driver and ball fitting we'll give you a sleeve of the often recommended Nike One Platinum balls. If you want details on the ball fitting, click on this link.

 


We're Easy to Find

The Golf Lab is located 1 minute off of 101 at Embarcadero in Palo Alto. We are easy to reach from anywhere in the Bay Area. Please phone ahead for an appointment. 650-493- 1770. If you have repairs or club work that you would like done, phone ahead. If we know you're coming, we'll set time aside and finish the work while you wait - if possible. Then, you won't have to make a return trip. That's the ultimate VIC - "Very Important Customer" treatment.

Email us at:
Leith Anderson or Bob Huff.

Best regards,


Leith Anderson, Bob Huff, and Clint Smith
The Golf Lab

phone: 650-493-1770
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