Sep
13

Everyone Needs A Laugh

By | Playing Tips

Leave a Comment

There is a profile of “golfers” floating around the Renegar Golf email this week. We have all had a good laugh out of it because trust me we all know these guys. We just couldn’t resist sharing it with you. It is originally from Golf Digest December 2011. Hope you enjoy it!

18 Most Annoying Golf Partners

1- Unsolicited Swing Advice Guy

Annoying Golf Partners

Annoying Golf Partners from Golf Digest December 2011

Defining characteristics: Knows exactly how to fix your swing even though you didn’t ask. Employs a vast array of swing jargon that only confuses you further. Favorite expression: ”Wait, try this!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2- Human Rain Delay

Annoying Golf Partners from Golf Digest December 2011

Annoying Golf Partners from Golf Digest December 2011

Defining characteristics: Thinks he is honoring spirit of the game by never picking up. Not in the spirit of the game: dragging his foursome through a three-and-a-half hour front nine. Favorite expression: ”Put me down for a 10.”

You can see the post in its entirety here on the Golf Digest site

Aug
15

Helpful Answers to the Most Common Renegar Wedge Questions

By | Bounce, Featured Posts, Fit & Customization, Playing Tips, Renegar Golf Design

Leave a Comment

All Renegar Wedges

Profile of all Renegar Wedges

With sales of Renegar Wedges growing in 2nd and 3rd quarter of this year, we inevitably have certain questions that reappear from time-to-time. We wanted to take an opportunity to group some of them here together for you here on the blog with answers.  Let us know if you have anymore that are not listed below.  Bob is always happy to answer any questions that come along.

 

How can you be so certain my scores will be lower with your wedges?

Because our design work is much more than “garage tinkering” with Sarazen-soled wedges. We have already done our homework in golf club testing and R&D. It has been validated with robots, launch monitors, and in the hands of the best players in the world. So, we already know.  We are not giving you another variation of the 1931 Sarazen sand wedge improvement with its very real playing limitations. Our utility-patented improvement gives you greater forgiveness, improved playability in every short game situation, and increased spin and control.  And our shaft and grip designs just further enhance that improvement. Regardless of your skill level, your short game play will improve with our clubs.

 

Can I re-shaft your wedges with my choice of steel shafts?  

Of course you can, but you should know in advance that this will be a step backward to a lower threshold of performance. We tested our DTS Tour Control shaft against all the leading steel shafts – It performed better than ANY steel shaft for every short game situation and in the hands of players at every swing speed and every skill level. The shaft bore dimensions are those of a standard taper tip iron shaft, so have at it – but we urge you to keep the removed DTS composite shaft, as you may want to re-install it later.

 

Will you do a custom build for me? 

No.  We will not manufacture our golf clubs in anything less than their optimum performance configuration – it would be a betrayal of our product promise to you of delivering the best made and best performing short game products in the world.  The Renegar Golf wedges are already “custom built” for optimum performance in all the shots of your short game.  Choices for shaft type, design, length, etc. are just NOT either fitting or personal preference items for wedge configuration (like they are for full swing clubs) – they are instead opportunities for real performance optimizations that we have carefully researched and developed.

 

Can I make adjustments to loft and lie with these wedges? 

The Renegar wedges are manufactured with a special induction heating process performed on the hosel and “par” area to make possible easier adjustments of loft and lie and to enhance their vibration properties. Reasonable adjustments are possible, but any golf club will break if pushed too far. We do not warrantee these clubs against breakage. It should also be noted that the finish in the hosel area may be permanently marred by the bending bar used to make these adjustments.  Players attempting lie angle adjustments should avoid the simple-minded conventional wisdom of “I am one degree upright from standard”, etc.  Proper lie angles can ONLY be determined by empirically measuring results with a bounce board. We suggest you test with a bounce board before you adjust. Shaft designs, club head lengths, swing speeds, and other variables will affect the proper lie angle determinations for any player. And, of course, “standards” will vary from one OEM to another. Loft adjustments are also possible, but it should be understood that any change in loft creates an equal change in the bounce angles on the sole – i.e. making your loft 2 degrees stronger reduces the effective bounce measure by 2 degrees also. This may greatly affect the performance of the patented and milled bounce sole contour. Please note also that a one degree adjustment in loft or lie angles will produce approximately 2-3 yards change in distance or direction.

 

Can I buy a replacement grip? 

We may make replacement grips available at some point, but Lamkin offers a very similar grip through its retail distribution.

 

My “master club fitter” says I need a particular shaft, lie angle, and length to match my irons – why do you think otherwise? 

Is your putter matched to your irons configuration? Why not? Rolling the ball on the ground is a different game from that of full swing shots – just as the little and partial shots in the short game are very different from full swing play. Similarly, your wedges need to be matched to the demands of the short game shots you must play (which are in fact the same for everyone) – and not the characteristics of any individual full swing. Wedges need to deliver a maximum of control for distance, trajectory, and spin. Matching the shaft, length, and lie angles of your wedges to your irons set is just not the correct fitting philosophy for your short game clubs. Wedge play is very different. Your irons and woods are (and should be) fitted for swing speed, shaft design, length, and lie angles that match your full swing speed, but you just do not use your full swing speed for short game shots.

Jul
17

Can You Buy Your Way into a Better Game?

By | Playing Tips

Leave a Comment

"Can you buy your way into a better golf game?' - Bob Renegar

"Can you buy your way into a better golf game?' - Bob Renegar

A recent dinner with some fellow golf enthusiasts started an interesting conversation about whether it was possible to “buy” your way into a better golf game. Can you buy enough equipment or specialized equipment to make your golf game better and lower your score? This is great question because if asked this question 20 years ago, I would have said no.

Buying a better game used to be a big chuckle among better players. “Rookies” paying large sums for new equipment expecting lower scores were scoffed at – and justifiably so – the golf clubs from a couple of decades ago really did not embody much real technology.

Nowadays, that is all changed – players at every level now absolutely CAN buy a better game – not a perfect PGA Tour level game mind you, but a BETTER game and lower scores are most certainly attainable.

Here are some basics for how that can happen:

More strokes are made (and potentially saved) with the putter than with any other club. 43% of all strokes in a normal round of golf are made with a putter.

Putter equipment cannot make you a better putter, but it can make you perform better and find lower scores by forgiving human error more efficiently and interacting with the player on a better level. I like properly fitted putters that are generally no-hosel mallet designs with a face-balanced alignment and long alignment aids. Generally mallet putters will give the player improved forgiveness for both speed and direction on off-center hits due to their improved MOI stability and their longer alignment aids make them easier to aim.  At the end of the round, all of this will result in lower scores for players at every level in every round they play.

While putters represent an area to lower scores by reducing strokes, drivers represent a similarly large opportunity for stroke addition avoidance.

Drivers only create opportunities to play on from a good position OR they create scoring problems. The new generation drivers ABSOLUTELY afford every player better results for distance, direction, and consistency. Fitting and adjustability in drivers offer players at every level the opportunity to optimize results for their individual swings and skill level.

Custom fitting is an absolute imperative for any serious golfer.

Full swing shots (woods and irons) tend to produce the same dynamic forces on the golf club and are generally played from very similar set-up positions (unlike wedge play that is rarely played with a full swing or with the same set-up / ball positions). This consistency of full swing play creates an opportunity to optimize the player interaction with the golf club for better performance and consistency by custom fitting.

Short game wedge play is your chance to protect and preserve better scores.

Our wedges address the design demands of short game play better than our competitors – giving every player improved versatility and forgiveness for the great range of different shot making situations faced in short game play – resulting in lower scores.

Play a better fitting ball.

A “Tour” ball spins (and curves) more – think “out of play” if you are not already a skilled player – and can easily give many players LESS distance from the tee. But spin is desirable for short game play. Be realistic about where you game is. Talk to your retailer about options for better ball selection.

Range finders and GPS equipment add a dose of reality to our play.

They enables players who will be honest with themselves an opportunity to learn what distances they truly hit all their clubs – thereby better answering the distance part of the distance and direction solution for every shot. They give us actual distances to avoid hazards that greatly impact our scores. Players who use distance measuring equipment absolutely play better and faster.

So yes in the current world of golf YES you can buy your way into a lower score and better your golf game, if you realistically look at your specific golf game and take advantage of what is available to you!

Jun
11

Products That Have Improved the Game of Golf

By | Featured Posts, Out and About, Playing Tips

1 Comment

Bob Renegar

Bob Renegar talks about three of his favorite products that have improved the game of golf.

As a golfer for 30+ years Bob Renegar has seen lots of products come and go. As someone strong in research and facts, he has a discerning eye when it comes to choosing favorites. That is a valuable perspective when looking at new products and gadgets each year.

Any guesses on what he thinks are some of the great new items on the market in recent  years?

Top three products that have improved the game of golf from Bob Renegar’s perspective:

Laser Range Finders and GPS Systems

This hybrid range finder also has a GPS feature from Bushnell.

This hybrid range finder also has a GPS feature (from Bushnell).

They give you the actual distances to the green / flag / hazards that every golfer must deal with. They are much more accurate than the old distances on sprinkler heads and greatly speed up play and lower scores when everyone uses them.

Players tend to learn their actual distances for each of their clubs as well (Rather than believing they can hit their irons the same distances as tour players on TV because really, who can?) and they consequently play much better and enjoy the game more.

Here's a great article from the University of Florida - Fort Lauderdale on the different types of Bermuda grasses and their affect on the game.

Click here for a great article from the University of Florida - Fort Lauderdale on the different types of Bermuda grasses and their affect on the game.

Champion Bermuda Grasses for Greens

These grasses finally provide courses in the south with a very good heat resistant putting surface. It is acceptable to the demands of elite players and tough enough to endure the demands of high traffic and low maintenance - and still provide a great putting surface.

New Generation Spikeless Golf Shoes from Ecco, FJ, Ashworth, Adidas

The spineless golf shoe from Ashworth is a great option and a great looking shoe. Many of the spineless golf shoes these days are ideal for wearing from the house to the car to the course - and comfortable with each step!

The spikeless golf shoe from Ashworth is a great option and a great looking shoe. Many of the spikeless golf shoes these days are ideal for wearing from the house to the car to the course - and comfort is found in each step!

These shoes provide golfers, from recreational players to tour players, with a most comfortable shoe that can be worn from home, in the car on the way to the course, and on the course with great results.

My legs and feet are much better at the end of a round with these shoes than they EVER were with conventional golf shoes.

Did you guess any of those? What are some of your favorites?

 

 

 

Apr
19

Can You Think Your Way To That Hole-In-One?

By | Playing Tips

Leave a Comment

Combining the power of positive thinking and the new Renegar Wedge will improve your score tremendously!

Combining the power of positive thinking and the new Renegar Wedge will improve your score tremendously!

We loved this story heard on NPR about the power of positive thinking during a golf game.  We thought we would share it with you because we’re always looking for ways to improve your golf game.

First we’ve developed the utility-patented sole with more bounce and a lowered leading edge….and combining that technology with a positive outlook means your golf game will improve noticeably. 

by 

Psychologists at Purdue University have come up with an interesting twist on the old notion of the power of positive thinking. Call it the power of positive perception: They’ve shown that you may be able to improve your golf game by believing the hole you’re aiming for is larger than it really is.

Jessica Witt, who studies how perception and performance are related, decided to look at golf — specifically, how the appearance of the hole changes depending on whether you’re playing well or poorly.

So she took a large poster board to a golf course with circles of different sizes drawn on it. Some circles matched the size of the golf hole, some were larger and some were smaller. As golfers finished their rounds, she showed them her poster board and asked them to select the circle that matched the size of the hole.

After she got the golfers’ scores, she did some math: “The golfers who did better and had a lower score selected larger circles as matching the size of the hole,” Witt says. The good golfers overestimated the size of the hole by 10 to 20 percent.

Which Orange Circle Is Larger? In this optical trick, known as the Ebbinghaus illusion, both orange circles are the same size. (Go ahead, measure!) When small circles were projected around a golf hole, golfers perceived the hole to be larger and subsequently made more putts. Image courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.

Which Orange Circle Is Larger? In this optical trick, known as the Ebbinghaus illusion, both orange circles are the same size. (Go ahead, measure!) When small circles were projected around a golf hole, golfers perceived the hole to be larger and subsequently made more putts. Image courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.

But then Witt wondered whether this difference in perception could be put to use to improve a golfer’s game. So she tried an experiment. In her lab, she made an artificial putting green and used an optical illusion to make the golf hole appear larger or smaller than it really was.

The trick involved projecting small circles of light around the hole to make it look larger, or projecting large circles of light around the hole to make it look smaller. It’s an optical trick called the Ebbinghaus illusion, which you can see here on the left.

“The illusion wouldn’t interfere with the putting; it would only change what people perceived,” Witt says. The hole itself never changed sizes.

As she writes in the journal Psychological Science, the result was clear: “When people perceived the hole to be bigger, they also made their putts more successfully.” Witt thinks the change in perception to make a task seem easier will apply in a lot of different circumstances.

Click here to read and hear the entire story from NPR.

Feb
17

The “Apparent Contradiction” of our Utility-Patented Sole

By | Bounce, Playing Tips, Renegar Golf Design

2 Comments

A Lowered Leading Edge With MORE Bounce

Lowered Leading Edge Comparison

Side-by-Side Look at Renegar's Lower Leading Edge Versus Competition

Other OEMs offer you one or the other – a lowered leading edge OR more bounce, but they CANNOT give you BOTH!

The “Apparent Contradiction” - With Renegar Golf’s patented sole, you get the greatly improved playability of a much lowered leading edge than Sarazen wedges allow, but our Utility-Patented sole gives you MORE bounce than Sarazen wedges provide – the best of both worlds – and when you need it!

Short game play demands for many situations that you get the leading edge down near the playing surface, but Sarazen bounce-soled wedges do not provide for that possibility (without greatly de-lofting the club).  Instead the leading edge is generally about 0.250 inches above the playing surface – inviting a plethora of possible scoring disasters.  The Renegar sole improvement lowers that leading edge to less than half the height of Sarazen bounce soles – greatly improving forgiveness for low or thin shots – the good player’s most common “miss”.

And yet, when you need bounce, the Renegar sole gives you even more bounce and delivers it with greater versatility than Sarazen soles.  Just open the club face slightly, and the several bounce surfaces are pressed into action – performing more like a conventional bounce soled wedge.

Our patented sole really can be described as simply moving the rearward portion of a conventional bounce contour upward and rearward behind the club face – creating multiple bounce surfaces and a greatly lowered leading edge.

We have copious data and research that you can read that proves our design will do everything we say it will, yet we know a golfer must see it for themselves. Isn’t it time you tested it? Replace one of your current wedges with one of ours and you will be a believer.

Dec
20

Top playing tips for the Renegar Golf Wedges

By | Featured Posts, Playing Tips

Leave a Comment

As the Renegar Golf Wedge is a newly utility-patented design with an entirely new approach to the short game,  please expect our wedges to play a little differently from your current wedges.

Playing tips for the new Renegar Golf Wedge. Still researching the Renegar Golf Wedge before buying? Click here to shop online.

Still researching the Renegar Golf Wedge before buying? Click here to shop online.

When putting them into play, please consider the following for best results:

  • Your new wedges will be delivered to you with a corrosion-resistant coating used to protect the club head finish during shipping.  This coating is lubricant-based (read OIL), so we recommend you clean your club heads properly before you use them (dishwashing detergent will work fine), as their ball spin performance may be reduced temporarily until that coating is removed.
  • Carry the ball nearer to the hole.  You should expect more spin and stop with less roll from your new wedge game.
  • Add extra bounce when you need it by opening the club face to engage whatever bounce you need for the shot.  The smaller most forward bounce surface has a constant 21 degrees of bounce, but it is narrow.  This is NOT a Sarazen bounce wedge with a constant excessive bounce presence.
  • Many players will want to play the ball a little toward the toe with our wedges (any OEM’s wedges for that matter) – particularly on chips and partial shots – our firmer shaft tip reduces the “droop” phenomenon on slower swing shots (this is the reason many good players will “shank” their wedges on occasion).
  • Find your comfortable full-swing distances and then “choke down” distances using the grip down “buttons” for consistency – your distances with our wedges will be different from those with your old wedges – even if your old wedges had the same lofts.
  • Experiment and we even encourage you to practice a little – there will be many short game shots you can play now that you were unable to execute before.