Ask.....JEEV!

As you read this blog you will discover that I have a very unusual sense of humor and an attraction to things out of the ordinary. It comes out of a deep sense inside me to find out what is true, right, pure and good. I'm not an existential, I don't have a guru but after 25 years in this game I feel that I have a handle on what I really enjoy about it.

To that end, the players that are my favorite are not those who others like; Tiger, Vijay, Ernie and Phil. I have a tendency to follow unusual golfers, mainly those found playing on the tours most of us didn't know existed. I'm one of the few people that would watch the Andalucia Open on the European PGA Tour to see how far Alvaro Quios is hitting it (probably about 30 yards longer than JB Holmes). I'm very pro-American, but to me the players on these foreign tours are more personable, more real.

One of the characters that I watch with interest is the Indian golfer, Jeev Milkh Singh (no relation to Vijay). How can you not like a golfer with the first name Jeev? Besides the cool first name, he has a swing only a mother could love. He takes it back very flat and re-routes it just enough to get the club face so square at impact that he is currently ranked #28 in the world.

However to me the most important thing about Jeev that I like is what's in his bag. There are countless sites on the web where golfers debate the importance of equipment. If you want to start a fight on one of these sites all you have to do is suggest that a blade is better than a cavity back (or vice verse). Two thousand posts later you'll still be fighting.

Meanwhile Jeev is cruising along at #28 playing equipment designed fo 28-handicappers! His irons are Callaway Fusion (which have a very high MPF, see above post) and his wedges are Ping Zing. The wedges are the most interesting part of his arsenal.

The Zing model was one of the last designed by Karsten Solheim before his death. While very functional, they were to say not very attractive. The model sold so poorly that they came out with the Zing 2 almost right away.

So what's the morale?

Frank Thomas, respected author and authority on golf equipment, said it up best in his book, Just Hit It. While fitting and design are important, you have to "...find the music inside you."

Looks like Jeev found the music.

The Easy Way To Choose Golf Clubs

Last weekend I attended a manufacturer's demo day at which I had the chance to try many of 2009's newest clubs. I was especially drawn to one brand that had won a national magazine's "Gold" award in each category. As I tried these new models I noticed that even though my swing was a little rusty, these models did not perform as I had expected. I wondered why the discrepancy between the gold rating and my experience. Then I remembered:

Maltby Playablity Factor

MPF is based on dimensional and mass properties of iron heads. In addition, the pliability factor utilizes two mathematically based tables to adjust the pliability factor. This adjustment can either improve or reduce the playability factor. The adjustments are based on dimensional and mass properties that either fall outside accepted parameters or enhance accepted parameters.

MPF is broken down into 6 categories. The categories range from the easiest, most forgiving clubs made today (Ultra Game Improvement) to extremely difficult to hit clubs that only very accomplished players should attempt to use (Player Classic). The 6 categories allows the player to honestly look at his or her game and make a decision. The final result of this simple, easy to use process is a satisfied golfer, playing with the correct equipment, who finds this game much easier to play and certainly more enjoyable.

Click here for a full MPF rating chart-http://www.golfworks.com/article.asp?ai=870&eid=IronMPF

The MPF was devised by Ralph Maltby who has been designing and evaluating golf equipment for more than 40 years. He is universally regarded as one of the premier golf equipment experts in the world.

Ralph began his career designing and engineering for a number of major golf equipment manufacturers. He went on to found The GolfWorks in 1976, providing club makers and other golf equipment experts with club components, club making tools and supplies, and technical information.

Ralph created the Maltby Pliability Factor club rating system, through which he has tested and rated the performance of more than 1000 golf clubs. He has published seven books, secured multiple patents and lectured at more than 250 PGA Business Schools. Ralph has released a wide range of instructional videos and is a frequent guest on The Golf Channel.

In 1991 he was listed by Golf Digest magazine as one of the 36 most powerful men in golf and in 1996 was inducted into the “Professional Clubmakers Society” Hall of Fame.

Welcome To Urban Golf Legends!!!

I would like to welcome everyone to Urban Golf Legends. My name is Drew Farron and I have been a PGA Golf Professional for the past 25 years. In that time I have seen a lot, heard a lot and have witnessed a lot of "trends" that haven't lasted. Having spent some time thinking about the game of golf and its present crisis I felt the need to write.

Here are some of the things this blog will not be; soft, cuddly, politically correct, friendly. A golfing legend (and one of my unaware mentors) once said "Thinking must be one of the hardest things to do, so few people do it." The point of this blog is to force you to think. You may not agree with me but I will cause you to give consideration to points of view you either hadn't considered or had enough information on.