M.O.I.

photo credit: diskychick   MOI means “moment of inertia,” a measure of resistance to angular acceleration.   Bottom line – it means how quickly a clubhead will twist during impact when a golfer misses the sweet spot.  Every club in your bag is governed by this law of physics.

Amateurs require a high MOI, therefor, they need a club that has the weight moved far away from the center of gravity.  This type of weight distribution gives the player a great deal of forgiveness during mishits either high or low or heel and toe.  Putters with high MOI are balanced better and will remains steady during impact.  Bottom line - This is all about forgiveness.  For the average golfer it means using a set of clubs that will contribute to keeping your ball “in play,” at all times.

Electronic Caddies

photo credit: dan taylor   A good caddie takes the guesswork out of club selection but how many golfers can afford personal caddies?  The affordability and popularity of the GPS devices have, unfortunately, eliminated the use of caddies worldwide.

The latest GPS technology offers players extremely high resolution aerial photographs, such as the Callaway uPro ($399) www.uProgps.com.   Most other devices use digital reproductions of each hole.  The OnPar ($479) resembles an iPhone and comes with a touch-screen and a virtual “golf bag” which allows you to track how far you hit each club www.OnPargps.com.  The Sky Caddie ($399) is the market leader with a database of over 23,000 courses www.skygolf.com. 

Other brands worth considering are:  Garmin Approach G5 ($499) www.garmin.com and the Sonocaddie V300 ($349) www.sonocaddie.com.

Bracelet Power

photo credit: Random Tree   For a long time now certain metal bracelets have been worn for medicinal reasons. Metals such as titanium and copper, when worn on the wrist, seem to generate certain health benefits.  Most people wear these bracelets to minimize the effects of arthuritis and various muscle aches and pains.

Callaway Golf has just introduced a new line of bracelets called Ionetix which are designed to create “a feeling of well being.”  The electronics in our lives generate positive ions.  The theory is that the new bracelets will “balance” the positive and negative ions for better health although some scientists have suggested that the bracelets offer only placebo effects.  The suggested retail price is $79.99.  Check them out at www.CallawayGolf.com.  For other bracelets go to www.Q-Link.com or www.TrionZ.com.