==================================================== Newsletter - Issue 110 Date 08/25/09 ==================================================== ==================================================== Equipment - Books - DVD's - Instruction ==================================================== I was watching the golf channel and saw a training aid that really intrigued me called SlotStix - http://www.slotstix.com As you might expect, the package arrived at my door yesterday and I'll be reporting on it's usefulness in a week or two after I've had a chance to work with it. Here's my recommendation: this product works as well as advertised and then some. It will be your faithful companion on the range and the practice green, that is - if you want to get better. It has a combination of uses that is very versatile. You can set the stix up for full swing plane practice, weight shift correction, path guidance, alignment, gauging your chipping stroke, and even for putting practice. The plastic carrying case is very well made, and it's sturdy to boot. The kit comes with a booklet of drills and a dvd of drills by Hank Haney. Those two items are probably worth the price of the product in their own right. His instructions for the drills are simple and easy to understand. I recommended a product with some similar uses a while ago, the path pro, and although I like the path pro, the yellow foam arm would wiggle too much in the wind. And for outdoor lessons and practice, there is usually a bit of wind - this year especially. The slotstix stay put. I give this product two thumbs up for value and usefulness. It can be ordered here (BTW I don't get any commission on sales): http://www.slotstix.com Enjoy, Tom ==================================================== TCT Quick Tips - Tempo Tip ==================================================== Take an extra club when hitting into greens for a while. Taking an extra club on approach shots will take the sense of hitting hard out of the equation because if you really nail your shot, it will fly over the green. Doing this for a while will allow you to stop trying to hit every shot so hard and give you better tempo. If this doesn't work take 2 extra clubs on your approach shots. Then you really will have to swing easier. ==================================================== Golf Tip: The Effect of Time on Graphite Shafts ==================================================== A student of mine asked me a question about the durability of graphite shafts, and a bit of research yielded the following information. The graphite golf shaft was born in 1969, the rest ­ fishing rods, tennis racquets, bicycles, yacht masts and thousands of other consumer products -- is history. Graphite fiber shafts are now almost all made using a flag-wrap method which is less expensive than filament winding, but the properties of the composite are essentially the same and the material is very stable and will not change over time. In fact, forty years later the properties of the original shafts that were made at Shakespeare, one of the original graphite shaft manufacturers, have not changed compared to when they were introduced to the market. Fortunately the only change in graphite shafts is that they have become a lot less expensive, and more consistent -- in most cases -- because of the improved methods of mass production and lower material costs and advanced designs. As long as you treat your clubs with some respect, as you would any fine instrument and don't expose them to high temperatures that would be extremely uncomfortable for you personally, your graphite shafts will last you into the next century. The bottom line is that you that you will change a lot more than your graphite shafts will. Enjoy, Tom