Thank you Stuart Appleby!!

I received my January 2009 issue of Golf Magazine a week or so ago, and on page 105 there was a "Here's What I Play" article on the clubs that Stuart Appleby plays. Pretty good player, no?


Well, the article says the following things....

1. Stuart plays a driver that is 44-1/4 inches long.

2. Stuart uses a 15 degree 3 wood....hits it 260 yards the article says.


The article confirms something you will see on other parts of my site....that driver lengths played by the pros are a lot shorter than the 45-1/2 to 46 inch drivers you will by at your local golf store. I am certain that he plays this length driver because it is the length that he gets the best most consistent impact with.

The other interesting fact was that he plays a 15 degree 3 wood. And he bombs it, 260 yards. We mere mortals would do well to imitate his choice of 3 wood loft. At the very least, when you purchase your next 3 wood you should ask what the loft on the club is, and think seriously of playing with a 3 wood of at least 15 degrees of loft.

I have also recently seen some pictures of Anthony Kim hitting his driver....he chokes down 2 inches from the butt of his driver, and says that he gets more consistent driver contact that way.

So I suggest that you do the following sometime this winter season....

1. Make a "wrist to floor" measurement for yourself....make this measurement by standing upright with your feet together, and measure distance - for a right handed player - from the floor to the lifeline where your wrist bends. If you do this and send a reply to this blog with the measurement, I will provide you with a first estimate of what your best driver length should be.

2. Look at the bottom of your present 3 wood and see what the loft is. And then ask yourself if believe you get the ball in the air well with this 3 wood. If the loft is 13 degrees or less, and you do not get the ball in the air, maybe you should consider treating yourself to a 3 wood that will help you achieve better results.

So thanks Stuart!

Tony Wright