By Frank Thomas April 18, 2008

Our equipment guru, Golf Digest Technical Advisor Frank Thomas, has the answers to your questions. Click here to submit a question for possible use in this column and you could receive a signed copy of Frank's latest book, "Just Hit It: Our Equipment and Our Game." For more from Frank you can visit his site franklygolf.com. [Note: Each week submitted questions will be reviewed and the best one will receive a signed copy of Frank's book, "Just Hit It."]

MASTERS COURSE SET UP

Frank, watching the Masters this weekend, I noticed that many of the commentators were making mention of the changes the course has undergone over the last few years. What do you think about the changes, and have they done enough to harness technology?

Thanks for all you do for the game,

--Bob

Bob,

Thank you for your question. First of all congratulations to Trevor Immelman, a fellow South African, for his excellent play. What a true champion.

Congratulations also to Augusta National. I thought that the course setup was one of the finest I have seen for many years. The first cut (or rough) was longer than usual and there was more of a premium on distance with accuracy, which is something I have been advocating for many years.

I would like to believe there would be no need for any significant changes in the future from what was presented to the players last week. The ball and club have now peaked, and as a result, driving distance has stabilized for the tour players as predicted.

We are fortunate that advances in technology with regard to distance will no longer be a major topic of discussion, and Augusta National can rest assured that there will be no further need to increase the length of the golf course for many years to come.

Best,

Frank

GRIPPING DOWN

Frank, when putting a short putt, I often "choke down" on the putter so that one or more of my fingers are directly on the metal of the shaft. Some players claim that it is against the rules to grip a putter in this matter. I have searched the USGA Rules and have not been able to find any such rule. What say you?

--Bob

Bob,

First let me tell you that there is no violation if you grip the club with one hand on the shaft.

When I was proposing new rules or modifying existing rules the object was to make sure the intent of the rule was unambiguous. If we could get away with this alone then it was better to leave it right there and not be too specific. Being too specific invites people (innovators and others) to find a loophole around the intent. If people understand the intent then they generally know when it is being violated, and self-policing leads to better adherence than introducing specifics, which are never sufficient to cover every situation.

Once a putter has been approved, then you can use it almost any way you want to. The limitations are that you hit, not push, the ball with the head of the putter. You must also have both feet on the same side of the putting line. This both feet issue does not apply to any other stroke. You can make a chip shot between your legs if you find this easier than a conventional stroke in certain circumstance. Clubs are not designed for this type of stroke and it is awkward, but it is not a violation.

A grip, as we know it, is not required on a club. That portion of the shaft, which is designed to be held by the player, is considered to be the grip and any material added to it for the purpose of obtaining a firm hold. So the grip, as we commonly know it, is not an essential part of the club.

You can be assured that you can grip the putter any way you wish and hit the ball, just don't push it.

Frank

NOT A "PURIST"

Frank, does puring work? Theoretically, it makes sense, but after I paid to have my shafts pured I didn't notice that much difference in performance. As the inventor of the graphite shaft, you're surely the best person to give me some insight on this process.

--Brad

Brad,

I'm no "purist." In my mind, a shaft that needs to be "pured" is a bad shaft to begin with. The problem lies in the manufacturing process. The first graphite shafts were filament-wound, which means that a continuous bundle of resin-impregnated graphite fibers were wound onto a rotating solid core or mandrel, creating a woven pattern of material resulting in a constant thickness of material on the mandrel. This becomes the "wall thickness" of the shaft when the mandrel is removed after curing. The flex properties are thus very consistent in all directions, independent of the axis about which it is bent. These shafts were as good as steel shafts with regard to the consistency of bending and twisting properties, so none of them needed to be "pured."

Today, however, graphite shafts are flag wrapped (a much less expensive process than filament winding), which means that sheets of graphite fibers, oriented in a specific direction, are rolled onto a mandrel. If just a few layers are used to make up the shaft wall thickness, then there is a good chance that an overlap will cause a thick section, or a high concentration of fibers on the side of the shaft which will create something like a spine. This would cause the shaft to bend differently in different bending modes. For example: an R-shaft bending about one axis may become an S-flex when the shaft is rotated 90-degrees and bent again under the same load. This is not good.

Some of the more popular shafts (Aldila NV for instance, and others) have many layers, and this reduces the potential inconsistency problems. Other shafts that are not as well produced may need to be oriented to a specific position to reduce the effects of their inconsistent bending properties -- the so-called "puring" process -- which only underscores the fact that the shaft is impure to begin with.

If you were making a decision about what to put into your club, I'd suggest that you're better off getting a shaft that does not require "puring" in the first place. A better quality shaft may give you more peace of mind but since you've already had your shaft "pured," and cannot detect any difference in performance, then my advice is not to worry too much about it.

Hope this helps,

Frank