By Frank Thomas August 29, 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."]

HAVE YOUR SAY ON GROOVES

The USGA adopted new groove specifications on August 5, 2008. They will affect most of us if we continue to use our existing clubs in 2024, and will affect our new purchases of clubs manufactured after January 1, 2010.

In essence, the change is to reduce the volume of the grooves by approximately 40% which will reduce the spin rate out of the rough. This will make it more difficult to control the ball from a shot out of the light rough.

The research data to justify the change has been gathered from highly skilled golfers on tour -- 0.001% of the golfing population. The assumption is that extremely long hitters are not being penalized enough when their drives come to rest in primary rough -- about 2 to 3-inches in depth -- and the object of the change is to make it more difficult for the elite players to control the ball from shots out of the rough to the green.

The change for the elite players in Championship competition will be in effect as of January 1, 2010. Regrettably there is no sound evidence provided to indicate that the objective will be achieved, and the game will be better off because of this change. It is purely an assumption on the part of the USGA that this change -- with momentous consequences -- is good for the game.

Contrary to condescending statements made by the USGA, all golfers will be affected by this change. First of all, in that our purchase of a new set of clubs will have the equivalent of the 1942 groove configuration which will make it even more difficult for us to control the ball to the green than it is now. And second, if we continue to use our present clubs we will be playing under a different set of rules than the elite golfers until 2024 -- or perhaps forever -- condoned by the USGA but in contradiction to it's Statement of Principles published in May 2002.

It may be the start of TWO sets of rules, which I personally think will erode the fundamentals of the game.

HYBRID LIES

Frank, if my irons are 2 degree's flat, should my hybrids also be bent to match my irons? I hit them straight when teed up on a tee box. On a tight lie on the fairway I am not as consistent with the ball flight it tends to fade the majority of time. I am not sure if it is the club or me. I want to thank you for all your hard work and for helping others, as well as myself.

Sincerely,

--Dean

Dean,

I do appreciate your kind comments and am pleased that my advice has been of so much help to you.

If your hybrids are going straight off a tee from the teeing ground where your swing plane is a little bit flatter because the ball is slightly raised compared to the fairway lie, then it is possible that the fade from the fairway lie is because the lie angle is too flat for this slightly more upright swing plane. This is highly unlikely because the differences in your swing plane are very small. If by chance, this was the case and you make the lie adjustment to be more upright -- to solve your fairway problem -- you may find your tee shots will have a slight draw.

This is what I call a tweak adjustment, which is so small that most of us will not be able to recognize it. Dean, it is more likely that your problem is in your mental approach when you make a swing from the fairway lie compared to off a tee. When the ball is teed up we don't often think about making contact with the ground before impact. Our entire thought process is different and we take some comfort in knowing that we have a good lie.

Maybe what you should do is tee the ball up in the fairway, but only when you are experimenting, not when you are playing in the US Open.

As far as adjusting the lie angle of your hybrids; this is not recommended by the manufacturers. For the less lofted clubs -- 18 to 21 degrees -- a slight difference in lie angle does not affect the ball flight as much as it would on more lofted clubs, such as the wedges. Make sure that your hybrids, as with your fairway woods, have a toe to heel radius on the sole. This prevents the sole from unnecessarily catching at the toe or heel if it does make contact with the ground before or during impact.

Some manufacturers indicate that hybrids may be adjusted a couple of degrees for lie angle by an expert club maker using the same bending tools used for irons. If the correct length is selected for your woods and hybrids, the standard lie angle should be close to what you need.

Hope this helps a little, and now go out and 'Just Hit It'.

Frank

THE TRUTH ABOUT TEES AND KISSING FROGS

Frank, I have three questions.

First, there are a great many tees on the market, some which feature "improved" cup styles or prongs, others are brushes, etc. Other than length, does the type of tee really have much effect on ball flight and distance?

Second, the "silly" question which came up when my 3 year old granddaughter saw me reading your website. She recognized the putter as a frog and asked the obvious 3 year old question: what happens if a princess kisses the putter? I'm sure with all your contacts you could empirically test this.

Lastly, I would like to have the chance to actually hold the Frankly Frog putter in my hands and try it before ordering it. Since I get to Orlando every twenty years or so, is there a way to meet the Frog in person before ordering it?

Thanks for your help,

--Jay

Jay,

You have a three-part question, the answers to which are:

1. There is no solid evidence that the differences in tee designs presently permitted have any measureable effect on distance for elite golfers and certainly not the average golfer. If this was not the case, the USGA would have something to say about it and would develop tee specifications to disapprove these devices.

2. You can tell your granddaughter that if a princess kisses the Frog Putter she will probably lower her handicap.

3. We have just made a free download of the putting guide available to all who wish to take advantage of this on www.franklygolf.com. This will automatically make you a Frankly Friend and you can take advantage of the 30/30/30 program which in essence allows you to have 30 days to try the putter of your choice. See the site for details or call us at 407-396-4004.

Jay, please don't kiss the Frog in front of your wife when you get it for the 30 day trial. She may frown on this even though it will result in lowering your handicap a couple of strokes. Kiss your granddaughter in front of her instead.

Thanks again for your kind comments,

Frank