MALLETS AND YOU By Chris Alvey, dbmallets@gmail.com, Sponsors of the Townsend Club Award
One of the downsides to being a small business in what some would consider a niche sport is that there is no distribution in shops or locations across the country. Getting out to clubs and having players visit us has helped people make decisions regarding the purchase of mallets and in many cases allowed us to help provide coaching advice. Coaching isn’t a dark art; in most cases it’s small adjustments on a person-by- person basis. One of the main ones we see is hand placement and how far a player is bent over. Most players start with an open or spaced grip and (assuming you’re right-handed) when the bottom or dominant hand is placed on the middle or lower section of the shaft that arm is becoming straight in the swing before the top arm does, pulling the stroke to the right. If you push with the bottom
hand during the stroke, the likelihood is that your shot will go to the left. The small adjustment of moving that bottom hand up and not pushing with your dominant hand, coupled with swinging from your shoulders as opposed to your wrists, helps alleviate the hook or slice that you are finding in your game. As we move our hands up the shaft we automatically become more upright, and this can alter the required shaft length; from what you are using currently to what will be more appropriate as you are less bent over. Cleverer people than I say that there should be an inch of clearance above your top hand when you grip the mallet comfortably. In the last year we have sold several mallets to existing customers where the mallet height has been 2” taller than their previous model, and in all cases this has helped
improve their game (at least so I’m told). In theory I should be playing with a 36” mallet but play with a 38”, Anne should be playing with a 35” but again uses a 38”. This is more about personal choice as opposed to what the numbers tell us is correct. The same can be said about mallet weight, head length, etc. It’s about what you feel comfortable with and what works for you. That said, sometimes just asking a player to watch your swing and give you suggestions can make all the difference to your play with an existing mallet; and sometimes trying a lighter one will suddenly make all those things that your coaches said would work, actually work. Buy the mallet for you, for your swing, your style of play and what feels right. That may not be one of ours, but at least you have given several a go before making that decision and parting with your hard-earned money.
Funday Coaching
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