New toys for old boys!

Joakim Haeggman - learning to adapt to new equipment

It was top coach Denis Pugh who, in an exclusive interview with Golfmagic.com recently, berated the likes of Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam for their stubborness in not embracing new technology.

He said they could have extended their careers at the top level but were effectively in denial over new equipment.

"They were among the world's best ball strikers, flighters and shapers but new technology seemed to bypass them," said the Sky Golf analyst and Colin Montgomerie's coach. "It's a mystery to me why they didn't make the transfer but probably they were just stubborn."

Ross Biddiscombe asks some of the veteran players at last week's European Tour Qualifying School finale how they're adapting to the latest tecnology.

THERE WERE plenty of experienced 'fortysomething' players at San Roque in south eastern Spain taking advantage of the new equipment just as fast as the ferocious young turks.

Most were being outdriven by at least 50 yards by kids who grew up with all the latest technologies but it didn't stop them wanting to see how it performed against tried and tested drivers and irons.

Haeggman says 'nothing beats new stuff.'

He revealed that only one of the 14 clubs in his bag is more than two years old - a cherished TaylorMade 200 Steelhead 4-wood with 17 degrees loft.

“It's about seven or eight years old," he admitted. "I use it all the time. I used to have the 3-wood as well until I cracked the face on it and couldn't get hold of another one. So it was bang, straight into the new stuff.”

Haeggman says older players on Tour have to adapt to the equipment rather than have equipment adapt to them.

“My driver is a TaylorMade R7 SuperQuad which is new this year. Nothing beats the new stuff. You just have to get better and use it well.”

Haeggman's belief is that Tour pros are changing their equipment just as quickly as they can get their hands on it.

“I would say everyone's changing their driver every year. You get the opportunity on Tour to go into one of the trucks that travel with us and you test all the equipment that is available. You find something that fits you a little bit better, so you go a few yards further or a few per-cent straighter. It grows with you. If you do that for a few years then suddenly the clubs in your bag have all changed, but you haven't really noticed.”

Peter Senior: 'from the old school.'

Australian Peter Senior - a former European and Australian Open champion is 50 in 18 months time and says that drivers are the key new technology breakthrough but the mature players are not the greatest beneficiaries.

“The game's changing, but technology has not done much for the shorter hitters like me," he says. "The younger guys who really crunch the ball get more out of it. If you're fit and strong then you're going to benefit more.”

Senior reckons he's more 'old school' when it comes to the next new craze, than some of his fellow journeymen on Tour.

“I don't muck around with gear that much and to get me to change something, it has to be pretty good. I've experimented over the last two years and think I've got the right combination now.

"I still carry 2-iron down, a Titleist 907D2 driver and a Callaway 3-wood. I've had the driver three weeks and the first couple of days it went pretty good but not so well today. It takes some getting used to. Before that, I had a Callaway Fusion driver that I'd used for six years.”

Philip Golding: 'confidence can technology'

The former French Open winner carries all the latest R7 TaylorMade woods and irons including a 17-degree rescue club.

“I like them a lot,” he says.

But when it comes to the short game, Phil believes it is a question of confidence and feel rather than simple technology.

“I've used the Odyssey 2-ball for a couple of years, but I recently found an older Odyssey mallet head that I'd never used before and I've put that in the bag.”

Phil used his re-discovered flat stick to close-out his final round and claim one of the last Tour cards among 30 on offer after a gruelling six rounds, confirming that new is not always best.

Tell us on the forum about the old clubs in your bag. What have you stuck by through thick and thin? What can new technology never match, in your opinion?