New solution for old problem

Women golfers struggle with fairway woods more than any other club.

A sweeping generalization? Yes.

True? Also, yes, says Pat Lange, owner of Lange Golf Co. in Lakewood, Colo., the nation's only woman-owned manufacturer of women's golf clubs.

The conclusion is based on Lange's own informal polling system of women golfers. But as a longtime LPGA master teaching professional, Lange has the experience to know.

So when she became a manufacturer, she decided to throw out the traditional woods numbering system and produce her own system for her club designs.

Whether or not women play with Lange's clubs, they can take a few lessons in club selection from her theories. For example, try a 4-, 5- or even a 7-wood for some of the shots for which you have been using a 3-wood. You might have more success, Lange said.

"Because they need maximum distance, most women will use a 3-wood as a fairway wood," she said. "But the typical woman doesn't have enough clubhead speed to produce the distance she wants with a 3-wood."

One of Lange's fairway woods, dubbed the "Fore," has a typical 4-wood loft, but a 3-wood length. The accompanying clubs in this set are named the "Tee Club" and the "911."

"Which one do you think you use to get out of trouble?" Lange asked with a laugh.

Another set offers the "Fairway," designed with a standard 5-wood loft. This club is usually paired with one of Lange's two drivers. "Long Tall Sally" is a lower loft driver for the more accomplished player. "Sally's Sister" has a higher loft for the player with a higher handicap.

For competitive reasons, Lange declined to share the loft degrees used in her drivers.

Another of Lange's club lessons has to do with the popular "jumbo" clubheads touted by many manufacturers. "Jumbo heads are hot," Lange said. "But 50 percent of women golfers can't hit them."

Lange favors mid-size heads in most women's clubs.

Lange's various clubs are designed to be custom fitted. She can mix and match five different shaft flexes and three types of clubheads.

"From a manufacturer's point of view, that's dumb," she said. "From a golfer's point of view, that's the right thing to do."

Here's a tip

LPGA pro Amy Alcott, who is one tournament victory shy of gaining entry to the LPGA Hall of Fame, headed to the movies during the off-season. She just completed a cameo appearance in the Warner Bros. movie Tin Cup. This movie, which is scheduled to be released in late 1996, stars Kevin Costner, Don Johnson and Renee Russo.

... Actress and singer Susan Anton and her husband-manager, Jeff Lester, are developing a golf-travel television program to be named "Endless Fairway." Anton and Lester say they have two half-hour pilot scripts ready to produce. Lester plans to serve as executive producer. Both Anton and Lester will host the episodes. They are currently discussing teaming with a network or cable channel and target mid-1997 for the program's launch.

Patricia Baldwin is editor-in-chief of Golf for Women magazine. She can be reached by fax at (407) 333-8861, or at P.O. Box 951989, Lake Mary, Fla., 32795-1989.