HAM 'n' EGG GINTY OR INNOCENT

Ham 'n' Egg


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Ginty or Innocent? The Original Utility Wood -- On Trial


Date: Friday 20 April @ 15:04:26
By: Ham 'n' Egg


First Posted on 3/3/97
The Ginty.

The name will either mean something to you immediately, or it won't.

If it does, then all we need to tell you is that Frank Viola, the head of the Con-Sole Golf Corporation,  owns the remaining original, laminated heads of this venerable utility wood.
And they're actually made of wood. Frank will be glad to attach one to either a steel
or graphite shaft for you at a cost way below the current nosebleed level we've all grown
numb to for golf clubs. And you'll own a working piece of golfing history.

If the name doesn't mean anything to you, then I guess we really do serve a purpose in this world after all. Read on.

So, what’s the big deal with these woods?

Ham: The Ginty's an interesting recipe for me: mix one part innovative sole plate design with one part usefulness from shaggy rough, shake well, and pour into my father's golf bag. My dad, a wonderful guy whose handicap has never seen the nether side of 20, first picked up a Ginty in the 1970's. He carries it to this day. It is the one club that still brings a smile to his face, even when all the others have left him high and dry. With the Ginty in his hand, my father returns, if only briefly, to the fairway from virtually any lie he has found in the rough. So, I have seen firsthand, over an extended period of time, how this club can perform in the mitts of a believer.

Egg: So, your pop's not the sharing type? He's got a club that consistently saves his bacon (no offense, Ham) and he won't let his own son give it a whirl? "Look, but don't touch." Hmmm. Sounds like my dad and his power tools. How I dreamed of the day I could get my hands on that Craftsman 3/8-inch reversible electric drill...

Ham: The rest of America's adolescent males, circa 1973, are ogling the latest issue of Playboy and what's Egg up to? Oh, about page 36 in the Sears catalog. It boggles the mind.

Anyway, the Ginty was first designed, patented and sold by a guy named Stan Thompson. Frank Viola was one of Stan's distributors and salespeople. When Stan passed away, his business assets wound up on the auction block. A little Ely-come-lately company called Callaway picked up the Ginty's trademark and patent, which led directly to the fairway wood designs that Callaway has ridden to the top of the golf sales charts. About a year before the foreclosure, Frank picked up the remaining laminated wood Ginty heads (in 2, 3, 5, original 7, and 9 wood lofts), sole plates and all.

 

How do they work?

Ham: Hey, when's the last time you hit a wood fairway wood? For yours truly, we're talking about 17 years ago.

Egg: Just a little over a year for me. In fact, if not for this product review business, I'd probably still be lugging around a couple of pieces of fine antique furniture. I don't like to rush into things.

Ham: Well, while you've been stuck in the '70s, I've been pushing the envelope in the '90s. Consequently, more so than usual at club test time, I wanted some get-acquainted swings on the range before I felt ready to comment on whether the Ginty works or not. To my surprise, it only took about 25 striped mushballs before this real wood told me it was ready to try live ammo.

First hole, drive's in the rough. 175 yards, up hill, to the green. Ginty country. Swing easy, hit high. Very high. Pin high, wide left. Not bad. Drop another ball, same lie. Swing easier, hit a little higher. Bingo. Dancin'.

Next opportunity, 170 yards out to a green surrounded by a moat of bunkers. Shaggier rough, into the wind. Two test shots. One's in the bogey dust, but wasn't far from being home free. The other is wide (of traps and green) right. Acceptable results given the wind, the lie and the operator's swing.

I tried the Ginty out of fairway traps (give it a B), off the tee (B+), from the fairway (A-) and from the rough (A). Overall, it works quite well in a lot of situations, but the rough is still its bread and butter.

Egg: Where's the rough when you need it? Unlike my well-heeled partner, I put the Ginty through its paces on a low-brow 9-hole course which can't afford to overseed during the winter. So hard pan and wispy, dormant turf is about all I could scare up. On these surfaces, I found it relatively easy to get a significant portion of the Ginty's hitting area on the ball -- and I've got the scuff marks on its red face insert to prove it. This produced acceptable distance and quite pleasing trajectory. The Ginty doesn't inhale the yards, but it will get you back on the short stuff with a flight pattern you can control.

If they're observant, golfers who follow in the wake of a Ginty-wielder will be able to detect its presence. This club's funky sole creates a unique, trough-like divot. To really test its mettle (vs. other woods' metal), I dropped a ball into one of these troughs and gave the Ginty a rip. Dang if it didn't extract my pebble from its little fox hole and propel it well on its way toward the target. I can assure you that most fairway woods made of far more exotic materials and commanding far larger price tags would have cried, "Uncle!," with this test.

How do they look?

Ham: Our testers were the original Gintys, which means a 7-wood head on a 4-wood shaft. So, how it looks at address is, uh, kind of distant. Small head at the end of a large shaft (hey, don't go taking that comment out of context, you Freudians out there).

Egg: I'm not saying nothin'. Beyond looking a little small at address, the clubhead also has an open face and a bright red target area under the lamination. It looks unusual at set-up, and even more so when you turn the club over and examine the sole plate. It's got a thin metal ridge adjoined by two valleys. Clearly a Callaway seed.

How do they feel?

Ham: It feels solid when your swing puts you anywhere near the sweet spot, and a bit lumpy when it doesn't. I found that the penalty for straying off center wasn't too harsh in the hands, but it was often about 15 yards worth of real estate. I definitely find metal woods more forgiving in this respect.

I also felt that the ridged sole plate is a real asset in the rough, and not a bad dance partner off the tee or the fairway, either. As long as you take a smooth, easy swing, the Ginty feels quite good. If you try to muscle it, even a little, you can hit some breathtakingly ugly shots.

Egg: Compared with the explosive feel of titanium, the Ginty's organic materials come across as a bit mushy, but that doesn't seem to translate into much in the way of lost distance. Make an errant swing, however, and you will pay the price. The Ginty doesn't suffer mishits lightly. I doubt Frank is looking to make any design changes with his remaining inventory. But I'd love to see (and feel and hear) what a Ginty would do if its plastic face insert were replaced with one made of titanium. Could be a killer club. Maybe that's what those Callaway people were thinking when they made the metal that's made them a mountain of moolah.

Are they legal?

Ham 'n' Egg: If it isn't, then millions of dollars worth of clubs spawned by the Ginty would be in hot water, too.

Are they worth the dough?

Ham: You can pick up a Ginty with a steel shaft for about $75. With graphite, it'll set you back about $100. The club works as well as - or better than - some sticks costing three or four times as much. Yeah, I'd say it's worth the dough. And every $5 Nassau my Dad ever won (which is quite a few, I can tell you) says so, too.

Egg: If you're on a tight budget (and who other than Bill Gates, Michael Eisner and Tiger Woods isn't), then the Ginty is worth serious consideration. You'll get a club that will bail you out of the bad places, as well as a conversation starter every time you pull it out of the bag. Buy a metal equivalent and you'll just be a face in the crowd, and a considerably poorer one at that.

Overall Ratings

Ham: If the Ginty was just a tad more forgiving, its value, fun, utility and nostalgia quotients would bump it into eagle country for me. But, as it isn't, I've got to go with the birdie here.

Egg: I'd have to concur with the birdie rating for the general buying public. Accomplished players who can hit the sweet spot, but who'd rather not take a similarly hard hit in the bank account, might find the Ginty a perfect fit.