If you sign on to my blog from time to time, I hope it is obvious that my great passion in clubfitting is to help people play the best golf that they can - by building them golf clubs that are the best fit for their individual games.
Admittedly, however, I have quite a lot to learn in terms of what individual players REALLY care about in terms of their personal golf clubs. What clubs do you hit well, what poorly, what are your favorite and least favorite clubs are some of the questions that I am interested in learning about.
So, in the next few weeks, a simple, on-line form will be added to this web site where anyone can do a personal evaluation of their individual clubs:
Driver
Fairway Woods
Hybrid Clubs
Irons
Wedges
Putter
When this evaluation becomes active, I hope that many golfers who visit this site will complete the evaluation form and send the data to me. My goal is to, once enough data is collected, identify trends in golfer's club needs. Hopefully this data can also be used to help determine what kinds of additional clubfitting and clubmaking services will be of most value to customers.
I will also share the self evaluation results obtained from your input so that you can compare your responses to those of other golfers. Stay tuned!
Tony
Monday, February 23, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Dear Mr. Goydos - The Indian or the Arrow...??
I read my March 2009 Golf Magazine today, and this month there is a 1 pager on the clubs that Paul Goydos, well known PGA tour professional, plays. The article says he plays a 44-3/4 inch driver - consistent (though a little longer) with lengths of some other players highlighted in recent Golf Magazine articles.
However, what really caught my attention in the article was a quote at the end. The quote was:
"A 30-handicapper shouldn't buy $1,000 clubs. He should buy $200 clubs and take $800 worth of lessons. It's the Indian, not the arrow."
I agree with some of what he said in this quote, but I also think it is a bit of an oversimplification. What I agree with is that someone who is not a good player SHOULD DEFINITELY be taking golf lessons if they want to improve.
Where I think his statement is a bit off the mark is that $200 clubs will actually keep the golfer from improving from the lessons the way that the golfer deserves to improve. I had a very positive fitting experience this summer with someone who had not played golf in a long time. He showed some interest at the start in getting me to fit him for more than just a few clubs - but I suggested that I should build him two starter irons to start with. I suggested that he take lessons with Des Mahoney, the Teaching Professional at the Centenial Golf Teaching and Fitting Center where I do my club fitting work. Des is great at working with all levels of players, and has a passion for helping players at all levels to improve and enjoy their golf games.
Once he had taken some lessons from Des to learn some of the correct principles of the golf swing, he was ready to have a few more clubs built for him. I believe he really benefited by going slowly, getting some lessons, then having other clubs made for him.
However, he did NOT have very good clubs to start with. It was important to get him in the right length of irons and at least the right approximate flex of irons at the start. The first two irons I made for him were about an inch shorter than he would have bought at a golf store. He COULD have bought some cheap clubs that were an inch too long.......but would the lessons have worked as well with clubs that really did not fit him? I do not believe so.
I am about to start working with another beginning golfer soon. In his case, he has a very long Wrist To Floor measurement - around 42 inches (probably 4 inches or so longer than average WTF I have seen in the past!). I will work with him to find the right longer club length, but ALSO will need to use very lightweight shafts to make some initial irons for him that do not have excessively high swingweights. He would never find clubs the right length and right swingweight at a golf store. I also think I have convinced him that he needs to start with some lessons from Des to develop a good foundation for his golf swing.
So Mr. Goydos - I believe that all of us golfers deserve to have Arrows That Fit Us, and Also Good Swing Technique.
Tony
However, what really caught my attention in the article was a quote at the end. The quote was:
"A 30-handicapper shouldn't buy $1,000 clubs. He should buy $200 clubs and take $800 worth of lessons. It's the Indian, not the arrow."
I agree with some of what he said in this quote, but I also think it is a bit of an oversimplification. What I agree with is that someone who is not a good player SHOULD DEFINITELY be taking golf lessons if they want to improve.
Where I think his statement is a bit off the mark is that $200 clubs will actually keep the golfer from improving from the lessons the way that the golfer deserves to improve. I had a very positive fitting experience this summer with someone who had not played golf in a long time. He showed some interest at the start in getting me to fit him for more than just a few clubs - but I suggested that I should build him two starter irons to start with. I suggested that he take lessons with Des Mahoney, the Teaching Professional at the Centenial Golf Teaching and Fitting Center where I do my club fitting work. Des is great at working with all levels of players, and has a passion for helping players at all levels to improve and enjoy their golf games.
Once he had taken some lessons from Des to learn some of the correct principles of the golf swing, he was ready to have a few more clubs built for him. I believe he really benefited by going slowly, getting some lessons, then having other clubs made for him.
However, he did NOT have very good clubs to start with. It was important to get him in the right length of irons and at least the right approximate flex of irons at the start. The first two irons I made for him were about an inch shorter than he would have bought at a golf store. He COULD have bought some cheap clubs that were an inch too long.......but would the lessons have worked as well with clubs that really did not fit him? I do not believe so.
I am about to start working with another beginning golfer soon. In his case, he has a very long Wrist To Floor measurement - around 42 inches (probably 4 inches or so longer than average WTF I have seen in the past!). I will work with him to find the right longer club length, but ALSO will need to use very lightweight shafts to make some initial irons for him that do not have excessively high swingweights. He would never find clubs the right length and right swingweight at a golf store. I also think I have convinced him that he needs to start with some lessons from Des to develop a good foundation for his golf swing.
So Mr. Goydos - I believe that all of us golfers deserve to have Arrows That Fit Us, and Also Good Swing Technique.
Tony
Monday, February 9, 2009
Clear Key Golf - TAKE A LOOK!
I hope you all do not mind if I change it up a bit this week. I want to suggest tonight a source of "mental game" information that many do not know about but that you might want to investigate.
Being an engineer and definitely a long time golf fanatic, I have read a lot of the books available on the mental game of golf - pre shot routines, trusting, etc. One thing that I have always been mystified about were the two times in my golfing life when I almost felt like I had "out of body" experiences (well, maybe a little over the top in describing them but oh well...). In one case I played in a scramble tournament and in a playoff hit a 300 yard drive, 8 iron to 30 feet on a par 5, and drained the putt for the team to win. In the other, another scramble, and I was the only one who could hit my drive on the last hole (had to choose 2 drives of each player) - and for me I again bombed it and we birdied the hole to win the tournament. In both cases, I have never felt more focused and TOTALLY engaged when playing golf.
About 3 years ago, not sure how I found it, I found a link to the CLEAR KEY GOLF web site. The site provides a link to books and articles about what I believe is a very different, but to me clearly valuable, approach to mental focus in golf. Carey Mumford is the developer of this process. The basis for his approach - and I am sure my discussion of this does not do it justice - is that golfers need to understand the basic style traits that they have - Persuader, Craftsman, Driver, and Analyzer - and how these affect how they approach playing golf; and that he believes there are ways to construct your pre-shot routine so that you can allow your self to be more on "automatic" when you hit golf shots.
Carey has written an ebook - "The Double Connexion" - that is well worth the reasonable price that he charges for it. He will also provide people with a style questionaire that can be completed and he will provide an evaluation of your personal style. He also writes a monthly newsletter that is very interesting reading, and there are many articles on his web site that are interesting reading.
Carey continues to teach his approach to professional golfers - when I asked for permission to discuss his site on his blog, he indicated he was on his way to Destin for some sessions with some players from Spain, the UK, and the US.
If you have any interest in improving the mental aspects of your golf game, I strongly recommend that you read some of the information on http://clearkeygolf.com/.
Tony
Being an engineer and definitely a long time golf fanatic, I have read a lot of the books available on the mental game of golf - pre shot routines, trusting, etc. One thing that I have always been mystified about were the two times in my golfing life when I almost felt like I had "out of body" experiences (well, maybe a little over the top in describing them but oh well...). In one case I played in a scramble tournament and in a playoff hit a 300 yard drive, 8 iron to 30 feet on a par 5, and drained the putt for the team to win. In the other, another scramble, and I was the only one who could hit my drive on the last hole (had to choose 2 drives of each player) - and for me I again bombed it and we birdied the hole to win the tournament. In both cases, I have never felt more focused and TOTALLY engaged when playing golf.
About 3 years ago, not sure how I found it, I found a link to the CLEAR KEY GOLF web site. The site provides a link to books and articles about what I believe is a very different, but to me clearly valuable, approach to mental focus in golf. Carey Mumford is the developer of this process. The basis for his approach - and I am sure my discussion of this does not do it justice - is that golfers need to understand the basic style traits that they have - Persuader, Craftsman, Driver, and Analyzer - and how these affect how they approach playing golf; and that he believes there are ways to construct your pre-shot routine so that you can allow your self to be more on "automatic" when you hit golf shots.
Carey has written an ebook - "The Double Connexion" - that is well worth the reasonable price that he charges for it. He will also provide people with a style questionaire that can be completed and he will provide an evaluation of your personal style. He also writes a monthly newsletter that is very interesting reading, and there are many articles on his web site that are interesting reading.
Carey continues to teach his approach to professional golfers - when I asked for permission to discuss his site on his blog, he indicated he was on his way to Destin for some sessions with some players from Spain, the UK, and the US.
If you have any interest in improving the mental aspects of your golf game, I strongly recommend that you read some of the information on http://clearkeygolf.com/.
Tony
Monday, February 2, 2009
When Are Clubs "Clubs" ??
You might think that clubbuilders are always building themselves new clubs, trying out different shafts, etc. So far for me that has not been the case as much as I might wish! BUT I decided around Christmas time that I want to build some new sticks for me - part to test some new approaches and ideas, but also because I want to sneak up my buddies at our March Golf Trip to Alabama, Georgia and Florida and take more of their money than I usually do.
One thing that is not as easy for a clubfitter to do as you might think is to fit yourself. Others have told me the same thing - I think a part of it is that it is too easy with your self to have preconceived notions of what club should work best for you. But I think I have finally become comfortable with what fits ME well in terms of flex, swingweight, and length.
I worked with a customer this weekend to find the right iron heads for the new set of irons that I am going to build for him - and after that was done finally took some time to test a number of good iron head possibilities on my Zelocity Launch Monitor. I had previously found the club butt flex / flex profile that produced the best shot results - focusing mostly on increased shot length and solidness of impact. Saturday I did what I hoped would be final testing to find an iron head that gave clear improvement in distance as well as a head that felt good and looked good.
I tested 4 different heads with a lightweight steel shaft of "PCS 4.8 flex" - a good fit for my 80 to 82 mph 6 iron swing speed. And I found a head that was everything I was hoping for - the Infiniti Assure iron head (http://www.infinitigolf.com/). I immediately liked the look of this head and the feel of swinging this club - and my distances on the Launch Monitor were about 10 yards longer with the 6 iron than for other test heads. I also tested some graphite shafts that have weights of about 70 grams, but these shafts felt too light for me.
I called Infiniti Golf today and ordered the heads for my irons. Got to pick the head weights needed and also make sure that the club lofts are preset to the printed club specs. And had a great conversation with Eric DeChene from Infiniti who was explaining some of the aspects of making the Assure heads.
But you say - Infiniti Golf? - can clubs from a company like this REALLY be as good as clubs from the OEMs like Nike, Callaway, Titleist? Well, there is a compound answer to this:
1. There is no question that the heads on clubs from the OEMs are high quality.
2. There are also lots of true "clone" and "knockoff" heads are available and can be purchased - clubs that look like the Callaways and Taylor Mades - but that no way are of the quality of the OEM heads. No professional clubmaker that I know would make and sell clubs that have heads that are true clones.
3. BUT there are quite a number of HIGH QUALITY golf heads and golf shafts that are available. Infiniti is one of them. Wishon Golf (http://www.wishongolf.com/) makes golf components that are as good as you could imagine - Tom Wishon has been in the clubmaking and clubfitting business for more than 30 years. Swing Science shafts and component heads, SK Fiber shafts, Aldila shafts, Eidolon wedges - this is a very short list of just some of the excellent companies that make clubs and shafts that as good as you will find in any of the clubs at your local golf retail store. Golfworks is also an excellent source of quality club components and carries many brands of quality golf shafts.
My plan is to build this new set of irons - 5 iron through gap wedge in Infiniti Assure heads and a Wishon PCF Micro sand wedge - a week or two in between some "day job" travel. True Temper TX-90 lightweight steel shafts in 5 through 9 irons, and Swing Science Series 400 graphite shafts in the wedges (I like the feel of graphite in wedges and wedge shots are a lot more based on feel....). THEN on to new hybrids and fairway woods (but that will be later!).
Tony
One thing that is not as easy for a clubfitter to do as you might think is to fit yourself. Others have told me the same thing - I think a part of it is that it is too easy with your self to have preconceived notions of what club should work best for you. But I think I have finally become comfortable with what fits ME well in terms of flex, swingweight, and length.
I worked with a customer this weekend to find the right iron heads for the new set of irons that I am going to build for him - and after that was done finally took some time to test a number of good iron head possibilities on my Zelocity Launch Monitor. I had previously found the club butt flex / flex profile that produced the best shot results - focusing mostly on increased shot length and solidness of impact. Saturday I did what I hoped would be final testing to find an iron head that gave clear improvement in distance as well as a head that felt good and looked good.
I tested 4 different heads with a lightweight steel shaft of "PCS 4.8 flex" - a good fit for my 80 to 82 mph 6 iron swing speed. And I found a head that was everything I was hoping for - the Infiniti Assure iron head (http://www.infinitigolf.com/). I immediately liked the look of this head and the feel of swinging this club - and my distances on the Launch Monitor were about 10 yards longer with the 6 iron than for other test heads. I also tested some graphite shafts that have weights of about 70 grams, but these shafts felt too light for me.
I called Infiniti Golf today and ordered the heads for my irons. Got to pick the head weights needed and also make sure that the club lofts are preset to the printed club specs. And had a great conversation with Eric DeChene from Infiniti who was explaining some of the aspects of making the Assure heads.
But you say - Infiniti Golf? - can clubs from a company like this REALLY be as good as clubs from the OEMs like Nike, Callaway, Titleist? Well, there is a compound answer to this:
1. There is no question that the heads on clubs from the OEMs are high quality.
2. There are also lots of true "clone" and "knockoff" heads are available and can be purchased - clubs that look like the Callaways and Taylor Mades - but that no way are of the quality of the OEM heads. No professional clubmaker that I know would make and sell clubs that have heads that are true clones.
3. BUT there are quite a number of HIGH QUALITY golf heads and golf shafts that are available. Infiniti is one of them. Wishon Golf (http://www.wishongolf.com/) makes golf components that are as good as you could imagine - Tom Wishon has been in the clubmaking and clubfitting business for more than 30 years. Swing Science shafts and component heads, SK Fiber shafts, Aldila shafts, Eidolon wedges - this is a very short list of just some of the excellent companies that make clubs and shafts that as good as you will find in any of the clubs at your local golf retail store. Golfworks is also an excellent source of quality club components and carries many brands of quality golf shafts.
My plan is to build this new set of irons - 5 iron through gap wedge in Infiniti Assure heads and a Wishon PCF Micro sand wedge - a week or two in between some "day job" travel. True Temper TX-90 lightweight steel shafts in 5 through 9 irons, and Swing Science Series 400 graphite shafts in the wedges (I like the feel of graphite in wedges and wedge shots are a lot more based on feel....). THEN on to new hybrids and fairway woods (but that will be later!).
Tony
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