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