Shaft Flex.....Are You Lucky?

An email from Dana Upshaw, AGCP (Assn. of Golf Clubfitting Professionals) member, to other AGCP members last week included a link to a Golf Digest equipment page writeup....some of the note is provided below.....


"Like every golfer, the week of The Masters always means the start of the season for me. Not just golf season, but Hot List season. That’s right, we get started on our research for the 2010 Hot List with our annual swing through Georgia visiting some manufacturers and getting an early read on what they’re working on. (Early word: It’s all about perfecting the fitting process. In the very near future, if you're not being fitted for a new club with some kind of adjustable process, you're pretty much just pretending to be getting the right clubs. And if you don’t believe that fitting matters, I offer you the wisdom of Dana Upshaw of Dana Golf in Warner Robins, Ga., who showed me by tweaking the shaft in my 5-iron, I could suddenly hit it 20 yards farther. I didn’t believe it either, but it was right there on his computer screen. Fact is, there are probably plenty of right shafts, but if you’ve got the wrong shaft inefficiency is going to happen, guaranteed. Impact is enough of a random event for me. I don't need equipment increasing the likelihood of a mis-hit.) "


Dana - who is without a doubt one of the most talented clubfitters alive - was rightly proud of the quote of his work and the results from it. And these are not just isolated results.....he has discussed with other AGCP members other instances where he has helped golfers significantly increase the distance and consistency they achieve with their irons. Dana is one of the great models that AGCP members have for improving their clubfitting skills.


I think a key to achieving real improvement in iron performance is to realize that One Size Does NOT Fit All. There is no doubt that if you buy clubs at a golf store they look beautiful and have this year's advertised improvement related to club head design. But when you buy that "R" flex shaft in that club, you buy into believing that R flex is for you - that differences in shaft flex, flex profile, shaft weight, and shaft type will not lead to improved performance. 200 people might buy that same set of clubs with R flex shafts, and their 5 iron swing speeds might vary by 10 to 20 mph or more - will these R flex clubs really produce optimum distance and performance results for everyone? Shaft flex and shaft profile DO MATTER - and not just the difference between an R and S flex, but small differences between flexes.


***** I will have the opportunity on MAY 6 - from 3 to 7 pm - to do some Launch Monitor Club Testing for golfers at the Centenial Range. There will actually be a number of OEM equipment vendors at Centenial at the same time. If you are a reader of my blog, come by that day and I will have have you hit 3 to 5 balls with your driver and give you some feedback on your performance - ball speed, spin, launch angle. I will also, if you mention that you have read my blog, give you some performance information on your present irons. I know (thank you Dana and AGCP!) what range of optimal performance can be achieved for different 5 or 6 iron swing speeds - and I can give you an idea of what might REALLY be possible with your irons if you were correctly fitted with the correct shaft length, type, and club swingweight/MOI. I look forward to working with lots of folks on May 6!!


Tony

What are your clubs REALLY like?

After being mostly on vacation for about 2 weeks I enjoyed doing some specs for a set of clubs that I will be reshafting soon. I think it must be the engineer in me, but I enjoy measuring club specifications to see if they are really what people think they are.


Tonight was not really a night of surprises - because the clubs that I evaluated had been built by a very talented clubfitter and clubbuilder - so I was not at all surprised to see that they have very consistent swingweights and club flexes. It was a pleasure to confirm what I expected, that these are a very well built set of clubs.


I think that all golfers - particularly those who play at least once a week - deserve to really know what the specs of their clubs are. The best time to have this done is when players have their clubs regripped - because the most accurate measurements of club flexes can be made without grips on the clubs. It does not take a lot of time to measure club lengths, weights, swingweights, MOI, and club flex - and learning what these are can sometimes show a player why he or she has a problem with a specific club.


So I make this offer to those of you who read this blog and are in need of club regripping. If you have me regrip your clubs and mention that you have read this note on my blog, I will provide you with specs for your clubs at no additional cost - through the end of May.


Happy golfing - once it stops raining!!


Tony

The BEST Kind of Golf!

I have been fortunate the past few days to get to play golf on Kiawah Island in South Carolina with three of my best friends. One of them has a beautiful place here and asked me to come last year but I could not.......but I have REALLY had a good time here. I do not play as much golf as I did before I started my clubfitting business, and 3 days in a row is a real treat.


But the best treat is getting to spend time with your best friends, catching up on families, beating each other up on the golf course. To me playing with friends is one of the great attractions and benefits of golf. It has been a great time. I cannot say I have played the best golf.....and the courses are tough here......but it has been a wonderful release from the day job world.


One of my buddies - are you reading this post since I gave you my business card? - plays great golf with Ping clubs that are about 8 years old. I am hopeful that he is going to really look into getting some new wedges - spin milled faces - and I think if he does he will see some great improvements in his short game. I know I have talked about these in the past, but they are a treat to play - being able to stop wedge shots on greens easily, even short wedge shots, is pretty darn easy with these types of heads.


NOW..........maybe that illusive first hole in one will happen tomorrow.......??


Tony

What - NO GOLF?

My wife and I are in Hawaii......I am writing this at 10:20 pm Kauai time, which is 4:20 am Oak Ridge time.

She is amazed that I am not interested this week in playing golf.....well, we DID go to the Poipu Bay course where many of the Grand Slam of Golf events have been played, and we DID get me a new golf shirt and hat there....but actually that is enough for this week. We have had a great time seeing the sites here.........and so golf can rest for a week......

I WILL share one club info. thing I learned last week.......related to Mr. Tiger and what he is playing. There was an article in Golf World that talked about what was in his bag for his win at Bay Hill a week or so ago. I was very interested to learn that he is playing a 15 degree 3 wood and a 19 degree 5 wood. Since I just made myself new fairway woods of the same loft, I was a little surprised at first......but to me these fairway wood lofts make a lot of sense. I think....though cannot confirm....that he uses these lofts so that he can land his bomber fairway wood shots softly on greens...... May or may not be true, but makes sense to me.

Tiger's fairway wood loft choice also cements in my mind that playing fairway wood lofts less than this make little sense for us mortals. More likely many of not all players would play better with 15 and maybe even 16 degree or higher loft 3 woods.

BUT.....for now, back to Kauai!!


Tony