Monday, September 28, 2009

Lefties Never Fear!

Up until about a month ago, I did not invest much in assembling left handed test clubs.......because I had no left handed clients.


Well, that has changed - I will be doing an iron fitting fairly soon for a left handed player. I asked some of my AGCP buddies what left handed iron heads they recommend and they provided some good options. By the end of the week I will have 5 left handed 6 iron test heads that I can use with all of the present set of test shafts that I have built.


The heads came from Infiniti Golf, Bang Golf, Wishon Golf, and Hireko Golf. All are very reputable club component companies (they do NOT make knock off club heads....). The Infiniti head is their Assure head....very forgiving and in fact the head that I play (I need all of the forgiveness I can get!). The other heads all look great and I think will be good options for future left handed clients.


Because I use the Club Conex (tm) FAZ FIT hosel and shaft connectors, all of the test shafts that I made up for use for right handed players will work just as well for left handed players. So I will be able to test for club length, shaft flex, shaft type (graphite or steel) and shaft weight - in a similar way as can be done for right handed players.


I do not expect Mr. Leftie (Phil Michelson, who won this weekend...) will be knocking on my door soon................but I look forward to being able to more easily fit left handed players.


COMING SOON......2 weeks from tonight, annual AGCP Roundtable. It is going to be the best yet, can't wait!


Tony

Monday, September 21, 2009

Advice - I wonder what will happen....

I am not against giving players a bit of advice on golf clubs sometimes.....usually about the simple things like driver length.


I had a meeting this weekend with a pleasant person who is interested in getting new clubs. I made a few measurements with him and identified that he will likely play best with clubs shorter than standard length. Maybe a 43 to 43-1/2 inch length driver, and irons perhaps a half inch shorter than standard (cannot know real best lengths without impact label testing....).


During our discussion, I was wondering what might be the result if he went into a golf store and said "I am pretty sure I would play my best golf with a 43-1/2 inch length driver, what can you do for me?"


To my knowledge, all of the stores carry drivers that are at least 45 inches long. Someone in a store MIGHT say "well I can just cut that driver down to length for you and that would work." Well, if you cut down a driver from 45 inches to 43-1/2 inches, you reduce the swingweight of that driver 9 swingweight points. Say the 45 inch driver had a swingweight of D2, the cut down one would have a swingweight of C3 - very very light and probably not good for this player.


The right way to modify a driver to a reduced length is to add appropriate weight to the head, and/or to reshaft the driver with a heavier shaft. It can be made to work....but simply cutting the shaft to a reduced length will typically not work.


Still, I would love to be a fly on the wall for the conversation with the salesman about reduced length clubs.....


Tony

Monday, September 14, 2009

Family Fixings....

My youngest brother visited this past weekend and we got to play golf together for 2 days. Beautiful fall weather here in Tennessee!


He plays something less than 10 times a year, but really enjoys playing when he does. Last year when we played together I built him a driver - shorter length, lighter flex shaft, lighter swingweight - to attempt to help him slice the ball less. I could see this year that he was hitting this club better than last year......but truthfully the biggest improvement he would get with a driver would come from taking some lessons.


This year I got him to try some graphite shafted fairway woods. A lot lighter than his previous woods, which had steel shafts....boy, these babies were HEAVY. He liked the feel of the lighter woods, and hit a few good shots with them on Sunday.


In thinking back to the weekend, I realize that there are lots of people playing golf - say 10 times or less a year - who have no idea that their clubs are a very poor fit for their games. The realist in me knows that for a lot of these folks, it is not likely that they care a lot if their clubs do not really fit them. BUT.....on the other hand......I think they DO care about their golf when they are actually playing (I know for sure that my brother does, he loves when he hits good shots). So I think some level of good clubfitting can also help folks who do not play a lot - particularly those who have clubs that are difficult to swing. Does it mean I am saying that these folks should be going for a really detailed fitting for their clubs - probably not. But they deserve to at least play clubs that are the right length, and that have flexes and weights that are a reasonable fit for the way they play.


I have a feeling that "someone" may be getting some even newer fairway woods for Christmas?


PS....One Month to the AGCP Roundtable 4 - can't wait!!


Tony

Monday, September 7, 2009

FEEL FEEL FEEL ..... A great 4 letter word!

Not every player I build clubs for is greatly sensitive to Club Feel. But almost all are to some extent. I am now midway into a fitting with a good player who is very sensitive to the desire to feel the clubhead. And about to start a fitting for a player who I know needs clubs that are a lot longer than normal......and for him Feel may be more important that for "standard" length players.


Feel is the Bottom Line of a golf club. I believe that if a club does not feel good in your hands you will never truly hit it well. When I do fittings I am constantly asking how one club feels vs another test club and I weigh highly what players tell me about feel.


What affects club feel? Just about everything! For sure the club MOI or swingweight are a measure of feel - and these are influenced by head weight, shaft weight, club length, and club flex.


I do not think it is easy to quantify what makes one club "feel" better than another - but that does not mean that finding the right feel for a player is not perhaps the most important thing that a professional clubfitter can do.


Tony