On the home page for my web site, I pose the question "Does It Matter?" - do professionally fitted clubs really make a difference in how people play golf.
This year I was able to help people answer that question YES when I built clubs to fit their swings and games. The Yes answers included putting people in drivers that are the right length and have the right shaft to produce more consistent drives, iron shafts that match their swing speeds and release characteristics, wedges that spin the ball and help them to hit more consistent short game shots, putter weighting that is optimized for their putting strokes.
As the year ends I thank my clients (and also Des Mahoney, the Teaching Professional at Centenial Golf Course) who helped to more than double Game Improvement Golf sales this year. And looking toward next year, I am very excited because I will soon be obtaining new equipment to help me show players even more clearly that professionally fitted clubs do matter. I will be upgrading my driver fitting test clubs to allow me to do even better length and weight fitting. And I am evaluating a number of measurement systems so that I can accurately measure the effects of club and shaft weighting on clubface angle and club path. In the next few weeks I will present details on these new fitting systems and equipment.
And finally, I am looking forward to continuing to work closly with great club component companies like Tom Wishon Golf, Infiniti Golf, SK Fiber, ACCRA, Alpha Golf, Scratch Golf, Global Tour Golf, Tour Lock, Swing Science, Golfworks, and Golfsmith to provide quality clubheads, shafts, and grips that can help players lower their scores and enjoy golf more.
Thanks to all of you who read this weekly blog - and have a Happy New Golfing Year!!
Tony
Monday, December 28, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
ReMax Long Drive 2009 - Always The Best!
I watched the ReMax long drive championship tonight - it was on ESPN on Sunday and I recorded it. Probably got in trouble with the boss since I was really focused on watching this.
As always, what a great show! 360 plus drives from Seniors and Super Seniors, 400 plus drives from the "younger" bombers. And the winner was........well, not fair, you do not really want me to tell you who it was.
They showed a lot more TrackMan launch monitor data this year than they have in the past. It was interesting to see that some of these guys got there with high launch and a bit higher spin and some got there with lower launch and lower spin. But it seemed to me the winning formula was to optimize roll, which most often means lower spin. There were a few shots that had spin rates in the range of 1,500 rpm or less................super low numbers.
There were OEM driver heads in the mix, but also other great heads like Alpha, Geek Golf, Krank Golf, and others. Most of the heads with lofts less than 7 degrees.
It was also great to see Jason Zuback in the mix again.................he was close to making the final four, and the poor guy could only hit it 380 in the quarters..........my can he hit that ball!
The ReMax is on again on Christmas Day I think at 2 pm on ESPN2. If you are on the down side of present opening, this is a good present to give to your self if you want to do some couch potato resting!
Merry Christmas to all!
Tony
As always, what a great show! 360 plus drives from Seniors and Super Seniors, 400 plus drives from the "younger" bombers. And the winner was........well, not fair, you do not really want me to tell you who it was.
They showed a lot more TrackMan launch monitor data this year than they have in the past. It was interesting to see that some of these guys got there with high launch and a bit higher spin and some got there with lower launch and lower spin. But it seemed to me the winning formula was to optimize roll, which most often means lower spin. There were a few shots that had spin rates in the range of 1,500 rpm or less................super low numbers.
There were OEM driver heads in the mix, but also other great heads like Alpha, Geek Golf, Krank Golf, and others. Most of the heads with lofts less than 7 degrees.
It was also great to see Jason Zuback in the mix again.................he was close to making the final four, and the poor guy could only hit it 380 in the quarters..........my can he hit that ball!
The ReMax is on again on Christmas Day I think at 2 pm on ESPN2. If you are on the down side of present opening, this is a good present to give to your self if you want to do some couch potato resting!
Merry Christmas to all!
Tony
Monday, December 14, 2009
Dear Santa - Bring me a Scratch Wedge!
I recently built four Scratch demo wedges particularly so a new client could test them. We did this testing today and he liked the playability of all of them. But he particularly liked the "Driver/Slider" grind with a KBS R flex wedge shaft. It was fun to watch, because he is a good player (3 handicap and has been lower) and has great feel with clubs. He could easily feel the difference between an S flex wedge shaft and the R flex one.......hitting the R flex shaft made less than full swing shots much easier to control.
When I order these wedge heads for him tomorrow, I think I will add a Digger/Driver grind cast wedge head for me. Scratch sells three wedge grinds - Sweeper/Slider, Driver/Slider, and Digger/Driver. I completed the Scratch Wedge Evaluation form on their web site and it is clear that the Digger/Driver is a good fit for the way I hit wedge shots......misses most often fat shots. This grind helps players like me to still get good shot results even when we hit a little behind the ball.
All wedges are simply not the same and do not play the same. Scratch is really on to something with their line of wedges, and their sales have skyrocketed since Ryan Moore started endorsing their clubs. I believe I am the only clubfitter selling Scratch wedges in East Tennessee......so if you are interested in them please get in touch with me and come to the Centenial Teaching/Fitting Center sometime to try one out.
Tony
When I order these wedge heads for him tomorrow, I think I will add a Digger/Driver grind cast wedge head for me. Scratch sells three wedge grinds - Sweeper/Slider, Driver/Slider, and Digger/Driver. I completed the Scratch Wedge Evaluation form on their web site and it is clear that the Digger/Driver is a good fit for the way I hit wedge shots......misses most often fat shots. This grind helps players like me to still get good shot results even when we hit a little behind the ball.
All wedges are simply not the same and do not play the same. Scratch is really on to something with their line of wedges, and their sales have skyrocketed since Ryan Moore started endorsing their clubs. I believe I am the only clubfitter selling Scratch wedges in East Tennessee......so if you are interested in them please get in touch with me and come to the Centenial Teaching/Fitting Center sometime to try one out.
Tony
Monday, December 7, 2009
Please Do Not Tell Emerson!
Emerson happens to be my #1 grandson at this time (I am sure many of you have a similar grandson). He turns 2 years old in two weeks.
The debate is - do I get him his first real set of golf clubs this birthday? And the answer is pretty easy to guess.....of course I do. Not totally sure when he will REALLY first use them though I will help him some when I see him at his birthday party.
A well kept secret in terms of golf clubs for children is AccuLength golf clubs (www.acculength.com). These clubs are unique because they are designed to be able to expand in length up to 4 inches - by adding individual 1 inch shaft pieces that can be epoxied into a specially designed shaft. They sell four different types of golf club sets, that allow clubs to be fit for length for children from 3 feet tall to 5 foot 4 inches tall. The set that will work best for Emerson is the AL500, which comes with a 24 degree wood, a pitching wedge, and a putter. Quite enough for a normal 2 year old don't you think?
I am not sure Emerson will be ready quite yet to play in a group with his dad and two granddads.....but might as well get him thinking along those lines. And...........I will try to keep his dad happy by including some soft golf ball substitutes.......to keep the windows in the house from intercepting golf balls!
Grandkid's are the BEST!
Tony
The debate is - do I get him his first real set of golf clubs this birthday? And the answer is pretty easy to guess.....of course I do. Not totally sure when he will REALLY first use them though I will help him some when I see him at his birthday party.
A well kept secret in terms of golf clubs for children is AccuLength golf clubs (www.acculength.com). These clubs are unique because they are designed to be able to expand in length up to 4 inches - by adding individual 1 inch shaft pieces that can be epoxied into a specially designed shaft. They sell four different types of golf club sets, that allow clubs to be fit for length for children from 3 feet tall to 5 foot 4 inches tall. The set that will work best for Emerson is the AL500, which comes with a 24 degree wood, a pitching wedge, and a putter. Quite enough for a normal 2 year old don't you think?
I am not sure Emerson will be ready quite yet to play in a group with his dad and two granddads.....but might as well get him thinking along those lines. And...........I will try to keep his dad happy by including some soft golf ball substitutes.......to keep the windows in the house from intercepting golf balls!
Grandkid's are the BEST!
Tony
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