My higher power and I will be leaving for Florida tomorrow for a few days. To get her some good relaxing time, and to get me a day at the PGA merchandise show. First time I will go there. Also will get to do a Demo Day with the ACCRA shaft folks. So that is all for this week, but hopefully a LOT to report on the trip next week (unless I decide to sneak in some small notes during the week!).
Tony
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
FEELING The Clubhead - The Hidden Edge....
Almost everyone who I have done a fitting for lately has received some significant benefits from identifying the right weight feel for their clubs. And it does not go one way only - sometimes adding more weight is the key, sometimes reducing weight is what makes the clubs pay better.
Some examples include....
1. Adding 8 grams of head weight to irons and seeing ball flight trajectory increase significantly.
2. Adding just a few grams to a club and seeing impact go from off center to dead in the center of the club.
3. Increasing the MOI of a driver and learning that the player can now "feel" the head and control it.
I think all of this makes sense.................but I think for a reason you may not think. I think we all inside are attempting as best as possible to hit the golf ball on the center of all of our clubs. And we do the best we can to adjust our swings with the clubs we have to make this happen. But when we get the RIGHT club weight feel, then we allow ourselves to "go on automatic" in terms of hitting the golf ball - center contact becomes effortless, more distance and consistency results.
I am working to get some new equipment into my fitting in the next month or so. When I do, I will be able to measure how open the clubface is at impact, and what the actual path of the club is as it approaches the ball. Once I can do that I will be more easily able to see how club head weight and also shaft weight affect club path and club head contact with the ball.
Bottom line..............just a few GRAMS of head weight can result in significant improvements in ball striking!
Tony
Some examples include....
1. Adding 8 grams of head weight to irons and seeing ball flight trajectory increase significantly.
2. Adding just a few grams to a club and seeing impact go from off center to dead in the center of the club.
3. Increasing the MOI of a driver and learning that the player can now "feel" the head and control it.
I think all of this makes sense.................but I think for a reason you may not think. I think we all inside are attempting as best as possible to hit the golf ball on the center of all of our clubs. And we do the best we can to adjust our swings with the clubs we have to make this happen. But when we get the RIGHT club weight feel, then we allow ourselves to "go on automatic" in terms of hitting the golf ball - center contact becomes effortless, more distance and consistency results.
I am working to get some new equipment into my fitting in the next month or so. When I do, I will be able to measure how open the clubface is at impact, and what the actual path of the club is as it approaches the ball. Once I can do that I will be more easily able to see how club head weight and also shaft weight affect club path and club head contact with the ball.
Bottom line..............just a few GRAMS of head weight can result in significant improvements in ball striking!
Tony
Monday, January 11, 2010
Putters - Cut and Boo....
The most important club in a golfer's bag is the putter. Getting the right balance and feel in a putter can make all of the difference between being able to sink 3 footers and roll long putts well. And if the putter does not have the right feel and you do not know it, you might think you have poor putting technique when the truth is you have a poorly fitted putter.
But what happens if you find a putter in a store that you like but it is too long for you? Well, your friendly golf club dealer can offer to cut the putter to make it shorter. That sounds like a good idea, so you do it.
But when you do this, you affect the feel of the putter..............you reduce the "swingweight" of the putter and - unless you compensate for cutting the length - you make the putter feel lighter and have less feel of the putter head.
If you reduce the length of a putter by 1 inch, you need to add about 12 grams of weight to the putter - either lead tape or perhaps putting tungsten powder down the shaft - to compensate for this length change and get the putter head feel that the longer putter had.
So if you need to reduce your putter length, realize that you also need to modify the putter weight so that you keep the right weight feel for the most important club in your bag.
Tony
But what happens if you find a putter in a store that you like but it is too long for you? Well, your friendly golf club dealer can offer to cut the putter to make it shorter. That sounds like a good idea, so you do it.
But when you do this, you affect the feel of the putter..............you reduce the "swingweight" of the putter and - unless you compensate for cutting the length - you make the putter feel lighter and have less feel of the putter head.
If you reduce the length of a putter by 1 inch, you need to add about 12 grams of weight to the putter - either lead tape or perhaps putting tungsten powder down the shaft - to compensate for this length change and get the putter head feel that the longer putter had.
So if you need to reduce your putter length, realize that you also need to modify the putter weight so that you keep the right weight feel for the most important club in your bag.
Tony
Monday, January 4, 2010
Who Is That "Average" Golfer?
I am beginning to wonder what that average golfer out there is, particularly in terms of the right lengths of clubs for him/her to play.
If I look over the fittings I have done in the past few months, I would say that "average" length clubs do not fit at least 50% of the people I am working with. Right now I am working with three people all who I expect will not fit into standard length irons and in fact will need irons that are a lot shorter than standard.
A large majority of my iron fitting clubs are built to do testing with people who fit into standard length clubs. And I can adapt these to be able to fit folks who need clubs just a bit longer or shorter than standard.
However, when people need clubs that are more than 1/2 inch shorter than standard, it is important to have some fitting equipment particularly devoted to these players. Today for example I rebuilt some driver fitting shafts so that I could do testing for players who might need 42-1/2, 43, or 43-1/2 inch long drivers..............................this is compared to the 45 inch plus drivers they would most likely buy in golf stores.
Shorter clubs can mean significantly lower swingweights/MOIs, and it becomes very important to test for swingweight/MOI for shorter sets - and add clubhead or shaft weight if necessary - and be sure players can "feel" the clubhead when they swing it. Often players who have shorter clubs have never been able to truly feel the weight of the head, and when they actually can get the right swingweight/MOI in their clubs their ball striking immediately improves.
Working with players who need shorter clubs is another gratifying experience - because often they have never felt what a golf club that is the right length and swingweight/MOI for them feels like and performs like.
Tony
If I look over the fittings I have done in the past few months, I would say that "average" length clubs do not fit at least 50% of the people I am working with. Right now I am working with three people all who I expect will not fit into standard length irons and in fact will need irons that are a lot shorter than standard.
A large majority of my iron fitting clubs are built to do testing with people who fit into standard length clubs. And I can adapt these to be able to fit folks who need clubs just a bit longer or shorter than standard.
However, when people need clubs that are more than 1/2 inch shorter than standard, it is important to have some fitting equipment particularly devoted to these players. Today for example I rebuilt some driver fitting shafts so that I could do testing for players who might need 42-1/2, 43, or 43-1/2 inch long drivers..............................this is compared to the 45 inch plus drivers they would most likely buy in golf stores.
Shorter clubs can mean significantly lower swingweights/MOIs, and it becomes very important to test for swingweight/MOI for shorter sets - and add clubhead or shaft weight if necessary - and be sure players can "feel" the clubhead when they swing it. Often players who have shorter clubs have never been able to truly feel the weight of the head, and when they actually can get the right swingweight/MOI in their clubs their ball striking immediately improves.
Working with players who need shorter clubs is another gratifying experience - because often they have never felt what a golf club that is the right length and swingweight/MOI for them feels like and performs like.
Tony
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