Clubfitting Or Not?!

My nephew came to visit this weekend and we had a plan for me to fit him for a set of clubs. He has not played a lot of golf and I worked with him some today on his Swing Fundamentals - grip, posture, alignment, and ball position.


He was having some success hitting some short irons - but not close to this level of success with hitting a driver. And I could see he was getting frustrated.


So - should I build him a set of clubs, knowing that he was likely to still have some problems hitting woods and a driver? And he DID come to see me largely with the expectation of getting some new clubs.


I felt good about the final decision. That was - make a few clubs that are easy to hit, get him in the right length clubs, BUT also get his dad to give him a present of some lessons so that he can get started on the right foot.


Do you think if he went to a Big Box Store he would have had this kind of advice......I wonder. I felt good about the outcome for HIM.


The Fit Is IT!!

Tony Wright

A Key Element Of Successful Custom Clubfitting - YOU!!

The more I work with a variety of golfers to do custom fittings, the more I am totally convinced that there is more to True Success than the knowledge that I personally have about golf clubs and club performance.


At every point in a successful fitting, the player provides feedback and information that is critical to making the right decisions that lead to success. One of MY critical areas of expertise needs to be getting the right information from players at the right times. Some of the areas where this clearly happens include:

1. PRE FITTING INTERVIEW - obtaining data on what a player's typical misses are, where he/she wants to improve the most, what clubs work well and what clubs can provide the most game improvement for the player. Also, what physical issues the player might have - back problems, wrist problems, etc.


2. DURING THE FITTING - obtaining feedback during the entire fitting on questions like - does the club feel stiff, too long or short, too heavy or too light, can the player feel the clubhead, etc. Feel is a key element of getting the right club into a player's hands. Sometimes in fact a player will swing a club and say immediately that that club has a tremendous feel, and often the results from launch monitor measurements confirm this sense that the player has.

Another important element a player has during a fitting is to make small swing changes as a result of what the player and fitter see from video taken of the player's swing. The player being able to make these changes during a fitting can make the difference between a successful fitting and one that may not produce optimal results.


3. AFTER THE FITTING, CLUB FEEDBACK - In the best fittings the clubs perform perfectly when delivered to the golfer. But sometimes there can be a need to make some small modifications to them to get the final performance results desired. No one but the player can provide this final club evaluation, and his/her honest feedback is critical.


So - My View - There Is No True Successful Fitting Without Face To Face Player / Fitter Collaboration!!


The Fit Is IT!!

Tony

Yo Keith - A Passion for Compassion!

Keith Chatham is one of those truly great clubfitters - he does his stuff in Kerryville, Texas. He has won many honors, and when he speaks we all listen.


Recently I found a post he did on the Tom Wishon clubmaker forum that was inspiring and I think something many of us clubfitters aspire to. He talked about his Passion for clubfitting, but more about his Compassion for helping golfers to play the right golf clubs for them. Compassion for golfers who have never had the experience of playing clubs that truly fit them, compassion for disabled golfers who have in the past only been able to get off-the-rack clubs, compassion for lady golfers who have never had someone fully attend to their club needs.


His words are wonderfully inspiring, and something that I hope I get closer and closer to each day as I work to help golfers. Recently, one of my clients said that he no longer waits for golf catalogs to come to his house, because he knows that the clubs in those catalogs are not for him.


Thanks Keith.


The Fit Is IT!!

Tony

The True Custom Clubfitting EXPERIENCE - Expectations

Anyone being "fit" for a set of golf clubs should, I believe, have some expectations on what a superior clubfitting experience will include. Here are some of the things that I believe you should anticipate would happen if you are being truly fit for golf clubs....


1. The fitter will first ask you to provide some profiling information about your clubs - which clubs you hit well, which you do not, what are the areas of your game where you would hope to achieve the most improvement.

2. You will be asked if you have any physical issues - back, wrist, etc. - that could have an influence on how you swing a golf club.

3. The fitter will ask you specifically about what you hope will be accomplished during the fitting. He will tell you what his fitting process is, and what he will need you to do during the fitting.

4. The fitter will collect some data on some of your key golf clubs - particularly the ones that are not performing well for you. Length, swingweight, MOI, flex, loft and lie and face angle for wood clubs at a minimum. It is important to know where you are starting from to help you get where you want to go.

5. The fitter will know as much as possible about how golf clubs perform and how the 21 Key Variables of Club Fitting affect club performance.

6. The fitter will take video of your swing as part of the fitting process, and do a thorough review of this video as an initial part of a fitting. The fitter will have enough knowledge of the golf swing to identify any easily fixed swing issues. In some cases the fitter may even suggest that it would be better for the player to take some lessons before a truly effective fitting can be completed.

7. The fitter will have an ongoing dialogue with you during the fitting. He will let you see results of measurements made, and let you know when possible improvements are being produced with different fitting clubs. He will also listen to you A Lot during the fitting - what clubs feel good, which are too heavy or light - your input is a key part of a truly successful fitting.

8. The fitter will let you know the final specifications for the clubs that are being suggested be built. He will be sure you agree with the results from the fitting. In some cases, particularly iron fittings, it may be necessary to build one or more test clubs for you to use before the final club specs are completed.

9. When you get your golf clubs, he will ask you for feedback on the performance of the clubs. If they are not performing as you desire, he will modify them as necessary to get the results that you expect.

10. A few months after you have started playing the fitted clubs, the fitter will ask you for additional feedback on how they are performing. Again, if there are any necessary modifications to the clubs needed, he will work with you to ensure that they play to your expectations.


There is in fact a lot that goes into a True Clubfitting Experience. Throughout the entire process, you also deserve to work with someone who will be as excited about your golf improvement as you will be when you are playing clubs that really fit YOU!!


The Fit Is IT!!

Tony

Who Clones WHO?

A month or so ago Roy Nix, President of the Association of Golf Clubfitting Professionals (AGCP) published a press release that includes some interesting facts related to custom golf clubs.


Roy did this because there is often an opinion that custom clubs are "knock off" clubs and not innovative designs.


The web address for reading this press release is....


http://www.thegolfwire.com/stories/239164


This information presents a dozen instances where new golf club innovations actually came from non OEM golf companies.


Custom clubs like those from Miura Golf (played by the winner of the Player's Championship this year), Wishon Golf and Alpha Golf, and wood shafts from companies like ACCRA golf are actually often leading the development of new ideas and improvements. These and other companies provide the highest quality components for use by professional clubfitters.


The Fit Is IT!!

Tony

Sergio Must Be Wrong?

Recently I saw some information in one of the golf magazines saying that Sergio (we all know who he is without saying his last name, right?) has switched from playing a 105 gram shaft in his driver to an 85 gram shaft. The information also noted that the length of his driver is 44 inches.


So I wondered why he would do something so different than the say golf club companies seem to want us to do with our drivers. I mean, does he not know that....

1. Drivers are supposed to be at least 45 to 45-1/2 inches long and maybe longer??

2. Driver shaft weights are supposed to be 65 grams, 55 grams, even down to 45 grams??


If my granddaughter, who is 2 years old, could understand golf clubfitting, she would say to me "Silly Gramps!" She would let me know that the vast majority of PGA tour players do not play the long drivers that are sold in stores. She would let me know that for a number of players heavier shafts feel better, swing better, and produce better results.


If all of the folks on the PGA tour could play longer drivers and control them they would. But they don't. Is there not a message there that is clear?


Recently I redid a driver for a female, cut her shaft length from 45 inches to 43 inches, put in a lightweight soft flex shaft - AND she is hitting the ball 15 yards longer and with more consistent results.


Maybe she talked with Sergio before she came to see me.....


The Fit Is IT!!

Tony

The Club Fitting Details MATTER!

Last week I noted that I had done an iron fitting and was rebuilding a set of OEM irons with KBS Tour S flex taper tip shafts. The player has been VERY pleased with the way these clubs are performing for him. These clubs were "MOI Matched" - this type of weight matching would not have been done if the player had sent the clubs back to the manufacturer for reshafting.


It is interesting to contrast these results with a request I received this week. A player from out of state asked me to provide a price quote to build a set of clubs for him. He said he had a fitting done and provided me some of the specs he had from the fitting.


Perhaps some might jump at this opportunity, but my view is that this would not be the right thing to do to get optimal results for the player. Great club performance results come the total package - doing a fitting that identifies the best club performance parameters, and then building the clubs to those exact specifications. Over and over, results from my clients show that this attention to detail matters.


The Fit Is IT!

Tony

Iron Club Specs - Who Would KNOW?

I started rebuilding a set of OEM irons today, will use KBS Tour S taper tip shafts. The player (who told me I am a "well kept secret" - hum.....) hit a test club with his head and this shaft in it VERY well last week......


So, today started to pull all of the old shafts from the heads, and did a few specs on the clubs before taking them apart. Some unexpected results, and maybe some clues for areas where he is not presently hitting the ball well....

1. A little as expected, 6 iron loft was 27 degrees, like the "standard" loft of a 5 iron from the past.

2. The big unexpected result relates to club lengths. 4, 5, and 6 irons were 1/2 inches apart in length, but then the 7 iron was 3/4 inches less than the 6 - then back to 1/2 inch lengths between clubs. Hard to understand if this would be intentional, but not really good for the player to have clubs that are not consistent between them.

3. Then found that the pitch and gap wedges were lighter than the other clubs. This might explain why the player told me that he almost always pulls his wedges when he hits full shots with them.


Players deserve better. When they spend good money to get golf clubs that they are hoping will assist them in playing better, they deserve to get what they expect. Luckily this is something discovered rather than the player using these clubs for years and thinking they are really matched well.


The final set of clubs will be MOI matched instead of swingweight matched, which should make them play even more consistently throughout the set.


We all deserve the best "arrows" available to play our best golf!


The Fit Is IT!!

Tony

Boomers - Margin for Error?

I have not had the opportunity to work with a lot of what I will call "boomers" - players who reside in the 115 mph or higher driver swing speed. Today though had a conversation with one of these folks that caused me to think that they provide some unique challenges in terms of getting the right driver fitting parameters.


The player I talked with is having lots of problems keeping the ball in play. He can hit a nice draw with the driver he has when he hits the ball well. But then sometimes the draw goes to a pull hook, then to a push in an attempt to correct for the hook, and then it becomes an issue of confidence in terms of hitting the driver.


On thinking of this, it seems to me that the right fitting for the driver becomes a huge issue because the Margin For Error with high swing speeds becomes a lot less. Some of the potential fitting areas that can help to iron out a big dispersion of shots, which start with a pull hook, are these......

1. Driver too long, so not in a good athletic position when making a swing.

2. Shaft flex profile that fits the players swing speed and where he releases the club.

3. Face Angle. This may be bigger issue than one might think. I already know for this particular driver that it has a very closed face angle, about 2.5 degrees. For a strong swinger, particularly with a little over the top swing, it can be easy to produce a pull hook since the face is likely to be pointing left at the start (unless the player manipulates the face to make the club "look square" at address.

4. Shaft weight. Another likely biggie for a boomer. The shaft in question is a 60 gram shaft, and a very strong player is more likely to help produce an inside swing path and allow the player to not have to guard against a pull hook. Probably at least a 75 gram shaft, maybe heavier.

5. Swingweight / club MOI. Greater headweight can help a player "feel" the clubhead more and be less likely to close the clubface too much at impact.


These are all considerations for all golfers to some extent. However, for folks blessed with being able to bomb the ball, getting the right club parameters is probably even important. Ah, to hit a 300 yard drive down the middle!


The Fit Is IT!!

Tony

Being A Little "Selfish!" - On Purpose....

This week's post is being written as I attend a U.S. Golf Teaching Federation (USGTF) certification class being held in Ft. Pierce, Florida. Tomorrow is the last day and it has been a great experience. My purpose (more on that word later) in attending is to learn more about the golf swing to help support my custom fitting efforts for players. There have been a lot of times in fittings where suggesting some small modifications - for example, moving the ball more forward in a player's stance - can help the player hit the ball better and improve the total quality of the fitting. It is also important to know when it is not appropriate to do a fitting and to refer a player to my partner Des Mahoney for some lessons before an effective fitting can be done.

One of the pleasures of attending this training is that there are a number of good players in the class. One in fact - when we were all asked what is the lowest score we have ever had (mine is 71....) said 58. I thought ARE YOU KIDDING ME! The 58 was not from the back tees, but 58 is 58!!!!!

It has been a pleasure to watch him swing the golf club but also watch his golf practice ethic during the certification class (he had dropped out of playing golf for a few years but is now back playing). It gave me a better sense of what the really great players have to do to make it to the top, how very difficult that is.

At about the same time this week, I read a blog post from John Graham Golf (post actually by Andy Morrison), related to that Purpose word again, the link to it is below....

http://johngrahamgolf.com/blog/time-play-golf-purpose-2/

One of the points of the post is to suggest that we - if we want to truly improve playing golf - truly go after those areas where we do not do well. For me that is easy - the sand game and 15 to 30 yard pitch shots to the green.

We have had the opportunity to play 18 holes of golf each day while here - but for me, taking two of these days to work on my sand and short pitch game has been something that has been well worth the effort. My short game has improved more this week than at any time I can remember in the past.

So why not ensure that you are playing golf clubs that really fit your game, why not get the right instruction to help you swing the golf club in a consistent manner, why not get maximum enjoyment out of every round of golf you play? On purpose....


The Fit Is IT!!

Tony

Wedge Fitting - Great Article from "Park Golf Academy"

I had the opportunity to read an article this week that was so good that I just had to provide you folks the link to it. Here you go...

http://parkgolfacademy.wordpress.com/2011/02/03/get-more-wedge-for-your-money/

The author is Martin Park of the Park Golf Academy in Denmark (yep, the world is global).


Wedge fitting is fascinating because to me players can improve significantly their games by having the right wedges and putters in their bags. But it seems like the design of wedges has - for the most part - not changed significantly from the original Sarazen design from about 50 years ago.

Martin Park discusses the following key elements related to picking the right wedges for you.....

LENGTH

LOFT

FLEX

LIE ANGLE

SWINGWEIGHT

GRIP

BOUNCE

SOLE WIDTH

HEAD FINISH

GROOVES

SHAFTS


Lots of possible ways to find clubs that can really help you!


You may also want to read some of his other articles....they are excellent!


The Fit Is IT!!

Tony

What YOU Are Saying - the Best Grips

About 2 weeks ago there was a post on the Assn. of Golf Clubfitting Professionals (AGCP) forum asking for folks to identify their top 5 selling grips. Experience has shown me that decisions on grips are made on feel, looks, and often if there are some special needs related to them. There is no cookbook way to identify the best grip for a player.


That said, here is a summary of what my customers have said, by their purchases, are the top grips that they most often order:


MOST REQUESTED BY FAR - Golf Pride Tour Velvet (a good feeling, reasonably priced grip) and the Winn DSi AVS V17 Blue/Black (a midsize grip, great feel and softness).


MOST REQUESTED OVERSIZE AND/OR JUMBO GRIPS - Lamkin Crossline Tour 1/8 inch oversize, and Golf Pride Tour Velvet 1/8 inch oversize. Both have a great soft feel and are largely used by players who have some hand problems and/or just like how a larger grip feels.


THE UP AND COMERS - Golf Pride VDR (various colors) and Lamkin Perma Wrap Classic 3 Gen. A number of clients have recently bought these and they have a great feel and look. I expect more and more folks will be choosing these grips in the future.


JURY STILL OUT BUT HIGH POTENTIAL - The Winn Hero grips, which are quite a lot lighter than "standard" grips - Hero weights are about 25 grams. Particularly for players where you want to make the club as light as possible.


The Fit Is IT!!

Tony

Getting It ALL!

My wife and I have been meeting with designers because we want to get our kitchen redone. We have met with about three different designers now, and each time we learn a little more about how to get what we want.


BUT we are also learning that there are compromises that we need to make in terms of the final kitchen we will get. Where we put the refrigerator affects whether or not we will get to be able to keep an island in the kitchen for example. So there are compromises to be made in terms of what will be the final result of the design and what will be available to us in the kitchen.


Is precision clubfitting the same, do we have to compromise based on the "box" of our swing and capabilities? Well yes there are things that cannot be changed. If we swing our driver at 90 mph, the most we can expect to carry our drives would be about 235 yards for example. And we might have wrist problems that keep us from releasing the club easily, and so be prone to pushing the ball to keep our wrist from hurting.


But the good news is that is an optimum for each of us in terms of our golf clubs. The right shaft, length, swingweight, flex and flex profile can lead to great results. We do not have to give in to compromise, we can get the best results for who we are and how we swing and play golf.


Sometimes lately I am thinking fitting is easier than finding the right final kitchen design!!


The Fit Is IT!!

Tony

Miura Heads and KBS Shafts - A Great Marriage!

I am delighted that - this past week - I received approval to become a Miura Golf club head dealer. I have a number of clubfitting friends who carry Miura irons for their clients, and they all say that the feel and performance of these heads is as good as it gets. Anyone interested in seeing the obvious quality of these clubheads can look at them on this website:


http://www.miuragolf.com


At the same time, I am also carrying KBS steel shafts, which are available at various flexes and weights, both taper tip and parallel tip. KBS shafts have been the up and coming shaft on the PGA tour for quite a while. The full line of KBS shafts can be seen on this web site:


http://www.kbsshafts.com


It was PRETTY exciting this weekend to learn that the winner of the Players Championship played Miura irons and KBS shafts! Here is a press release describing the Miura clubs that were played in the Players Championship:


http://www.thegolfwire.com/stories/237316


This is a clear indication of the quality of both of these products, and I look forward to offering Miura heads combined with KBS and other quality shafts to my customers in the future. In about a week, I will have five of the available Miura heads and nearly the full line of KBS shafts available for testing in my iron fitting system.


The Fit Is IT!

Tony

Confessions of a Shaftoholic?

This week I built 7 new iron test club shafts - FST 115 gram steel shafts in half flex increments. This fills a hole in my steel test shaft group - between 90 gram KBS and FST steel shafts and 125 gram steel shafts I have available.


So when are enough test shafts enough? Truth is it is very hard to come up with a number. Seeing how a player likes the feel of different weight shafts and how they perform for him or her is a key goal of a successful fitting. And you cannot do that without having a wide choice of shafts to test with.


So.........yep, I do enjoy building new test shafts.......................hopefully to help players find the right arrows for their clubs!


The Fit Is IT!

Tony

So Why Is It That.....?

Many of you from time to time see it said that the average golfer handicap has not changed one bit over many years. Who really knows why that is - but it does seem a little strange that with all of the new technology we have, with lots of opportunities for golf instruction, with more attention to fitness, with more attention to the mental part of the game, that this seems to be the case.

For me, today marks the start of my personal efforts to really go after that statistic for the players that I get to work with. I retired from an 34-1/2 year engineering career this past Friday, with the intent of truly learning the science and art of professional clubfitting to help folks play better and get more enjoyment from golf.

I am struck with how much I have learned over the past 5 years but also how much there also is to learn to help players improve. It is very satisfying when a fitting goes very easily and the clubs immediately work well and players see immediate improvement. However, there are also times when the complex interactions between the golf clubs and the way the player swings do not provide quick fixes - and THAT is when the "art" and experience part of fitting comes into play and where perhaps even more satisfaction lies. In these cases, the ability to learn from others who have had similar experiences is invaluable.

It is going to be a great ride - striving to do all I personally can to help bring that average handicap down - one player at a time!

The Fit Is IT!

Tony

Seeing the Little (BIG!) Things

One of the valuable lessons I learned from my trip in March with Dana Upshaw was the importance of taking and analyzing swing videos during fittings. There are often some small and simple clues from video that can help make a fitting produce great results. This happened during a driver fitting this weekend, when seeing that the player was positioning the ball too far back in his stance, and then getting him to correct that, lead to - once he had the right club in his hands - substantial improvements in driver carry distance.

There is perhaps a more far reaching value from this however - and it is how important the FUNDAMENTALS of the golf swing are, and how easy it is to stray from these. I can remember reading that Jack Nicklaus would start each year by working with his teacher to almost "start over" - work on ball position, etc. as though he was just a beginner golfer. And most of us can remember seeing pictures of PGA pros warming up and putting sticks on the ground to work on alignment and other key fundamentals.

Working to engrain the most simple elements of the golf swing can pay big benefits!

The Fit Is IT!

Tony

What is the magic question for Driver Fittings?

Tonight I thought I would watch a well know golf show on a well know golf channel since there was to be a discussion on hitting drivers.

The show also included a discussion on driver fittings, and how it is now "easy" to get fit for a driver using one of the new fitting carts from an OEM company.

The first interesting thing that I heard is that the person doing the show plays a 44-1/2 inch driver - which is great, he knows that the longer drivers sold in stores fit only a small element of the golfing community.

The rest of the show consisted of lots of discussions on how things affect club performance - like shaft weight affecting ball spin (not true), and playing a larger head can be good for someone who slices the ball (not true, in fact the opposite is more likely to help). Or if you want to reduce ball spin you can play a stiffer shaft (not true in general, maybe for some - but then what does the stiffer shaft do for your overall driver performance?).

My takeaway for YOU from this show is what you should do if you consider having a driver fitting done using a fitting cart from an OEM. You need to ask the Magic Question as much as possible - and that question is WHY?

If someone tells you playing a bigger head can help you eliminate a slice, ask them to explain why. If they suggest that a heavier shaft helps you to reduce spin, ask them why. It is your money, and your golf game - you deserve to know if the person doing the fitting actually understands what the influence of things like club flex, shaft weight, clubhead size, etc.

And if they do not have good, understandable answers to your questions - well, then you need to decide if this is the right place to spend your money.

The Fit Is IT!!

Tony

PLEASE take me with you IF......

The Masters was as good as ever again this year. Tiger making some unbelievable shots on the front 9, especially the big hook on #6 to get below the pin for a birdie putt. And of course the winner making 4 birdies in a row at the end. Wonderful stuff.

My take on the key club in the bag at the Masters this year is that, probably like most years, the putter. 4 key putts at the end for birdies by the winner, and 2 key short misses by Tiger that might have made the difference. Having the right putter and a great stroke is a winning combination.

While noodling around on the Master.com web site a few days ago, I decided to sign up for Practice Round tickets for next year. And found out that for NEXT year there will be some Actual Round tickets available, and there will be a lottery for these! So if you are reading this, go ahead and log on to Masters.com and look under Tickets and see if You might get a few of these! And - if you do and you need someone to go with you - get in touch with me and I might be available (unless I also get tickets!!).

The Fit Is IT!

Tony

If you do the same thing expecting different results?

I was able this past weekend to view "from the outside" a Fitting and Demo Day offered by a local golf club distributor. All of the major clubs that these companies make, the new models, were available to hit.

The first thing that was interesting is that - even though there is a lot of new technology available to be able to test golf club performance (particularly Launch Monitors) there were no Launch Monitors being used by any of the companies showing their clubs. So, just like it has been in past years, players who hit clubs need to rely mostly on feel and some visual evidence of how the club performs.

There are, to be fair, some pretty sophisticated Fitting Carts now available from OEMs so that players can hit various shaft, length, and head options to see if any seem to play well for them.

It was also interesting to notice how enthusiastic the folks who were participating in this Demo Day were. They all wanted to test the latest equipment and see if there is anything that can help them play better.

At the end of the "Day" though - same old same old. Hit a few club and shaft options, see if any seem to work well, perhaps find something that "seems" a little better, and maybe buy some new clubs. And often find out later that these do not really fit them.

Golfers deserve better. Being fit from a fitting cart without attention to measuring results may not cost you anything, but you get what you pay for. Precision fitting does significantly more than that - it is based on real measurements of performance, and allows a player all of the key fitting parameters to find clubs that REALLY fit their games.

Some things never change!!

Tony

Squaring Putter Grips - The Next "Level!"

When I was with Dana Upshaw a few weeks ago, I got to see his setup for putting on putter grips perfectly square - making the flat portion of the grip perpendicular to the face of the putter. When grips are not square, you are "adjusting" your hands to make the face look square to your line, and this kind of adjustment is likely to make it more difficult to putt to your capabilities.

This evening I returned from our annual golf trip to Florida, with 14 of the best golf buddies a person can have. Before going on the trip, I took a closer look at my putter grip, and realized that it was not "quite" square and so I installed a new grip. I used an electronic leveling device to help me square the grip, and am sure it is much better than it was. I could feel it being easier to square the face when I placed the putter on the ground.

While on the trip, I looked at a few of my friend's putter grips, and all were not on square. This is probably more prevalent that most people think, it is not a trivial matter to get a grip on square. One is not likely to be able to do this by eyeballing the grip installation.

When I returned home this evening, a package from Golfsmith was here and it had the Putter Alignment Jig that they sell. Pretty slick, based on using a laser that projects a vertical line and you put the jig on the putter flat surface and work the grip until it is square. Dana did some additional mods to this to make it work even better, and I plan to do so sometime soon.

Getting your putter grip checked for alignment is well worth the time!!

Tony

Do You REALLY Know Your Driver Loft?

This past weekend I had the opportunity to spend a day and a half with Dana Upshaw, Dana Golf in Warner Robins, GA. Dana is acknowledged as one of the premier clubfitters in the world, and I did all I could to soak up as much knowledge as possible from him.

One of the things that I watched him doing during a fitting was to measure the loft of the driver for the player he was fitting. Pretty standard stuff, but also pretty important to understanding club performance. He has been collecting data on real versus marked driver lofts for awhile now, and most often the true measured loft of the club is not what is marked on it - sometimes by a few degrees.

This matters because - for example - you might really be playing a driver with either too much or too little loft. This happened on Friday, when the player Dana was fitting wondered why he was hitting his driver too high - and Dana found out that the loft of the driver was a few degrees more than expected.

I started a similar effort tonight, to start collecting data on driver lofts. For my first opportunity I measured the loft of what was supposed to be a 9.5 degree driver, and found it to be 11 degrees. More data on this effort will be reported in the future!

Tony

Turning Down Business ??

Today I talked with a potential new client, actually someone who lives within a mile from my house.

I mentioned to him that I will be spending some time soon with Dana Upshaw, one of the best 2 or 3 clubfitters in the world (my opinion....) - he offered to let me come to his shop and learn as much as I can from him about how he does clubfitting and club building.

So I asked if this new client wanted me to work with him before I visit Dana - and he said "why would I do that, why not wait until you learn more?" I realized - I never thought of that - and it made great sense!!

Part of the fun and excitement of clubfitting is the opportunity to continue to learn new ways of doing things better. Most weeks there are at least 2 or 3 new things I learn from the AGCP web forum, and each time it is a pleasure to learn from the best.

Tony

A Great Start!!

This past weekend I met with a husband and wife - he is interested in perhaps a new 3 and 5 wood and she has never played and is interested in starting.

Helping new players get into the game is a lot of fun. Not having a lot of experiences with the best way to set up a set for new players (though I had some ideas that proved pretty close), I posted a question on the AGCP forum, and got some great suggestions from Keith Chatham from Texas. Most of the folks that Keith works with are female players and somewhat older folks, and he has lots of experience developing sets that can help players get the most fun from their golf.

So the approach that will be taken for this player is the following:

1. First, I built here a 6 iron - very soft flex, very light swingweight - that she can use to start hitting some golf balls and particularly to take some lessons (from Des Mahoney, my partner) so that she can get a good start with her swing.

2. Second, I found a good 15 degree driver option and 20 degree fairway wood option. These will be built with, again, lightweight shafts, soft flex, and light swinweight. Easy to swing.

3. Finally, based on help from Keith, I will build her some hybrid irons - 5, 7, 9, PW - and a 56 degree sand wedge - so that she has the basic clubs for her bag. Same thing - light swingweight and soft flex. If she decides she needs the clubs in between these, they can be built later. The option that Keith recommended is the Kent Sports RM-5 hybrid heads.

4. Finally, will fit her for a putter, which I believe will be in the 31 to 32 inch length when fitting complete. For this short length need heavier head and I found one that will work.

Success for this player will be for her to get a great start with golf, hit a number and hopefully lots of good shots, and keep playing!!

Tony

Beware the "Magic Number" - It Does Not Change!!

Just about anywhere you might go these days to buy a driver in a golf equipment store, you will find some type of launch monitor that will be used to show you data on your swing speed, effectiveness of contact (Power Transfer Ratio), maximum carry distance, and other parameters.

There is a "magic number" that you should keep in mind when you are looking for a new driver. That number is 2.5 times your swing speed - the maximum carry distance that you can achieve with any driver based on your swing speed. And if your swing speed is below about 70 mph, this multiplier goes down to about 2.2 instead of 2.5......

There may be folks that suggest that you can get more carry distance than 2.5 times your swing speed with a new driver of some make. If someone tells you this, you should realize that this person is simply blowing smoke. Not possible. You might want to consider spending your $400 for your new driver somewhere else!

Now, you may also hear some sales folks say that with combinations of new shafts, grips, etc. that you can increase your swing speed by say 5 mph with new drivers also. Not likely either! - but a discussion on this topic is best left to a future blog post!

Tony

BMT - No Longer Just For Drivers....

For the past few years I have been using a driver shaft fitting system called BMT - Butt Mid Tip - to choose the best driver shafts for players. It was developed by Jerry Hoefling, Master AGCP Clubfitter.

The basics of this system are to measure a player's swing speed, overall swing tempo (time from start to finish of swing) and release point - where he/she releases his/her wrist cock. From these data, the system develops an estimated butt-mid-tip flex appropriate for the measured parameters. Then - using a data base of hundreds of shafts where measurements of shaft butt, mid, and tip stiffness have been made - it is possible to identify a shaft or shafts that are good fits for the way players swing their drivers.

The premise of using this fitting system is that it leads to using a shaft that best fits the player's swing characteristics, and so will significantly reduce the dispersion of driver results. Some prominent fitters have had 100% success rates using this system.

Over the past year I have been learning more of how other fitters have been applying this system to also fit fairway wood shafts. The way most have done this is to measure 3 wood swing speed, tempo, and release and use the same shaft BMT data - adding 10 grams of shaft weight to the shaft weight used for the driver - to find a good shaft for a player's 3 wood.

There are a lot of companies now that are developing fairway wood shafts that are meant to be put into 3 woods without any tipping. ACCRA shafts are a great example of this approach, and a number of PGA tour players are using ACCRA shafts with great results. The value of doing this is to promote a higher launch for 3 woods - or simply for your longest fairway wood.

I tested this on my fairway woods recently. A good BMT shaft fit for my fairway woods is an SK Fiber TT 80 A flex shaft. So I put this shaft into my Wishon 949 MC 3 wood without any tipping, and built my 5, 7, and 9 fairway woods with the same shaft but with enough tipping so the butt flex of all of the clubs would be the same. So far I have been very pleased with the performance results of these reshafted woods, and believe this is a great approach for fairway wood shaft fitting.

Tony

An "Alpha" for Valentine's Day!

Though it is late for any on-time presents to your loved one for Valentine's Day, thought I would make mention of a great shaft for folks with fairly low swing speeds - in the 50 to 60 mph range.

The Alpha Platinum LL shaft is a great option for low swing speed folks. It is very light weight - lower than 50 grams - and a soft enough flex that people can get great results. I have built drivers with this shaft for about 3 folks now, and each one raves about it.

A great option for that late Valentine's Day gift, or if not for someone you know who can benefit.

Another excellent product for folks with slow swing speeds is the Nike Lady Karma golf ball. Low compression, great feel, and excellent distance.

Tony

Video Goodies....

More and more folks are putting videos onto YouTube that are useful to golfers to see.

Within a week or so, I will be adding a link to my web site so that you can go to a number directly to links to a number of these videos.

Perhaps you do not want to wait until this part of the site is active to see a few of these. Here are two links that you might be interested in viewing - some videos that discuss different elements of clubfitting and the value of it to golfers....

1. Dana Upshaw (Dana Golf) from Warner Robins, GA is one of the premier clubfitters in the world. At each of the three AGCP Roundtables that I have attended, his presentations have been one of the highlights of the meetings. You can see three recent AGCP videos that Dana has recorded at http://www.youtube.com/agcpclubfitter. There are a number of other useful videos you can see through this link.

2. Tom Wishon (Tom Wishon Golf) has a more than 30 year passion for custom clubfitting. He has produced a number of interesting videos on different elements of the value of clubfitting, these are located at http://wishongolf.com.

Hope these are useful to you!

Tony

"Bubba the Bomber" and Your Driver....

It was fun to watch Bubba Watson win the PGA tournament this weekend, pretty exciting stuff down the finish of this one.

As a lot of you probably know, he has often been the longest driver on the PGA tour. Forget about the pink shaft, he absolutely bombs it.

He, as do a lot of players on the PGA tour, plays a 44-1/2 inch length driver. This is at least an inch shorter than any driver you will purchase at a golf store.

He surely has done extensive testing to find the right length for his driver. And you can bet that he is working to hit the ball far, but also in the middle of the clubface as much as possible and also in the middle of the fairway as much as possible.

Few of us "mortal" golfers can consistently hit a driver well that is longer than 45 inches in length. Hitting the ball in the center of the face as much as possible will lead to longer driving distances.

Keep showing us Bubba..........maybe we will learn from you!! Even if we do not play pink shafts....

Tony

Driver Fitting Basics......

There is presently a lot of buzz about some new driver heads that have weights about 25 grams or so lighter than present "conventional" driver heads. These are being promoted to produce more clubhead speed and more distance with the driver. One of the ads I saw for a light driver suggested it would be best to play with a 47.5 inch shaft. This is more than 1.5 inches longer than present driver shafts that you can purchase in stores, and this recommendation is being made so that the club swingweight will be heavy enough so that you can feel the clubhead.

While I am not convinced that lightweight drivers are a good option for most players, here are some basics that you might want to consider when you purchase your next driver - hopefully from a precision clubfitter:

1. The key fitting elements that affect the performance of a driver are the club length, shaft flex and flex profile, club swingweight/MOI - AND how you swing the driver (more on that later).

2. For any player of any level of skill, the maximum performance you will get from a driver in terms of Carry Distance is 2.5 times your swing speed. So if you have a swing speed of 100 mph, the maximum carry you will achieve will be 250 yards. No matter what anyone tells you, with whatever head and shaft combination you use, you will not carry the ball further than this. And this is with perfect contact on the sweet spot of the clubhead.

3. For players of swing speeds of 70 mph or lower, the 2.5 factor is more like 2.2. So for a player with a 70 mph swing speed, the most he will be able to carry his drives is about 154 yards. Again, with best contact on the sweet spot.

4. Contact with the sweet spot of the driver is king! So if you can find a club length, shaft, and swingweight/MOI combination that promotes the most consistent contact on the sweet spot, you will have the best opportunity to maximize carry distance.

5. For slower swing speeds, drivers with higher lofts can help to provide maximum carry distance.

6. Now beyond carry distance to total distance - roll out of the drive is influenced by ball speed, launch angle, and ball spin. The shaft can have some influence on ball spin, but most likely your technique will have a major influence on your ball spin. The ball you play with can also have an influence.

7. If you decide to have a fitting done for your driver, a key parameter that is measured as part of the fitting is the Power Transfer Ratio - PTR - which is the ratio of the ball speed divided by your swing speed. For drivers option PTR is about 1.48, and if your measured PTR is much below this you are not achieving optimum conditions with the driver you are testing.

8. Finally, of you do decide to hit some very long drivers with lengths in the range of 47-1/2 inches, if at all possible do some test with impact labels. If you see you are consistently hitting this driver in the center of the face great. But if not most likely this club is too long for you.

Happy driving!

Tony

Choosing Wedges To Help You Play Better.....

During all of the snow of the past week, I went back and watched a number of Ralph Maltby (Golfworks) videos that I have. If you are looking for some easy to understand information on some of the key elements of clubfitting, these are excellent resources.

The one I was most interested in was "Learn All About Wedges." In it he discussed the evolution of wedge heads (here I am talking sand and lob wedges), how one measures bounce for a wedge, but most importantly the concept of "Effective Bounce." It was interesting to read again that a large majority of wedge heads on the market do not look substantially different than the original sand wedge designed by Gene Sarazen something like 50 years ago.

There are four variables that influence the "effective bounce" of a wedge head, these are.....

1. The normal bounce angle built into the wedge,

2. The width of the sole of the wedge,

3. The radius of the sole of the wedge, and

4. The sharpness of the leading edge of the wedge.

There are two primary reasons why, I believe, most mid to high handicap players should seriously consider playing wedges with high effective bounce (usually one with wider sole width):

1. To help players to more easily hit good sand shots, and

2. To eliminate one of the two ways a player can mishit a wedge. These two ways are hitting the shot fat and hitting it thin. With a wedge with high effective bounce, you can hit a shot fat but because of the bounce can still get good shot results. So you only have to be concerned about thin shots.

Look into, then, the option of non-standard wedge heads for the wedges in your bag. You can give your self the opportunity to save a number of shots around the greens and in the bunkers.

Tony

Wedge Shafts - How Do YOU Feel?

In the interest of being curious, when I get wedges with steel shafts to regrip I always check the flex of the shafts.

Just about every time, the shaft flex is - based on the flex standard that I use - XStiff to XXStiff. This is becoming less and less of a surprise to me, but now I am wondering why most of these shafts are so stiff.

Clearly wedges are for the most part "feel" clubs. Yes, you might hit a full sand wedge or lob wedge from time to time, but mostly you are hitting 30 to 50 yard shots, pitches around the green, and sand shots.

I know of at least one player who likes his sand wedge to be very stiff - he calls it "rebar" - particularly for use in sand shots. I also, though, know a lot of fitters who have great success building wedges that are actually slightly softer in flex than the other shafts in a set.

It all comes down again, then, to that wonder four letter golf word - Feel. And particularly for wedges, it is worth finding out if you perform better with wedges that are very stiff, or wedges that are a bit softer than the other irons in your bag.

Tony

There are Grips and there are Grips!

A good practice in terms of maintaining your golf clubs is to get them regripped at least once a year. And most often folks do this during the winter months, when they do not get to play as often because of cold weather.

When someone talks about "standard size grips" the actual standard is to measure the circumference of the grip 2 inches from the end of the golf shaft and 5 inches from the end of the shaft. Standard at 2 inches is 0.900 inches and standard at 5 inches is 0.807 inches. Then other sizes are based on being below or above these standards.

There are a lot of variables that are worth considering when you get your clubs regripped. One of the often overlooked ones is the size of the grip, particularly if you have problems with your hands and wrists. There are a lot of quality grips available in sizes 1/16th of an inch over up to 1/8th of an inch over standard. These can be a great option when you have issues with your hands. Most often these grips are from 10 to 30 grams heavier than standard size grips. Using these will decrease the overall swingweight of the club and so you may "feel" the clubhead a bit less.

Another option is the overall weight of the grip. There are now grips in standard size and oversize that are significantly lighter than a typical 50 gram grip. These lighter grips significantly decrease the overall weight of a club, and also increase the club swingweight - you may "feel' the clubhead more with these lighter grips.

Another great option in terms of gripping clubs is to add more tape the the lower end of the grip. This will make the club a bit larger in the lower hand, and a lot of players like this feel particularly again if they have hand and wrist problems.

It is worth it, then, to consider all of the potential options that are available to you when you get your clubs regripped. You may not know that there is more to this than simply putting a grip on!

Tony