Fit The Misses Too!

For every fitting that I do, I ask the player "what are your misses?" The answer to this question often provides initial hints into what kind of club improvements can provide the most value to players.


Many fittings result in increased distance with irons or drivers, or reduced dispersion of shots. But a recent post on the AGCP web site caused me to think there is a lot more to consider in paying LOTS of attention to the Misses players make - maybe more atttention to these than to the great shots.


There are a lot of things that can be done to golf clubs to "make misses better." Like fitting with an offset driver when a player slices a lot, or fitting with more loft when a player does not get drives and fairway woods in the air, or even recommending a sand wedge with a very wide sole to make sand shots easier.


So finding ways to increase distance with irons and woods is a great thing to strive for. But just as important is to make sure that the clubs really fit the player's swings - and maybe the best way to helping a lot of folks get more enjoyment in golf is simply to help them make all of their misses better.


Tony

Higher IS Further!!

At the AGCP Roundtable 5, we had the treat of listening to Tom Wishon (Tom Wishon Golf) talk for about 2 hours on things he has learned from working in the golf club business for about 40 years.


He noted his belief that the top 3 factors that have a major influence on driving distance are (in order of importance):

1. Driver loft
2. Driver length
3. Driver MOI/Swingweight


I believe that shaft flex and shaft flex profile are also important in fitting for distance - but I think Tom's point is that the three factors above play the Most important role in obtaining more distance.


The more I have thought about this in the past month, the more I agree with him. I recall one of the best driver fittings that I have ever done, and what I did was put the player into a 13 degree driver with a 43 inch length. This was for a player over 70 years old who I do not think has ever hit his drives 200 yards - but he could with this club.


I also think about what I see from the "big boys" on the PGA Tour. I do not think you ever see drives that are low and boring any more - they all fly high and carry long. All of their drives fly significantly higher than I know my drives do.


But the majority of drivers that we see in stores are still 9.5 degrees, 10 degrees, 10.5 degrees of loft. Maybe good for players who have 100 plus mph swing speed, but most of us are well below that.


Do not be afraid to test 13 and 15 degree drivers - the final results may surprise you!


Tony

Putter Grips - A Little Means A LOT!!

I am amazed sometimes at the little things in club building that can be important.

At the AGCP RT5, I realized that it is VERY important to install putter grips onto clubs so that the flat part is PERFECTLY perpendicular to the face of the putter.

And it makes such sense when you think of it. We all want to square the face up, and when we put our hands on the grip we all want to make the flat part of the grip be parallel to the putting line.

If the grip is not installed properly, we are adjusting and manipulating our strokes to compensate for this. Not something that leads to consistent putting.

So if you read this blog take a look at your grip. If it is not square, find someone who has the equipment to install it totally square to the line to take out this level of uncertainty in your putting stroke.


tony

Some Key Tidbits on The Successful AGCP RT5

Well we had another great AGCP Roundtable this past week. It started with a Demo Day last Wednesday and then 3 days of presentations and interactions with AGCP sponsors who attended the meetings. More than 60 AGCP members attended and there were excellent presentations on key elements of clubfitting including how to fit golfers who have disabilities, on the influence of metallurgy on the ability to bend iron heads, on how some important elements of installing grips on golf clubs, and business basics for clubfitting business development, on how to organize clubfitting websites, and on the key interactions between clubfitting and golf instruction (and more).


From the standpoint of readers of this blog, here are some tidbits that I hope might help your golf games....

1. If you ever the chance to get an evaluation of your putting stroke with the SAM PuttLab, I highly recommend it. This is the Cadillac of putter stroke diagnostics, and it provides some great insights into how you might improve your putting stroke. And you might also want to check out "The Putting Doctor" website - Glenn Combs has a simple process for improving putting that is well worth the investment.

2. A good resource discussed for tracking your golf game shots and identifying areas for improvement is the LinxTracker.... website of the same name.

3. Back to putting, an overlooked area that could lead to improvement is simply to determine if your grip has been put on straight so that you can square up the clubface. You might visually look at your grip and if it is not on straight get your putter regripped.

4. Again back to putting......a way to get an initial check on the effectiveness of your stroke is to simply check if you are aiming the putter on line......and if you are hitting the ball on the sweet spot of the putter.

5. From the standpoint of getting effective help with your golf swing, finding a teacher who focuses on the fundamentals is very important.


By far the best part of the Roundtable happened at the end. Tom Wishon from Tom Wishon Golf Technology gave a 2 hour presentation on what he has learned from 40 years of working in the golf business. He discussed many things - including that almost all drivers that people buy off the rack are too long - but the key thing was something he said at the end and that needs to be emphasized over and over again.....


Custom Built Golf Clubs Are The Best Golf Clubs
That You Will Ever Play With.


Tony