Back In The SWing Of Things!

My "higher power" is out of town for a few days, which is going to give me the opportunity to get quite a lot of clubbuilding done the next week or so. Some of my tasks to complete in the evenings this week and part of next include....

- Finishing two iron builds

- Rebuilding two hybrid clubs

- Building some flex test clubs for a tall golfer

- Putting some extenders into two wedges

- Building a new set of driver fitting test shafts - varied shaft weights

- Rebuilding some of my driver test heads so that I can reduce the weight in the heads


I am starting to get very excited about improving my driver fitting test clubs. I am in the process of doing two major improvements to my driver fitting clubs.

First, installing some new FAZ FIT connectors into my test driver heads to reduce the total weight of the heads and connectors. It is easy to add weight in testing - as Dana Upshaw told me "lead tape is your friend."

Second, and I think most importantly, I am building four new test shafts using 55, 65, 75, and 85 gram Aldila NVS driver shafts. This difference of about 30 grams in shaft weight will allow me to test more effectively for the influence of shaft weight on ball flight - shaft weight has a major influence on the driver swing path for a player. I will probably also build at least one steel driver test shaft so that can go up to about 100 grams or so of shaft weight for players who might benefit from this.


While shaft flex is important for drivers, if you cannot hit the ball in the middle of the clubface you will not have the opportunity to maximize the distance of your drives. Driver shaft weight and its influence on club path is important to test for.


Tony

The Nine Ball Flight Laws....

Thanks to Dana Upshaw today for posting (through AGCP forum) this link that summarizes the key types of ball flight that are possible - what have been called the "Ball Flight Laws:"

http://www.hkprogolf.com/ball_flight_laws.html

This article discusses the nine ball flight types, which are...

Pull hook
Pull
Pull fade or slice
Draw or hook
Straight
Fade or slice
Push draw
Push
Push fade or slice


The article rightly notes some suggested swing thoughts and changes that can help a player to stop a particular type of flight. It also discusses the influence of shaft flex, shaft weight, grip size, lie angle, and grip size on these different ball flights.


The article rightly shows that "straight" shots are produced when the club travels from inside the target line to square at impact to back inside the target line.


In my view grip size is not likely to be a great contributor to the type of ball flight a player produces. Lie angle and shaft flex can make some contribution to which type of ball flight can be produced, and definitely should be evaluated. Shaft weight can have a major influence on swing path, and club swingweight/MOI can have a major influence on the club face angle relative to the swing path.


So what is your predominant ball flight?


Tony

Shafts and More Shafts.....

A few years ago I purchased a copy of Tom Wishon's Shaft Profiling Software. Tonight I updated this software to the newest version.............and it includes quite a number of new shaft frequency profiles.


How a person swings a golf club can influence the shaft that is the best performance fit for him or her. Two people who have the same swing speed can differ greatly in when in their swing they "release" their wrist cock and how aggressively they swing at the golf ball. It is entirely possible that these two people would play shafts that have the same "butt flex" - the flex measured for the full length of the golf club - but one would play better with a shaft that has a soft tip flex while the other plays with a shaft with a stiffer tip flex.


So you should be asking - how would I know which shaft would work best for me? The best answer is to find a clubfitter who has test clubs with a range of test shafts with different flex profiles - and determine by measurements which shaft you hit better (launch monitor data can provide this kind of information).


Personally I often also find that when the "right" shaft is put in the hands of a golfer it simply feels right. The player can feel the shaft unload properly when he hits the ball and "he knows." It is great to be with players when this kind of experience happens, because you know that you are really finding a shaft option that will help them hit the ball further and more consistently.


Shaft profiles are one of the key variables in professional clubfitting.


Tony