More AGCP Roundtable 4 Goodies....

There are a few specific tips and thoughts that I picked up from the RT4 clubfittting week. I thought some of you might be interested in them....


1. One of the big hits of the week was the "Swingrite" trainer available from Swingrite, an AGCP sponsor. I think everyone there who picked one up bought one! It helps you to learn the feel of a late release, a key to getting as much swing speed as you are capable of. I bought one too, I use it every morning before I go to work, and I think it works.


2. How to get hard-to-remove grip tape off shafts.........? Well I asked Keith Chatham from Precision Fit golf this and he immediately said Goo Gone. A citrus based cleaner that he uses to do this. Cannot wait to buy a bottle and try it.


3. There was a discussion about using tungsten powder down graphite shafts to increase club weight / MOI. Everyone said to not be afraid to do this with graphite, it does not create a problem.


4. Another AGCP sponsor sells the Silencer System....a system to allow you to put "rat glue" into a driver head to increase swing weight. I learned how to easily drill into the present hosel plug in a driver head and use the Silencer.


These are a couple of the best goodies I learned from the RT4................as usual, a week well spent!


Tony

AGCP Roundtable 4 - Education, Education, Education!

The Association of Golf Clubfitting Professionals (AGCP) held its 4th Annual Roundtable in Columbus, GA on October 14-17. For me, this event just keeps getting better and better! The best of the best clubfitters get together each year to learn from each other about different elements of professional clubfitting.


The theme of this Roundtable - and the previous Roundtables - was Education, Education, Education. It is an opportunity for the best clubfitters in the world to share their knowledge. Some of the major topics discussed during the Roundtable included:

- Club Grinding Techniques - discussions on key elements of grinding, and then a hands on session where attendees could learn some of these key elements;

- Presentations of how to address some key swing flaws in clubfitting sessions, and on some of the key components of good iron fitting;

- "Tricks of the Trade" - tips to help in fitting and building clubs;

- New techniques for profiling golf shafts, and use of high speed cameras during the fitting process;

- Using shaft profiling techniques in driver shaft fitting;

- Discussion on the influence of Club Balance Point in clubfitting;

- The Hows and Whys of Clubfitting;

- Putter fitting;

- Keys for operating a profitable clubfitting business.


In addition, I think 21 different sponsors were in attendance at the Roundtable. This included shaft manufacturers, custom club manufacturers, and companies that provide materials and services to improve clubfitting and clubmaking.


For me this was another great learning experience to help me get to a higher level of fitting and clubmaking expertise. Probably the best part of the Roundtable is the chance to ask questions of recognized experts, both during presentations and in the evenings.


Just another Wow! Roundtable - can't wait to see this group again next September.


Tony

If Tiger Says It, Is It True?....

The note below was in the November Golf Digest magazine....


ASK TIGER -- Golf Digest, Nov'09, p.280.

What is the best tip you would give to a beginner?(Anne Patterson, Boulder, CO)

A. Find clubs that fit you. It will save you a ton of aggravation from the start. Make sure they aren't too short, long or heavy. Otherwise, you'll adapt your swing to the equipment in a way that might not be technically sound. It's easy to get fit, and it really does matter.


Probably cannot say this any better than he did......thanks Tiger!



Full report next week from the AGCP 4th Roundtable!!


Tony

A Break In The Action? - Well.....

This week is the 3rd Annual St. Mary's Catholic Church golf tournament. Kind of a different focus for me, because I am co-chair of this. In truth, Nancy Howard who is the other co-chair is pretty amazing in terms of what she has accomplished in working to get things in place for this week.


I have a great appreciation for people who have chaired golf events for years and years. For example, the Oak Ridge KFI tournament has been going on for more than 30 years, and the people who organize it seem to have the same enthusiasm for making it work this year as they had in 1990 when I first played in it.


I also have a great appreciation for people who play in these kinds of events. We have 13 teams in the St. Marys tournament this year - more than last year, but not as many as we hoped. But there is another local tournament going on the same day, and I know of a third going on this week. We are delighted that we were able to attract 13 teams to play.


Our hope is that all of the players who are in the event will feel like they each got something out of it that made it worth it, besides the donation to the event. Today I was loading event goodie bags with some of the things that we purchased for the players.......and we think we have found some things to give to them that they will find worth their time.


So there you go................now down to final planning, putting it all together on Thursday, and in particular hoping for great weather! And being thankful for people who take the time to help make events like this work.


Next week..............blogging from Columbus, GA!!


Tony

Lefties Never Fear!

Up until about a month ago, I did not invest much in assembling left handed test clubs.......because I had no left handed clients.


Well, that has changed - I will be doing an iron fitting fairly soon for a left handed player. I asked some of my AGCP buddies what left handed iron heads they recommend and they provided some good options. By the end of the week I will have 5 left handed 6 iron test heads that I can use with all of the present set of test shafts that I have built.


The heads came from Infiniti Golf, Bang Golf, Wishon Golf, and Hireko Golf. All are very reputable club component companies (they do NOT make knock off club heads....). The Infiniti head is their Assure head....very forgiving and in fact the head that I play (I need all of the forgiveness I can get!). The other heads all look great and I think will be good options for future left handed clients.


Because I use the Club Conex (tm) FAZ FIT hosel and shaft connectors, all of the test shafts that I made up for use for right handed players will work just as well for left handed players. So I will be able to test for club length, shaft flex, shaft type (graphite or steel) and shaft weight - in a similar way as can be done for right handed players.


I do not expect Mr. Leftie (Phil Michelson, who won this weekend...) will be knocking on my door soon................but I look forward to being able to more easily fit left handed players.


COMING SOON......2 weeks from tonight, annual AGCP Roundtable. It is going to be the best yet, can't wait!


Tony

Advice - I wonder what will happen....

I am not against giving players a bit of advice on golf clubs sometimes.....usually about the simple things like driver length.


I had a meeting this weekend with a pleasant person who is interested in getting new clubs. I made a few measurements with him and identified that he will likely play best with clubs shorter than standard length. Maybe a 43 to 43-1/2 inch length driver, and irons perhaps a half inch shorter than standard (cannot know real best lengths without impact label testing....).


During our discussion, I was wondering what might be the result if he went into a golf store and said "I am pretty sure I would play my best golf with a 43-1/2 inch length driver, what can you do for me?"


To my knowledge, all of the stores carry drivers that are at least 45 inches long. Someone in a store MIGHT say "well I can just cut that driver down to length for you and that would work." Well, if you cut down a driver from 45 inches to 43-1/2 inches, you reduce the swingweight of that driver 9 swingweight points. Say the 45 inch driver had a swingweight of D2, the cut down one would have a swingweight of C3 - very very light and probably not good for this player.


The right way to modify a driver to a reduced length is to add appropriate weight to the head, and/or to reshaft the driver with a heavier shaft. It can be made to work....but simply cutting the shaft to a reduced length will typically not work.


Still, I would love to be a fly on the wall for the conversation with the salesman about reduced length clubs.....


Tony

Family Fixings....

My youngest brother visited this past weekend and we got to play golf together for 2 days. Beautiful fall weather here in Tennessee!


He plays something less than 10 times a year, but really enjoys playing when he does. Last year when we played together I built him a driver - shorter length, lighter flex shaft, lighter swingweight - to attempt to help him slice the ball less. I could see this year that he was hitting this club better than last year......but truthfully the biggest improvement he would get with a driver would come from taking some lessons.


This year I got him to try some graphite shafted fairway woods. A lot lighter than his previous woods, which had steel shafts....boy, these babies were HEAVY. He liked the feel of the lighter woods, and hit a few good shots with them on Sunday.


In thinking back to the weekend, I realize that there are lots of people playing golf - say 10 times or less a year - who have no idea that their clubs are a very poor fit for their games. The realist in me knows that for a lot of these folks, it is not likely that they care a lot if their clubs do not really fit them. BUT.....on the other hand......I think they DO care about their golf when they are actually playing (I know for sure that my brother does, he loves when he hits good shots). So I think some level of good clubfitting can also help folks who do not play a lot - particularly those who have clubs that are difficult to swing. Does it mean I am saying that these folks should be going for a really detailed fitting for their clubs - probably not. But they deserve to at least play clubs that are the right length, and that have flexes and weights that are a reasonable fit for the way they play.


I have a feeling that "someone" may be getting some even newer fairway woods for Christmas?


PS....One Month to the AGCP Roundtable 4 - can't wait!!


Tony