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Shafts — How Flexible Are You?: CUSTOM FIT GOLF CLUBS – Part 4

Club Fitting
Shebylo: Author
Shebylo: Author

These articles are meant to motivate the golfer to research and educate themselves on that piece of equipment they are physically attached to during the game. One integral component, that could be discussed for days, is the club shaft; some call it the ‘transmission’ of the club. Due to the limited length of these articles, this part barely scratches the surface of golf shafts.

Q: OK, let’s get to the next part of the golf club, the shaft. We have discussed grips, heads, what determines which shaft should be used for each golfer? And with that shaft, what flex is used? How important is it?
A: The shaft is the most important component of a golf club. We mostly use ball flight as a critical input of the type of shaft to assign. When it is not matched to the golfer, severe inconsistency will result in their shots. I know you have played with some clubs where the shaft is either too stiff, or too flexible. What happens is you try to make the shaft work to feel right, by swinging too fast or too slowly. And when a golfer must consciously, or sub-consciously, change their swing to make the ‘shaft feel’ match what they want the ‘bend feel’ to be, inconsistency will result. The fitter will put a shaft in your hands matching YOUR swing, for weight, flex, bend, torque, length; one less thing to think about.

 

Shafts really matter.
Shafts really matter.

Q: What is flex, torque, kick point, bend point, frequency?
A: Look, all of those are simply definitions, and would take an entire article for me to describe. I suggest that the golfer goes online, maybe start at USGA site, or ask.com, and read up on these terms. I am sure some questions will come up in his mind, but certainly he ends up being much better educated and informed. It is enough to say that a fitter would best match those variables in to the component for the golfer, given the data collected during the fitting analysis.
Shebylo: That’s right. Even for this interview, when online, I was overwhelmed by all the data and information that is out there. But now I at least know how you can apply it during your fitting.

Golf Shafts Matter.
So many choices. But it really comes down to how you feel about your choices. Let a professional help you navigate through all the technical to get what gives you better feel.

Q: What about the difference of steel to graphite shafts?
A: Weight difference is the biggest, and better vibration dampening with graphite. Steel shafts are typically heavier. Graphite, although lighter, can be cost prohibitive, but provide a wider array of solutions for different swing types.

Q: When I go to look at, or buy a set of clubs, how do I know what the quality of shafts are in the club?
A: You don’t. It is important for you to know enough about shafts to confirm the information that is being provided. If any doubt, ask questions to your satisfaction.

Q: Is there a good rule of thumb a golfer can use if he has to choose a shaft during an impulse buy?
A: Without having gone to a fitter, the golfer’s specs are not known, and therefore you do not know what to look for in the shaft. If you think I am promoting club fitting, you’re right. If a decision has to be made on the spot, you should choose the one that feels the best.

Thanks Don.
Those are all good comments and ideas. I think it is a good idea to do some research online. There are certainly more questions that need answers. It definitely got me feeling more intimate with my clubs.

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Forge A Head: CUSTOM FIT GOLF CLUBS – Part 3

Club Fitting
Shebylo: Author
Shebylo: Author

I have decided, in these articles, to write about my first hand experience with custom golf club fitting and building; what I have learned and how it has helped. None of my improvement would have been possible without Don and what he has taught me about the club and the game. With the new sticks, my game is 8 strokes better, and the confidence has soared because the uncertainty is gone with what I am swinging.

Q: What about club heads? What guide do you use in pointing the golfer in the right direction?
A: Ball flight. What has been your experience?
Shebylo: My progress went from OS Cavity back, to forged perimeter weighted blades, then to a game improvement perimeter weighted iron. Each had very different characteristics and results, but then I was younger at the time. But one thing was certain, I remember having to swing them all differently – something we will discuss in Part 4 – Shafts

Q: Does it really matter what brand the golfer buys?
A: Yes. Golfers should buy the best club they are comfortable with based on the recommendations of the club fitter, with the data collected of that golfer. Actual brand name is not important; more the head style.
Again, I get back to my philosophy: appropriate for ability, commensurate with the golfer’s goals.

Q:Why is loft and lie important for the golfer?
A: Loft is important due to proper progression spacing of each golf club (yardage). Lie is necessary to ensure consistency of ball strike, i.e. ball flight. The right length is also calculated.

Q: What is the difference between offset and non offset club heads?
A: Offset is the distance between the imaginary line down the center of the shaft and a second line just touching the leading edge of the club. The leading edge is ‘offset’ from the center line. It is used primarily to counteract the slice. Some sets even have a progressive offset feature.

Q: Don, swing weight. What is it?
A: Basically, it is how the weight of the club feels during the swing. Technically, the club’s balanced weight is measured about a fulcrum point. That is as technical I want to get here.

Q: How does swing weight affect each golfer? Which weight gets assigned?
A: Generally, we assign stronger players heavier clubs. The faster your swing speed, the heavier your swing weight. Sometimes that doesn’t fit though. I vary the weight in a progression through the set, depending on the golfer’s strengths and how much mass is required behind the strike of the ball.
Sunny: So, club head design and material will also affect overall swing weight.
Don: Yes, but remember, appropriate for ability and commensurate with their goals.

Q: How is shaft flex involved when fitting? And how does that play into swing weight?
A: I choose your flex to get to the swing weight you need.

Thanks Don.

I hope these articles help golfers better understand how all the components of a club come together for their swing. It should also give you a different view of a golf club when next you visit an equipment store. In the next article, we will attach the head to the correct shaft for you, in: Shafts – How Flexible Are You.

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Club Fitting: Real World Example

Club Fitting

The question du jour for most golfers is “How will a custom club fitting session benefit me?” Seeing real world examples allows the golfing consumer to conceptualize what they stand to gain by letting a professional get them into a set of properly-fitted clubs.

Let’s take a look at one of our recent club fittings for a gentleman named Ian. Ian is a good player that came in looking for a little more distance on his driver. The fitting process begins by measuring the true specifications of a client’s equipment; length, shaft flex, loft and lie angle, and swing weight. By having the actual specs of the client’s current clubs, we can best identify anomalies and inconsistencies within the set that might help explain errant shots.

After recording all of the current club specs, we step out onto the driving range to gather shot data. Ian was all warmed up and ready to fire. Since his goal was to find extra distance off the tee, we started by having him hit his own driver to determine what might be causing his shorter drives relative to his above average clubhead speed. The first couple of drives with his own driver (Titleist 910 D3, 9.5 degrees of loft) yielded results that were obvious to the eye. The ball seemed to simply fall out of the air, a typical result of too much backspin. It also came out really high, which partially was a function of the way he released the clubhead through impact, but still something that could be tinkered with a bit.

Taking a look at the Flightscope launch monitor data (click on images for larger version) confirmed that his current driver was not only spinning too much, but the clubhead was inefficient. “Smash Factor” is the efficiency measure often used in club fitting where 1.50 is the optimal result (The formula for smash factor is ball speed divided by clubhead speed). Drivers are engineered to max out at 1.50 in order to conform with USGA standards.

Ian’s driver was averaging about 1.41. To put this in perspective, for Ian’s ability, 1.47 to 1.50 should be the norm for him off the tee. His driver was like hitting the ball with a pillow on the end of a stick, or “dead” in club fitting lingo.

Our first option for Ian was to try something with a bit lower loft to reduce the height of his drives, and to test lower spinning shafts that would reduce the drag on his drives. Excessive backspin kills driving distance, and a rough rule of thumb is backspin around 2,500 rpms is optimal. The club we gave Ian to hit was a Taylor Made Superfast 2.0 TP with 8.5 degrees of loft. The shaft was a strong-flex, Matrix Ozik F7M2 designed to impart less backspin on the ball.

Looking at the screen shots of the Flightscope data in images 1 and 2, you’ll notice the huge improvement in Ian’s distance. He gained 5 mph of ball speed and reduced backspin by 15%, translating into an average of 22 yards of extra distance. And that was before tweaking the club and shaft combination even more to make his misses a bit more manageable.

The moral to the story is simple. Many times, you can’t simply swing the club better to achieve the results you seek. Ian could have swung out of his shoes with his old driver and never come close to the distance he achieved swinging smoother with his new driver. We can all use some swing fine tuning (or complete overhaul at times), but do yourself a favor and play equipment that is right for your swing. The game is a lot more fun that way.

The Fitting Studio is a custom golf club fitting and building business located in Long Beach, CA. Partnered with The Fitting Studio is former professional golfer and UCLA All-American, Travis Matthew Johnson. Travis, who also founded the Travis Mathew Apparel brand, recently sold his interest in TM to pursue more business endeavors within the fashion world as well as the golf industry. For more information about The Fitting Studio, visit www.thefittingstudio.com or email at info@thefittingstudio.com.

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Keywords: Golf, Golf Club, Custom Golf Club, Club Fitting, Golf Club Building