Golf equipment and custom fitting

When PING introduced their colour coding fitting service they were light years ahead of the competition. Since then all of the other manufacturers have followed suit. They all have similar club fitting codes and criteria, all based upon following PING’s lead.

Over the years I have taught thousands of golfers, most of which have sought my advice regarding the correct custom fitting and colour coding that will suit them best. That question has now become a very awkward one to answer. I believe one hundred percent in supplying each and every customer with the right and proper information. However, I am beginning to doubt the advice I too have been following for most of my golfing life.

My findings were brought about a few years ago, when my assistant was doing a club fitting for one of our members. This member was about six foot six inches tall and my assistant had advised (based on the fitting manual from the company) that the member should have 2.5 inches added in length and four degrees upright. Fine, the clubs arrived and the member duly paid for his new equipment. It was a few weeks later that my assistant showed concern about his inability to coach the member and improve his swing. This is when I took over the members coaching plan and to my surprise I too found I was struggling to coach him in the manner I was accustomed. It was then I started to realise that something didn’t look right about his equipment. Although my assistant had done nothing wrong something just didn’t look right. This guy was standing far too close to the ball and I simply couldn’t get him to turn properly in the backswing, all because his clubs had been fitted incorrectly. I informed the member of my conclusion and he was somewhat surprised because he too believed from what he had read, that his clubs were fitted correctly. Anyway, after a coffee and a chat he agreed to have a new fitting based on my theory. After which I was then able to implement the correct pieces to his swing and he’s benefited hugely ever since.

At this stage I was still not entirely sure about my theory and found it very irratating. I didn’t want to shout it from the rooftops in case I made a fool of myself. So I started thinking about it more and more. At first I started to doubt and question my own conclusions. It seemed I was the only person on the planet who thought about club fitting in this way. Then I considered a shorter golfer who was maybe only five feet four inches tall, he or she would have their clubs flatter, so a tall golfer must surely require more upright clubs. But this is where it suddenly dawned on me. A shorter golfer should have their clubs made shorter! In order for the lie angle to fit properly into their set up. Now, that would mean less distance which is unacceptable. So, in effect, a shorter golfer must have their clubs flatter because they are too long to begin with. But when a tall player has longer clubs he is told to have them more upright. It just doesn’t make any sense or logic to me.

Lets take it a stage further. Imagine for a moment you take the golfer who is apparently standard in his fitting dimensions, you ask him to adopt his normal address position and then (by magic) you enlarge him, the club and the ball by 25%. Making him into a giant golfer. If you then look at the shaft angle it will not have changed, the club lie will have remained the same. So if you are a taller person why should you need more upright clubs? Yes a taller person will definitely need longer clubs, but not a change in lie angle. In fact if they did need a change in lie angle then I believe it would need to be flatter. When companies manufacture their clubs, the longer clubs become flatter. For instance, a five iron will be flatter than a six iron and a four iron will be flatter than a five iron and so on. So why should a custom fitting scenario be to the contrary? What about the nine iron, it gets shorter and becomes more upright. These are the questions that need answering so golfers can be custom fit in the right way. Once a golfer has the correct custom fitting they can also benefit from the correct coaching. It’s so frustrating when I teach someone who has had a custom fitting, because I can see straight away that I’m not going to be able to teach them properly.

You could go into any golf shop around the world right now and you will be told the same, if your tall you’ll need longer clubs and an upright lie. It isn’t their fault, they are doing what I used to do for years, simply preaching what the companies had told us because we believed them. For a golfer who is short or standard then there is no cause for concern. It is the tall or very tall who are suffering from this situation.

At this stage I haven’t got a brand new colour coding system for my theory. But I’m willing to talk to the companies about developing one and I hope we have answers regarding this matter as soon as possible.

Obviously, I feel very alone regarding this, but I can’t turn my back on the logic and sense behind it all and nor can I turn my back on you, the golfer, I have a duty to do what’s right and I shall continue to do so.

Tell me what you think. You can leave feedback about this subject at the bottom of the page.

Thanks for your time.

Regards,

The Golf Guru – mygolfguru.net

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golf club fitting, custom fitting, club fitting, golf equipment, golf equipment fitting, golf fitting

Extreme Golf Accessories: Custom Golf Carts

Posted by on April 23, 2010 · Leave a Comment

There is no limit to the number of accessories that you can buy for golfing. You could spend thousands of dollars on small items that will hardly ever come in handy. However, you may not have had the idea of skipping all of those small accessories. Why not save your money for an extremely handy golf accessory that will continue to be useful throughout the whole game? A custom golf cart satisfies these requirements, and is arguably one of the best golf accessories that money can buy. It may not seem practical, but if you read on you will find out about the many ways that you can accomplish this, and how it can come in handy when you are hitting the golf course.

Golf carts are almost necessary for some of the bigger golf courses. If you are going to be hitting a huge golf course anytime soon, you will almost certainly need a golf cart in order to get from one course to the other while carrying all of your gear with you. You can rent golf carts from almost any golf course, but why rent when you can have your own for a cheaper rate in the long run? It is preferable because it allows you to buy a cart that has exactly what you want, and allows you to customize it in the future. The choices for custom golf carts far exceed those for the ones that you can rent, and you can get quite a luxurious setup going on.

The size of the golf cart can vary greatly. It is possible to buy one that is almost like an oversized go-kart. It will only hold you and your clubs, but it will be inexpensive and very efficient with gas. However, if you play golf socially then you will probably want to invest in a golf cart that seats 2 or even 4 people along with their gear. The power of the cart is also important. If the cart is fully loaded down and traveling along at a steady rate, will you immediately start to backslide when you start heading up a hill? This is very important to consider, especially with the hilly nature of golf courses. With most golf cart manufacturers you will not have much to worry about, especially if you stick with brands that are more well-known.

With your own golf cart, you can begin to make the ride more enjoyable, much the same way you would with a regular car. You can install a stereo system if you want to enjoy some tunes in between courses. If you are good with electronics like that, you could install a regular car stereo system in the golf cart without too much trouble. Just imagine being the only one on the golf course who is able to crank out music as loud as a rock concert. Sounds tempting, doesn’t it? You can deck out your golf cart with as many features as you could imagine, whether your goal is to make the ride more enjoyable, more efficient, or simply quicker. It can make a great ongoing project to add onto at later dates.

If you are interested in putting together a custom golf cart, you can either do it yourself if you are the engineering type, or you can contact a golf cart manufacturer. There are several companies that sell golf carts to individuals, and if you can get one as close as possible to what you want then it will be very possible to add features in the future. Make sure you are very clear on the cost and the methods of delivery when you begin to order your golf cart, so that you aren’t hit with any nasty surprise bills that you weren’t expecting. It’s definitely a big project to undertake, but if you have the time and money to do it then you will surely have a good time.

Discount Golf

Webmaster of http://www.discount-golf-clubs.biz/

Filed under Golf 101 · Tagged with Accessories, Carts, Custom, Extreme, Golf

Golf Club Custom Fitting

Posted by on January 25, 2010 · Leave a Comment

We all know that Golf is a game that’s difficulties can induce high levels of frustrations. So the one piece of advice we have is to make sure you have the right equipment. Don’t make it more difficult for yourself by using clubs that just don’t feel right.

Every golfer’s body and swing are unique to that individual and that’s what custom fitting is all about. Custom fitting golf clubs involves a quick self assessment of your game and several easy measurements. To custom fit your golf clubs, the following information is needed:

• Your gender (male or female)

• Your height in your stockings or socks

• The distance from your wrist (where it bends) to the floor (without shoes)

• What club you use at the 135 meter marker

• Handicap, age, swing speed

Firstly, your gender is used to put you into the correct fitting scale. Then, your height and the distance in inches from your wrist to the floor are used together to determine the length of golf club that is appropriate for you. (About 80% of golfers are Standard length.)

Your age, handicap, estimated golf swing speed and club you use at the 135 meter marker are all combined to determine the shaft flex that is appropriate for you.

Club Length & Flex

With regards to the length of your club there’s one main point you should consider: a longer golf club will hit further given the same swing speed – so length can be a good thing. But, as I’m sure you’re thinking, it can’t be that simple. And you’re right! Since the swing arc is longer, it often is also harder to keep under control – so length can be a bad thing. All things being equal, most golfers will opt for longer length to the sacrifice of greater control. But there’s still a decision to be made!

The standard length of a steel shafted Driver for a man is 44 inches. Graphite shafted drivers are manufactured 1 inch longer than steel shafted clubs because graphite shafts weigh less than steel shafts allowing us to produce a longer club with the same swing . The proper length of a golf club is a function of your height and the length of your arms. Some golf shop provide a Custom Fitting Wizard that determines the correct length for you with just a few simple measurements.

Flex is the torsional stiffness of the golf club, which is provided by the type of golf club shaft that is used. Generally, stiffer shafts are better for stronger hitting golfers.

The proper flex of a golf club is a function of your strength and golfing skills. Determining the correct flex is most important for your Woods and longer Irons. Short irons, wedges and putters are not impacted very much by the different flexes as the differences between flexes becomes very small in the shorter clubs.

Loft & Lie Adjustments

A lie adjustment requires bending the hardened metal in which an iron is cast. We strongly advise getting your lie fitting done in person. Online fittings while accurate do not take into account your natural ball address. Some players are more naturally upright and some like to lean into the ball. Once you have lie adjusted a club it is usually not a good idea to re-adjust if you later find it was the wrong adjustment.

From years of building experience we find it rare to need more than a 2 degree adjustment upright or flat, therefore we only perform lie adjustments to either extreme.

Woods, hybrid clubs and putters can not be adjusted. The reason these clubs can not be adjusted is because the hosel of each is cast in a way where physically bending the head at all will cause damage. In woods and hybrids it will crack or bend the crown of the club, and putter hosels are not made with the strength required for adjustment after the casting process.

Loft adjustments require a different type of bend than a lie adjustment. Some people receive advice in which they require a certain loft adjustment. We have never understood loft adjustments since it merely changes the loft of the club. We recommend buying golf clubs matching the loft you seek and avoid custom loft adjustments. Bending the loft of an iron weakens the hardened metal and can lead to future metal fatigue, since the actual bend twists the metal to an extent. If the loft of your 5 iron is too strong, use a 6 iron. If it is too weak, use a 4 iron.

Golf Clubs, Golf Equipment – Lind Golf

Filed under Golf 101 · Tagged with Club, Custom, Fitting, Golf

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