A Golfer’s Great Club Fitting Experience!
Giving a golfer the right advice is ALWAYS a winner!
Today I helped a golfer stop spending lots of money on golf clubs searching for the right ones. Sometimes, it is not the golf clubs – it is necessary to make some swing improvements first. Here is the story.
I did an iron fitting today with a golfer who has played to a 6 to 10 handicap. His measured swing speed is about 90 mph with a 6 iron. He said to me he has been buying a new set of irons about 1 or 2 times a year. He also mentioned (important) that he plays an 8.5 degree loft driver, but has never been able to understand why he hits the golf ball so high.
He was interested in hitting some of the Wishon and Miura iron designs that I carry. We did a baseline test with his present 6 iron – a Bridgestone J40 – and with a number of test iron heads, test shafts, and shaft lengths.
There was very little variation in the results. With just about every club and shaft combination his carry distance was about 160 yards, and his shot Smash Factor – ball speed divided by swing speed – never went above about 1.25. These results provided a clue. With a 90 mph swing speed, I would expect him to have 6-iron carry distances in the range of 180 yards. And good Smash Factors for 6 irons – for good contact – are in the range of 1.36 to 1.40.
The Flightscope picture I show above tells a lot. All of his shots had this characteristic – his hands were behind the clubhead at impact. He was flipping his club at the ball, instead of having a firm left wrist at impact. So adding loft to his club at impact, and reducing the effectiveness of his ball strikes. High-speed video of his swing also confirmed that he was flipping the club at impact.
He in fact knew this from some past lessons, but had never realized how much it was affecting his golf club performance. No new golf club is going to fix this particular swing flaw and get him more distance. He is excited about starting to take some lessons from Des Mahoney at the Centennial Golf Academy starting early next year.
To me this is an exciting result – for him. I anticipate that he will correct his swing flaw, get a LOT more distance and consistency in his shots, and have much more fun playing golf. I am certain he will come back to see me after he has improved his swing, and I can then fit him into a great new set of irons that will make a difference in his game, scoring, and golf enjoyment. So maybe Santa came early for him this year!
Rooting for YOUR Golfing Success!
Tony
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