Great Expectations

Greetings from Suzanne

Thursday, 17 March 2011

Fitting is no longer just about measuring physical dimensions and then watching how a golfer swings the club (swing plane and swing path). It is also about understanding how each club we stock is designed.

Some clubs have hitting zones that start very low in the center and offer support towards the middle of the toe end of the club. If the CoG is deeper then these clubs will likely create a higher launch angle with slightly less spin. Now the question I have to answer is whether that design will produce the best result on a consistent basis for the individual golfer I am fitting.

A golfer who is generating a high trajectory with a low spin naturally from their swing and ball striking, will likely be looking for a Club Head that has a slightly higher CoG that is closer to the face. If their ball striking is very consistent, then if the hitting zone needs any extension, it would likely be towards the heel end.

Come and speak to me about your fitting or equipment needs.

See you on my Lesson T!

Suzanne

GREAT EXPECTATIONS?

Tour players are constantly searching for ways to get better; something that will

take their perfomance level past the benchmarks set in the in the previous year

and deliver them the satisfaction and the rewards that they crave.

Let’s look at a few examples:

Graeme McDowell came off of an incredible year in 2010. A US Open victory, a heroic performance at the Ryder Cup, a spot in the top ten of the world rankings and a playoff victory against Tiger at his very own tournament. But, at the start of 2011, he did the unthinkable; he took the very clubs and balls that took him to these new heights and changed them.

Tiger Woods’ long time coach Butch Harmon was quoted as saying “I wouldn’t tell him to change anything other than the route he takes to the bank” such was the strength of Tiger’s game at the time. Tiger obviously disagreed and chose to part ways with Butch in 2002, choosing to spend some solo time working on his swing. He’s won 8 more Majors since (and that number could easily be far higher)Matt Kuchar, not so long ago, said he was looking to find a way to shave half a shot off his game in each round. That seems like a relatively insignificant target but he found what he was looking for in 2010 and look at the result; PGA Tour leading money winner and a place in the Ryder Cup.

It doesn’t always work out for the best however. After his heroics in 2008 –

where he collected 2 Major Titles and a PGA Tour Player of the Year award –

Padraig Harrington set about restructuring his swing. He didn’t have a

target in mind, he just wanted to be
“Better” and that, in itself, is a destructive process.

Harrington would later admit “I do have a problem in that I get totally addicted

at times with my swing and in recent weeks it has become an obsession”, and it

actually required an intervention from his family and caddy to make him stop.

He’s currently ranked #36
in the world.

There’s a lesson to be learned here. Firstly, a taste of success breeds a desire

for even more… Secondly, that a desire to improve need a clear understanding

of the result you want to achieve, and that begins by identifying where your

game is right now, and thenbeing able to see what you need to work on.

SWEET SPOT HEAVEN

Your swing speed, swing path and angle of attack on the golf ball will all influence

the spin rate of the golf ball. Too much backspinand your golf ball will ‘balloon’ and

then drop, early and quickly to the turf with little roll. Spin rate, especially with the

longer clubs, issomething we work on when fitting a golfer for new clubs, whether it’s

Metalwoods or Irons.

When you read Fitting examples in the magazines you tend to look for the increase in distance achieved from the Driver but the same laws apply to all of the clubs.

In the January Golf Magazine everybody fitted added at least a club length to their Irons (eg they would need a #6 Iron where previously they used a #5 Iron) while in some case they were adding 20 yards to their #5 Iron distance.

This will have a massive impact on your game. If you are using a #6 and even #7 Iron where previously you used a #5 Iron, you will now be using a shorter length club. And it is a rule for all golfers: ‘you will hit the ball more consistently from the sweet spot with a shorter length club’.

I would seriously recommend that you get your Irons fitted for your golf game. In the fitting process we will make sure we can maximize the controlled and accurate distance you can get from each club.Putting you, out on the course, in a position where you can more often hit it out of the sweet spot, on target, will increase the enjoyment you will get from your game.

Great Expectations

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