Clubmate Golf Australia

______________________________________________________________________________

Common Sense Lie Fitting

Trivia time – what is the most important fitting parameter for ensuring accuracy as the loft of the clubhead increases? And with that, what is the most common fitting parameter that the fewest number of golfers ever think about having done to their irons?

OK, so the title of the article tipped you off... For many clubmakers, this is a standard part of every fitting they perform because they know the value of a properly fit set of irons for ensuring accuracy – in other words, when the lie is fit correctly for each iron that means when the golfer misses a green he has no one to blame but himself!

It is estimated that over 90% of all sets of irons sold in the US today do not fit their owner for the proper lie angle! This is simply because most of the sets of irons today are sold in “standard” form and the pro shop or retail golf store either does not offer lie fitting, or the consumer has no idea of the need to be properly fit for the lie of the irons he is buying.

As to the procedure for proper lie fitting, TWGT is adamant that the best procedure is to offer dynamic lie fitting for ALL of the irons in the player’s bag. We also recommend doing the dynamic lie fitting and lie alteration as the very last step in the process of fitting the golfer with a new set of irons. Once the clubs are all built with the right head, shaft, grip and length for the golfer, it is a simple process to then have the golfer hit each club, record the point of sole impact with the hitting board, and make the adjustments on your bending machine.

The reason we recommend taking the time to have the golfer hit each iron off the hitting board is because golfers do not typically set up to and swing each club the same way. Remember, the purpose of dynamic lie fitting is to not just allow for the downward bending of the shaft (called “droop”) during the downswing, but to also allow for swing movements of the golfer that happen on the downswing and through impact. To believe the swing has a bearing on lie fitting only requires seeing a stop action photo of the golfer’s posture and hand/arm position at impact – believe us, it is not the same as it is in the address position. Thus dynamic lie fitting done with each iron to be fit is truly going to result in the most accurately fit set of irons the golfer will ever play.

“But it takes too long...” We know, we have heard this before just as we have fielded questions from clubmakers asking if it is possible to only have the golfer hit three or even one of the irons in a dynamic lie fitting procedure and then “fill in the blanks” for the lies of the clubs “in between”. We do advise common sense in fitting, so the best way we can answer that question is to say this – The more irons dynamically fit, the fewer “blanks to fill in”, and, dynamic lie fitting with even one club is better than no lie fitting at all”.

Tips for Dynamic Lie Fitting

1. Work from the short irons up through the longer irons. The golfer will make more typical swings sooner with the short irons and get “warmed up” in the process. You’ll see a more typical swing pattern with the longer clubs as a result.

2. Let the golfer get used to hitting shots off the hard surface. Many golfers will have never done this so they may be scared to take their full, typical swing.

3. Hitting from a 4’ x 4’ plywood board is ideal because it puts the golfer’s feet on the same level with the ball. Have the golfer wear sneakers when doing the test. Wearing golf shoes may put the golfer higher than the position of the ball and produce slightly errant result.

4. The impact mark on the sole will be anywhere from 1/2” to more than an inch wide. Always reference the center of the impact mark.

5. If possible, use a fresh strip of tape or impact label for each shot to prevent confusion in the mark location from shot to shot. Try to reference the sole mark from at least 3 hits with each club for greatest accuracy.

6. Do not worry when you see the final lie progression from iron to iron not result in an even progression upward in degrees from long to short irons in the set. This is completely normal when dynamically fitting the lie angle because of the differences in how the golfer arrives at impact and how the shaft “droops” downward during the swing.

7. When a dynamic lie fitting session is not practical with each iron, at least have the golfer hit their 3, 6 and 9 iron or 4, 7 and PW when doing the dynamic lie fitting. The lie angles of the irons in between will have to be judged from the lies of the irons hit by the golfer in the session.

LIE FITTING TO THE EXTREME...

Dear Tom, Mike and Customer Service:

I am writing to let you know how much I appreciate your company. I have been looking for a golf club component company or a clubmaker for the past two years to help me make a set of irons. However, I could not find anyone that would attempt to bend the iron heads to my specifications. One day a friend of mine, Eric Kennedy, told me about the web site www.wishongolf.com and the two guys who started the business, Tom Wishon and Mike Duggan. He told me about meeting them and how knowledgeable they were about the golf club component business and how Tom was the leader in many wood and iron head designs.

So one day I got on the Wishon Golf web site and got their phone number and gave them a call expecting the same answer that other golf club component companies and clubmakers had given me, “No that can’t be done.”

See, I play from a wheelchair [I am a T-4 Paraplegic, which means that I’m paralyzed from the chest down. I have no trunk muscle control which is why I play with one hand on the golf club. I have two inch wide pneumatic tires on my wheelchair and use low air pressure in them so I am able to go onto the greens without damaging them.] and wanted my iron heads bent to 8 degrees flat so I would be able to get my irons at a nice length for me and still have the iron heads sit flat on the ground. So I made the phone call and started to ask the phone representative some questions and she felt that Mike would be better able to answer my questions. I asked him how far an iron head can be bent. Mike told me he once bent one 7 degrees. When I heard that I was hopeful. I said would you go 8 degrees. [sic] Then I could not believe his response, “we will give it a try.”

He felt the 752TC iron heads and the Gi-335 shafts would work best to help me get the ball up in the air because of my slower swing speed. Wow was he right! These irons blow away the set I was using. I could have never imagined I would be able to hit the ball so clean with an iron and get it up in the air. Ah ya, they also look great, the top glass beaded finish on the 752TC iron head, the charcoal color of the Gi-335 shaft and the New-Wrap Wishon Grips makes one set of beautiful irons. However, a good looking golf club isn’t worth much if it doesn’t perform well, and these irons perform great!

Thanks, Tom for the great bending job. Wow, you are amazing with that bending bar, Mike for all of your advice and the time you took with me on the phone and Kimberly and Julie your customer service phone representatives.

Thank God for companies like “Tom Wishon golf Technology” who are not afraid to go out of their way to best serve their customer.

Sincerely,
Sam Bernard, Delmont, PA
Sam Bernard on the course

to top

______________________________________________________________________________

New R & D Center Planned

TWGT continues to pursue its commitment to developing a strong presence in its R&D capability to generate even better technical information to share with custom clubmakers. Our company has just entered into an agreement with Dalton Ranch Golf Club in Durango that will allow us to begin construction this summer on a brand new R&D facility to be located at the Dalton Ranch practice range.

The facility will be constructed with two spacious, side-by-side hitting bays, one for TWGT’s swing robot and the other for human testing. Both hitting areas will be capable of being used with their separate doors opened to be able to observe full ball flight as well as closed for more controlled indoor testing. In addition, Dalton Ranch’s head professional Fal Wood and his assistants will use the R&D center to conduct their own custom fitting sessions for the Dalton Ranch members and daily fee players.

Equipment slated for use in the new TWGT R&D center will include our new swing robot, which is now slated for completion in the coming fall; a multiple high speed camera set-up for observing shaft bending characteristics in the downswing and impact, as well as various launch monitors and swing diagnostic technologies. In addition, we’ll have a full set-up for building and adjusting the test clubs.

I’ve always wanted to have a complete R&D center with all of the equipment necessary to take our research to a higher level. Over the past two years we have been gradually acquiring all of the necessary bits and pieces we need to be able to record everything that is happening to the golf club both during the swing and through the impact event as well. I look forward to working much more closely with Fal and Tim at Dalton Ranch GC, and pleased that our R&D center will be located at one of the premier golf facilities in Colorado. This will allow us to conduct high-level controlled testing year-round, and maintain our commitment to innovation in design and performance.

to top

______________________________________________________________________________

Fitting the Most Exciting Putter Design in the Game

The CLF Series putters are the first design in the game to offer custom fitting of loft. Why fit loft for the putter by changing the entire face instead of simply bending the hosel or the shaft? Because when you bend the hosel or the shaft to change the loft, you eliminate the putter’s ability to sit square to the target line when the putter is flat on its sole. When you change loft by bending the hosel or shaft, the golfer has to HOLD the putter square to the target line instead of being able to sit the putter flat on its sole and have it line up directly at the target line. If you’ve never seen this, take any assembled putter, bend the loft and then try to get the putter to sit flat on its sole when you line up a putt.

Why fit the loft of the putter in the first place? While there is no question the lie, length, total weight and “swingweight” of the putter are critical fitting parameters, the loft is usually an overlooked specification. The loft angle of the putter AT IMPACT is a critical parameter that controls the roll of the ball on the green. Too much loft at impact and the ball “carries” then bounces and skids from the backspin generated, thus resulting in inconsistent roll/distance for the stroke. Too little loft and the ball is “pinched” between the face and the green, which results in a “hop” and an inconsistent roll.

What makes all of the “standard loft” putters not fit every golfer is the simple fact each golfer does not have their hands in the same position relative to the ball at the moment of impact. Golfers who “forward press” with the putter usually arrive at impact with too little loft on the putter. Golfers who allow the wrists to flex in the stroke normally arrive at impact with too much loft to ensure a perfect roll. Add in the variables of ball position in putting and you have even more reason to know that standard 3 to 4 degree lofts cannot allow all golfers to putt the ball with the best roll to ensure consistency on the greens.

Interestingly, we are finding that a higher percentage of golfers should be using 6 degs on the putter than should be using 2, 3 or 4 degs. This is because so many golfers arrive at impact with the putter with their hands slightly to moderately in front of the ball, which de-lofts the putter. So if you have not had a chance to try one of the two design styles of the CLF Series putters and experiment with the different loft faces, we think that you have a pleasant surprise in store for you and your golfers.

Oh, and by the way – the next production run of the CLF Series putters is scheduled to arrive at TWGT on or about May 25 and will be available in Australia in June. We apologize for the delay in production but the precision required to fully CNC-machine each putter head from block material and precision-machine the faces to tight tolerance takes some time.

to top

______________________________________________________________________________

Product Highlight – The “Search” continues...

Tom’s new book, The Search for the Perfect Golf Club, is catching on and opening golfers’ eyes all over the country. Not only have we at TWGT heard from many clubmakers who have been contacted for fitting sessions by readers of the book, but the major retail booksellers are pleased to see the level of interest the book has generated so far.

Golf Digest magazine displayed the book in the Equipment section of their June (2005 pg. 327) issue to their 1.5 million subscribers stating, “If you want to know how to go about the process of buying equipment, it would be hard to do better than spending some quality time with your own copy of The Search for the Perfect Golf Club.”

Barnes and Noble will feature “Search” as a key Father’s Day promotional title both in their retail locations as well as on their website. Because the book is doing well in all of their retail outlets, B. Dalton has made the decision to bring “Search” up to the front of their stores and display the book as a key title. Amazon.com now rates “Search” as one of their top 20 selling books on golf, and when you consider that the giant web bookseller offers more than 400 different titles related to golf, that is a pretty good signal that consumer golfers are taking note of the equipment and fitting wisdom found in the pages of the book!

to top

______________________________________________________________________________

715CLC

Product Highlight – 715CLC In a word, it has been difficult keeping up with the demand for the brand new and very innovative 715CLC weight adjustment driver design. The combination of the demand with the many precise manufacturing requirements has caused us to be a little slower in filling your requests for the 715 than we wish were the case. Unlike any other typical driver head, there are two separate factories that have to be involved in the manufacture of the 715 to handle the precision requirements of each head, the weight arms and the screw cap fittings. But we are catching up and expect the production to be able to fully meet the demand by mid-to-late June – still in time for the summer months!

We are pleased that the performance in the short history of the 715CLC (when the correct weight arm position is found for the golfer) has been exceptional. Remember, when you offer as dramatic of a CG and MOI shift in one head as we do with the 715, there is a weight arm position that will perform far better for each individual golfer – and other weight arm positions that will not. And don’t forget – if you use the heavier weight arms (35 & 40g) we do not recommend ever installing the weight arm to point directly at the toe or heel because the CG movement is too great. Thus fade and draw adjustments should ONLY be made by installing the weight arm so it points at an angle toward the heel or toe – angling to the face when a lower trajectory is desired with the draw or fade adjustment or angling to the back when the golfer needs the additional help of a higher flight.

We’d like to share a few of the comments that we have heard back from clubmakers or their golfers:

“First day on the course with the 715CLC. All I can say is the head is a winner. Very solid, muted sound, nice looking at address. The 35g weight arm in #4 position works well for me. The Interflexx high launch S-Flex makes a good combination as well. Will probably get the 40g Weight Arm and cut the shaft off one inch from what it is now at 45.5”. All I can say is: IT’S WORTH THE MONEY TO HAVE THIS DRIVER IN YOUR BAG.”

Richard Buckner, Benson, NC

“This club is the best driver I’ve EVER hit! I’ve played two rounds with it and only missed one fairway and that was the very first hole that I hit it on the course. Yesterday I hit 3 monsters with it, long and straight.
“...You need to get this thing in the hands of some pro!”

Ted Strickland Dunn, NC

to top

______________________________________________________________________________

770CFE

TWGT is pleased to say that we are “over the hump” on the stock status of the popular high performance 770CFE ironheads. Thanks to the attention this high COR, forgiving iron design showcased in Golf Digest’s Hot List issue, the demand for the 770s exceeded our ability to meet demand from February through early May. But thankfully we are caught up in production and our stock status on these “hot face” irons looks very good through the rest of the summer months. If you have not yet hit one of the 770s, or demo’d one to your golfers, you really need to do so to discover what a extremely well-engineered thin face iron can do for distance and off-center hit performance.

“First I want to compliment you on the 770 CFE irons. I was perfectly satisfied with my Golfsmith FC-01 irons which I’ve had for 4 or 5 years now. Then I saw the mention of the 770s in Golf Digest as the best irons you’ve never heard of. For kicks I got a 5, 7, and sand wedge. Without a doubt they are the easiest irons to hit that I have ever had, with a nice high trajectory that lands them softly on the green. So, of course, I got the rest of the set, and they are now in my bag.”

Harvey Brodovsky

“I built a set of 5-PW 770’s a month ago. Longest and most forgiving irons I’ve ever hit. I’ve never hit so many greens.”

Ben Shipley East Texas, TX

to top

______________________________________________________________________________

All eTECHreport (ISSN 1551-1103) articles written by Tom Wishon unless otherwise noted. Please refrain from unauthorized reproduction of text, photos, and/or graphics.

May 2005 eTECHreport - Welcome!