For more information, email our Director of Fitting, David at david@golfadvantageinc.com
Driver Fitting
There are three things that we can control that determine how far a ball will fly. We CAN NOT control the wind, we can not control the firmness or softness of the fairways, and we can't control how far above see level the golf course is located. The three things we CAN control, also called Launch Conditions, are 1) Ball Speed, 2) Launch Angle and 3) the ball's Spin Rate.
BALL SPEED is a fairly simple concept. The faster an object is launched, the further it will travel . . . all other things constant.
In golf, several things affect the ball speed: Our ability, our technique, the golf ball, the "solidness" of contact, and the design of the driver. When fitting someone for a driver, we obviously need to concentrate on the latter two. Not all players get the fastest ball speeds with the same clubs. Different shafts, shaft weights, shaft lengths and model types perform differently depending on the golfer.
LAUNCH ANGLE is also easy to understand. At Golf Advantage, Inc., we usually use the "garden hose" analogy to explain it:
If you turn on your garden hose and point the nozzle horizontal to the ground, the water will only travel a few feet before hitting the ground. If we angle the hose slightly upward, however, the water will certainly travel further. As we continue to increase the angle that the water "launches" from the hose, we eventually find a point where the water goes the furthest. If we angle the nozzle higher than that point (or point of diminishing return) the landing point of the water will start coming back to us. That "point" is called the "optimum launch angle".
When fitting for the proper driver, we also want the optimum launch angle. The best angle is dependant upon the golfers ball speed. Laws of Physics tell us that a launch angle between 10 and 15 degrees is best for almost all golfers. The faster the balls initial speed, the lower the launch angle we want. The slower the velocity, the closer to 15 degrees the ball needs to be launched.
SPIN RATE is the final launch condition and, though it is the least understood, it is every bit as important as the first two. A golf ball's spin rate, along with the dimple design of the golf ball, creates "LIFT". If a ball is spinning too much, and there is too much "lift", the golf ball will "balloon" and rise too quickly as it moves down range; The golfer will loose distance and control. Without a Launch Monitor, too much spin/lift can be recognized in the 2nd half of the ball's flight. The launch angle will determine the height in the 1st half of the balls flight.
"Not enough spin" can also be a problem. If a player does not put enough spin on the golf ball, it will not have enough lift and will therefore fall out of the air too soon. This will also cost the player distance. As a rule of thumb, we want a back spin rate between 2500 and 3500 RPMs. On rare occassions, a player may benefit from a spin rate outside this range.
The Four Keys to finding a driver that optimizes your Launch Conditions:
1) LAUNCH MONITOR - Many "fitting experts" have become good at recognizing a proper Launch Angle and Spin Rate to match a golfer's ball speed. These fitters are relying on estimates and guesses, however. The ONLY way to accurately measure the exact launch conditions is with a dependable Launch Monitor. That's why Golf Advantage, Inc. now uses the most trusted Launch Monitor in the industry: The Vector Launch Monitor. Find out more about this incredibly accurate device by clicking on our Technology page.
2) VARIETY OF FITTING DRIVERS - Once you have the technological ability to measure launch conditions, you next need a vast, VAST variety of fitting drivers that each produce different ball flights. Golf Advantage, Inc. has the largest available selection of fitting drivers at any outdoor fitting facility, ANYWHERE. Titleist, Ping, Cobra, TaylorMade, Mizuno, Callaway, Cleveland and Adams are all among the manufactures used. All with different lofts, shafts, flexes, weights, and kick points. There are very few golfers we cannot fit.
3) OUTDOOR FITTING FACILITY - This is an absolute must when fitting golf clubs. Both the golfer and the fitter need feedback from watching the ball flight. It's a well known FACT: Golfers don't swing the same way when hitting into a net as they do outdoors where they can view down range ball flight. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
4) KNOWLEDGE & EXPERIENCE - Club fitting is a science, but it's also an art. Having a Launch Monitor, a large selection of fitting drivers and an outdoor facility is crucial. However, if your custom club fitter does not know how to use these resources and read the results, then you're "rolling the dice" that you'll be properly fit.
Iron Fitting
Properly fitted irons may be the most important equipment aspect of a golfer's development. Correctly fitted clubs will do 2 things:
1st they will give a player the "Greatest Odds" of hitting effective golf shots.
2nd, they will "reward" a golfer for making "proper golf moves".
Far, far too often a golfer's progress and technique are misshaped because he or she has to "compensate" for improperly fitted equipment. For instance, if a player's shafts are too stiff, the golfer will have to swing too hard or too quick in order to get the shaft to "kick". We all know that tempo is extremely important, but if an "even tempo" will not compel the shaft to "kick and release" properly, the golfer will ALWAYS struggle. There are many, MANY, other examples of how incorrectly fitted golf equipment can mis-shape a golfer's progress.
Another common problem is "poor lie angles". If your lie angles are not correct, the loft of the irons will not deflect the ball "up and at the target". Lie Angles that are too upright result in the club's loft kicking the ball to the left. Lie Angles that are too flat cause the loft to hit the ball to the right. Therefore ANY in-correct Lie Angle will force the golfer to make some type of a compensation in order to hit straight shots. These compensations are less efficient and tougher to repeat than the movements your golf instructors are teaching. The really BIG problem comes when a golfer starts changing from one club to another. Because each club in a golfer's bag has a different loft, each club with the wrong lie angle requires a different degree of compensation to result in a straight shot.
If a different amount of compensation is required from every club in your bag, then you need a different "swing" for each club in your bag to result in straight shots. If learning "ONE" swing in golf is not difficult enough, try learning 13 or 14.
Golf Advantage, Inc. puts its clients through a dynamic club fitting to make sure that ALL of their specs are PERFECT before the customer invests in his or her equipment. DON'T TAKE THE CHANCE OF BUYING THE WRONG CLUBS! Get Properly Fitted Before you buy!
Proper Length:
Proper length shafts result in a player being able to set-up and swing in the correct posture. They also allow a player to make "center impact" most consistently.
Poorly Fitted Length |
Proper Length |
Proper Lie:
Proper Lie Angles allow the loft of each club to kick the ball "up" and "straight" at the target. Incorrect Lie Angles will kick the ball to the right or to the left. ONLY a dynamic club fitting, outdoors, by a skilled custom fitting expert will allow you to have correct Lie Angles
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Left to right -- Lie to flat, correct lie, slightly upright |
Proper shaft:
The correct shafts will help a golfer produce the best ball flight trajectory. Shafts that are too heavy, too stiff or have too high of a "kick point" will result in ball flight that is too low. Shafts that are too light, too weak or have too low of a kick point will result in ball flight that is too high. The wrong shaft may also decrease the golfer's odds of making solid contact. Only a skilled, experienced club fitter will be able to combine these elements to guarantee that a player is ordering the correct shafts.
Improper Shaft Flex |
Proper Shaft Flex |
Each of the major Equipment Manufacturers offer a variety of head designs which are engineered with specific strengths and weaknesses in mind. Some hit higher shots, some hit lower. Some provide a lot of "feedback" and some are more forgiving for off-center hits. Head Design Fitting is the most basic, yet a very important "spec" when buying the right set of clubs.
Wedge Fitting
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Do you know your short game style? |
What makes a wedge right for you? "Do you know your short game style?" Tiger Woods and Phil Michelson are two of the greatest "wedge players" in the world. Other than Phil Michelson's wedges being left handed, there are some big differences in their wedge designs. They have very different "techniques" and their club designers have taken this into account. Michelson is a classic "slider" and Woods is a "digger". A "slider" slips the club under the ball and a "digger" hits the ball first while digging into the turf. In order for them to get the most out of their skills, their wedges require a different sole width, bounce angle, sole camber, sole rocker, leading edge, trailing edge, sole grind and overall bounce.
If any of the terms listed above are unfamiliar to you, you should probably consult a quality club fitting expert before you hit your next wedge shot.
At Golf Advantage, Inc., we'll put you through a two-phase, multi-step wedge fitting process to make sure that you know EXACTLY which wedges are right for you BEFORE you spend your money. Weather you need a "3-wedge system" or a "4-wedge system", we'll make sure you have the correct lofts, yardage gaps and head (or sole) designs to fit your short game technique.
One of these designs is good for a "slider", the other is not. |
All of these wedges are good, but very different.
Do you know which wedge is right for you? |
Set Composition Fitting
USGA Rule 4-4 a. - The player must start a stipulated round with not more than 14 clubs. He is limited to the clubs thus selected for that round except that, if he started with fewer than 14 clubs, he may add any number provided his total number does not exceed 14.
It is CRITICAL to Golf Advantage, Inc.'s ego that each customer is properly fit into the correct 14 clubs. We do not sell golf clubs that are unneeded. At the same time, each club that a golfer "starts a stipulated round" with, should serve a separate, distinct purpose. With that in mind, Golf Advantage, Inc. uses THE most scientifically advanced piece of technology available to the golf industry. See the technology page for a further description of the FlightScope ball tracking monitor.
Key Terminology:
Functional Yardage Gap - A difference in yardage capability between consecutive clubs within a set that is a minimum of 10 yards and a maximum "distance difference" that can be controlled by the longer of the two clubs. (ie. If a 7-iron max is 160 yards and an 8 iron max is 148, then the player should be able to play the 7-iron @ 149 yards.)
Playable Trajectory - A shot that is high enough to have "stopping ability" to a "front pin" location.
Law of Diminishing Returns (on loft) - When starting with a high lofted club, as you decrease the loft of the clubs, the ball will travel further, up to a point of Diminishing Return when the "strengthening" of the lofts will stop increasing the distance and eventually decrease the distance the ball will travel.
Matching Club Choice to the Golf Course - When choosing which clubs should make up a player's set composition, the type of shots that a course demands should always be considered.
Putter Fitting
One of the largest equipment problems among golfers is "poorly fit putters". The fact of the matter is that "one size fits all" just doesn't work when it comes to golf clubs. A good putter does NOT need to be expensive, does NOT need to be any specific brand name, and does NOT need to look like anybody's but yours.
What a good putter MUST do is:
- Aim at the target when it "Looks" like it's aimed at the target from the golfer's standpoint.
- Allow the golfer to set up properly. (Eyes over ball, hands under shoulders & shaft on same plane as forearms).
- Reward you for making a "proper putting stroke".
See these websites for further explanation:"
www.pinggolf.com/fitting_putters.html
www.kirkcurrieputters.com/index.html
www.ramgolf.com/page.asp?page=toddsones.htm
At Golf Advantage, Inc. we put our customers through a 4 phase, multi-step putter fitting process to guarantee that the putter they buy is the right length, the perfect lie angle, the best design, has the correct amount of offset, the correct "markings" and therefore accomplishes the three "MUSTS" listed above. From extensive research, 3 manufactures offer the best fitting capabilities, but Golf Advantage, Inc. recognizes that other putter brands are offering more and more fitting options. Putter head design is one of the three aspects of a properly fit putter, so we often are able to fit our customers into a brand of their choice.
www.pinggolf.com/fitting_putters.html
www.kirkcurrieputters.com/index.html
www.ramgolf.com/page.asp?page=toddsones.htm |
