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Golf Equipment Chronicles 2003 (Part 14)

Searching for the Magic Irons

By Leith Anderson

Is it the Indian or the Arrow?

What an interesting month! It got a little tight as I prepared for the first Golf Lab trip to Ireland. I had some surprises and the usual disappointments, but got a lot of work done. I’m wrapping this article up a week early so I can concentrate on links golf and Irish music for the next eight days. The idea behind the trip is to visit the great links courses in northwest Ireland that aren’t overrun by American tourists and don’t charge $200 every time they punch your ticket. I’ll post a full report when we get back.

The “Search for the Magic Irons” starts with finding the right set of shafts. For me, you know by now that’s going to be premium graphite or lightweight steel. Building, testing and evaluating golf equipment is incredibly interesting, but the ultimate test is whether your index is coming down.

If you’re new to this story, it’s a personal one. Golf has been my game since I was nine years old and my Uncle Jack took me to the 9-hole Belmont Golf Club near Chicago after Little League games. I’m 58 so I’ve almost made 50 years as a golfer. I played on a State Championship team in Illinois back in 1961. I made the Stanford team in the late ‘60s. These days, I usually play in at least two tournaments a month. I’ve loved playing tournament golf.

Seven years ago, I was about to quit. I was simply not performing well enough. As a member of the Palo Alto Golf Club, my goal was to post a score under 160 for a two-day weekend tournament. I found myself posting a lot of 85’s on Sunday. The ultimate pressure is putting your score up on the wall for all your friends to see.

The conventional wisdom is that golfers who try to “buy their game” are misguided. We’ve all heard the saying many times that “it’s the Indian, not the arrow”. After many disappointments, I began to hope that it was the arrow.

In the early ‘90s I was on a business trip in Palm Springs and I saw an ad for Montech Golf that advertised “frequency matching” along with a free fitting. I paid Ed Montgomery a visit and came away with a new set of $900 custom built irons and a lot of confidence that this set would be different. It was, but still not different enough. The set was built with frequency matched Rifle 6.7 shafts and forged muscle back heads at 1" over length and 3¡ upright. Ed said that 1" over was as long as anyone could possibly need, even 6' 5" golfers. I liked the clubs, but my game didn’t improve very much.

A couple of years later I was on a corporate boondoggle where we “entertained” a group of VP’s at the David Ledbetter Academy. Brian Moog took one look at my setup and said that my clubs were too short. (A fundamental Ledbetter principle is correct upright posture.) They offered to build me a new set for $1200 and I took that as motivation to shop around for some other opinions and options. That led to a personal odyssey of visiting clubmakers across the country. (I was traveling, selling software at the time). Over the years, I’ve been fitted at least 50 times. I ended up at Bay Golf in Burlingame where Matt Coe has been fitting and building golf clubs for 15 years.

The relationship with Matt led to a period of random experimentation. I bought 10 or 12 sets of irons of all models from various sources and proceeded to have them reshafted continuously in many different lengths and flexes. That’s where I made my first big mistake. I thought I was trying different options but they were all really the same. I had Rifle 6.0, 6.5, 7.0 and 7.5. I had True Temper S-300, X-100, and S-400. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was trying golf clubs that matched my self-image as a golfer. Always stiff, always macho. My index hovered around 7 for years.

I watched Matt and his staff build so many clubs I started thinking that I ought to be building my own clubs. That set me on a mission to try to learn everything about clubmaking that I could. I ran across the Professional Clubmakers’ Society and haunted the online forums about clubmaking. If you want to learn about clubmaking, you can do it on the Internet. I also started buying the tools to set up shop in my garage. I assumed that one day I’d retire and become a clubmaker and work out of my garage like most do.

And then a little problem got in the way. The high tech business hit the skids, the stock market went south and it started to look that if I waited to retire, I’d be starting my custom golf shop around age 70.

I’ve always believed that the best opportunities come from pure chance and good luck. By chance, I became acquainted with Dick Weiss, the founder of SST who offered me a license for the SST PUREing system. By luck, Bob Huff, a friend and golf industry professional who shared my vision that employing technology to fit and build golf clubs, was the wave of the future. He was available and agreed to become my partner. We opened the Golf Lab just over a year ago.

I’ll skip the intervening details to come to the point. I’m playing my best golf since the ‘60s when I was young, strong and dumb. My index just hit 2.5 which is the lowest it’s been since I was playing for Bud Finger at Stanford. I’m excited every time I play and frankly a little surprised when I exceed my expectations.

You only want to know only one thing: “How did it happen?” After endless experimentation for two years, I can say that “It is the arrow.” You certainly can “buy your game.” The new equipment and fitting techniques are just that good.

You can’t buy your whole game. Equipment won’t help a player without skill get much better. But, if your index is under 15 and you have equipment that does not fit your swing, you could easily be leaving three or four strokes on the table. If your index is over 15, properly fitted equipment will help, but improvement will be driven by practice and finding someone to help you think your way around the golf course.

More Pure Chance

My personal breakthrough happened at the Professional Clubmakers’ Society Expo in March 2002. I won a raffle for a set of Apache graphite shafts for irons. I wasn’t too impressed until Bob Dodds, the PCS technical director tapped me on the shoulder and said “Great shafts, that’s what I play.” I made them up into a set of irons. I began to see my scores come down immediately. More important, I found that I didn’t have many of the disappointing high rounds that had been plaguing me.

Here’s the lesson: If you want to get better, you have to try new things. After all, the definition of insanity includes wanting different results, but refusing to change your methods. If you’re talking about irons, it’s all about making sure you have the right flex and your clubs are as light as possible.

In the two years that I’ve been working full-time building custom golf clubs, I’ve found that golfers are remarkably averse to trying new things. Of the hundreds of golfers that I’ve talked to, most think that they have their clubs very well figured out. Most of the time, it’s the same specs they’ve been playing for years. Just like me in my stiff shaft days, most have never tested alternatives in any meaningful way. And most have games that are gradually getting worse.

Your own personal breakthrough might not be easy. You will have to be willing to understand your equipment and engage in some experimentation. Success will probably be the result of correcting a lot of little things. It worked for me and it was worth it. That is the reason I’ve been writing the Golf Equipment Chronicles since June 2002 for Golf Today. If you want to catch up on all of the prior articles, they are posted on the Golf Lab website. Go to http://www.calgolftech.com/ and click on “What’s new” and you can download all of my previous articles. If you have any questions, I’ll be happy to answer email. Send your questions to mailto:Leith@calgolftech.com.

Update on Premium Iron Shafts

Finding the best premium graphite shafts in the world is turning into a huge project. Last month, I discussed the benefits of the newer constant-weight graphite shafts that are coming out at premium price points. I changed from Apache MFS 40+ to the Fujukura Vista Pro 90 shafts in my irons with amazing results. With my last three competitive rounds at even par, I want to give credit to the “new arrows” that have delivered better iron play.

I spent a lot of time building out a set of Fujikura 717 Speeders and reported last month that they were a colossal failure for me. I just didn’t get the same feeling of control and power that I did with the Vista Pro 90’s or even the Apache’s for that matter. I thought that they might just be too light for my game. Bob pulled them and installed them in a set of his favorite heads and had a similar experience. Keep in mind; we’re both pretty good players with driver swing speeds north of 110 MPH so the weight issue might not be as important for players who don’t hit the ball quite as hard. If you want to find out for yourself, we’re going to put the shafts into a great set of KZG heads and they’ll be in our “performance” rental pool. If you want to play a set of irons for a weekend that have a fair market value of $3000, give us a call. Needless to say, we’re not planning to sell many sets at that price.

Fujikura Fit-On 95’s.

Even though I was disappointed with the Speeders, Fujikura has another option. Their heavyweight premium iron shafts are the Fit-On 95’s. The Fit-On’s are another constant-weight model at a price point just as high as the Speeders. I ordered a set (no freebies this time!) from Chad at Fujikura. I continued to have high hopes.

When we set up to build a set of irons, we go through quite a lot of preparation to make sure that the set is going to come out OK before we do the work and then find out the problems. We weigh and measure the shafts. We PURE the shafts. It’s important to PURE the shafts before testing for frequency because the proper shaft orientation can change the frequency by up to half a flex. We then take the set of actual heads that we’re going to use and “dry fit” the head to the shaft and perform a frequency test. We record the frequencies and plot the slope on our PCS Equalizer slope chart to see what the set would look like without tip trimming.

In a perfect world, every shaft would be spot on slope. It never works that way. The best you can hope for is that the stiffest club comes out right at the target frequency and all of the other clubs are a little softer. It’s then a simple matter to trim a little from the softer shafts to hit the perfect frequency. That’s why we like parallel shafts. You can’t increase the frequency by tip trimming taper tip shafts. We expect our clubs to come out to within a couple of cycles of the target frequency. We don’t think that a good player can detect a five cycle difference between clubs.

It’s a show stopper if the stiffest club is higher than the target frequency because there is nothing you can do to make a shaft softer. When we find a set of shafts where even one shaft is too stiff, we just don’t use them.

Alas, that was the story with the Fit-On’s. The shafts were “S” flex but they tested up to 8.0 (XX) on the PCS Equalizer system. As you know by now, shafts frequently test stiffer and the manufacturers say that’s the way they want it. But we trust the Equalizer flex values. The Fit-On’s were off the charts. The next call was to Chad for an RMA.

I still want to find out if the premium Fujikura iron shafts can make a great set of clubs. Bob has a single Fit-On that he loves in his 5 iron. Somehow that flex was OK. I’m going to order a set of “R’s” and try again, but the story will have to be continued until next month. In the meantime, if you’re going to build or buy a set of clubs with premium graphite shafts, you can’t go wrong with Fujikura Vista Pro 90’s.

The Penley Saga

So many shafts, so little time. I plan on testing and playing every premium graphite iron shaft in the market over time, but as you can see from my experience, it’s not hard to burn a couple of days and end up with a set of clubs that never get built or that you can’t play.

I turned to Penley. This is a very interesting company. It’s the kind of company that you want to love. The American heritage is appealing in the current patriotic environment. Carter Penley is one of the true pioneers of composite technology. All of their shafts are made in USA so we’re helping our own economy and supporting American workers. And, Penley has had a lot of success in a few places. They’ve been dominant on the long drive tour but are currently fighting for the leadership position with Accuflex. They make a well-regarded OEM line and we’ve had a lot of luck with Penley shafts in soft flexes for Seniors.

Penley’s premium iron shaft lineup is lead by their IMS series. The IMS shafts come in “regular” and “heavy” weights in flexes that are described in numeric terms: 5.5, 6.0, 6.5, 7.0 and 7.5. There is a minor pedigree behind the IMS shafts. Penley reports that John Daly “used to play” the IMS shafts in his irons and still plays them in his wedges. They have no other PGA Tour play. It’s interesting to note that Big John is playing graphite in his wedges and he has great touch. Graphite wedge shafts is a theme we will explore in the future.

I ordered a set of IMS 5.5’s expecting them to run stiff. There were a few problems with the order. First, Penley is in the process of changing the color and graphics so the inventory is kind of thin. When the shafts came in, there was a red flag because the 4 iron was “taper” and all the other shafts were parallel tip. I called my rep Sam Shuck about the problem and found that they were out of stock in the parallel tip 4 irons. I didn’t feel that this was a huge problem since there is really no difference between the parallel and taper tip Penley shafts. Penley just sands the tip of a parallel shaft to taper it. I decided to go through with setting up to build a set to test, planning to “shim” the 4 iron.

When I did the dry fitting I discovered a more serious problem. The 4 iron tested out extremely soft, 3.5 on the PCS Equalizer. Since I was looking for a flex in the 5.5 to 6.0 range, I knew it was going to be impossible to bring the flex up that far by trimming. Bummer, project stalled.

I called Sam only to find out that there would not be another run of 4 irons for a week. Since there were some other problems with the preliminary slope chart (short irons that looked too soft also), I decided that building out the IMS set would also have to wait another month, or at least until I could get another set of 6.0’s to see how they looked to the Equalizer.

In a desperate move to actually get something done so I could report at least one finished project, I ordered a couple of sets of the “just plain premium” Penley iron shafts, the Stealth 80’s. The Penley Stealth shafts come in 70 and 80 gram weights. After the experience with the Speeders, I decided to skip the lighter weight and went with the 80’s. The graphics are the usual Penley yellow and black and I couldn’t help but thinking we’d nickname these the “Bumble Bees”.

In the dry fitting I got a very good slope. The “S” flex shafts tested out almost perfect to a PCS Equalizer 5.5, with just a little tip trimming required. The “R” flex shafts were not quite as good, but looked like they could be made to work. Overall, high marks for consistency.

Testing the Results

When it comes time to compare two golf clubs, we don’t go to the range and hit balls into space. We go indoors to our Achiever launch monitor and let our electronic buddy help us with the comparison. The Achiever records swing speed, ball speed, carry distance and many other statistics and delivers the whole report, complete with standard deviations in printed report format. If you’re trying to compare the performance of two clubs, there’s no better way than hitting a set with the Achiever looking over your shoulder.

I tested the new Stealth irons that I built against my “gamers” -- the Fujikuras with the Bridgestone Joe Model heads. The Fuji’s were better in every measurement. To be fair, the heads were not exactly the same and the swingweights of the clubs built with the Stealth shafts were a little heavier. That could easily have been the difference, so as soon as I get my second set of “Joe” heads cleaned up from their Speeder experience, I should probably try them in that set of Stealth’s. However, from a “feel” standpoint, I don’t expect the Stealth shafts to kick my VP 90’s out of the bag.

If you’re looking for a set of constant-weight iron shafts at a medium price point, I recommend the Penley Stealth shafts. The recommendation is primarily because of the consistency that they showed in our preliminary testing and they way they looked on the SST PUREing machine. I can’t say that they will perform better than the Fujikura VP 90’s or exactly what the “feel” will be. However, they merit consideration. From me, I guess that’s a pretty good vote of confidence. I would definitely build out a set of the Stealths for myself before the much more expensive Fujikura Speeders or Fit-On’s.

I wish I had discovered the greatest new premium graphite shaft, but it didn’t happen this month. The only thing you can say is that we know some shafts not to try so that’s not bad, especially if you were planning to spend a lot of money. I’ll keep trying. . .

Update on the 48" Drivers and other Pretenders

I had one good practice round at Paly with Monster Man and the Stallion. It was a strange day where there weren’t too many players so they let us go off as a threesome. We took the opportunity to invent a new game: “Driver Test 2003.” Two drives with different drivers off the tee, take the best and play in from there. We thought of it as a modified, one-man scramble. I had the 47" Vizion with the Alpha Reaction V2 7.5¡ and the 983E with the stock Titleist Speeder in my bag. Monster Man had his new Wishon 915 CFE shafted up with the Fit-On 95 and I didn’t care what the Stallion was hitting because he’s the only one strong enough to hit it. (It’s a Titleist J with a Proforce 75 in “pipe” flex.)

I really wanted to like the 983 E because it was such a miracle for Reed (He went from a 4.5 index to 0 in six weeks, totally driver-induced.) Alas, no such miracle for me. It was a hook machine and not so long at that. By the ninth hole, I decided I didn’t need to waste any more time with it. It’s going to get the green Aldila “Envy” shaft for its next life. No miracles.

I think it’s fair to make a comment about the Titleist “Speeder” that comes stock in the 983 series. It’s not a Speeder. It’s a Vista Pro 70 with a slightly modified tip section to make it more playable in the long Titleist bore through hosel. Those are Speeder graphics, however. It’s a mystery to me how Titleist convinced Fujikura to let them buy a much cheaper shaft and make it look like a Speeder. If there was any such thing as “truth in advertising” that related to the golf industry someone would have raised a stink. But, it’s the golf industry so, oh well . . .

On the other hand, it you’re one of the millions who knows that the 983’s are the “driver of the year” and plan on buying one, it’s not a bad thing to know that the “Titleist Speeder” is a VP 70, more or less. That means that for most players you should try to order it in “R” flex if you plan to play it stock. The “S” is going to test out at 260 CPM or greater and we’ve had players with swingspeeds north of 110 at the Golf Lab who couldn’t hit it. Be warned.

The 47" Vizion with the Alpha V2 continued to be a surprise. It’s straight, much straighter than I would have imagined for a club that length. The Vizion shaft is one that we’ve had great results with for seniors who are moving to longer shafts to gain distance. It’s 55 grams, filament wound and a proven performer on the long drive tour. But I started having second thoughts on drives that were into the wind. They just didn’t seem to be getting the distance. On the back nine, I confirmed that. I started hitting Monster Man’s Wishon 915 CFE at 45" against the Vizion and more often than not the shorter club produced the longer drive. On the other hand, when you turn toward the clubhouse at Paly and the wind is at your back the 47" Vizion is awesome. It has set my personal best driving records on 16, 17 and 18.

The surprise of the day was the Wishon 915 CFE. The component golf industry is made up of the Big Three: Golfsmith, Golf Works and Dynacraft. Tom Wishon has worked for all of them and over the years has earned the reputation as the “clubmakers’ friend”. He’s easily the most respected personality in the business -- at least by the clubmakers if not by his former employers who are now competitors. He’s founded a new company, Wishon Golf Technology. The Wishon products have been getting good reviews on the online forums but “Driver Test 2003" was my first chance to hit one of them.

The results were impressive. The 915 CFE has a shape that makes it look kind of like the Taylor Made 580, although it’s a little shorter. It’s got a white painted alignment mark that fell out giving the head a classy “black on black” appearance. I can’t exactly tell if it was the head or the shaft, but the results were impressive. For a 9¡ driver, the trajectory was low and boring. The feel and sound were perfect for my hand and ear. It went farther, on average than the 47" competitor. I’m going to plan to follow up on this story in the future.

“Not Postable”

Pete Malloy was waiting for us in the bar. He’s the Palo Alto handicap chairman. We had been “observed.” His conclusion is above. Pete, it was a practice round.

Looking Ahead

Next month we’ll pick up on the Fujikura Fit-On story and see if the super premium price point is really worth it. I’m also interested in the new Icon V2 iron shafts from Accuflex and the Aldila graphites that Rich Beem used to use. Gramman might have an interesting story. I also owe you an update on the Rapport shafts that we built out this month.

I’m also going to do a comparison between our best graphite shafts and the new Nippon Shafts in lightweight steel. Lightweight steel versus graphite should be very interesting.

Down the road we’re going to be testing utility woods, fairway woods, new iron heads, and the new frontier: putters. We expect Kirk Curry to show up in Palo Alto within the next couple of months for a couple of days of private instruction. That should get us to December when I’ll do a “Best Products of 2003 Wrapup” only to be followed by a “Best New Products of 2004” article preceding the 2004 season and the PGA Show.

I guess I won’t be running short on subject matter anytime soon.

See you next month.

Leith Anderson is a partner in the Golf Lab in Palo Alto. He will answer all questions related to clubmaking and clubfitting personally. Contact Leith Anderson by email: Leith@calgolftech.com. Cell phone 650-743-2816.