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Golf Equipment Chronicles 2005 (Part 4)

Do You Really Want to Get Better? Try Something Different

I’ve finished nearly three years of Golf Equipment Chronicles published in Golf Today Magazine. Every month, I receive dozens of encouraging emails from readers urging me to keep going -- implying that I must certainly be running out of subject matter like the end of a favorite TV series. From time to time I’ve worried about going dry. But there always seems to be something new and fresh to write about, maybe a little quirky and off the wall, but that keeps me going. This month, I’ve got one of those recommendations that you’ll think is crazy -- but works.

Fuji Bob and I opened the Golf Lab in Palo Alto two and a half years ago. Our vision was to apply emerging technology to fit and build golf clubs to help our clients play better. We knew then, and we know now, that golf clubs, alone, will not solve the whole problem. Most golfers hope that if they just find the right clubs, their game will magically improve and their handicaps will come down four strokes. That can happen, but getting better is usually more difficult. Your clubs are important, but not as important as your talent and your technique. Facing the devil of improving your swing is what most golfers just don’t want to do. Alas, I include myself in that group.

I’m 60 years old and I’m not eager to strip naked and step into the shower with all my friends. I approach working on my swing with the same degree of enthusiasm. I would prefer to pull the curtain shut.

But there is no privacy on the golf course. Your friends see every swing you take. Your “true” friends, probably don’t offer advice, no matter how badly you might need it. True friends accept you as you are. (I’m going to test that hypothesis a little later.)

I Just Wanted One Good Set of Clubs

Part of the fascination of working with golf clubs seven days a week is that I have endless opportunity to work on my own equipment. If you’ve been following the Chronicles for a few years, you know that this whole project started as an act of desperation. Years ago, I was a pretty good player. Our high school golf team won the state championship in Illinois in 1961 and we were contenders the next two years. I even came close to winning the Illinois State schoolboy championship once. In college, I walked on and played a couple of years at Stanford. But then career and family intervened and I didn’t play for many years. When I came back to the game, I found that I couldn’t break 80. Worse, when I had a good round in a weekend tournament and felt like I had a chance to place fairly high, I collapsed on Sunday. It was embarrassing and I contemplated quitting golf for good. I always wondered if my equipment that was holding me back.

I had good reason to worry because I’m 6’5” and have short arms. It just didn’t seem logical that standard clubs would work for me. I think my history is shared by a lot of Chronicles readers in one way or another.

I traveled a lot on business toward the end of my executive career. I had the good fortune to “work” with a lot of customers at golf resorts. I began to take random lessons and I made getting custom fitted a hobby. Over the years, I guess I’ve been custom fitted at least 50 times. I can’t remember any two alike. I became convinced that clubfitting was way too much art and way too little science.

I also bought thousands of dollars worth of custom made, classic, rebuilt and retrofitted clubs during that same period. If I could have been convinced that any one of the sets I bought was correct, it might have saved a lot work trying to fit myself. But that’s what I set out to do and as you can see, several years later the job still isn’t done.

Maybe Your Best Friend Can’t Help

You might be better off going to a doctor you don’t know. I’ve searched out the best sources of knowledge about clubfitting and clubmaking in America. Chronicle readers know about Hot Stix in Scottsdale, AZ. Hot Stix is the premier custom clubfitting and clubmaking operation in the United States (and therefore the world) measured by revenue. Hot Stix has set the bar high with their ability to standardize fitting golf clubs. If you want to get a Hot Stix fitting, you will need to make an appointment three weeks in advance during the high season and make sure you’re not late. You’ll also have to bring a credit card with a little room on it. A complete Hot Stix fitting takes three hours at $150 per hour.

A little closer to home there’s another operation of note: Max Out Golf in Sherman Oaks, CA. The company is located on Ventura Boulevard right where 101 crosses the 405 north of LA. The proprietor of Max Out is Mitch Voges who golf aficionados will remember won the National Amateur in 1991. Mitch opened Max Out in Thousand Oaks, CA and moved to his brand new, state-of-the-art facility last year.

I became interested in Max Out for their fitting system and expertise. They came from a different direction than Hot Stix. In 1996 the only commercially available launch monitors were in the Callaway and Titleist labs. Mitch developed his own launch monitor which he uses today at Max Out.

With all of the attention being paid today to launch monitors, it’s important to remember that the launch monitor only supplies part of the data required to fit golf clubs (and balls). At least equally important is a player’s tempo, the load he puts on a shaft and his technique. The only commercially available method to measure load today is the True Temper Shaft Lab. The Shaft Lab requires wiring up a player and using primitive clubs for testing. Plus, the Shaft Lab only recommends True Temper products. Mitch thought he could do better. So he invented his own elegant test club complete with a nifty wireless transmitter that produces a “fingerprint” of a player’s swing. Mitch emphasizes that swing speed ball speed and spin data is just a clue in the clubfitting mystery.

The last piece of the fitting puzzle is video. To say “a picture is worth a thousand words” is an understatement. There is simply no substitute for seeing yourself on video. If you have not seen your swing lately, that’s the first thing you should do, certainly before you buy a new set of clubs. Ever the inventor, Mitch has integrated his launch monitor and load measurement devices with the state-of-the-art Dartfish video system. If you have setup or swing flaws that have a negative effect on your ability to hit the ball squarely and efficiently, you’re better off working out those problems first.

Maybe it was because Mitch wasn’t a “true friend” that I stepped into his fitting lab one day in February. I knew I’d get a dose of the truth. I took a few swings to measure load, then a few swings to get launch characteristics and finally a few swings that were recorded on video. The results were predictable. My swingspeed was 90 MPH with a 5 iron. That’s a good, solid “stiff” in most fitting systems. The load measurement device showed a quick tempo and a very nice “lag” pointing to a very stiff shaft by traditional fitting methods. And then, there was the video. That was a disappointment. My stance was too narrow and my hip turn was very restricted coming through impact. Mitch keeps a scrapbook of the best players’ swings. I couldn’t detect any similarity. I was a little embarrassed to see myself standing naked in the shower.

Mitch’s conclusion was sanguine. “We can help you” might have been a little kind, judging from what I saw. But I knew he was right. It is high time to go back to work improving my technique. Luckily, I’ll be able to call on Mitch for help in the future despite the 400-mile trip to Max Out. My sister lives right down the street. If you want your own fitting from Mitch or his professional staff the cost is $245. The process takes two to three hours. You can visit www.maxoutgolf.com.

You’re going to have to stay tuned for the next chapter of this story. I’m resolved to improve my technique. I want to see myself on Mitch’s video and be proud of the image. I’ll get some additional help from Eric (the Champ) Jones because he’s a little closer to home.

Don’t Sell Out -- Aim to Improve

In the last couple of years I’ve been a little too self-satisfied with my golf game. I found my index at a level that made me remember the “old days.” In the summer of 2004 I even slipped under 3 for a couple of months. Most of the improvement was equipment related. But then I started thinking my index was a little too low. I stopped winning the third and fourth place net prizes that I like to define as “success.” “Cashing” is an indication that you’re playing to your handicap. I found myself relieved when my scores started rising. By spring 2005 my index moved up to 5 and I found myself thinking that was OK because I’d get “back in the money.”

And then I woke up. A true golfer wants to be as good as he can be. Accepting less than your potential is selling out. Satisfaction comes from shooting a low score, making a great shot and testing yourself under pressure. It’s not about winning every week in club tournaments. That’s the motivation for my new-found dedication to work on my game as well as my equipment. I’m not planning on it being easy, but I’d like to see my index lower than ever in August -- to hell with beating the sandbaggers.

Do You Always Order the Same Thing at a Restaurant?

One of my enduring amazements is when clients come into the Golf Lab and tell us about their collections of golf clubs. Many describe the dozen sets they have in their garage that all have the same S-300 shafts. (Or the same S-400, X-100, R-200, whatever is their favorite.) My question is always “Why are all of your clubs the same?”

Think about it. When all your clubs are built with the same heads, the same shafts and the same grips, the clubs are pretty identical. What fun is that?

I’ve been experimenting with lightweight shafts in irons for three years. Testing on the Golf Lab launch monitor shows that almost 100 percent of the time, amateur players will achieve an increase in swingspeed, distance and accuracy if they use lighter, more flexible shafts. This is true for both lightweight steel and graphite. As a result, in three years we’ve sold fewer than a dozen custom sets of clubs with standard weight steel shafts. If you are still playing standard weight steel, you should verify that they give you the best performance by testing with a launch monitor. Try the Hunan Lamb instead of chop suey.

Swingweight and the Ratio of Head Weight to Shaft Weight

One of the questions I’ve been thinking about a lot is the relationship between shaft weight and head weight and the effect that has on the balance, swingweight and overall feel of irons. The swingweight scale measures the combined weight of the shaft and head starting 14” from the top of the grip. Thus, a heavy shaft and a standard iron head will produce a club with a high proportion of the weight in the shaft. That’s the balance that most players are used to.

As an alternative, a lighter weight shaft with a heavier head will yield a club with proportionally more weight in the head. I think that a big part of feel is head weight. If that is true, then clubs that have heavier heads and lighter shafts have more feel. I don’t think you will find that theory expounded in many books about clubmaking, but it makes sense to me. I decided to build a set of irons with heavy heads and much lighter shafts to test the theory.

Taking one more step toward controversy, I think that building irons with more feel requires more flexible shafts. The essence of a great golf swing is balance, tempo and timing. For most players, tempo and timing are enhanced if they can feel the shaft release as it comes through impact. If your iron shafts are too stiff, you will not be able to flex them consistently. If you can’t get a shaft to release at the right moment, your tempo and timing will be off. If you find yourself thinking you have to “hit it hard” when you’re on the golf course, you’re at risk.

A third element of feel is sound. Graphite tends to have a muted sound. Steel can be a little “clanky.” I like the soft sound of graphite irons.

The downside of more flexible iron shafts is the belief that flexible shafts will not be accurate or that they will not permit good distance control. Most players who tried graphite or the early True Temper lightweight steel shafts have good reason for their opinions. However, with modern graphite and high performance lightweight steel from Nippon, accuracy and distance control is not an issue.

A final problem with flexible shafts is the belief that they will hit the ball too high. The move toward “tour-flighted” over the last few years is aimed at keeping short iron trajectory down. So what is the truth?

Try Something You Think You Won’t Like

After building a dozen sets of irons for myself over the last year, I’ve got a pretty good idea of what I think (thought) I like. Fujikura Vista Pro 90 graphite shafts are constant weight and weigh about 95 grams at an inch over. They’ve been my favorite. Lightweight Nippon Steel 950 GH shafts weigh about 105 grams at an inch over. It’s the only lightweight steel shaft that we use at the Golf Lab. That’s the range I’ve been comfortable with. I usually find heads that are lighter than standard. Since I have collected over 100 sets of classic forged iron heads, I can usually come up with a set that’s the right weight. I’m not averse to taking a set of irons to the grinder to tidy them up a little if they need it. That’s not too good for the chrome but isn’t that what “raw” is all about anyway?

You’ve been reading about Aerotech shafts off and on for the last few months. We’ve had a lot of success with the Fiber Steel in Nike Ignite drivers. Fuji Bob and I have been running Aerotech shafts through the SST PUREing process with surprising results. We have never seen shafts with such a high percentage of “A” ratings from the SST Load Symmetry test. Sometimes a less expensive alternative tests out. We love discovering products that work well but are moderately priced.

That led me to try lightweight Aerotech graphite shafts in my experiment. I picked out a set of Steel Fiber iron shafts in 80 gram weight. When cut to length, they weigh under 80 grams. I doubt that you could find a respected clubmaker in the United States who would recommend sub-80 gram shafts for a low handicap player with a 90 MPH 5 iron swing speed.

There was a method in my madness. At 6’5” with shafts at least 1” over length I need heads that compensate for the longer length. I don’t believe that it’s correct to maintain exactly the same swingweight in over length clubs. My view is that if “normal” is D-2; at 1 inch over normal can be D-5 or D-6.

By using graphite shafts that weigh less than 80 grams, I can take a set of standard weight heads and end up with clubs that have reasonable swingweights. That’s a great advantage. I have never heard of a clubmaker building such a set. Would it be a waste of time?

I found a set of Ping Eye 3+ heads on eBay. They were standard weight. With the Aerotech 80 gram shafts mounted, the clubs swing weighted out to D-5 at 1 inch over length. The specification for this set was so crazy that I didn’t look forward to testing them after building the set out.

But I dragged myself over to Pin High to hit a few shots. It took about two swings to give me tingles. The clubs felt almost perfectly balanced. I was swinging smoothly and on balance and the shots were flying high. I could feel the shafts release at impact. The sound was a muted “click.” I was excited. I made two more trips to the range just to make sure that I wasn’t just on the usual “honeymoon” with new clubs.

Testing on the Course

I knew I had to get on the course to check performance in the only reliable way. You will never know how a set of clubs performs until you take them to a familiar golf course and hit shots from spots that you know. I did that one morning on the back nine at Palo Alto. Playing two balls side by side lets you check distance control. I hit the same irons off the tee and into the greens. I checked the yardage with my new range finder. Distance control was perfect.

I never missed a green. On the 11th, the range finder told me it was 155 to the front pin. I would probably have used a seven iron without the range finder. But my eight iron distance should be 150. I hit two eight irons a step short of the pin. On 12, from 125 yards, the distance was little long for a pitching wedge and a little short for a nine iron. I hit two nine irons that both went eight yards long. Perfect distance. On 13, the range finder told me it was 130 to the back plateau. I stepped on a couple of nine irons, got an extra couple of yards and had two 10 foot putts. You get the picture. The irons were very, very good and a lot of fun to play because I didn’t ever have to “muscle” a shot.

Trajectory was high. I don’t think it was too high but it’s going to take another couple of rounds to know for sure. I detected a possible problem. The ball seemed to always miss to the right. I might have built the clubs just a little bit too soft. I chose the PCS 6.0 slope for the set which is the flex I use for most of my irons. But our recent experience with lightweight driver shafts suggests that stiffer flexes work better with lighter weight shafts. I’ll tweak this set after I’ve played it a couple of times. BTW: If you’re not familiar with the Professional Clubmakers’ Equalizer System for interpreting flex, or if you’re a little fuzzy about slope charts, you can look up prior articles at www.calgolftech.com or www.golftodaymagazine.com.

The bottom line is that the new clubs are going to find their way into my tournament bag for the next month or so. I want to see how they perform under “pressure.” The Project X irons are going into the rental pool. If you’re looking to try PX and play an inch over, give me a call. I’ve got a couple of sets for you. My conclusion: If you think you like heavy shafts but are willing to try something different, find a way to test lighter weight.

Diamana Shafts -- the Tiger Driver

Here’s an update on the Diamana and the Nike Ignite -- the “Tiger Driver.” We received our first shipment of Diamana shafts from Mitsubishi. It would be hopeless if the only shaft that Mitsubishi shipped was the “Tiger Shaft”. That would fit about one percent of the golfing population. Mitsubishi has created a line that takes advantage of the “Mitsubishi Rayon” brand awareness created by Tiger and the gang, and delivered shafts for many different types of golfers.

This is a super-premium shaft. At most custom shops, the base installed price is $350. To date, there have been a few adventurous buyers. Those who put down the cash are reporting that Diamanas perform at least equal to the best premium shafts they have tried. It’s a little early to declare that Diamanas are the “best” -- against formidable competition from Fujikura, UST and Aldila. There is a minor problem in that a lot of the current driver heads have .350 hosels and all Diamanas are .335. There’s something a little weird about shimming a $350 shaft into a driver. Only a small percentage of players today have access to drivers with “Tour” heads that have .335 hosels.

Sonartec -- Ultimate Customization in Fairway Metals

With the golf industry in disarray, you would be absolutely astounded to imagine that a company could survive selling nothing more than fairway woods. But Sonartec is a company that has broken the rules.

Early on, they attracted a major celebrity. Nick Price became a company spokesman and introduced Sonartec to the PGA Tour. The original success on Tour was based on a three wood design that had a higher center of gravity that drove the ball with a lower trajectory. It rapidly became the darling of the Tour -- at least for the players who buy their own clubs. Sonartec were known as the fairway woods that delivered great distance and a low-driving trajectory. It was just the ticket if you had the talent to reach the green from 250 yards.

In the last three years, Sonartec has extended their line to shallow, medium and deep face depth in 13¡, 14¡ and 15¡ lofts. Where else do you have your choice of nine different three woods?

For 2005, Sonartec has reworked their designs. They’ve cut back to two three wood models: the 2.5 and the 3.5. The 2.5 has a shallow face: the 3.5 a slightly deeper face. Each head has been stretched a bit from heel to toe making them a bit easier to hit. As before, the three woods come in three lofts: 13¡, 14¡ and 15¡. They have similar choice in the rest of the line.

For shafts, Sonartec has focused on the Fujikura Tour Platform. It’s nice when a company that expects to receive a premium price supplies a premium shaft. Sonartec is unique among name brand companies in that they have developed a network of custom clubmakers who buy “heads only.” Sonartec customers who work with a custom clubmaker can buy the Sonartec fairway metal of their choice with the shaft of their choice as economically as possible. Sonartec developed its unique network of custom clubmakers because they understood the demand for customization and wanted to make sure their customers could get the Sonartec club they wanted, shafted the way they wanted at the best possible price.

That’s it for this month. Stay tuned for the updates. We’ll have a lot to cover 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.