April 16, 2007
Fit to hit
It's important to have golf clubs that fit your individual needs
With the golf season ramping up and all the courses only a wedge shot from opening, you want to make sure your equipment gets a spring tune up.
One of the easiest and most inexpensive fixes is getting your grips re-done. Grips should be changed after every 60 to 70 rounds or if you don’t play that often, every other season.
It is important that the grip fits your hand. Grip size is often overlooked. Each person has a different hand size thus the standard grip your new stick comes with might not be the right size for you. There are a wide variety of grip styles and sizes available and can also be built up with extra wraps of tape underneath.
If you suffer from arthritis or joint pain there are a lot of things a custom club fitter can do with your grip to ease your discomfort.
Local club fitter and owner of Simply Golf, Lyle Helland is a proponent of accurate grip fitting.
“When it comes to your golf grips, it’s not an overly expensive cost, but if it is done properly it will enhance the playability of your club,” said Helland.
Once your grips are set it is time to look at the general measurements of your club. While the grip is off you can have a professional fitter check if the length of your club suits your height and swing. Often clubs will either need to be cut down or extended to be a perfect match.
Interestingly enough, there is not a standard length for equipment amongst club manufacturers. Thus there could be a one inch difference on an 8 iron between two manufacturers.
Other properties of the club that should be looked at by a club fitter for peak performance are lie angles and loft. Again there is not an industry standard for lie and loft and one manufacturer’s 5 iron could have a lie angle of 60 degrees and a loft of 24 degrees while another company’s 5 iron could have a lie angle of by 62 degrees and a loft of 30.
Basically having a club that has incorrect length, lie angle or loft for your body type and swing will lead to off center hits and missing the sweet spot, robbing you of distance and accuracy.
Drivers and woods can also be personally fitted. It is important that the length is checked along with the shaft. A club fitter can check the rate of flex, the bend point and torque of a shaft to help square the club face up at impact.
Least we forget the short game tools. Putting strokes and wedges shots typically account for more than half of the golf score. Wedges need to have clean crisp groves to impart spin. Club fitters can re-groove your worn out wedges. In addition, if you have any unsightly nicks and scratches from the sand, rocks or other debris they can often be buffed out.
As for the putter, there are four properties that need to be examined: length, grip size, lie angle and loft. The length needs to match your putting stance and having the proper grip size will allow for better feel. If the lie angle is adjusted properly it will enable you to get your eyes in a comfortable position to line up the ball. Finally, even though the putter is referred to as the flat stick it actually has loft. Most putters require 3-4 degrees of loft for a conventional stroke and 5-6 degrees for players using a forward hand press.
At the recent PGA Show in Florida, Helland discovered the I-Club, a new putter fitting machine that he considers indispensable.
“By using this technology in a putter fitting I am able to see if there is any arc in a player’s stroke, if there are any putting speed issues, if the player putts on an upward or downward stroke and what the loft is at impact,” he said.
Helland then uses the information to not only match the club to the individual but in essence to improve their putting ability.
A complete club fitting at Simply Golf, which includes swing and club analysis using a launch monitor and lies and lofts adjusted on all clubs is $149. A putter fitting is $39 and wedge re-grooving and buffing is $15 per club. For more information you can contact Simply Golf at 243-3799.
For the price of a round of golf you may be able to shave key strokes off your game.
Lisa is a five-time Canadian Long Drive Champion and she competes on a long drive tour in the United States. Lisa is available for corporate outings and motivational speeches and can be contacted through her website at www.lisalongball.com.