Customising, making and fitting golf clubs with you in mind

Why Custom-Fitted Clubs?

12 people enter a room. 6 of them are 6' tall. 6 of them are 5'6" tall. The average height of the people in the room is 5'9". If the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) decides that this average will become the "standard" and golf clubs will be manufactured to fit this length - whatever this may be, then in this illustration we have 12 people whose clubs will not be fit for purpose. Over simplistic yes and to be fair to the OEMs, who operate on a mass production basis, they have to have a "standard" length that "hopefully" will fit the majority of golfers. So if you are Mr or Mrs Average you shouldn't have a problem, should you? But wait, there is more!!

The engine - or transmission - of any golf club is the Shaft. The OEMs offer 5 shaft flex options: L = Ladies. A = Senior (they could not put S as this would conflict with Stiff). R = Regular. S = Stiff. XS = Extra Stiff. Now you would expect that all manufactures Regular flex shafts would be the same flex, but you would be wrong. Even within their own product range for shafts they have different flexes e.g.

Grafalloy ProLaunch Blue Regular Shaft 45, 55, 65 and 75.
Recommended Swing Speed Range (mph) 45 R Shaft 70-80
" " " " " 55 R Shaft 80-90
" " " " " 65 R Shaft 85-95
" " " " " 75 R Shaft 85-100
In this illustration you can see that the 75 R is stiffer than the others because the swing speed necessary to generate maximum shaft load and release is higher than the other shafts. The most R flexible is the 45 R shaft.

Proforce V2 High Launch Regular Shaft 55, 65 and 75.
Recommended Swing Speed Range (mph) 55 R Shaft 70-80
" " " " " 65 R Shaft 80-90
" " " " " 75 R Shaft 85-95
The 75 R is the stiffer and the 55 R the most flexible shaft.

The examples above are based on Graphite Wood Regular Shafts and are but a small snapshot of the many brands of shafts on the market. There is no standard for shaft flexes within the industry - in either Graphite or Steel shafts. One manufacturers Regular Flex could be another's Stiff Flex. Yet another problem for Mr or Mrs Average!!

Question! When was the last time you bought a Driver - or any other club for that matter, and it was displayed on the shaft "Recommended Swing Speed Range"? Not often or indeed ever is my bet. You will of course get the obligatory flex marking L, A, R, S, XS. But will this be of any value to you? Will it help YOU choose the right club?????

Apart from the flexibility there are other important characteristics to the shaft. The weight of the shaft is of great importance regarding the overall weight of the club and will determine the maximum controllable club head speed achievable through impact (controllable being the ability to bring the clubhead back to the ball square). If we take a Driver for instance, the average head weight is 198 - 204 grams and the uncut length of the shaft is average 48 inches. With Graphite shafts the weight ranges for this club 40 grams to 120 grams approximately. Steel shafts from 100 to 130 grams approximately. But do YOU know the correct shaft weight and length that is best suited to you and your Driver?

Other important characteristics of the shaft are Bend Point (sometimes called kick point), this is either High, Medium or Low. Tip Stiffness, which is Soft, Medium or Firm. Torque, which is Low, Medium or High. All of these characteristics, when arranged and incorporated correctly and measured against individual swing speed, will determine optimal ball flight, accuracy and length. Mismatch them and you will never achieve your true potential.

The lighter the club the more club head speed can be generated through the impact area. The greater the speed the more distance is achieved. The speed at which you swing the club, slow, medium (average) or fast is called Tempo. This should not be confused with Club Head Speed, for they are two different things. Given that we have the correct shaft fitted to the club the prime importance of the tempo is to achieve a repetitive swing whereby we can load the shaft (bend) to its maximum and achieve maximum release through the impact area. This part of the swing is called Timing and is probably the hardest part of the swing to constantly repeat. Timing is an inner feeling that cannot easily be taught. Generally speaking, the slower the tempo the easier it is to achieve timing which in turn achieves maximum club head speed.

I hope that this small insight into the requirements needed to achieve perfect clubs for YOU proves helpful. One thing is for sure, given the shaft variations available, no Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) has the resources to fit such variations for they would be too costly and time consuming in a mass production environment.

One thing to do before you die!!!! Seek out a Professional Clubmaker and have them make a Driver for you. Probably the most frustrating club in the bag can be change to the most pleasurable - and significantly cheaper than the top brand names.

Why Are "Custom Fit" Golf Clubs made by a Professional Club maker Better than clubs made by the Major Brand Name Manufacturers?

Very simply put...the same person who has seen your swing, determined your specifications and selected the components that work best with your swing is THE SAME person who will assemble and fine-tune your clubs. THE SAME person who will be there to hand to you your new clubs and watch you hit with them. Any further fine-tuning can be done right then or weeks later by returning to see THE SAME person who fit and built your clubs for you! Nothing is lost in the translation! If a club is ever lost or broken, THE SAME person can exactly duplicate the original club based on their detailed specification sheet that was generated throughout the entire process.

I've never heard of the Brand Names of Some of the Heads used by a Professional Club maker. Are They as Good as the Major Name Brands?

Heads

The major brand name companies use the same manufacturers of heads, grips and shafts as the professional club makers. These manufacturers sell to two markets: the OEM's (original equipment manufacturers) and the After Market (component suppliers). Component suppliers decide on the name to be placed on the head as do the OEM's (Ping, Callaway etc). The quality of the heads are all the same, however, the After Market requires tighter tolerances on the heads because they know that club makers weigh each head and will return heads that are not within the needed specifications.

OEMs (Ping, Callaway etc) have legal right over their Brand Name. To use their name on a club head which has not been manufactured for them is a copy and is illegal. Most of the OEMs have now resorted to stamping a code on the hosel / hosels of their clubs to show authenticity. Component Suppliers purchase from the same manufacturers as the OEMs, and they can use there own design or the design which the manufacturer already possesses. Provided they put their own name on the club head this is legal. These heads are called Clones and are sometimes sold as "similar to". OEMs do not have legal right over any club head design.

Shafts

Again, the same manufacturers will different colour paint and screening of logos to meet the requests of the customers. As with heads, component suppliers require tighter tolerances to meet the discriminating eye of their club making customers. Unlike mass production clubs that are randomly placed into the heads, custom club makers go the extra mile to Frequency Match and align shafts in a symmetrical position (see the section Shaft Spine Alignment) to insure your clubs are the most consistent and accurate possible for your shaft selection. This will insure more consistent and accurate hits nearer to the center of gravity on the club face known as the �sweet spot�.

Raw shafts for Irons come in 41" lengths. Each shaft has to be Tip and Butt trimmed to the required length of each club. Using various trimming methods the club maker can give the shaft a Soft, Medium or Firm tip. He can also manipulate the shafts flex to flexes in between L, A, R, S and XS, thus affording 10 flexes whereas the OEMs can only offer 5 flexes. You can imagine the time that a club maker spends performing these various tasks. The OEMs are into mass production and there is no way could they afford the time to offer this personalised service. The shaft is the engine of the golf club. If you do not have the correct shaft flex and length you will never play to your full potential - remember this the next time you are tempted to buy clubs "off the shelf".

Grips

Same grips available with different graphics to both OEMs and After Market customers. Grips come in various sizes, Ladies, Small, Standard, Large and Jumbo. No prizes for guessing which size grip the OEMs fit to their clubs - Ladies size for Ladies and Standard for the rest. I cannot emphasises the importance for having the right size grip fitted to your clubs, after all, the grip is the only contact you have with the club. A pair of shoes is the only contact you have with the ground, if they are ill fitting it wont be long before they hurt. Grips which are too big will force the wrists to tense because the fingers are struggling to hold onto the grip - a slice is commonplace in these circumstances. A grip which is too small will encourage more hand action which in turn will encourage more hooks. The club maker has the ability and will make your grips a perfect fit for YOU.

Is there any difference?

Yes, the quality of assembly. A professional club maker is a club maker because he or she loves making a perfect club. Assembly line workers stick and glue all day long and never see the finished club nor do they have any idea who it is for � chances are they have never even seen a golf course.

Yes, in the selection of the perfect match between head, shaft and grip that will all work together to maximize the benefits of each swing. OEM's could never inventory all the shafts needed to truly custom-fit a golfer. The club maker has all of the shaft combinations , some 45 in total, at his disposal to ensure the perfect match.