Dave, > (1) Bernie's response that longer clubs play better contains a built-in > caveat -- you need to train yourself to hit them. Clubfitting is usually > thought of as the other way around; you build the club to get the best > performance from the golfer's current swing. Bernie's approach is to build > the club to get the best performance, assuming the golfer is willing to > change his/her swing.
That's an excellent summary of my thoughts. I don't believe in fitting a club to a bad swing unless the player is unwilling to change. And, I've had a few of those. (I know who they are because I play with them often.) My goal in clubfitting to do what is needed to help the player score better. And doing that successfully has cost me some money on more than one occasion. I paid one guy enough to pay for his driver a couple of times. :-) He was an 11 and went to a 4 in two months, while I was a 4. Giving him strokes killed me until we evened out. He went from 260 yards and a hook problem with a 45" Cobra to 290 and straight with a 47" S450/PE tipped 2-1/2", S/W D7, total weight 295 grams. He can really rip that driver. Caved in the face of the first one and I had to make him another. For most seniors, the goal is getting back lost distance. If my "future-fitting" is done right, it forces the player to improve his/her swing...which also helps the player to lower their score. That doesn't always mean a longer club for more distance, though...sometimes it requires a shorter one for those younger players who have inconsistent swings and hit the ball too far to begin with...or to make the old guys with floppy wrists and bent elbows stretch out a little. Your last line probably needs some definition of "best performance." That "best performance" is to get a tee shot about 250-260 yards (or longer) consistently on the fairway, or enough distance to get in a short iron position (from regular tees) for the approach shot. GIR is the way to score and a short iron approach shot is the way to get more GIR. Many seniors just can't get enough distance even with the 48" club length, but they can get close enough to get on the green in 2 shots some of the time, when they could not before. Handling the extra club length is not usually a problem for anyone (only 2" or 3" more than a 45" driver) but, as Alan suggested, handling the heavy total weight or S/W can be a problem. After deciding on goals, that's where the "fitting" part comes in...figuring how much each player needs, can handle and what will make any adjustment easier. >....I'm not interested in altering my swing plane to use the new irons. In fact, many players using longer clubs don't have to change their swing at all. I had to change, because when I went to the 48" driver, I had been playing a GS Grand Ti (195 gram) on a ProLite 35 S at 46" and C9.5 S/W. (I was seeing how much I could increase my swing speed by using a very light S/W and total weight...it was negligible, maybe a 5 yard gain.) There was a huge change in my tempo and release required to go from the C9.5 to the E6 of the 966SD/CVP-150S/Winn at that time. Took me two hours on the practice tee to hit a straight shot consistently. Lighter shafts and larger heads make longer drivers easier to swing today. I've seen many seniors make no change in their swing, other than not letting the upper body get ahead of the hands (a typical old man's swing problem), and begin to hit the ball consistently well after only 3 swings. There is no conscious adjustment to the swing plane needed, either...in fact, I make a conscious effort to try and keep my swing plane the same as for shorter clubs. With its head-heavy feel, a long driver "asks you" to take it inside and wrap it around the body. Do that and the head will never come square. The long driver requires the same shape swing as any other club...straight back, good body turn and up high over the right shoulder. The distance you stand from the ball automatically adjusts the swing plane. Bernie Writeto: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
