One of the most difficult things for any golfer who is interested in their equipment and wanting to know what changes may or may not result in better performance is quite simply to know what works and what doesn't. It seems that every advertisement for every golf club on the planet claims that this or that technology will improve your game.
A long time ago it was the same for me. I would read the magazines, peruse the ads, and talk to various people I thought knew more than I did about golf clubs at the time to ask their opinion, after which I would make the changes in my clubs and go out to hit shots. What I found was that some changes that were supposed to work didn't and some that were not, did. Confusion reigned in my mind and that started my lifelong quest for determining exactly what changes in golf clubs result in shotmaking improvement and why.
If you boil it all down to utter simplicity, what we golfers are after when we head to the course to use our "weapons of grass destruction" is to get the most distance with the best accuracy and consistency, and all with the best feel. In custom clubfitting, a good clubmaker can analyze you and your swing, measure your existing clubs and based on what is found, make recommendations that could bring about improvement in one or more of these four critical areas of golf club performance.
But what changes in golf clubs do work to improve your distance, accuracy, consistency and feel? After all, there are something like 23 different specifications that make each golf club what it is. That's too many to be engaging in a "trial and error" manner of experimentation to come up with the best clubs for your swing.
Returning to the realm of utter simplicity, 30-some years of club design and fitting research has allowed me to boil all this down into what I call the "A" and "B" effects of golf club specifications on the game improvement areas of more distance, better accuracy, more consistency and the best feel of your golf clubs. Let me clarify this.
An "A" effect specification is something that if properly advised in your clubs for your swing, will result in an immediate and visible improvement in distance, accuracy, consistency and feel of your clubs. A "B" effect specification is one that is not quite as dramatic as an "A" effect change. But if you garner four or five "B" changes together in your clubs, together they might be able to add up to be an "A." Confused? Let's make it real easy.
If you want more distance, here are the golf club specifications that if selected properly for your clubs, can result in an "A" and "B" effect to bring about the most distance your swing can possibly generate. In other words, these are the things in your clubs that will have the greatest effect on improving your distance.
"A" Effect Golf Club Specifications on Distance:
- Loft Angle
- Shaft Weight
- Club Length
- Swingweight
- Golf Club Total Weight
"B" Effect Specifications on Distance:
- Clubhead Center of Gravity Location
- Shaft Flex
- Set Make-Up
If you want to improve your accuracy, following are the golf club specifications that will result in and "A" and "B" effect to bring about the most improvement in your accuracy.
"A" Effect Golf Club Specifications on Accuracy:
- Lie Angle of Your Irons
- Face Angle of Your Woods
- Shaft Weight
- Club Length
"B" Effect Golf Club Specifications on Accuracy:
- Clubhead Offset
- Clubhead Center of Gravity Location
- Grip Size
- Swingweight
- Golf Club Total Weight
- Set Make-Up
If you would like to improve your shotmaking consistency, these golf club specifications will have the greatest effect on increasing your on-center hit percentage.
"A" Effect Golf Club Specifications on Consistency:
- Lie Angle of Your Irons
- Face Angle of Your Woods
- Club length
- Swingweight
- Set Make-Up
"B" Effect Golf Club Specifications on Consistency:
- Sole Width of Your Irons
- Sole Radius of Your Irons
- Shaft Weight
- Grip Size
- Golf Club Total Weight
And if you are particular about playing with clubs that feel the best when you swing and hit them, here are the golf club specifications which have the most effect on the feel of your clubs.
"A" Effect Golf Club Specifications on Feel:
- Shaft Weight
- Shaft Flex
- Grip Style/Texture
- Grip Size
- Swingweight
- Golf Club Total Weight
"B" Effect Golf Club Specifications on Feel:
- Clubhead Center of Gravity Location
- Club Length
OK, so you don't know a lot about what each of these different golf club specifications are or how to measure and identify them. I understand. To put this all together so you end up with the best golf clubs on the planet for your swing, this is where you need to find a good custom clubmaker in your area with whom you may consult. To find such a person, head to the web site of the Professional Clubmakers' Society www.proclubmakers.org and look for the link to "Clubmaker Locator." The PCS members listed there who have earned the designation of Class A Clubmaker are verified as the best clubmakers on planet Earth.
So when you head into see your local clubmaker, here's what this information above is for. You simply tell the clubmaker.
Please use your skills to find the best club length, best iron lie angle, best driver and fairway wood lofts and face angle, the right shaft weight and total weight, the best set make-up, the right grip size, and the right swingweight for how you swing and play.
If you do that, you will walk away with the best golf clubs you have ever hit and the game will be a lot more enjoyable for you.
