Custom Fitted Clubs: They make a big difference to the Professionals

I was asked me to play a round of golf this afternoon by one of my PGA friends.  I just got off the course and thought what he dealt with this afternoon would confirm that players at the professional level live a totally different world when it comes to what they feel in a golf club.

A little background, he is still a card carrying PGA member but now is doing Financial Advising as his full time profession (Much more money than being club pro).  He comes out of Randy Smith’s stable of racehorses at the Royal Oaks Country Club where Justin Leonard and Harrison Frasier come from.  So he has experience playing and teaching for about 8 years out of Randy’s shop.

He was running late for our tee time.  So late in fact that he did not have time to pick up his clubs at the house and was just going to play with the head pro’s c at the course we were playing set of clubs. (Must be nice to be a member of the PGA and just show up and lean on the head pro of the facility to use his clubs).

Anyway, the point I make is , here is a professional who confesses to play at least two money games a week to keep his juices going (our round was not one of them) and he is able to pick up a set of clubs that did not fit him at all and shoot a smooth 74 (par was 71).  The clubs my friend was using were made for a guy 6’2” and my friend is about 5’10”.  The grips were built up for a gorilla and every one of the shafts was loaded for a very low kick-point for a club head speed up in the 140MPH are more.   So, I would say that my friend would have been better using my clubs than this set built for a muscle man.

During the round, and a lot after the round, I asked him how he was able to deal with the clubs.  He was struggling to get the club head square in the driver and long irons (primarily due to the too large of grips) and he would remark on the toe being too light making it hard fro him to turn the club over to square at impact.  And in the short irons he could feel the bottom (or sole) of the club being too heavy making the club hit fatter.

Now here is a 30 year old guy who has worn the center groves out a few sets of clubs in his young career and who confirmed to me that experience of hitting so many balls with the same exact swing has heighten his senses so much that he can feel things in a club you and I mortals will never feel. 

So does it make a difference to these guys on what clubs they hit?  Well obviously this day was an example of a guy that was skillful enough to overcome some awkwardness.  I have to confirm that the quality of the club and the way it is built to the player makes a lot of difference at that level of play.  I was just wondering what he would have shot if he had his own clubs.  I am sure it would have been sub par.

We want get into what I shot…let just say I was a better caddy than an opponent for this guy….  

 

 

Scot Duke

President

Innovative Business Golf Solutions, LLC.

scot.duke@innovativebusinessgolf.com

www.innovativebusinessgolf.com 

‘My Blog’ http://businessgolf.blogspot.com 

http://businessgolf.wordpress.com 

 

Author of: ‘How To Play Business Golf’, From The Boardroom To The Fairways…

The best investment you can make for your business…

http://www.innovativebusinessgolf.com/business_golf/cb_order.html