Tag: custom

True Spec Golf: Next Level Club Fitting

Most people are familiar with the concept of club fitting, and most golfers have probably been through some kind of fitting for their clubs at one point or another. As equipment has evolved, fitting has evolved with it. Adjustable drivers and interchangeable shafts have greatly benefitted club fitting professionals, allowing them to tune the clubs for each golfer. With the amount of technology available in the modern game, club fitting has become even more precise and important to get the best possible performance out of your clubs.

The Technology

Like many companies, True Spec Golf is taking advantage of technology to provide advanced club fitting for golfers of every ability. Unlike manufacturer specific fitting carts at those big box stores, True Spec Golf is brand-agnostic. Because of that, their fitting matrix stocks more than 30,000 combinations of club heads and shafts from all the leading equipment manufacturers. They combine that amazing selection with high performance launch monitors from industry leaders TrackMan and Foresight, and they use advanced tools like their patented Club-Connex adapter system to fit any shaft to any head, and the SST Pure Shaft Alignment System to ensure you get the best performance from your shafts.

The Mission

I visited True Spec’s fitting studio at Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter, Florida to get fitted for a three-wood. For years, finding a three-wood that performs the way I want has been like finding my personal golf unicorn. I primarily use a three-wood off the tee, so want one that has low spin and mid-low ball flight for distance, but I also want the club to perform well from the fairway if I want to go for a long par five in two from 250+ yards. Finding the perfect combo has been tough. I came very close last year with the Exotics CB Pro and have had some success with my newest gamer (an Exotics EX10 beta), but after several months of testing both clubs are just too spinny for me.

The fitting process takes place in a clean, modern fitting studio that opens into the driving range at Trump National. No indoor hitting bays here! I want to see the actual ball flight, not a computer simulation. My fitter Matthew welcomed me and let me hit some warm-up shots with my own clubs to get loose while he watched and gathered some swing and ball flight data from the Trackman. Watching my swing and Trackman data while I warmed up helped him select a few shafts and heads to get the fitting process started with.

The Process & Results

Even though the True Spec fitting studio has over 30,000 possible shaft/head combinations available, an experienced fitting professional like Matt can use that Trackman data to quickly eliminate the shafts he knows won’t work for me, streamlining the process and saving time. Using True Spec’s Club-Connex system, Matt set up a trio of three-woods for me to hit, each with a different shaft & head combo. I would hit 4 or 5 shots with each and switch back and forth between clubs while he made loft/lie adjustments or changed out shafts and kept handing me different combos to try. All told, I hit fairway woods from Ping, Exotics, Taylor Made, Titleist, PXG, Callaway and a few others.

After hitting about 50 shots, we started to zero in on the best performing head and shaft combinations. When you are using a top of the line TrackMan launch monitor you can be certain that the data you get will be accurate. In my case, the numbers don’t lie. Compared to my gamer three-wood, (Exotics EX10 beta with 13 degrees of loft fitted to a Graphite Design G70x shaft) the club Matt put together for me (Ping G400 14.5, turned down to 13.9 degrees fitted with Fujikura ATMOS Tour Spec Red 80x) was giving me 8.6 yards more carry distance and 10.3 more yards total distance. That’s a huge increase for me!

How’d He Do It?

How did Matt help me gain 10 yards with a new three-wood? Again, it’s all about the numbers. By selecting a club head (Ping G400) with a hot face and low spin, we were able to decrease my spin rate by an average of 678 RPMs! Because of the lower spin, we needed to increase my launch angle to maximize carry distance. By selecting a Fujikira ATMOS Red shaft with a slightly lower kickpoint, he was able to bring my launch angle up from from 9.3 degrees to 11. High launch – Low spin. That, my friends, is the recipe for greater distance.

As I mentioned in another recent article, finding the right shaft & head combination for you can pay off big, with more distance and consistency. In that post I mated a Ping G400 driver with the new shaft from TPT golf to gain 9 yards off the tee over my previous gamer – the Ping G. Was it purely by chance that the G400 three-wood also happened to be the best performing fairway wood for me?

I’m mildly shocked but very pleased about gaining 9+ yards with both my new Ping driver and three-woods, considering both clubs were fitted for me independently of each other. What that says to me is the Ping’s G400 line are very good clubs, especially when fitted with the right shaft by an expert club fitter. Even better, I finally found my golf unicorn – a versatile, consistent performing three-wood!

You Probably Need A Fitting

What is it worth to you to gain distance throughout the bag, while improving the feel and consistency of all your clubs? True Spec’s fitting process works, and it’s guaranteed. For more information, visit https://www.truespecgolf.com/ I’ve been preaching the benefits of club fitting for years, and I’ll continue to champion the cause. It really does make a difference in your game, no matter what your handicap.

February 27, 2018
Aldila Tour Green Shaft

Aldila has been making graphite golf shafts for as long as I can remember, and has been one of the industry leaders for decades. Aldila is actually an Italian word that means “the next life” or “above and beyond” depending on the context. As manufacturing processes and materials continue to improve, golf shafts have become more and more precise and consistent. As of this writing, Aldila was leading the shaft count on the PGA Tour for more than 30 straight events.

The Aldila Rogue shaft is currently the most popular shaft on the tour, and while we didn’t get to test out the Rogue, we got our hands on its little brother – the Aldila Tour Green shaft for some play testing recently. The Tour Green shaft is a constant taper wood shaft that is designed to launch the ball on a mid-low trajectory with tight dispersion and a smooth, consistent release. Featuring their Micro Laminate Technology, the Aldila Tour Green will be more consistent from shaft to shaft than competitors.

Testing the Aldila Tour Green

We fitted the Tour Green in two clubs for testing. The first is an Adams Super LS driver (9.5 degrees) and the other is a TaylorMade SLDR Mini Driver with 14 degrees of loft. Our professional club builder Glen Belden fitted the shafts according to the manufacturer specifications and we saw a marked improvement in performance over the stock shafts in both test clubs.

In the Adams driver, the stock Fujikura Kuro Kage 60X shaft simply wasn’t stiff enough or consistent enough for the strong swinger that it belongs to. The Aldila Tour Green 65X shaft was able to bring down spin rates and the launch angle, eliminating the ballooning ball flight that sometimes plagued the golfer with the stock shaft. The owner also had to dial the adjustable face to the open position to counteract the tendency for the shaft to release early and hit the ball left. Once we got the Tour Green in there however, we set the club face back to square and the owner’s tee shots because more controllable and consistent. The Tour Green 65X did its job by bringing the trajectory down and the release is more predictable, leading to increased accuracy.

The next test subject was my TaylorMade SLDR Mini driver (14 degrees), fitted with the stock Fujikura Speeder 57S shaft. Since I play a heavier extra-stiff shaft, the 57 stiff was obviously inadequate for my 110+ mph swing speeds. Like the Adams Driver, I found the stock shaft to be wildly inconsistent at producing a repeatable ball. This was mostly due to the Fuji shaft not being stiff enough, but also because most OEM shafts are not ready for prime time. (See my footnote about this later.) I fitted the Aldila Tour Green 75X to the SLDR Mini and instantly transformed it. The Tour Green shaft turned the SLDR Mini Driver into a strong 3 wood that launched the ball on a high trajectory with low spin. The ball carries forever with this club, and the Tour Green shaft makes sure that the ball won’t balloon too high or with too much spin. The heavier weight of the Tour Green 75 shaft is perfect for fairway woods.

Conclusion

There isn’t much to say about the Aldila Tour Green shaft other than it simply performs as advertised. It gives the golfer a lower launch and lower spin for stronger players, without feeling “boardy” or too heavy. The Tour Green also has a sister shaft called the Tour Blue that has a slightly softer tip section for a higher ball flight. Both shafts are available through national retailers and custom club fitters for around $249. If you want to upgrade to the latest tour-proven technology and breathe new life into that 2 year-old driver, spending $249 for a new shaft will probably be a better investment than plunking down $400+ on yet another new driver making promises it can’t keep.

Footnote on OEM Shafts

In my experience of testing dozens of clubs every year since the mid 90s, I’ve learned that most stock OEM shafts are garbage to be perfectly honest. While the brand names are familiar, the shafts are mass produced and along the line the quality control process is scrapped to cut costs. I don’t mean to pick on the big guys, but my club builder has several 50 gallon drums full of OEM shafts from Callaway & TaylorMade that were pulled from clubs to be replaced with shafts that are properly fit to the player. Most of the shafts that are pulled from these clubs show huge variations in stiffness, weight and frequency readings, which explains why Joe Golfer can hit his buddy’s identical driver great, but his performs awful. It’s hard to know if the club you buy will have a good shaft nowadays, but you can give yourself a better chance of success by staying away from the stock “off the shelf” shaft when buying a new driver or fairway wood. Instead, go to the local golf shop and get fitted for the right shaft by a qualified fitting specialist, then order the driver with that shaft as a custom option. It may cost a bit more, but you’ll be more likely to get the right fit and get the most out of your investment.

December 8, 2014
Cleveland Wedge Fitting App & Fitting System

As long as I’ve been playing golf seriously I have known the importance of custom fitting. Yet to this day, the vast majority of golfers buy their clubs off the rack, especially the most important clubs in the bag – wedges. If you are playing with wedges that aren’t properly fit you are throwing away strokes. Golfers tend to hang on to wedges too long also. Drivers are flashy and sexy and people tend to buy drivers more often than any other club, which is why most of the big companies introduce new models every year or sooner. What you should be doing is buying new wedges every few seasons instead of that driver that promises 20 more yards. You can only hit a driver about fourteen times in a typical round of golf, so unless you are holing out most of your iron shots, your score will still be largely determined by your play inside 125 yards. To help people get set up with wedges that will most help their game, Cleveland Golf has come up with their new wedge fitting system and a cool wedge fitting application. Here’s the scoop:

CLEVELAND® GOLF INTRODUCES REVOLUTIONARY WEDGE FITTING APPLICATION AND FITTING SYSTEM

HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA – March 5, 2013 – Cleveland® Golf has been proud to set the standard for wedges over the last 25 years. In that time, no other manufacturer has devoted as much passion and effort to wedge design, technology and performance.

This year, Cleveland® Golf has already introduced the groundbreaking RotexTM Face. Featured on new 588® RTXTM and 588® RTXTM CB wedges, RotexTM is an unprecedented combination of three technologies that promote maximum spin and control from all lies.

Today, Cleveland® Golf is excited to announce two innovations that revolutionize wedge fitting.

First is the online Wedge Fitting Application. Part of the redesigned Cleveland® Golf website, this Application allows anyone – especially club fitters and golf shop employees – to quickly select a proper wedge set with more confidence than ever before. Once the correct models, lofts, and bounces have been determined, wedges can be customized for lie angle, shaft and grip. Ordering a full wedge set from the Application is easy and safe.

The second innovation is the Cleveland® Golf Fitting System, which features interchangeable wedges – an industry-first. Available on new Fitting Carts and Fitting Displays, these interchangeable wedge heads are available in a multitude of loft, bounce, lie angle and model options, and are accompanied by a variety of interchangeable wedge shafts.

Changing wedge heads and shafts is done in a matter of seconds. Plus, interchangeable wedges feature identical specifications to the wedges a player will use on the course.

Wedge fitting has never been more accessible and comprehensive. Any laptop, smartphone or tablet can be used to conduct a quick and accurate fit. Plus, the most sophisticated wedge fit on the market is available at authorized Cleveland® Golf Fitting System dealers.

“It’s no secret that a player’s wedge game is critical to scoring and performance,” said Todd Harman, President of Cleveland® Golf/Srixon – U.S.A. “We’ve raised the bar with wedge innovations over the years such as multiple bounce options, ZipTM Grooves, cool finishes and now RotexTM technology. With the introduction of our new Fitting System and Fitting Application, we’ve made it easier than ever for any player to use the right set of wedges and get the correct loft gapping throughout their entire set. This is a game-changer for us and the equipment industry. The way that golf professionals and retailers are now able to comprehensively fit a golfer for a wedge set is truly a breakthrough.”

To use the Cleveland® Golf Wedge Fitting Application, please visit wedgefitting.clevelandgolf.com. To locate an authorized Cleveland® Golf Fitting System dealer, please visit clevelandgolf.com.

For more information on Cleveland® Golf/Srixon® and Never Compromise® products or staff players, please visit www.clevelandgolf.com, www.srixon.com and www.nevercompromise.com.

March 6, 2013
JStewart Custom Golf Bags

Anyone who knows me can tell you that I like to be different. Just like many golf enthusiasts, I want to be unique and love it when I can get equipment that nobody else has. I was recently in the market for a new golf bag when I discovered JStewart Golf. There are so many golf bags out there that it can sometimes be difficult to choose. Some people stay loyal to a brand, buying a staff bag that matches their preferred equipment vendor, but I’ve switched loyalties so many times it would have been too expensive to buy bags for each new company I like. Some people walk more than ride, and there are plenty of good carry bags out there too, but I so often drag 15 to 20 clubs out to the course with me for testing and reviews, that I need more space than a stand bag has to offer.

What I was looking for was a lightweight staff bag that was brand neutral while still making a statement, and Jstewart Golf came to the rescue. Based in Hong Kong, JStewart Golf makes one-off custom golf bags. Started by professional golfer James Stewart, he supplies custom staff bags to many touring pros around the world. Not only do they specialize in custom bags, but they also supply custom branded gloves, hats, golf towels, golf pouches, umbrellas & shoe bags. most of the products they make are manufactured in the same factories that most of the major golf brands use for their own products.

The selection of golf bag styles available is extensive. There are eight different staff bag styles available, with different sizes and features. I selected the JS Mini Tour Bag (Shown above). It is a mini-staff bag with a 8.5″ opening, 6 pockets and firm indented side panels. It is smaller than most full size staff bags and weighs only about 11 pounds. I sent my website logo to them in vector (.EPS) format and waited for about a month. The lead time is usually 45 days for a custom bag, so make sure you give them enough time to complete it. You can use the website to design your own bag, or leave it up to them to design it around your logo and color selections. I decided to leave the design and colors up to them since they know their bags better than I do, and it turned out great.

The bag was shipped directly to me and arrived well within the lead time. I was immediately impressed with the quality and finish of the bag. The photos look nice, but to truly appreciate the finished product you have to see it up close in person. The black trip parts are in a faux carbon fiber look which adds a cool texture look to the bag. The embroidery and overall finish is top notch, and every bit as good as any of the best quality golf bags I’ve seen. The website ring that runs around the bottom is a neat touch, and you can even have the shoulder strap embroidered. I’m very happy with this bag. It’s a quality built golf bag that has plenty of space without being too heavy. I can carry extra clubs and other gear in it, and it looks great. People are always coming up to me to ask about it, which almost always leads to questions about the price.

A custom made, one of a kind golf bag isn’t cheap. Expect to pay about $420 for the JS Mini Tour Bag. If you are going to spend over $300 for a staff bag from a major golf brand, paying an extra hundred or so isn’t a big deal for a custom job. The market for these bags is largely professional golfers, corporate purchases and enthusiasts like me, but anyone that wants to stand out in the crowd of branded golf bags can order one. I’m very happy with mine, and I highly recommend JStewart Golf bags to anyone in the market for a great, original golf bag!

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December 6, 2011
Bettinardi Putters – 2011 Sneak Preview!

Bettinardi "Signature Series" Model 2

In 2009, Bob Bettinardi was released from his contract with Mizuno Golf and introduced a new line of new putters as an independent once again. The creative freedom and tight manufacturing control he once again enjoys led to a fantastic new line of putters. Bettinardi putters are no only available through green-grass accounts, which means you won’t find them at your local Golfsmith, Dicks Sporting Goods or Edwin Watts. The only place to get his high quality 100% milled in the USA Putters are golf course pro shops and select club fitters and golf academies.

Bettinardi Putters have been favorites of collectors and putting enthusiasts for years. This new sales model will ensure that his putters will remain exclusive and hard to find, and a real treasure to those who purchase one. But these aren’t heirlooms to keep in a display – These putters are meant to be rolling in birdies! 2011 is going to be a fantastic year based on the limited photos I’ve seen of their new stuff, and I can’t wait to share them with you! Once the full line for 2011 is revealed (and we’ll be one of the first to give you details) you will see pictures and descriptions right here, so stay tuned!

For now, here is just a sampling of a few models that are coming for 2011. To get a closer look, click on the pictures to make them larger. If you have any questions about the putters, leave me a comment and I'll answer them for you. Enjoy!
[caption id="attachment_2697" align="aligncenter" width="576" caption="2011 Bettinardi "BB1""][/caption] [caption id="attachment_2703" align="aligncenter" width="576" caption="2011 Bettinardi "BB1""][/caption] [caption id="attachment_2704" align="aligncenter" width="576" caption="2011 Bettinardi "BB8F""][/caption] [caption id="attachment_2705" align="aligncenter" width="576" caption="2011 Bettinardi "BB8F""][/caption] [caption id="attachment_2706" align="aligncenter" width="576" caption="2011 Bettinardi "BB8F""][/caption] [caption id="attachment_2707" align="aligncenter" width="576" caption="2011 Bettinardi "BB8F""][/caption] [caption id="attachment_2710" align="aligncenter" width="576" caption="2011 Bettinardi "BB27""][/caption] [caption id="attachment_2711" align="aligncenter" width="576" caption="2011 Bettinardi "BB27""][/caption] [caption id="attachment_2712" align="aligncenter" width="576" caption="2011 Bettinardi "BB27""][/caption] [caption id="attachment_2713" align="aligncenter" width="576" caption="2011 Bettinardi "BB27""][/caption] [caption id="attachment_2714" align="aligncenter" width="576" caption="2011 Bettinardi "BB33""][/caption] [caption id="attachment_2715" align="aligncenter" width="576" caption="2011 Bettinardi "BB33""][/caption] [caption id="attachment_2716" align="aligncenter" width="576" caption="2011 Bettinardi "BB33""][/caption] [caption id="attachment_2717" align="aligncenter" width="576" caption="2011 Bettinardi "BB33""][/caption] [caption id="attachment_2718" align="aligncenter" width="576" caption="2011 Bettinardi "Signature Series" Model 1"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_2719" align="aligncenter" width="576" caption="2011 Bettinardi "Signature Series" Model 1"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_2720" align="aligncenter" width="576" caption="2011 Bettinardi "Signature Series" Model 1"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_2721" align="aligncenter" width="576" caption="2011 Bettinardi "Signature Series" Model 1"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_2722" align="aligncenter" width="576" caption="2011 Bettinardi "Signature Series" Model 2"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_2723" align="aligncenter" width="576" caption="2011 Bettinardi "Signature Series" Model 2"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_2724" align="aligncenter" width="576" caption="2011 Bettinardi "Signature Series" Model 2"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_2725" align="aligncenter" width="576" caption="2011 Bettinardi "Signature Series" Model 2"][/caption]
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September 24, 2010
Titleist Introduces Vokey Wedgeworks Exclusives

The name Bob Vokey has been associated with high performance wedges for many years, and now fans of his work will be pleased to know they can have custom made and personalized wedges just like the pros. Well, almost. Building on the success that has made Vokey Design Spin Milled Wedges the most played on the PGA Tour, Titleist is introducing its new WedgeWorks Exclusives line. WedgeWorks is a custom shop where Bob Vokey and his team designs and builds wedges for everyone from PGA Tour players to wedge enthusiasts. Each personalized wedge is one-of-a-kind, custom-engraved, hand-stamped and built at WedgeWorks in Carlsbad, Calif.

The new WedgeWorks Exclusives line features the popular Vokey Tour Van Design (TVD) sole and pre-2010 Spin Milled grooves. Condition of Competition (C-C) wedges will be available in the WedgeWorks Exclusives line beginning in September. Two new finishes will also be offered. Bright Brushed Chrome and Oil Can Zero. These were created specifically for WedgeWorks Exclusives. Every WedgeWorks Exclusives club is custom and personalized – from length, lie and loft, to toe engraving, paint fill, grips, shafts and shaft bands. The wedges are available in five lofts and the two new finishes. Vokey TVD wedges are also the only wedges in the Vokey Design lineup that feature a Tour grind in lower lofts, beginning at 52 degrees and increasing to 60 degrees in two degree increments.

Three different hand-stamp styles are available (straight, freestyle, snow) in up to eight letters and/or numbers. There are 20 different paint fill colors, and 40 different toe engraving combinations from which to choose. WedgeWorks Exclusives will feature shaft options including True Temper’s Dynamic Gold, Tour Issue and Project X, as well as the KBS Tour in steel and black nickel. Shafts can also be labeled with specifically designed WedgeWorks shaft bands. Finally, WedgeWorks Exclusives will offer BV grips in a variety of textures and colors to match the player’s look and feel preferences. Among the grips available are the New Decade Multi-Compound and full cord Golf Pride Tour Velvet, as well as ribbed and .600 diameter options. BV Custom grips are available only through WedgeWorks. “Bob Vokey built his reputation on providing golfers the best short game tools in the world to help them achieve the lowest scores,” said Steve Pelisek, General Manager, Titleist Golf Clubs. “The new WedgeWorks Exclusives provide golfers a Tour-inspired and Tour-validated Vokey TVD Spin Milled wedge with all of the custom options usually reserved for the best players in the world.” The new WedgeWorks Exclusives will be available through www.Vokey.com beginning July 15, 2010. Condition of Competition models will be available in the Fall. The base retail price before personalization for all models is $150.
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July 8, 2010
Scratch Golf Tour Department – Behind The Scenes

Click to enlarge photos - Raw Scratch wedge head, ready to be ground into shape for a customer.

Scratch golf was founded in 2003 by Ari Techner, and in recent years their wedges have become some of the most sought after by touring pros and amateurs. Several players on the PGA, Champions and LPGA Tours are using Scratch wedges and most are doing so without endorsements. By the end of 2007 Scratch wedges were the number one wedge on the Nationwide Tour. Last year PGA Tour rising star Ryan Moore switched to Scratch irons and wedges the week after the final FedEx Cup tournament and now owns part of the fast growing company. Scratch Golf still makes most of its wedges one at a time, grinding them to the desired shape by hand. Scratch Golf employs two of the best grinders in golf – Jeff McCoy and Don White. Mr. White joined Scratch in January of 2010 and brings with him almost 40 years of club design experience. He has personally hand ground irons for players winning 14 major championships while at MacGregor golf, including Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, and many of the game’s greats. Scratch Golf has managed to combine classic workmanship and materials with modern design and fitting methods better than any other golf company. The result is a line of clubs that are highly customizable and perform brilliantly.

[caption id="attachment_2050" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Scratch Wedge being hand stamped for a customer"][/caption] I had a chance to visit Scratch Golf's Tour Department in Chattanooga Tennessee recently. They have a small shop in an old industrial part of town that is being remodeled. Patrick Boyd, VP of Custom Sales and Director of Tour Department Operations gave me a tour of the facilities. The tour department turns out about 8 clubs per day, working with various professionals and amateurs who custom order wedges. Each raw wedge head is hand ground, finished, stamped and shafted according to the player's need. [caption id="attachment_2055" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="Your's truly getting fit for a wedge"][/caption] Scratch Golf offers wedges in two different metals - 1018 forged carbon steel and 8620 milled carbon steel. The 1018 carbon steel is regarded as the softest metal currently used in golf today, and the 8620 carbon steel is CNC milled to ensure a perfectly flat face. Scratch also offers many custom grind options based on three basic swing types: Digger / Driver: Players in this swing profile tend to be very “steep and deep” with the club at impact. Their aggressive angle of attack causes the club head to dig into the ground requiring greater bounce angles to get the club head back out of the ground and maintain contact between the face and golf ball. Miss-hits for this profile are commonly fat. Driver / Slider: This swing type encompasses a vast majority of golfers. These players will try and trap the ball between the clubface and ground, taking a shallow, even divot. Driver/Slider’s moderate angle of attack requires a mid-bounce angle providing assistance in maintaining the club head’s path through the turf and ensuring crisp, clean contact. Driver/Sliders tend to miss both thin and fat. Sweeper/Slider: Often a favorite of course superintendents, Sweeper/Sliders have a very shallow angle of attack and take little to no divot at all. This swing profile requires a low bounce angle, which helps combat the thin miss-hit for Sweeper/Sliders. [caption id="attachment_2051" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Scratch iron heads ready for polishing/finishing"][/caption] Depending on your swing style, there are about 20 or so different grind options available. For those who are not familiar with what a grind is I'll try to explain in basic terms. The grind of a wedge is basically the shape of the sole area which comes in contact with the ground during a swing. The type of golf swing you have and the grind of a wedge affect its playability. For example, a player who tends to sweep the ball off the turf and take very shallow divots will have trouble making consistent contact with a wedge that has more bounce and a grind designed for players that take deep divots, like Scratch's XDG grind. [caption id="attachment_2052" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Irons with the antique finish, designed to look aged"][/caption] In order to make sense of all these swing types and grinds available, it takes a very knowledgeable club fitter like Patrick. We spent a little while on the range and chipping green at The Black Creek Club, home of the Nationide Tour's Chattanooga Classic. Patrick had me hit a few shots and observed the size and shape of my divots, as well as sound of impact to see if I was hitting solid shots. I started with half swing pitch shots and worked up to full swings, trying different grinds and head shapes. Moving on the the chipping area, I hit a few different grinds and immediately he could tell which grind was better suited for me. I could also tell, as a club with too much bounce was leading to inconsistent contact and bad results. We determined I would be best suited to the SLT grind in a 58 degree lob wedge. Amazingly, I was able to slide the club under the ball with ease, even on very tight lies. I felt like I could be very aggressive, knowing I would not hit the ball fat or bounce the club into the ball. [caption id="attachment_2053" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Gold Plated wedge for a tour winner's collection"][/caption] The great thing about this company is that the custom fitting experience is available to everyone, not just touring pros. If you can't make it to Chattanooga, they also have demo days nationwide following the PGA Tour event schedule. For more information and to schedule a custom fitting, just contact the Scratch Golf Tour Department! I can't wait to get my custom wedges. I think these will be the best I've ever hit. Of course, a review will be posted as soon as possible! Scratch Golf's 8620 wedges carry an MSRP of $99. The 1018 wedges are $149 and the Tour Custom wedges are $349. Special thanks goes out to Patrick Boyd and the entire Scratch Golf Tour Department in Chattanooga for allowing us to take photos are share the Scratch Golf story!
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March 25, 2010