golfrewind.com

I just finished Tom Wishon's new book, In Search of the Perfect Club. VERY enlightening and helpful. According to his basic stats based on measurement of wrist to floor, my driver is 1.75 inches too long, my irons are all 1.5 inches too long. I know that I can have a clubmaker cut my shafts down and adjust swingweight (which may or may not be a good fit now), but the problem is I live in Alaska and have no PCS guys anywhere. I am going to Sacramento area in March and have located a class A guy there.....my problem is that I want to golf while I'm there for a week! How long would it take normally to cut shafts and adjust swingweights. Should I just choke up this season and go to the guy next year (when I'll have more time) to get a new set totally fitted like Wishon reccomends? What are my options at this point?

Also, when adjusting swingweight, does a PCS guy usually just add tape? Seems highly unattractive cosmetically. Wishon talked about injecting material etc. but what about wood heads?

Thanks in advance for any info.

i'm no expert ..but since i have experience with PCS class A clubmaker , i'll try to response somebit...

(1) Cutting shaft - takes a couple of minutes per shaft .. they will take out the grip and saw off the length required from there and put on a new grip.
But you might not be able to use your clubs for about 12 hrs or so for the new grip's glue to set.

(2) Swing weight - there's a few ways.. lead tape is one of them , he might recommend a new shaft , and even the weight of the grip used can affect.
anyway , if the guy can pin point what you need to change , what he needs to do (provided he is free) is not such a long process.

the problem is the part whereby he's figuring out what you need.... he might need to see your swing and discuss in details with you on your requrirements
hope it helps

DO NOT HACK OFF 1 1/2" FROM YOUR IRONS!

Anymore, pretty much every clubmaker blows on grips with an air compressor, so they would be ready immediately. If you are using steel in your irons, they should take no longer than a few hours to cut down and reswingweight. I would venture to say under an hour, but I might get yelled at. Wait, my first point. Do not hack off that much from your irons from reading a book. After a dynamic fitting...maybe. If you have been playing golf for any length of time, your irons should not be that far off from what is best or what is most confortable for you. So you know, I'm on my 3rd time reading TOm's book...it is excellent. He is a big fan of shorter length drivers, I fit in the 44" range according to him. But according to me, anything under 45" my tempo goes to pot and I'm all over the place. These are just guidelines for the average hacker. Better athletes and ball strikers certainly can entertain longer clubs than what his WTF measurments say which is static fitting by the way -- just a starting point. Anyways, before I write a book, please please do not chop that much off your irons...unless, of course, your 5i measure 39" or more and you are spraying the ball all over the place.....then maybe.

I'm not planning on getting them cut down without dynamic fitting first...the book just made me consider a need for shortening. I plan to get a complete fitting, then have my current clubs adjusted and possibly by a new putter and wedges. My 5 iron is 39.5", but I wouldn't say I spray the ball a lot. Let me add this.....I am measuring my shafts from the top of the grip to the sole of the head. I arrived at this method by first measuring my driver which I knew was 45.75 inches and seeing that length is from grip to sole. Am I not measuring my clubs correctly?

Great advice!!

To add a little........... the reason Tom W pushes the shorter drivers is because, on average, each additional 1/2" in length will add 1-2 mph, which may equate to 1-3 extra yards, again, averages, assuming you hit the sweet spot, center of face. For each 1/4" you miss the sweet spot, center of face, your average golfer LOSES 5-7 yards. Basic physics says and proves that most, not all, golfers can hit the center of the face more often with a shorter club, and the odds are, your distance will increase due to sweet spot contact, or at the very least, remain about the same, but you are in the fairway.

I have done a few fittings with guys that, the longer the club got, the more they hit the sweet spot, so no guarantees, just the average result.

Dynamic fitting definitely the way to go.